Nutrients · 2 authors, 2 centres
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This cross-sectional study compared dietary acid load (DAL) scores among 224 healthy Venezuelans following different plant-based diets. The study found that vegan diets had the highest alkalizing potential, with substantially lower DAL scores than lacto-ovo-vegetarian and flexitarian diets.
This cross-sectional study examined the associations between three plant-based dietary patterns (flexitarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and vegan) and dietary acid load (DAL) metrics in a Venezuelan population. The study analyzed a sample of 224 healthy adults, finding statistically significant intergroup differences in DAL scores. Vegans exhibited the lowest DAL scores, indicating a strong alkalizing potential (PRAL_R score of -42.65 ± 11.35 mEq/d), followed by lacto-ovo-vegetarians and then flexitarians. The study suggests these differences may be influenced by higher potassium and magnesium intakes and lower protein intakes in the vegan group. A major limitation is the study's cross-sectional design, which precludes causal inferences. Other limitations include the lack of urinary acid load markers, no detailed protein quality analysis, and a small vegan subgroup (n=29). The findings provide a numeric understanding of DAL in a non-Western plant-based population, highlighting the need for future prospective studies with urinary measures and food group analyses.
