The plant-based trend continues to grow globally.
Consumers are increasingly opting for animal-free options, taking the global plant-based market to $43.77bn (€37.7bn), with a projected CAGR of 9.95% over the next five years (Market Digits).
And this isn’t just about veganism. Vegetarians, flexitarians and omnivores are powering plant-based too.
Along with animal welfare and environmental concerns, one of the biggest motivators for plant-based adoption is health. And the positive health associations keep on coming.
Improved gut health, longevity, slowed cancer progression, and a reduced risk of cardiometabolic disorders are all helping to promote the plant-based lifestyle.
Now, a new study is linking a healthy plant-based diet with a reduced risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Reducing risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes
Heart disease and type 2 diabetes are two of the leading causes of death worldwide. But could eating more plant-based foods help to prevent both?
Researchers believe so. Or more specifically, they’ve identified a compound in plants that may help lower the risk of both.
The compound, phytosterol, is found naturally in foods including fruits, vegetables, nuts, and wholegrains, and has a structure similar to cholesterol.
According to the study, people who consumed more phytosterol had a significantly lower risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Those with higher intake also showed signs of improved blood sugar, reduced inflammation, and enhanced gut bacteria.
“Our findings support the dietary recommendation of adhering to healthy plant-based dietary patterns that are rich in vegetables, fruits, nuts and wholegrains,” says Dr Fenglei Wang, research associate at the Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health. “These findings can help people make informed dietary choices.”
Wang presented the findings at the American Society for Nutrition event, Nutrition 2025.
While previous research has shown that phytosterols can help to improve health by lowering low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or ‘bad’ cholesterol, they’ve primarily used doses of phytosterols that are higher than what could be obtained through diet alone. This new study is one of the first to show the benefits of phytosterols as part of a normal diet.
The research team analysed data from over 200,000 adults. All study participants were health professionals, and almost 80% were women.
During the 36-year study period, 20,000 participants were found to have developed type 2 diabetes, and nearly 16,000 developed heart disease.
Based on food-frequency questionnaires, researchers estimated each participant’s intake of total phytosterols and three individual phytosterols - β-sitosterol, campesterol, and stigmasterol.
Those in the top quintile for phytosterol intake were 9% less likely to develop heart disease and 8% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes, compared with those in the bottom quintile for phytosterol intake. Similar associations were observed for β-sitosterol, but not for campesterol or stigmasterol.
The researchers also analysed the metabolites (products of metabolism) present in blood samples from over 11,000 study participants and other metabolic biomarkers in blood samples from over 40,000 participants. They found that total phytosterol and β-sitosterol were associated with favourable metabolites and metabolic markers relevant to heart disease and diabetes, pointing to a possible mechanism behind the association.
“Our clinical biomarker and metabolomic results suggest the involvement of insulin activity, inflammation and the metabolism of metabolites associated with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease,” says Dr Wang. “This suggests that phytosterol might reduce risk by alleviating insulin resistance and inflammation.”
Finally, the researchers examined the makeup of the gut microbiome and associated enzymes in a subset of 465 study participants. They identified several microbial species and enzymes associated with higher phytosterol intake that may influence the production of metabolites associated with a lower risk of diseases.
“We found that the gut microbiome might play a role in the beneficial associations. Some species, such as Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, carry enzymes that could help degrade phytosterol, potentially influencing host metabolism,” says Wang.
The researchers highlighted that the study was observational and not designed to definitively confirm causation, but added that combining findings from epidemiological data, biomarkers, and microbiome data strengthens the evidence.
How could this impact the plant-based industry?
The plant-based industry is growing fast, and this new understanding of the potential benefits could well help to accelerate that growth.
Moreover, it could encourage food and beverage manufacturers to develop more plant-based products, which contain more fruits, vegetables, nuts and wholegrains.
