This cannot be answered with a straight and clear yes or no. There is no doubt that a plant-based diet can have health benefits. However, even in the world of vegetarian nutrition, there are some foods that do not offer these positive effects: ultra-processed foods. These are foods that, as the name suggests, have been heavily processed. They are far removed from their original state and often have a long list of ingredients and additives on the packaging. Examples include potato crisps, frozen pizza and sweets. Many of these products are purely plant-based and are still considered UPFs.
It is well known that diet is closely linked to cardiovascular risk and mortality. People who eat a healthy diet usually also have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. In particular, vegetarian diets are said to have positive effects on health: less saturated fat, more vitamins, and so on. But does this also apply to UPFs? Many people know that highly processed foods of animal origin are rather unhealthy. But does the same apply to their vegetarian cousins?
It depends on what foods you eat, according to a recent study. A research team from the UK analysed data from over 120,000 people to determine whether a plant-based diet is always associated with a more favourable cardiovascular risk profile.
The result: no. The study showed that people who eat more processed foods, even if they are plant-based, had a 5 per cent increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The mortality risk even rose by 12 per cent.
However, if people opted for more unprocessed plant-based foods, they could reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease by 7 per cent. For mortality, a risk reduction of 13 per cent could be achieved.
A purely plant-based diet can have positive effects on general well-being and cardiovascular health. But here, too, it depends on what you eat. Similar to products of animal origin, highly processed plant-based foods appear to be associated with unfavourable cardiovascular risk, while unprocessed foods appear to have a protective effect.