Chronic kidney disease affects a remarkable 10% of adults globally. Emerging evidence is pointing to diet as a key way to reduce your risk. This new study adds to that evidence.
This study looked included 179,508 people. It wanted to see if adhering to the EAT-Lancet diet would affect the risk of chronic kidney disease.
The EAT-Lancet diet emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and unsaturated fats; it is low in seafood and poultry and includes little to no red meat, processed meat, refined grains and sugar. The plant-based diet has been shown to be associated with lower risk of diabetes, cancer and premature morality.
The study found that people who more closely follow the EAT-Lancet diet had a lower rate of chronic kidney disease. The plant-based diet reduced the risk by 18%.
This large study shows that the EAT-Lancet diet, with its emphasis on healthy plant-based foods, significantly lowers the risk of chronic kidney disease.
CMAJ. 2026 January 26;198:E73-83.