VEGANS AND VEGETARIANS are less likely to experience anxiety, a new study suggests.1 A team of Spanish and Belgian scientists compared mental health and cognitive outcomes for people with a range of diff erent dietary habits, and found that people on a plant-based diet showed a lower likelihood of being anxious. Anxiety is an ‘umbrella term’ which includes a range of conditions, and is thought to aff ect approximately eight per cent of the UK population.