Dietary Intakes and Cardiovascular Health of Healthy Adults in Short-, Medium-, and Long-Term Whole-Food Plant-Based Lifestyle Program

Abstract

An effective lifestyle strategy to reduce cardiovascular diseases risk (CVD) factors is needed. We examined the effects of a whole-food plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle program on dietary intake and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors in 151 adults (mean 39.6 (SD 12.5) years). Adherence was categorised into short-, medium- and long-term (years: (0.5–<2), (2–<5) and (5–10)), for both genders separately. Dietary intakes were assessed, fasting blood lipids and blood pressure (BP) were measured, and % participants reaching guideline recommended targets for LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides and BP in the primary CVD prevention was assessed. There were no statistically significant differences in intakes of energy and most nutrients among participants (both genders), that were short-, medium- and long term in our program. Diet was mainly composed of unprocessed vegetables/fruits, whole grains, legumes, potatoes, and nuts/seeds. LDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, systolic and diastolic BP were within targets for: 93%, 97%, 88% and 95% participants, respectively. In females (vs. males), total- and HDL-cholesterol were higher (mean): 3.8 (SD 0.7) vs. 3.4 (SD 0.9), p = 0.002 and 1.5 (SD 0.3) vs. 1.1 (SD 0.2) mmol/L, p < 0.001), systolic BP was lower (113 (SD 11) vs. 120 (SD 10) mmHg, p = 0.001), while there was no difference in diastolic BP (71 (SD 9) vs. 72 (SD 8) mmHg, p = 0.143). More females vs. males reached target triglycerides (99% vs. 91%, p = 0.021) and systolic BP (92% vs. 79%, p = 0.046), while similar females and males reached target LDL-cholesterol (94% vs. 91%, p = 0.500) and diastolic BP (93% vs. 100%, p = 0.107). Participation in our WFPB lifestyle program is associated with favourable dietary intakes, safety markers, and CV risk factor profiles.

Nutrient and Food Intake of Participants in a Whole-Food Plant-Based Lifestyle Program

“…Macronutrient ST intake (from foods and SMR together) for females and males on the WFPB lifestyle program (for 0.5-10 years) compared to recommendations (48,49,52 1 77 ± 9 77 ± 10 0.891 47 pro 55 pro (% E) 1 15 ± 2 15 ± 2 0.891 10-15 10-15 <0.001 (g/BW) 1 1. described as follows (mean ± SD): Total cholesterol (S-cholesterol) ¼ 3.7 ± 0.8 mmol/L, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol ¼ 2.0 ± 0.7 mmol/L, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ¼ 1.4 mmol/L, triglycerides ¼ 0.9 ± 0.4 mmol/L, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure of 115 ± 11 and 71 ± 9 mm Hg, respectively. Safety markers were within the reference range (S-uric acid 273 ± 68 mmmol/L and hemoglobin 141 ± 12 g/ L) (35).…”

“…Furthermore, the participants were self-selected, long-term healthy and active PB dieters, without BMI limitations, who lived in free-living settings dispersed across the country in urban, suburban, and rural areas. Due to our already proven support system and short- (26), medium- (27), and long-term results on body composition indices and cardiovascular health status (35), we assume that the 3-DR in this study represents not only the 3-day dietary intake but might also represent habitual dietary intake. Finally, we included the mean values of all three days of completed 3-DR (100%) and rechecked all values twice for accuracy.…”

“…Furthermore, we are aware that it would be interesting to also include the plasma status of vitamin B 12 , vitamin D (25OH), and other micronutrients relevant to PBDs, but we were limited in terms of financial resources. As mentioned, we did measure the plasma values of cholesterols, triglycerides, hemoglobin, and S-uric acid in the same participants as a component of a larger study (35). With respect to the OPEN database that we used, we were missing the possibility of also evaluating the intake of trans fatty acids, which need to be limited in nutrition and were recently banned in Slovenia (48,82).…”

“…We hypothesized that without S and MR, the WFPD does not reach nutritional adequacy in all micronutrients. This study is a component of a cross-sectional study of lifestyle, body mass/composition (submitted for publication), dietary intake, and cardiovascular health status among Slovenian participants on our WFPB lifestyle program (35).…”

Veganism and paediatric food allergy: two increasingly prevalent dietary issues that are challenging when co-occurring

“…Much of the literature on vegan diets and nutritional outcomes is based on adult populations [14,22,[28][29][30][31][32][33]. Less is known about vegan diets amongst infants and children.…”