A new study from France shows that eating more plant-based foods isn’t always better for your heart—especially if those foods are ultra-processed.
The research was done by scientists from INRAE, Inserm, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, and Cnam, and it provides a deeper look into how diet affects heart health.
Earlier research has shown that eating a lot of ultra-processed foods—foods that are heavily changed by industrial methods—is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.
Other studies have shown that diets rich in plant-based foods can lower heart risks, but only when the food is nutritious and balanced. This new study aimed to combine both ideas to see how food quality and level of processing influence cardiovascular health.
The researchers used data from over 63,800 adults in France who were part of the NutriNet-Santé study. This long-term public health project has followed people since 2009 to learn more about how diet affects health.
In this particular study, participants were tracked for an average of 9.1 years, with some followed for up to 15 years. People completed online surveys about what they ate and drank, covering at least three full days of food intake.
This detailed information allowed the scientists to look at the types of food people ate: whether the foods were from plants or animals, whether they were nutritious, and how much they were processed. They grouped people based on their eating habits and then compared the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attacks and strokes.
One of the most important findings was that people who ate mostly plant-based foods that were both high in nutritional quality and minimally processed had about a 40% lower risk of heart disease compared to people who ate more animal products and fewer healthy plant foods.
These nutritious plant foods included fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains with little or no added salt, sugar, or fat.
However, people who ate plant-based diets with a lot of ultra-processed foods—even if those foods were technically nutritious—did not have a lower risk of heart disease.
These foods included factory-made wholemeal bread, canned soups, microwave pasta dishes, and ready-made salads with dressings. Although they might seem healthy, the high level of processing appeared to cancel out their benefits.
Even more concerning, people whose plant-based diets were high in ultra-processed and low-nutrient foods faced the highest risk of heart disease.
This group included those who ate things like sweetened fruit drinks, chocolate-based candy, sugary breakfast cereals, crisps, and salty snack foods. Their risk of heart disease was about 40% higher than those who ate more high-quality, minimally processed plant foods.
This study shows that not all plant-based diets are equally good for your heart. It’s not enough to just eat less meat or choose plant-based foods. You also have to pay attention to how healthy and how processed those foods are. Ultra-processed foods often contain added sugars, fats, salts, and artificial additives that can harm your health over time.
In summary, the best way to protect your heart is to eat more whole, unprocessed plant foods—like fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts—and avoid ultra-processed items, even if they are made from plants. This supports public health advice that encourages nutritious and natural food choices, rather than relying on packaged or factory-made options.
The NutriNet-Santé study continues to help scientists understand the links between food, health, and lifestyle. Thanks to the thousands of people who share their habits through this project, researchers can keep finding better ways to guide people toward healthier eating.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies that vitamin D can help reduce inflammation, and vitamin K may lower your heart disease risk by a third.
For more health information, please see recent studies about foods that could sharp your brain, and results showing cooking food in this way may raise your risk of blindness.
The study is published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe.
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