Evidence mapPaperPMID 40635898Full record

ArticleFrontiers in nutrition2025

Dietary acid load on the Mediterranean and a vegan diet: a secondary analysis of a randomized, cross-over trial.

Hana Kahleova, Cristina Maracine, Joseph Himmelfarb, Arathi Jayaraman, Tatiana Znayenko-Miller, Richard Holubkov, Neal D Barnard

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03698955 (A Randomized, Cross-Over Trial on the Effects of a Low-Fat Vegan Diet Versus a Mediterranean Diet on Body Weight), which is not on this map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT03698955 nacompletednot on this map

A Randomized, Cross-Over Trial on the Effects of a Low-Fat Vegan Diet Versus a Mediterranean Diet on Body Weight

TypeinterventionalSponsorPhysicians Committee for Responsible MedicineRan2018 to 2019Enrolled62ConditionsOverweight, Obesity, Insulin ResistanceArmsPlant-based diet, Mediterranean Diet
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Hana KahleovaPhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.
Cristina MaracinePhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.
Joseph HimmelfarbPhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.
Arathi JayaramanPhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.
Tatiana Znayenko-MillerPhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.
Richard HolubkovSchool of Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States.
Neal D BarnardPhysicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, DC, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Evidence suggests that changes in dietary acid load may influence body weight, and the purpose of this secondary analysis was to assess its role in the context of the Mediterranean and a vegan diet in overweight adults. Methods: In this randomized cross-over trial, 62 overweight adults were randomized to a Mediterranean or a low-fat vegan diet for 16-weeks, separated by a 4-week washout. Change in body weight was the primary outcome. Three-day dietary records were analyzed, and Potential Renal Acid Load (PRAL) and Net Endogenous Acid Production (NEAP) were calculated as markers of dietary acid load, and their relationship was tested with changes in body weight. Results: Compared with no change on the Mediterranean diet, PRAL and NEAP significantly decreased on the vegan diet; effect sizes: -25.8 (95% CI -34.1 to -17.5); Conclusion: These findings suggest that, compared with the Mediterranean diet, dietary acid load decreased significantly on the low-fat vegan diet and was associated with weight loss. The alkalizing effect of a vegan diet may be an independent mechanism by which a vegan diet promotes weight loss. Clinical trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/, identifier NCT03698955.

Indexed as

dietary acid loadMediterraneannutritionplant-basedvegan

Identifiers

PMID40635898
PMCPMC12237638

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.