A major study published in a leading scientific journal has concluded that living a vegan lifestyle is likely to prolong your life.

The health benefits of veganism has been well-known for years. A plant-based diet is often rich in nutrients, can protect against certain cancers and lowers the chance of blood disease.

And a new landmark study has looked into how various biomarkers, which are linked to how long we live, are affected by a vegan diet.

The study published in The Journal of Nutrition analysed 840 people on a wide range of diets including vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian and full-on meat eaters.

Study

It found the vegan group had significantly more antioxidants in their bodies – likely because they are found in many fruit in vegetables.

Through blood, urine and fat samples the experiments also studied saturated fat, unsaturated fat and vitamins levels.

Vegans had the highest level of the antioxidant carotenoids, as well as isoflavones which reduce inflammation and therefore protect against cancer.

Nutrients

One widely used argument against a vegan diet is that is will leave people short on nutrients – such as healthy Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fish.

But it’s there are plenty of plant-based sources of Omega-3, such as chia seeds and walnuts.

And surprise, surprise – vegans also boasted the highest levels of Omega-3s of any of the groups studied.

‘Disease prevention’

To round off the study, the authors wrote: “In conclusion, we report significant and overall favorable differences in several biomarkers associated with nutrient intake, including carotenoids, isoflavones, enterolactone, and various fatty acids in vegetarians, particularly vegans compared to non-vegetarians.

“Our findings also provide some validation of the dietary patterns represented in the AHS-2 cohort, and may help to elucidate the significance of diet-related biomarkers in disease prevention.”

• Read: Eating plant based may help prevent Type 2 Diabetes

What do you think of this study? Tell us in the comments section below!

Oli Gross

Oli’s career and personal ethical values both help shape his reporting of the diverse world of veganism. His background is in local newspaper and magazine journalism, and his work has included reporting court cases, celebrity interviews, business analysis, food and drink features and government legislation.

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