Vegetarian
Episodes
Dr. Rhonda Patrick reviews the evidence for nattokinase, how oat beta-glucans may aid with PFAS excretion, and HRT for APOE4 carriers.
In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick shares practical insights on protein intake, including timing, distribution, plant vs. animal sources, and health impacts.
In this clip, Dr. Luc van Loon discusses animal vs. plant proteins for muscle growth and the benefits of whey supplements.
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick reviews the evidence for nattokinase, how oat beta-glucans may aid with PFAS excretion, and HRT for APOE4 carriers.
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In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick shares practical insights on protein intake, including timing, distribution, plant vs. animal sources, and health impacts.
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In this clip, Dr. Luc van Loon discusses animal vs. plant proteins for muscle growth and the benefits of whey supplements.
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Protein is an essential component of a healthy eating pattern because it supports the growth, development, and maintenance of skeletal muscle. While animal-d...
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Protein is essential for building and maintaining muscles. Aiming for about 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (about 0.5 to 0.7 grams p...
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Meat – especially red meat – is perhaps one of the most polarizing topics in the nutrition world today. Some camps tout the benefits of eating an all-meat di...
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Dr. Levine shares personal habits she has developed to slow aging, including exercise, a plant-based diet, and time-restricted eating.
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In this clip, Rich Roll describes the events that led up to him becoming vegan.
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In this clip, Rich Roll describes how the development of his ultra-endurance racing career started after he switched to a plant-based diet.
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In this clip, Rich Roll and Dr. Rhonda Patrick discuss the dietary deficiencies common in vegan and non-vegan diets.
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In this clip, Rich Roll describes the features of his vegan diet and how he avoids any micronutrient deficiencies.
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In this clip, Rich Roll and Dr. Rhonda Patrick discuss how those on a vegan diet can determine whether they are getting enough omega-3 fatty acids.
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Dr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Rhonda Brain Vitamin C Immune System Magnesium Heat Stress Muscle Cold Stress Vitamin K Zinc Sulforaphane Sauna Vegetarian COVID-19 Cocoa LactateDr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Rhonda Exercise Cancer Sleep Omega-3 Probiotics Fasting Pregnancy Coffee Melatonin Sauna Vegetarian Time-Restricted Eating Breast Milk Senescence Metformin NAD+Dr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Rhonda Vitamin D Brain Alzheimer's Gut Microbiome Sleep Fasting Autophagy Sauna Vegetarian Weight Loss Supplements Ketogenic Diet Wearable Technology Blood TestDr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
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Rhonda Omega-3 Fasting Circadian Rhythm Mushroom Sugar Sauna Saturated Fat Vegetarian Protein Dairy NAD+ Cardiovascular SupplementsDr. Rhonda Patrick answers audience questions on various health, nutrition, and science topics in this Q&A session.
Topic Pages
News & Publications
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Healthier, plant-rich diets slow the accumulation of chronic illnesses in older adults, with up to 5% fewer new diseases per year. www.nature.com
What we eat may shape how we age as well as how many chronic illnesses we develop along the way. As the global population grows older, understanding how diet affects the risk of developing multiple long-term diseases is a pressing public health issue. A recent study found that older adults who followed healthy eating patterns were up to 5% less likely each year to accumulate additional chronic conditions than those with poorer diets.
Researchers monitored the health of more than 2,400 older adults in Sweden for about 15 years. They tracked the number and types of chronic diseases each person developed and assessed their diet quality using four distinct dietary patterns: the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, the Alternative Healthy Eating Index, the Alternative Mediterranean Diet, and the Empirical Dietary Inflammatory Index.
They found that people who followed healthier diets—especially those rich in plant-based foods and low in inflammatory components—accumulated chronic diseases more slowly over time. Those with the highest diet quality developed about 5% fewer new diseases per year compared to others, while those with the most inflammatory diets saw a similar increase in disease accumulation. These patterns were particularly robust for heart and brain-related conditions but did not hold for musculoskeletal diseases.
These findings suggest that better diet quality may slow the rate at which older adults develop multiple chronic illnesses.
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Infants born to mothers on strict vegetarian diets are 2.7 times more likely to be small for gestational age, weighing an average of 240 grams less at birth. www.sciencedirect.com
Strict vegetarian diets are gaining popularity, but concerns remain about their safety during pregnancy. A recent study found that pregnant women following strict vegetarian diets are 2.7 times more likely to have a small-for-gestational-age infant, with their newborns weighing an average of 240 grams (about half a pound) less at birth.
Researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of eight studies involving more than 72,000 participants. They examined key pregnancy outcomes, including birth weight, the risk of small-for-gestational-age infants, gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders, and gestational weight gain.
They found that pregnant women adhering to strict vegetarian diets were 2.7 times more likely to have a small-for-gestational-age infant compared to those consuming animal products. Their infants also weighed, on average, 240 grams (approximately half a pound) less at birth. While strict vegetarian diets were linked to lower gestational weight gain, they did not affect the risk of gestational diabetes or hypertensive disorders.
These findings suggest that without careful planning, strict vegetarian diets during pregnancy increase the risk of inadequate fetal growth. Ensuring sufficient intake of essential nutrients—such as vitamin B12, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, and iodine—through supplementation or fortified foods could help reduce this risk. Learn more about how to have a healthy pregnancy in Aliquot #100: Optimizing for a Healthy Pregnancy & Early Childhood.
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Vegans show prolonged side effects and slower healing following photodynamic therapy, demonstrating diet's influence on therapeutic outcomes. www.tandfonline.com
Photodynamic therapy is a widely used treatment for actinic keratoses—rough, scaly patches on the skin that may develop into cancer if not treated. Typically, complete skin healing after photodynamic therapy takes between five and ten days, but a recent study found that healing rates differ markedly between vegans and omnivores.
The study involved 60 patients (30 omnivores and 30 vegans) who were treated with photodynamic therapy for actinic keratosis. Researchers compared side effects using a local skin response score at three intervals: three days, seven days, and 30 days post-treatment. They also noted the time required for complete skin healing in both groups.
They found that vegans experienced higher total local skin response scores at each interval, indicating they had more severe side effects. On day three, vegans had considerably more swelling and blistering than omnivores. By day seven, they had more redness, peeling, swelling, and blistering. At thirty days, redness and peeling were still more noticeable in vegans. The time required for complete skin healing was notably longer for the vegan group.
These findings suggest that diet influences healing time following photodynamic therapy, with vegans being more prone to prolonged side effects and slower healing.
Photodynamic therapy involves the use of a photosensitizing agent (a drug that becomes activated by light) and a specific wavelength of light. When the photosensitizer is exposed to this light, it produces reactive oxygen species that can destroy targeted cells. It differs from photobiomodulation—often called red-light therapy—which uses low-intensity light to stimulate cellular processes and promote healing and pain relief. Learn more about photobiomodulation in our overview article.
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Plant-based meat substitutes show little effect on cardiometabolic health in people at risk for type 2 diabetes. www.sciencedirect.com
Plant-based meat substitutes are made from non-meat sources, such as legumes or wheat gluten. They typically mimic the sensory profile of meat products and are popular among those wishing to reduce their animal protein intake for ethical or health reasons. A recent study found that plant-based meat substitutes did not benefit cardiometabolic health in people at risk for type 2 diabetes.
The study involved 82 adults at risk for type 2 diabetes. Half of the participants ate an animal-based diet, while the others swapped out their usual animal-based foods for plant-based meat substitutes. Researchers assessed their blood lipids (triglycerides, LDL, HDL, and total cholesterol), glycemic control, insulin sensitivity, and blood pressure before and after the eight-week intervention.
They found that participants who ate the plant-based meat substitutes had higher fiber, sodium, and potassium intake than those who ate animal meat. Their blood lipids showed little improvement, but their diastolic blood pressure decreased, and their insulin sensitivity increased. However, those who ate the animal meat diet had better glycemic control than those on the plant-based diet.
These findings suggest that plant-based meat substitutes don’t improve cardiometabolic health in people at risk for type 2 diabetes. However, robust evidence demonstrates that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) profoundly affects cardiometabolic health. Learn more in this episode featuring Dr. Martin Gibala.
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Vegan diets linked to cardiovascular and metabolic benefits, with marked improvements in body weight, LDL cholesterol, and fasting insulin. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Plant-based dietary patterns are typically higher in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients than other dietary patterns. Consequently, they may confer health benefits that reduce the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. A recent study found that a vegan diet reduced body weight, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and fasting insulin in healthy adults.
