• There is increased focus on consuming protective foods for disease prevention
• Study by Canadian institutions identified the foods key to better heart health
You need to eat an average of two to three servings of fruits and vegetables a day to reduce the chances of heart disease.
Eat more fruits, vegetables, legumes and fish to reduce risk of heart diseases and premature death, a study has shown.
A new study shows that not eating enough fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish and whole-fat dairy products is associated with higher cardiovascular disease and deaths globally.
The study was led by McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences researchers at the Population Research Health Institute (PHRI).
It was published in the European Heart Journal on July 6.
It found that not eating enough of six key foods in combination is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults.
Consuming fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish and whole-fat dairy products was seen as key to lowering the risk of CVDs, including heart attacks and strokes.
The study also found that a healthy diet can be achieved through consuming moderate amounts of whole grains or unprocessed meats.
Moderate amounts of fish and whole-fat dairy are associated with a lower risk of CVD and mortality, stated PHRI scientist Andrew Mente.
He is also an assistant professor at McMaster’s Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact.
“The same health outcomes can be achieved with moderate consumption of grains and meats – as long as they are unrefined whole grains and unprocessed meats,” Mente said.
“There is a recent increased focus on higher consumption of protective foods for disease prevention.
“Outside of larger amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, the researchers showed that moderation is key in the consumption of natural foods.”
The scientist said previous and similar research has focused on Western countries and diets that combined harmful, ultra-processed foods with nutrient-dense foods.
This research was global in scope and focused on foods commonly considered to be healthy.
The World Health Organisation estimates nearly 18 million people died from CVD in 2019, representing 32 per cent of all global deaths.
Of these deaths, 85 per cent were due to heart attacks and strokes.
PHRI researchers and their global collaborators analysed data from 245,000 people in 80 countries.
Researchers derived a diet score from PHRI’s ongoing, large-scale global Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (Pure) study.
They then replicated that in five independent studies to measure health outcomes in different world regions and in people with and without prior CVD.
Salim Yusuf, senior author and principal investigator of Pure, stated that previous diet scores tested the relationship of diet to CVD and death mainly in Western countries.
“But the Pure Healthy Diet Score included a good representation of high, middle and low-income countries,” Yusuf said.
Yusuf recommended an average daily intake of fruits and vegetables at two to three servings respectively.
Nuts at one serving and dairy at two servings.
“The score also includes three to four weekly servings of legumes and two to three weekly servings of fish,” he said.
"Possible substitutes included whole grains at one serving daily, and unprocessed red meat or poultry at one serving daily."