Eating more plants instead of animal foods might slightly lower your risk of heart disease, but only if those plants are healthy—like vegetables and whole grains—not junk food like soda or fries.

People who eat more plants and less meat and dairy tend to have an 8% lower chance of getting heart disease, at least among U.S. health workers.

If you eat a lot of plant-based foods like white bread, soda, fries, and candy instead of healthy plants like vegetables and whole grains, you might be more likely to get heart disease—even if you don’t eat any meat. It’s not just about avoiding animal products; what kind of plants you eat matters.

If you eat a lot of plant-based foods like white bread, soda, fries, and candy, you might be more likely to get heart disease than people who don’t eat as much of these foods—even though they’re still plant-based.

Eating lots of healthy plants like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains is great for your heart—even if you also eat some fish, eggs, or dairy, your heart still gets most of the benefit from the plants, not from cutting out all animal foods.

Just because a diet is plant-based doesn’t mean it’s healthy — eating lots of veggies and nuts is good, but eating lots of sugary drinks and white bread is bad, even if they’re plant-based.