Plant-based proteins have major health advantages over animal-based proteins, according to a New England Journal of Medicine letter to the editor by Neal D. Barnard, MD, published Aug. 1, 2024. New findings show that all plants contain all essential amino acids, in contrast to the common but mistaken belief that plants lack one or more amino acids. Of the 20 amino acids that are the building blocks of protein, nine cannot be produced by the human body. All are found in plant sources.
“In addition, plant-based proteins are associated with reduced mortality compared with animal proteins,” says Dr. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit public health advocacy organization, and adjunct professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. “A major Harvard study showed that when plant-based proteins are consumed instead of protein from beef, poultry, fish, dairy products, or eggs, mortality is reduced.”
People drawing their nutrition from plant-based diets enjoy a reduced risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer. Even so, people on any diet should pay attention to their need for vitamin B12 and other nutrients.
The letter was published in response to a New England Journal of Medicine article introducing a new series on nutrition. “Many people are now shifting to plant-based diets, and their nutrition improves in the process,” Dr. Barnard says.
