Two plant-based diets were associated with similar survival benefits and low environmental impact, according to research presented today at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2025, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
Two plant-based diets were associated with similar survival benefits and low environmental impact, according to research presented today at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2025, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).
Diet contributes significantly to cardiovascular disease mortality, with estimates indicating that across the European region, one in every five premature deaths could be prevented by an optimised diet.
“In 2019, the Planetary Health Diet (PHD) was developed to optimise global dietary quality while keeping the environmental impacts of food production within sustainable planetary boundaries,” said study author Dr. Mercedes Sotos Prieto of the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain. “However, there was a lack of evidence on how the PHD compares with the Mediterranean Diet, a plant-based diet with established health and environmental benefits, that is well rooted in Mediterranean countries. We evaluated the effects of both diets on all-cause mortality and environmental impact in a large representative Spanish population.”
The PHD involves energy intake of around 2,500 kcal/day and focuses primarily on high consumption of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and unsaturated oils; moderate intake of dairy, starchy vegetables, poultry and fish; and low consumption of saturated fats, red meat and added sugars.
Read more at European Society of Cardiology
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