Could Plant-Based Diets Cut Healthcare Costs?
Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney
Could saving the healthcare system be one of the economic benefits of plant-based diets?
I don’t need to tell you that our healthcare system is in crisis. Costs are out of control. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that healthcare costs will account for 25% of the gross domestic product by 2025. They also predict that 47% of that spending will be financed by federal. State, and local governments. That is unsustainable.
Our politicians have no answer. Neither political party has a viable plan to cut costs. Perhaps it is time to take matters into our own hands. What if there were a way to improve our own health and the viability of our healthcare system? A recent study suggests there may be a way to accomplish both goals.
How Was The Study Done?
In a recent study (L. Annemans and J. Schepers, Nutrition, 48: 24-32, 2018 ) scientist at Ghent university in Belgium set out to investigate the effect on public health and healthcare costs if just 10% of the population of Belgium and England switched to a primarily plant-based diet. They started with two diets for which the health benefits have been well established by multiple studies. These diets are:
#1: A Soy-Containing Diet: This is defined as a diet in which soy protein foods were consumed in place of animal protein foods more than 5 times per week. The soy foods included in their study were soybeans, tofu, miso, soy protein drinks, and soy yoghurt.
The soy-containing diet was chosen because previous studies have shown it protects against obesity, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and breast, colon, stomach, lung, and prostate cancer. (Yes. In spite of the erroneous information you find on the internet, soy foods decrease cancer risk.)
#2: The Mediterranean Diet: This is defined as a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds and large amounts of olive oil. It includes a moderate to high consumption of fish and other seafood and a low intake of meat and dairy products.
The Mediterranean diet was chosen because previous studies have shown it protects against heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and breast cancer. I have documented these health benefits in more detail in my book “Slaying The Food Myths.”
This study did not look at the benefits of other plant-based diets. For example, as discussed in “Slaying The Food Myths,” the Seventh-Day Adventist studies have shown comparable health benefit for a variety of vegetarian diets.
This study looked at the prevalence of each of these diseases in Belgium and England and estimated what the effect would be if the prevalence of these diseases were reduced by the amounts reported in previous studies of soy-based and Mediterranean diets.
The study reported two outcomes: the increase in Quality of Life Years (QALYs) and the decrease in healthcare costs. Increased Quality of Life Years simply means the increase in disease-free years. That is the outcome most important to each of us personally. However, we should be equally interested in the decreased healthcare costs. The dollars our government spends on healthcare don’t grow on trees. They come out of our pockets.
Economic Benefits of Plant-Based Diets: Decreasing Healthcare Costs?
With that buildup, you are probably wondering what the outcome of the study was. The news was good:
If 10% of the population switched to a soy-based diet there would be:
- An increase of 154 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $1.9 billion/20 years in Belgium.
- An increase of 130 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $10.7 billion/20 years in England.
If 10% of the population switched to a Mediterranean diet there would be:
- An increase of 166 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $1.6 billion/20 years in Belgium.
- An increase of 116 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $7.4 billion/20 years in England.
[Note: In case you were wondering, the authors said the reason why plant-based diets had less of an effect on Quality of Life Years in England than in Belgium is because public health interventions have already significantly decreased the incidence of heart attack and stroke in England. Conversely, the reason healthcare savings are higher in England is because healthcare costs are higher there.]
Finally, if one were to extrapolate the British healthcare savings to the costs of the US healthcare system, one would predict:
- If 10% of the US population were to switch to a soy-based diet, healthcare savings might amount to $17 billion/20 years.
- If 10% of the US population were to switch to a Mediterranean diet, healthcare savings might amount to $12 billion/20 years.
The authors concluded: “The result of the present analysis suggests that both a soy-containing diet and the Mediterranean diet could contribute to health promotion because they are predicted to lead to substantial health benefits and societal savings.”
How Accurate Are These Estimates?
The benefits of soy-based and Mediterranean diets on which these estimates are based are very solid. The benefits are based on association studies, but the studies are very well done and are remarkably consistent.
The major weakness of these estimates is the benefits of these diets have been demonstrated in other parts of the world and are being extrapolated to a region of the world where neither of those diets are commonly followed. The authors tried very hard to control for all confounding variables, but the possibility remains that lifestyle differences unique to those geographic regions also contributed to the health benefits of soy-based and Mediterranean diets.
The authors acknowledged that some of the foods that are normally part of soy-based and Mediterranean diets were not as readily available in Belgium and England. They raised the possibility that something like the “New Nordic Diet”, which is also primarily plant-based but incorporates more familiar foods, might be equally effective. The equivalent diet in the US might be the DASH diet.
The economic benefits of plant-based diets may not depend so much on the diet, as long as it is plant-based and those foods are readily available.
The Bottom Line:
A recent study looked at the effect of a plant-based diet on Quality Of Life Years (disease free years) and healthcare costs in Belgium and England. The study estimated:
If 10% of the population switched to a soy-based diet there would be:
- An increase of 154 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $1.9 billion/20 years in Belgium.
- An increase of 130 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $10.7 billion/20 years in England.
If 10% of the population switched to a Mediterranean diet there would be:
- An increase of 166 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $1.6 billion/20 years in Belgium.
- An increase of 116 Quality of Life Years/1,000 people and a decrease in healthcare costs of $7.4 billion/20 years in England.
If one were to extrapolate the British healthcare savings to the costs of the US healthcare system, one would predict:
- If 10% of the US population were to switch to a soy-based diet, healthcare savings might amount to $17 billion/20 years.
- If 10% of the US population were to switch to a Mediterranean diet, healthcare savings might amount to $12 billion/20 years.
The authors concluded: “The result of the present analysis suggests that both a soy-containing diet and the Mediterranean diet could contribute to health promotion because they are predicted to lead to substantial health benefits and societal savings.”
For more details, read the article above:
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.