{"id":657,"date":"2025-08-12T17:25:58","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T15:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/?post_type=news&#038;p=657"},"modified":"2025-08-04T17:26:20","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T15:26:20","slug":"should-you-adopt-a-plant-based-diet-the-health-benefits-are-real-and-the-nutritional-risks-low","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/news\/faut-il-adopter-un-regime-vegetalise-les-benefices-sante-sont-reels-les-risques-nutritionnels-faibles\/","title":{"rendered":"Should you adopt a plant-based diet? The health benefits are real, the nutritional risks low"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Reducing the proportion of animal products on our plates is not only a public health issue, but also a nutritional challenge. But is it really possible to adopt a vegetarian diet without becoming unbalanced? A new French study, published in June 2025 in the <em>European Journal of Nutrition<\/em>, provides precise answers to this question. Using national INCA3 data, it models the impact of a plant-based diet on health and nutrient intake.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Objective: to quantify the benefits and risks of a moderate green diet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The study is not concerned with theoretical vegetarian or vegan diets, but with a <strong>actual sub-group of the French adult population<\/strong> (10.7 %), whose diet is the most plant-based (PB+), with over 80 % of energy and protein intake coming from plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The researchers compare this group with those whose diet is the least plant-based (PB-), in order to :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Assess the <strong>prevalence of nutritional inadequacy<\/strong> (excess or deficiency)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Estimate <strong>proven deficiencies<\/strong> in key nutrients<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Quantify the <strong>modelled health benefits<\/strong>, in disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), if the entire population adopted the PB+ plan<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Net public health benefits of a plant-based diet<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Less disease, more healthy life<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A switch to a vegetated regime (PB+) would avoid approximately <strong>132,700 years of life with disability<\/strong> (range 125,400-140,000 DALYs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The benefits relate to the main chronic diseases:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ischaemic heart disease<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Type 2 diabetes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Colorectal cancer<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The gain is approximately <strong>twice as high for men<\/strong> than in women, due to a more marked improvement in intake (more fibre, less processed meat).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Nutritional inadequacies to watch out for<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Compared to PB-, people in the PB+ group have :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Less risk of insufficiency for<\/strong> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Fibres<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Linoleic acid (omega-6)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Potassium<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vitamin C<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>But more risk of insufficiency for<\/strong> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Proteins<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Calcium<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iron<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Iodine<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Selenium<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Vitamins A, B6, B12<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Riboflavin<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>From <strong>proven deficiencies<\/strong> are also more frequent for <strong>iodine and riboflavin<\/strong> in PB+.<br>Also worth noting: fewer saturated fatty acids exceeding the thresholds, but <strong>more for free sugars.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What are the nutritional factors involved?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The health benefits of the PB+ plan come from a combination of factors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Gender<\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Main mechanisms<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Women<\/td><td>Less processed meat, more nuts, lower blood cholesterol<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Men<\/td><td>More fruit, more fibre, less saturated fat<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What this means for those involved in nutrition<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. The moderate plant-based diet has been scientifically validated<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This food model presents <strong>significant benefits<\/strong> without going strictly vegan. It is <strong>adaptable, culturally acceptable<\/strong>, and rooted in real-life practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. Plant-based formulation = nutritional vigilance<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To avoid the shortcomings observed in PB+, it is crucial to :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Monitor the intake of <strong>vitamins B12, A, B6<\/strong>, <strong>iron<\/strong>, <strong>iodine<\/strong>, <strong>zinc<\/strong>, <strong>complete proteins<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Enrich, strengthen<\/strong> or intelligently combining plant sources<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. Balancing innovation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Brands can claim to be positioned on the basis of <strong>French research<\/strong> :<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cA sensible, scientifically validated plant-based diet that combines health benefits with nutritional safety\u201d.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The greening of food <strong>benefits public health<\/strong>, with a net positive impact on the main chronic diseases.<br>But it is not something to be taken lightly: <strong>there are nutritional deficiencies<\/strong>, and must guide the formulation and recommendations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Reference<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Pauline Mombert, Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Huneau, Juhui Wang, Jeanne-Marie Membr\u00e9, Fran\u00e7ois Mariotti. <em>Limited risks of nutrient deficiency and significant modelled health benefits of adherence to a moderate plant-based diet in French adults.<\/em> European Journal of Nutrition, Vol. 64, Article 200, June 2025.<a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00394-025-03714-w\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> DOI<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false},"class_list":["post-657","news","type-news","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutrimedia.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}