A review of plant-based nutrition interventions on heart disease, obesity and diabetes : suggestions for an educational curriculum
Year: 2014
Type: dissertation
Study design: Systematic Review
Abstract: A whole foods, plant-based (WFPB) diet may be effective in preventing, halting and reversing chronic diseases.In this review, a WFPB diet is defined as a diet composed of whole, plant foods (vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds), ≤1 optional serving of animal foods per day and the avoidance of refined foods (refined gain products, sugar and vegetable oils) and no calorie or portion restriction is imposed.The nutritional composition of the diet is ≤15% of energy from fat; 70-80% of energy from carbohydrates and 10-15% of energy from protein.I aimed to analyze the intervention's nutrition education techniques and diet effectiveness, which was measured by changes in nutrient intake and clinical measurements, and the diet acceptability.It was sought to be determined if and which nutrition education techniques aided in nutrient and biomarker outcomes, as well as participant`s acceptability of a WFPB diet, for suggestions for a WFPB nutrition education curriculum.A systematic review was conducted for controlled trials utilizing a WFPB diet on coronary heart disease (CHD), type II diabetes (T2DM) and obesity for at least 12 weeks.The search yielded 6 studies.Results found a WFPB diet significantly reduced total fat to ≤15% of total energy, significantly reduced saturated fat, dietary cholesterol and protein and significantly increased carbohydrate and fiber intakes compared to controls.A WFPB diet was found to be highly effective in achieving weight-loss in individuals motivated to change their diet and effective in lowering serum cholesterol concentrations and reducing or eliminating antihypertensive and diabetes medications compared to controls.A WFPB diet was found to be as acceptable as the National Cholesterol Education Program's (NCEP) Step II Diet and the American Diabetes Association's (ADA) diabetes diet.When appropriately planned, a WFPB diet is nutritionally adequate.It was inconclusive which education techniques were meaningful in affecting outcomes and acceptability, however, all 6 interventions utilized weekly group support and most studies utilized individual support, differing food interactions and diet monitoring which are suggested to be components in any proceeding WFPB nutrition education curriculums.Additional randomized controlled trials (RCTs) using a WFPB diet need to be conducted with larger population sizes, especially in individuals with CHD.Nutrition interventions need to report the totality of their education techniques so future interventions have a replicable model for implementation.
Author: Trisha Mandes
Language: English
Topic: Nutritional Studies and Diet
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3096758687