One Month Whole Food Plant-Based Nutrition Educational Program Lowers LDL, A1C, and Decreases Inflammatory Markers.

Abstract

Lifestyle-related chronic disease increases in the United States have led to the need for innovative programs targeting dietary choices. Based on growing evidence supporting whole food plant-based (WFPB) nutrition to improve overall health, we devised a one-month WFPB intervention program, Jumpstart Your Health! (JYH), to introduce and encourage adoption of the WFPB dietary lifestyle. This paper investigates its effects on various health indicators associated with cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Among the total of 150 participants, before and after physical measurements and blood chemistries demonstrate significant (p< 0.05) decreases in weight (-4.2 pounds), cholesterol (-25.3 mg/dl), LDL (-19.0 mg/dl), HDL (-5.6 mg/dl), hemoglobin A1c (-0.2%), and hsCRP (-1.9 mg/L). Among the high-risk participants, we found significant decreases in systolic blood pressure (-10 mmHg), diastolic blood pressure (-8.7 mmHg), weight (-4.3 pounds), cholesterol (-38.8 mg/dl), LDL (-22.7 mg/dl), HDL (-2.8 mg/dl), hemoglobin A1c (-0.2 %), and hsCRP (-2.3 mg/L). We demonstrate that a simple WFPB intervention implemented over one month resulted in significant reductions in physical measurements and blood chemistries that could translate to lowered risk or improvement for obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type-2 diabetes.