Older women who ate a healthy plant-based diet (with foods like fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, whole grains, vegetable oils, tea, and coffee) had a lower risk of frailty over 14 years, while those who ate an unhealthy plant-based diet (with foods like refined grains, potatoes, sweets and desserts, fruit juices, and sugar-sweetened drinks) or a diet with more animal foods had a higher risk.

Frailty was defined as having at least three of five criteria: fatigue, low strength, reduced aerobic capacity, unintentional weight loss, or at least five chronic illnesses like arthritis, cancer, depression, heart attack, hypertension, stroke, or type 2 diabetes.

What to do

This kind of study can’t prove that healthy plant foods cut the risk of frailty, but don’t assume that you need to eat meat to stay strong.

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