Medically reviewed by
Dacelin St Martin, MD
Triple board-certified in Sleep Medicine,
Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics.
A Summary of the Study: ERJ Open Research | How Does a Plant-Based Diet Improve OSA Symptoms? | What’s the Takeaway?
Overview
Health experts have always suggested that eating better and working out to lose weight can lower one’s chance of coming down with many illnesses, including obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
A new study supports that healthy eating is crucial to disease prevention.[1] It also reveals that switching to a plant-based diet may be a great idea to lower further the risk of getting OSA.
A Summary of the Study: ERJ Open Research
In a ground-breaking study published in ERJ Open Research, Australian scientists investigated the effects of a pro-vegetarian diet on OSA.[1]
The researchers collected dietary information from over 14,000 participants using the 24-hour recall approach, which requires respondents to provide precise information about all they had eaten (foods and drink) the previous day.
Subsequently, the participants were categorized and graded based on how healthy or unhealthy their diet was. They were also grouped into vegan, non-vegan, and semi-vegan groups based on how many plant-based foods they included.
Afterward, the researchers assessed each participant’s sleep apnea risk using the STOP-Bang questionnaire, which asks about OSA symptoms such as snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness, and breathing pauses during sleep.
The study’s findings revealed that people who stuck to plant-based diets were seventeen percent (17%) less likely to develop OSA than those who ate many animal-based meals.
More research showed that people who ate healthy plant-based foods had a lower chance than people who ate unhealthy plant-based foods. Examples of healthy pro-vegetarian foods include green vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts, legumes, etc. While refined grains, sugary beverages, and salted chips were classified as unhealthy foods.
Furthermore, the study found that plant-based diets appeared to lessen OSA risks differently in men and women.
Females had a higher chance of getting OSA when they ate unhealthy foods compared to men. According to the authors, these sex-based disparities call for further investigation.
A potential drawback the researchers considered was that some participants might not have correctly recalled their previous food consumption. So, the 24-hour recall data for dietary information might not genuinely represent the participants’ long-term food consumption patterns.
How Does a Plant-Based Diet Improve OSA Symptoms?
Although experts are still determining how a plant-based diet improves OSA, they have proposed several reasons that explain its benefits. One of the top reasons is that a plant-based diet significantly reduces obesity risk.
Many studies have shown that obesity is directly associated with an increased likelihood of developing obstructive sleep apnea.[3] So, weight loss caused by a pro-vegetarian diet can substantially reduce OSA risk.
Also, plant-based foods typically contain substantial amounts of vitamins and antioxidants.[2] These healing chemicals help reduce inflammation associated with OSA. Vegetarian diets are fiber-rich, improving gut health and stifling weight gain.[4]
Aside from influencing OSA risk, a plant-based diet can also lessen the likelihood of developing other health conditions like cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.[5]
What’s the Takeaway?
While adopting a strict plant-based diet is not imperative to eating healthily, experts recommend incorporating fruits and vegetables into your diet plans.
You can make small changes to your diet, such as eating more plant-based foods, rather than radically changing all at once. A vegetable-rich lunch once a day or eating more plant-based foods like beans, fruits, and whole grains are good places to start.
References:
- Melaku, Y. A., Zhao, L., Adams, R., & Eckert, D. J. (2024). Plant-based and vegetarian diets are associated with reduced obstructive sleep apnoea risk. ERJ Open Research, 10(2), 00739–02023. https://doi.org/10.1183/23120541.00739-2023
- Łuszczki, E., Boakye, F., Zielińska, M., Dereń, K., Bartosiewicz, A., Oleksy, Ł., & Stolarczyk, A. (2023). Vegan diet: nutritional components, implementation, and effects on adults’ health. Frontiers in Nutrition, 10, 1294497. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2023.1294497
- Wang, S. H., Keenan, B. T., Wiemken, A., Zang, Y., Staley, B., Sarwer, D. B., Torigian, D. A., Williams, N., Pack, A. I., & Schwab, R. J. (2020). Effect of Weight Loss on Upper Airway Anatomy and the Apnea-Hypopnea Index. The Importance of Tongue Fat. American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine, 201(6), 718–727. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.201903-0692OC
- Beam, A., Clinger, E., & Hao, L. (2021). Effect of Diet and Dietary Components on the Composition of the Gut Microbiota. Nutrients, 13(8), 2795. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13082795
- Landry, M. J., Ward, C. P., Cunanan, K. M., Durand, L. R., Perelman, D., Robinson, J. L., Hennings, T., Koh, L., Dant, C., Zeitlin, A., Ebel, E. R., Sonnenburg, E. D., Sonnenburg, J. L., & Gardner, C. D. (2023). Cardiometabolic effects of omnivorous vs vegan diets in identical twins: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Network Open, 6(11), e2344457. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.44457