To negate any genetic influences that diet might have on cardiometabolic fitness, researchers recruited 22 pairs of female twins to participate in the study. Within each twin pair, one twin followed a healthy vegan diet for eight weeks, and the other followed a healthy omnivorous diet. The researchers measured the twins' cardiometabolic markers before and after the intervention.
They found that compared to twins who ate an omnivorous diet, twins who followed a vegan diet experienced reduced body weight, LDL cholesterol, and fasting insulin. Participants following a vegan diet had a lower protein, dietary cholesterol, and vitamin B12 intake and a higher vegetable and dietary iron intake than those on the omnivorous diet. They also reported lower satisfaction with their dietary options.
The findings from this small study suggest that following a vegan diet confers cardiometabolic benefits in healthy young women, aligning with previous research demonstrating that vegan diets reduce the risk of cardiometabolic disease. They also underscore the considerable influence that diet has on cardiometabolic health. Learn how to avoid dietary deficiencies when following a vegan diet in this clip featuring Rich Roll.
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Vegan children have healthy hearts but have stunted growth and nutritional deficiencies. academic.oup.com
The prevalence of people who follow plant-based vegetarian and vegan diets is on the rise, for reasons including environmental sustainability, improved health, and concerns for animal welfare. The latest update to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans includes vegetarian and vegan options that meet all nutrient requirements; however, much of the research contributing to these recommendations was conducted in adults. A recent report describes the effect of plant-based diets on growth and cardiovascular disease risk factors in children.
Although cardiovascular disease is considered a disease of aging, risk factors in childhood, such as poor diet and sedentary lifestyle, may translate to earlier onset and increased severity of disease in adulthood. One review of observational studies reported that people who adhered to vegetarian and vegan diets had a reduced risk of ischemic heart disease and cancer than people who ate a mixed diet. However, vegetarian and vegan diets tend to provide less calcium and have been associated with an increased risk of fractures, a concern for growing children.
The researchers recruited families with children between the ages of five and ten years, who had a normal body mass index (between 18.5 and 29.9), and who followed a vegetarian or vegan diet. Then they recruited a group of age-matched children who consumed an omnivorous diet, with almost 200 participants total. The researchers collected data from the participants, including family health history and lifestyle, cardiometabolic markers, body composition, and arterial blood flow. The participants wore an activity monitor for two days and kept a food journal for four days to assess their habitual eating and activity habits.
Compared to children that consumed an omnivorous diet, children who ate a vegetarian or vegan diet had less fat mass but similar amounts of lean muscle mass. Vegetarian and vegan children also had lower bone mineral density, although this relationship was not significant in vegetarian children when taking height into account. Vegetarian children had lower total cholesterol, good HDL cholesterol, and serum vitamin B12 and vitamin D without sufficient supplementation. They also had higher glucose, bad VLDL cholesterol, and triglycerides, markers of poor cardiometabolic health. Vegan children were shorter and had lower total cholesterol, including good HDL and bad LDL cholesterol, and less inflammation, but were also more likely to have low iron and vitamin B12 levels without sufficient supplementation.
The authors concluded that vegan children had lower cardiovascular disease risk but had an increased risk of nutritional deficiencies, lower bone mineral density, and shorter height. Vegetarian children had less severe nutritional deficiencies but, unexpectedly, a less favorable cardiometabolic risk profile.
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Yoga increases the volume of a brain region involved in learning and memory and changes several brain regions involved in emotional regulation. www.sciencedaily.com
The benefits of physical activity, especially aerobic exercise such as running, swimming, or cycling, have positive effects on brain health and function. A recent review suggests that yoga has similar effects on the brain.
Yoga is an ancient Indian practice that engages the mind and body through physical poses, breathing techniques, and meditation. It incorporates aspects of mindfulness not commonly present in other forms of exercise.
The authors of the review focused on 11 cross-sectional, longitudinal, or intervention studies examining the effects of yoga on the brain’s structures, function, and blood flow based on MRI, functional MRI, and SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography). They found that yoga had beneficial effects on the hippocampus, amygdala, prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, and the default mode network. These areas of the brain play critical roles in memory processing, emotional control, and decision making.
The authors identified a few confounders in their review. People who practice yoga are more likely to be physically active, non-obese, and well-educated. They are also more likely to follow vegetarian or plant-based diets. These lifestyle behaviors have been shown to have beneficial effects on brain health.
Overall, however, the findings from this review suggest that exercise interventions like yoga may be a useful strategy to mitigate age-related changes within the brain associated with memory loss and cognitive decline.