Research

Mixed

Adherence to a healthful plant-based diet is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), specifically myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, independent of genetic predisposition.

If you have a family history of heart disease, adopting a diet rich in whole plant foods (grains, fruits, veggies, nuts, legumes) and low in processed foods and animal products can still significantly lower your risk of heart attack and stroke.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
The hPDI was also associated with lower risks of myocardial infarction and ischemic stroke, with HRs (95% CIs) of 0.86 (0.78-0.95) and 0.84 (0.71-0.99), respectively.
Alysha S. Thompson et al. · JAMA Network Open · 2023

Why this rating

Large prospective cohort with long follow-up and adjustment for polygenic risk scores, strengthening the causal inference for CVD outcomes.

Source

Association of Healthful Plant-based Diet Adherence With Risk of Mortality and Major Chronic Diseases Among Adults in the UK

Alysha S. Thompson et al. · JAMA Network Open · 2023

DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.4714

cohort · n=126394Cited 191×
Read the paper
DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

This is one finding among thousands. Every one is graded and traced to its source, so you can see what the evidence actually supports. Browse the research →