In a new study from Lund University in Sweden, researchers found that more sustainable dietary habits are linked to health benefits, such as a reduced risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
The EAT-Lancet diet has target values for daily intake of a selection of different food, and consists of a lot of whole grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds and pulses (peas, beans and lentils), and significantly less meat, sugar and saturated fat compared with current consumption.
Using theoretical calculations, the report also estimated the diet’s benefits for human health and longevity.
In the study, the team tested a total of 22,421 participants from the Malmö diet and cancer cohort to investigate the links between diet and health.
By creating a special points system showing how similar the dietary habits of individuals are to the EAT-Lancet diet, they were able to divide the participants into five groups.
The higher the adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet, the higher the points assigned according to the researchers’ model.
During an average follow-up of 20 years, the researchers examined the association between the participants’ diet and mortality.
They found people with a dietary intake closest to the EAT-Lancet diet had a 25% lower risk of premature death compared with individuals with the lowest adherence to the EAT-Lancet diet.
When the researchers investigated specific causes of death, they were able to link the EAT-Lancet diet to a 32% lower risk of dying from heart disease and a 24% lower risk of dying from cancer.
Even in cases where the study participants’ dietary habits were far from the targets for the EAT-Lancet diet, the team observed a clear difference in total mortality.
The team says for many people, eating according to the EAT-Lancet diet would entail a major change, in particular for those living in the richer countries of the Western world.
Research has shown that it is possible, but it will take time to change our eating habits.
Knowing that there is a diet that benefits both public health and the planet should increase our motivation.
If you care about heart health, please read studies about this common snack that may cause heart rhythm disease, high blood pressure, and findings of the personality trait linked to heart attack death.
For more information about nutrient, please see recent studies about this green diet that may strongly lower non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and results showing this dieting method may improve long-term memory function.
The study is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. One author of the study is Anna Stubbendorff.
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