Inflammation
Lower CRP on plant-based diets
CRPLower on plant-based diets in reviews and trials
C-reactive protein, a standard inflammation marker, sits lower on vegetarian and vegan diets in both observational work and trials. Chronic low-grade inflammation is a common thread in heart disease, diabetes, and frailty. Inflammation drops when we choose not to harm or kill animals.
What the evidence says
The main points first. Every claim is tied to a source below.
Trials: plant-based diets lower CRP
A 2026 University of Warwick meta-analysis of randomized trials found plant-based diets cut C-reactive protein by about 1.13 mg/L versus omnivorous diets. CRP is a standard blood marker of background inflammation. This is trial data, not a food-frequency questionnaire.
Reviews keep finding lower CRP, fibrinogen, and white cells
Craddock’s systematic review found vegetarian-based patterns linked with lower CRP, fibrinogen, and total leukocyte count. Haghighatdoost found lower hs-CRP in people who had been vegetarian for at least two years. Duration showed up. A weekend of salad is not the study.
Vegans had the lowest hs-CRP in a head-to-head
Mrozik and colleagues compared vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores. Vegans had substantially lower hs-CRP than both other groups. IL-6 and white-cell counts were higher in omnivores. They also found that junk plant food does not deliver the same result. Beans, not vegan ice cream.
Red meat feeds TMAO — vegans barely make it
Koeth and colleagues at Cleveland Clinic: gut bacteria turn L-carnitine from red meat into TMAO, which promotes atherosclerosis. After a carnitine meal, omnivores produced much more TMAO than vegans and vegetarians. The meat-eater’s microbiome is trained on meat.
Sources
Papers and datasets. Caveats stay on the card — small samples and single animals included on purpose.
Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 2026 · Meta-analysis
Plant-based diets and CRP — meta-analysis of trials
University of Warwick team, 2026: first systematic review of randomized trials on plant-based patterns and CRP. 541 people. Plant-based diets (vegan, vegetarian, whole-food plant-based) cut CRP by about 1.13 mg/L versus omnivorous diets.
Advances in Nutrition, 2019 · Meta-analysis
Vegetarian patterns, CRP, fibrinogen, white cells
Craddock et al. systematic review and meta-analysis: vegetarian-based patterns associated with lower CRP, fibrinogen, and total leukocyte count. Inflammation markers, not just cholesterol.
Public Health Nutrition, 2017 · Meta-analysis
Vegetarian diet and hs-CRP — observational meta-analysis
Haghighatdoost et al.: people who followed a vegetarian diet for at least two years had lower high-sensitivity CRP than non-vegetarians. Duration mattered.
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018 · Observational
Adventists — lower CRP and IL-6, partly through BMI
Jaceldo-Siegl et al.: vegetarians had lower CRP and IL-6. BMI explained a share of that gap. Weight is one path. It is not the only story the inflammation papers tell.
Nutrients, 2025 · Observational
Vegans had the lowest hs-CRP in a three-diet comparison
Mrozik et al., 2025: vegans, vegetarians, omnivores. Vegans had substantially lower hs-CRP than both other groups. IL-6 and white-cell counts were higher in omnivores. Quality of the plants mattered — junk plant food is not the same plate.
Nature Medicine, 2013 · Clinical
Red meat, L-carnitine, and TMAO
Koeth et al., Nature Medicine: gut bacteria turn L-carnitine from red meat into TMAO, which promotes atherosclerosis. Vegans and vegetarians made far less TMAO after a carnitine meal than omnivores. The microbiome of a meat-eater handles meat differently.