6 ways a vegan diet can support healthy ageing

Most of us don’t like the idea of ageing; we’d like to stay young and vibrant for as long as we can. Although ageing is inevitable, and does come with unique challenges, many of the downsides of our advancing years are not set in stone and often have more to do with diet and lifestyle choices than anything else. With that in mind, here are six ways a plant-based diet can help extend our health span and support healthy ageing:

1. Stay sharp

Keeping our brain cells healthy is a concern for many of us as we age, and following a plant-based diet is one of the many ways we can ensure we stay sharp in older age. A group of phytonutrients called carotenoids have been shown to benefit cognition. Carotenoids include lutein, found in dark leafy green vegetables such as kale and spinach, and beta-carotene, found in carrots.

Flavonoids are another group of natural compounds found only in plants which may help our brain. They are found in their greatest concentration in fruits and vegetables of the brightest colours, such as blueberries and strawberries. Coffee and tea have also been shown to protect against cognitive decline and disorders. For coffee, 2.5 cups a day showed the most benefit whereas for tea, the risk decreased by 11 per cent with each additional cup (within the observed ranges of up to around five to six cups a day).

In addition to these wholesome foods, vegans, and everyone over the age of 60, needs to take a vitamin B12 supplement.

2. Healthy heart for life

A huge advantage of choosing a vegan diet over an animal-based one, is the benefit it brings to our cardiovascular system. Although most heart attacks happen over the age of 65, heart disease develops over a lifetime.

By following a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol but high in fibre, antioxidants and phytochemicals, we can dramatically reduce our risk of suffering from a cardiovascular incident in later life. A 2024 umbrella review of systematic reviews concluded that vegan diets were associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and death from heart disease, and lower triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, inflammatory markers, blood pressure and body mass index. Pretty conclusive!

3. Strong defences

As we age, our immune system becomes weaker making us more susceptible to colds, flu and other infections. However, the food we eat plays a huge part in maintaining an effective immune system – so if we eat wisely we can give ourselves the best chance to avoid illness or recover quickly when sickness strikes. A vegan diet supports the immune system by providing essential vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. A 2024 study found that switching participants to a vegan diet “had a significant impact on the innate immune system, including upregulation of pathways associated with antiviral immunity.”

What’s more, between 70 and 80 per cent of our immune cells are found in our gut microbiome and research suggests that “switching to a plant-based diet may help increase the diversity of health-promoting bacteria in the gut.”

4. Extinguish inflammation

Ageing is often associated with increased inflammation in the body, and this process has been coined “inflamm-ageing.” However, it has also been shown that inflammation doesn’t always lead to poor health outcomes in later life – the environment in which we live, and the lifestyle we adopt, also play key roles.

One important aspect of lifestyle is the diet we follow. A 2020 systematic review found that vegans had lower levels of C-reactive protein (a sign of inflammation). Since then, more studies have found correlations between vegan diets and reduced inflammation, including one in 2025 that found vegans had lower levels of many inflammatory markers compared to omnivores and vegetarians, and those who ate more healthful plant-based foods had the lowest levels of inflammation. Find out how to eat to beat inflammation here.

5. Reduce risk of cancer

One of the most feared illnesses that often rears its head in later life is cancer. Thankfully, the research shows changing your diet may help lower the risk. A large UK study on diet and cancer found that compared to meat-eaters, cancer incidence was 12 per cent lower in fish-eaters, 11 per cent lower in vegetarians but 19 per cent lower in vegans. A 2022 review found that plant-based diets may help reduce the risk of some specific cancers, including colorectal cancer and breast cancer, and may help reduce overall cancer risk. An even more recent meta-analysis looking at the link between plant-based diets and all causes of mortality came to the same conclusion, finding that not only does following a vegan diet reduce the risk of developing cancer but also decreases the chances of dying from the disease.

It has been suggested that the reduced risk of cancer is not only because vegans are refraining from consuming carcinogenic animal-based foods, such as processed red meat, but they are also consuming more wholegrains and fibre, fruits and vegetables, and legumes such as soya.

6. Maintain a healthy weight

For most people, our metabolism significantly slows down after we hit 60. A slower metabolism, when combined with a more sedentary, less active lifestyle, will likely lead to weight gain. Unfortunately, being overweight can increase the risk of many chronic diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer and dementia. Therefore, it’s important to maintain a healthy weight throughout our life to minimise the risk of these diseases and so we enter older age on the best footing. Thankfully, a plant-based diet has been shown to help lose excess weight and maintain a healthy weight. A 2020 systematic review examining the effects of plant-based diets on weight, concluded that:

“… a shift to a plant-based diet may have beneficial health effects on body weight and BMI in individuals with overweight, T2DM [type 2 diabetes], cardiovascular risk/disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The weight reduction can be explained by an increased intake of fibre, polyunsaturated fats and plant proteins, including a reduced intake of energy, saturated fats and animal proteins.”

A healthy vegan diet, alongside other strategies such as exercise and social connection, is a great way we can support healthy ageing, maximising our health span so we can get the most out of our years on the planet. Although we cannot avoid all the setbacks life throws at us, and a plant-based diet doesn’t make us invincible, it does reduce the risk of many chronic diseases and puts us in a strong position when we encounter health problems.