Research shows plant-based diet can help reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and mortality

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941733

 

 News Release 31-Jan-2022

New commentary in European Journal of Clinical Nutrition makes case for adopting ‘blue zone’ diet to stave off COVID-19
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine

 

As the Omicron variant continues to cause a record number of infections, a new commentary in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition is calling for people to adopt a plant-based diet, which research shows can help reduce the risk of severe COVID-19 and mortality.

“It represents the most cost-effective approach and should be largely promoted and incorporated in everyday practice,” write Hana Kahleova, MD, PhD, director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee, and Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee, about a plant-based diet in the commentary. “This is a booster that is needed at this unprecedented time and that may actually work to mitigate COVID-19.”

The doctors cite several studies showing the benefits of a plant-based diet for COVID-19. One study showed that a healthy plant-based diet was associated with a 9% lower risk of COVID-19 infection and a 41% lower risk of severe COVID-19. Another study found that health care workers following a plant-based diet who had substantial exposure to COVID-19 patients had a 73% lower risk of moderate-to-severe COVID-19.

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