Brigid TitgemeierBeingBrigid Functional Nutrition · Transforming Women's Health Using Food as Medicine

Plant Protein May Be the Secret to Healthy Aging with Dr. Dawn Mussallem

15 Oct 2026 · 1 min

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In this presentation, Dr. Dawn Mussallem discusses findings from the Nurses' Health Study, a 30‑year prospective cohort of roughly 48,000 women. The analysis examined lifestyle factors that contribute to healthy aging across physical, emotional, and cognitive domains. Protein intake emerged as a key predictor of better aging outcomes, regardless of source. Notably, plant‑based protein showed the strongest association, accounting for a 38% improvement in healthy‑aging metrics, while dairy contributed a 14% benefit and other animal proteins a 7% benefit. Dr. Mussallem emphasizes that the data highlight the advantage of plant protein but do not prescribe an exclusively plant‑based diet; rather, they suggest incorporating more plant protein to support healthy aging.

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One of my favorite studies ever published, it had about 48,000 women in it. It was from the Nurses' Health Study, and it looked at these women for 30 years. And the question they answered is, what is the path to healthy aging, basically, when it came to lifestyle? And protein was one of the things that just stood out. Protein mattered regardless of how you got it. Protein mattered. But guess what shined the most? It was plant protein, actually. So plant protein had 38% healthy aging from all domains. Physically, emotionally, and cognitively. This is really cool. Now, dairy had a 14% advantage, and animal protein otherwise had a 7% advantage. It doesn't mean that you should only eat plant protein. It just illuminates the fact that, okay, plant protein really does have a benefit. This doesn't mean that it has to be plant only though.