plant-based diet Archives - Dr Amin Azhari - دکتر امین اظهری

Diet may affect risk and severity of COVID-19

A healthy plant-based diet was linked to a lower risk of getting COVID-19, and among people with COVID-19, a lower risk of experiencing severe symptoms. There was a synergistic relationship between poor diet and increased socioeconomic deprivation with COVID-19 risk that was higher than the sum of the risk associated with each factor alone.

Although metabolic conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes have been linked to an increased risk of COVID-19, as well as an increased risk of experiencing serious symptoms once infected, the impact of diet on these risks is unknown. In a recent study led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and published in Gut, people whose diets were based on healthy plant-based foods had lower risks on both counts. The beneficial effects of diet on COVID-19 risk seemed especially relevant in individuals living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation.

For the study, Merino and his colleagues examined data on 592,571 participants of the smartphone-based COVID-19 Symptom Study. Participants lived in the UK and the US, and they were recruited from March 24, 2020 and followed until December 2, 2020. At the start of the study, participants completed a questionnaire that asked about their dietary habits before the pandemic. Diet quality was assessed using a healthful Plant-BasedDiet Score that emphasises healthy plant foods such as fruits and vegetables.

During follow-up, 31,831 participants developed COVID-19. Compared with individuals in the lowest quartile of the diet score, those in the highest quartile had a 9% lower risk of developing COVID-19 and a 41% lower risk of developing severe COVID-19.

Release date: 08 September 2021
Source: Massachusetts General Hospital

Neurologic disorders, Nutrition in rehabilitation, Public Health, Public Health

A plant-based diet combined with a healthy microbiome may protect against multiple sclerosis

The study shows that a diet rich in isoflavone, a phytoestrogen or plant-based compound that resembles estrogen, protects against multiple sclerosis-like symptoms in a mouse model of the disease. Importantly, the isoflavone diet was only protective when the mice had gut microbes capable of breaking down the isoflavones. The findings were published in Science Advances.

A new University of Iowa study suggests that metabolism of plant-based dietary substances by specific gut bacteria, which are lacking in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), may provide protection against the disease.

Isoflavones are found in soybeans, peanuts, chickpeas and other legumes. The study also found that mice fed the isoflavone diet have a microbiome that is similar to the microbiome found in healthy people and includes the bacteria which can metabolize isoflavones. Conversely, a diet lacking isoflavones promotes a microbiome in mice which is similar to one observed in patients with MS and lacks beneficial bacteria that can metabolize isoflavone.

Release date: 12 July 2021
Source: University of Iowa Health Care

Plant-based diets shown to lower blood pressure even with limited meat and dairy

A diet rich in plant-based foods can include a limited amount of animal products and still improve blood pressure, new research from University of Warwick demonstrates
Researchers compared the impact of seven plant-based diets on blood pressure in a systematic review of previous studies
High blood pressure is the leading risk factor globally for heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular diseases
Lead author Joshua Gibbs of University of Warwick: “Essentially, any shift towards a plant-based diet is a good one.”

Consuming a plant-based diet can lower blood pressure even if small amounts of meat and dairy are consumed too, according to new research from the University of Warwick.

Published online by a team from Warwick Medical School in the Journal of Hypertension today (25 July), they argue that any effort to increase plant-based foods in your diet and limit animal products is likely to benefit your blood pressure and reduce your risk of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular disease. They conducted a systematic review of previous research from controlled clinical trials to compare seven plant-based diets, several of which included animal products in small amounts, to a standardised control diet and the impact that these had on individuals’ blood pressure.

Release date: 25 July 2020

Source: University of Warwick

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