Eating a plant-based diet is good for your health, but not if those plant foods are ultra-processed , a new study has found. The findings show that all plant-based diets aren’t the same, and that plant foods can have very different effects on your health depending on what manufacturers do to them before they reach your plate. Ultra-processed foods such as fruit juices increase the risk of heart attacks and stroke.
Credit: Getty Images The new research, published on Monday in the journal, Lancet Regional Health-Europe , found eating plant-derived foods that are ultra-processed – such as meat substitutes, fruit juices and pastries – increases the risk of heart attacks and stroke. But when plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts are only minimally processed, meaning they are cleaned, cut and packaged but served largely as they are found in nature, they have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease. Ultra-processed foods have faced intense scrutiny from health authorities in recent years.
What’s unusual about the new study is that it zeroed in on the health effects of ultra-processed foods that begin as plants, comparing them with minimally processed plant foods. Given that plant-based foods are generally healthy in their natural state, the research suggests that there’s something uniquely damaging about ultra-processing that changes a food in a way that can harm a person’s health long term. Loading “The artificial and heightened flav.