Health records from 68 adults link plant-based grocery support to lower blood pressure and weight

Providing people with nutritious foods can improve the management of chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. However, most studies of “Food Is Medicine” programs have only looked at their short-term impacts—on the scale of weeks to months.

A new study led by Mass General Brigham researchers shows that a longer-duration Food Is Medicine program through the Mass General Brigham Revere Community Health Center’s Food Pantry was associated with dose-dependent improvements in cardiometabolic health in adults. They found that patients who received weekly plant-based grocery packages for an average of 2.7 years showed dose-dependent reductions in diastolic blood pressure, body weight and body mass index (BMI). Results are published in Preventing Chronic Disease.

“Our results suggest that plant-based food interventions are promising and, in the future, should focus on longer durations for improving cardiovascular and metabolic health,” said senior author Lauren Fiechtner, M.D., MPH, division chief of pediatric gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition at Mass General Brigham for Children and senior health and research adviser at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

The study is closely tied to a longstanding collaboration between Mass General Brigham Revere Community Health Center and the Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), which has provided nearly 379,000 pounds (172,000 kilograms) of food to MGB Revere this year alone.

Researchers analyzed before-and-after health data from 68 adult participants who received an average of 97 plant-based grocery packages over the course of 2.7 years. The food packages were designed by a dietitian based on the USDA 2020 Dietary Guidelines and consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables, canned beans, nut butter and whole grains sourced from the GBFB and other food access organizations. Each package contained enough food for three meals per day for each household member for one week, and patients were invited to receive food packages weekly indefinitely.

Participants who received more food packages showed larger improvements. On average, researchers estimated that every 100 food packages received were associated with a 3.21 mmHg reduction in diastolic blood pressure, a 2.6 kg (5.7 pounds) reduction in weight and a 1.04 kg/m2 reduction in BMI. Among participants with elevated blood pressure at baseline, the program was also associated with reductions in systolic blood pressure. However, there were no significant improvements in hemoglobin A1c (a marker of insulin resistance and diabetes) across participants.

“This paper has the potential to change the conversation about Food Is Medicine interventions,” said first author Jacob Mirsky, M.D., MA, a primary care physician at Mass General Brigham Revere Community Health Center and the medical director for the Food Pantry. “We are boldly advocating for high-potency interventions that focus on frequent, high-quality, high-quantity food packages over long periods of time so that patients have the greatest chance of benefiting.”