Researchers have identified a set of blood proteins and metabolites that track how closely people follow the EAT-Lancet diet, a plant-forward eating pattern designed to support both human health and environmental sustainability. The study, published online in Communications Medicine on 26 September 2026, analysed 204,938 UK Biobank participants aged 40 to 69 who had completed at least one 24-hour dietary recall. The team, based mainly at the First Affiliated Hospital of the University of Science and Technology of China, screened plasma samples for markers associated with participants' diet scores. They derived one signature of 163 proteins and another of 37 metabolites, then tested both against 45 later health outcomes and against life expectancy. According to the paper, the blood signatures showed stronger associations with several chronic disease outcomes than the self-reported diet score did. News-Medical, which reported on the study, says the average follow-up was 14 years.
Why the markers may reflect more than diet
The paper states that the signatures "should be interpreted as baseline biological correlates and candidate intermediates rather than validated causal mechanisms or replacements for dietary assessment." News-Medical reports that illness developing before diagnosis, medication use or other health factors could shift the same blood markers. It also reports that people with the highest diet scores had about three months more modelled remaining life expectancy at age 45. The study is observational, the molecular profiles were measured only once, and the UK Biobank sample was predominantly White. The work was funded by Chinese national and hospital research grants, and the authors declared no competing interests.
What this means in practice
The study looked at whole diets and did not test any food supplement, so it offers no support for the idea that a product can reproduce the blood profile of a plant-forward diet. A three-month difference in modelled life expectancy is modest, and it comes from an observational cohort of mostly White, middle-aged UK volunteers. The authors present the markers as a complement to dietary questionnaires in research. Readers comparing what they spend on staying healthy can browse Perqen's full product catalogue.
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This article reports published news and research and is for information only. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet or medical care, and no product mentioned is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Speak to your GP or pharmacist before changing what you take, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or taking prescribed medicines.