More Plants, Fewer Pills?

Does what you eat eventually impact the amount of medications you'll need when you’re older? Researchers investigated diets and medication amounts in 328 participants 60 years or older. Via questionnaires and measurements, the participants recounted what they ate, and the number of pills/medication they currently took. The results are published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine.

The study concluded that, due to the fact that a proper plant based diet consists of intaking more fiber and less saturated fat—which impacts blood pressure, weight, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar—it leads to less need for medications. In fact, in this study, a vegan diet lowered the number of pills by 58% compared to nonvegetarian diets. Also noted was that a higher body mass index related to taking a larger number of pills.

 

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Other Categories:

• diet

• geriatric pain management

• medication

• medication management

• polypharmacy

• rational polypharmacy