Eating healthy foods may lower risk of cardiovascular disease

People who do not consume enough of six essential nutrients collectively have a higher chance of getting cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to research from Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University presented at the Population Research Health Institute (PHRI).

Fruits, vegetables, shellfish, legumes, nuts, whole-fat dairy products, and legume products all help lower the risk of CVD, which includes heart attacks and strokes. The study also found that there are other ways to keep up a healthy diet, such eating whole grains or unprocessed meat in moderation.

Studies that have come before and are relevant to this one have focused on Western societies and diets that combine nutrient-dense foods with harmful, highly processed meals. This study focused on typical healthy eating options and has a global reach.

According to the World Health Organisation, 32% of all fatalities worldwide in 2019 were attributable to CVD, which is estimated to have killed close to 18 million people.

Heart attacks and strokes accounted for 85% of these fatalities. Data from 245,000 persons in 80 countries were analysed by PHRI researchers and their international collaborators.

The findings were released on July 6 in the European Heart Journal. Researchers developed a diet score based on data from the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, an ongoing, extensive, global investigation carried out by the Public Health Research Institute, to quantify health outcomes in different geographic locations and in people with and without prior CVD.

According to the PURE Healthy Diet Score, an adult should have one serving of nuts, two servings of dairy, two to three servings of fruits and vegetables per day, as well as two to three servings of vegetables, fruits, and fruits.

The score also accounts for two to three portions of fish and three to four portions of beans per week. Potential alternatives were whole grains and unprocessed red meat or poultry, both consumed in one serving each day.