Direct link to the paper: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.numecd.2026.104631

Due to the limited number of RCTs with a pure diet only intervention, we decided to include studies with mixed interventions, for example, PBDPs paired with exercise prescriptions.

mixed variables - so its not just PBDP’s its PBDP’s plus exercise.

Studies were excluded if they were…an inappropriate control was used not an omnivorous diet

That was a interesting exclusion - So a non-plant based non-omnivorous diet, a zero-carb carnivore RCT? I wonder why that exclusion specifically

in PBDP (Plant Based Dietary Pattern) they include : Vegan, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, and “wholefood, plant-based” – which includes meats and seafoods.

… So this study is saying a whole food (plant or animal) eating pattern PLUS exercise shows lower inflammation markers then a standard processed food eating pattern & no-exercise… I mean, sure, yeah… no big shock there.

Significant differences between groups at baseline; median CRP was 10 mg/l lower in those on vegan diet than those on the reference diet.

Wait? What? How can a RCT have significantly different CRP levels at baseline? That means it wasn’t a RCT… Because if there was a vegan group before the trail, then they couldn’t get randomized into different interventions… Yet this paper says its a meta-analysis of RCTs…