Not all plant-based meat choices are healthy. A new study cites many plant-based foods are not healthy for our hearts.
Many Plant-Based Foods Are Not Healthy
This recent study found that eating a diet high in unhealthy plant-based foods was linked with an increased intensity of a key heart attack biomarker.
For example, plant-based meat substitutes may have high sodium content. And they may be heavily processed. Consequently, both of these findings are unhealthy for our hearts.
On the other hand, the study also confirms that healthy plant-based foods can be beneficial for the heart.
Nevertheless, not all plant-based foods meet the criteria as healthy. In addition, the study points out that those unhealthy plant-based foods can be just as damaging to the heart as non-plant-based food.
Moral Reasons and Reward
For moral reasons, many people choose not to eat animal-based foods.
Additionally, the likely health benefits of a plant-based diet may be considered a satisfying consequence. Some may consider this choice on their behalf as a reward. Although the researchers of this study suggest that, this isn’t essentially incorrect.
However, the researcher point out that it’s necessary for those who make this choice to considers the rules that apply to healthy eating, and apply those rules to plant-based foods.
Biomarkers of Concern
This study’s biomarkers of concern were cardiac troponin T, cardiac troponin I, and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide. Troponins are indicators of cardiac muscle damage, which is a sign of myocardial infarction or heart attack. The peptide is associated with heart failure.
Conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the study analyzed data from 7,708 participants in the 1999 to 2004. They used the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) Trusted Source. Participants were ages 20 years or older and had no history of heart disease.
During interviews taken throughout the NHANES survey, participants reported their food intake for a previous 24-hour period. To measure the pertinent biomarkers, researchers took samples of the participant’s blood.
Equal to 50 percent of the participants — with no evident history of cardiac issues — have subclinical levels of troponins. Even though these levels aren’t of direct concern, they may be read as a warning sign of potential future issues.
Healthy versus Unhealthy
The researchers used the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPyramid Equivalents 2.0 database to sort each reported food into one of three categories:
- Animal-based food
- Unhealthy plant-based food
- Healthy plant-based food
The analysis revealed that obedience to a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a 49 percent lower likelihood of having elevated levels of cardiac troponin I.
In addition, individuals following an unhealthy plant-based diet had a 65 percent greater chance of elevated levels of cardiac troponin I.
Moreover, the authors of the study didn’t find a strong association with either healthy or unhealthy plant-based foods and cardiac troponin T or N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide.
This study is published in the American Journal of Preventive Cardiology, titled: “Association of plant-based diets with subclinical cardiovascular disease in U.S. adults, 1999-2004”
