Vegetable diet cuts heart attack risk

Vegetable diet cuts heart attack risk
20 Apr 2008, 0333 hrs IST,Kounteya Sinha,TNN

NEW DELHI: A 24-year-long American study has offered the strongest evidence yet to show that a diet rich in vegetables, low on animal protein and moderate intake of low-fat dairy products cuts chances of heart attack in middle-aged women by nearly a quarter.

The study, which followed over 88,000 otherwise-healthy nurses, found that those who followed the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet —fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and plant-based protein — over meat had 24% less chances of suffering a heart attack and 18% less likely to have a stroke than women who consume more meat.

Women in the study were in their mid-30s to late 50s when the research began in 1980.
Reporting this finding in the latest edition of the journal "Archives of Internal Medicine", scientists from Simmons College, Boston, said that even though the study only followed women, men too would benefit equally by following a similar dietary regime.

The study’s lead author Teresa Fung said: "People might think they don’t have high blood pressure, so they don’t have to follow it. However, the results suggest that even healthy people should get on it."

Reacting to the study, senior cardiologist at Apollo hospital Dr Deepak Natarajan said: "Besides essential nutrients, food also produces bioactive compounds that improves health and protects against disease. A low cholesterol and high fibre diet, which includes at least six portions of vegetables and fruits a day, contain essential micro-nutrients and vitamins that produce antioxidants — substances that protect cells from the damage caused by unstable molecules known as free radicals. Antioxidants prevent advent of cancer and cardiovascular diseases."

Dr Natarajan added: "A recent study, examining the importance of heart disease risk factors, looked at more than 20,000 people in 52 countries and found that most Indians follow a non-vegetarian diet. Not only is the volume of vegetables consumed low, reheating of vegetarian dishes — a common practice among Indians — destroys the micro-nutrients. Indians, therefore, face heart attacks five years earlier than people in the West."

Designed to stop hypertension (high blood pressure), the DASH diet has previously been shown to reduce both systolic and diastolic BP levels — top and bottom numbers, respectively — in people with high or normal BP.

This BP-reducing diet has been linked to a reduction in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), commonly called bad cholesterol. To examine the association between the diet and cardiovascular health, the team analyzed 88,517 female nurses, none of whom had cardiovascular disease or diabetes in 1980.

On seven occasions between 1980 and 2004, participants in the study detailed the types of foods they ate frequently over the past year.

The researchers used eight food and nutrient components from the data to develop a DASH score for each woman. If women ate more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and legumes, then their DASH scores increased.
As participants ate more red and processed meats and sweetened beverages, their scores decreased.

After 24 years of follow-up, the researchers found that 2,129 women had a non-fatal heart attack, 976 died of coronary heart disease, and 2,317 had strokes. Women with higher DASH scores were found to have a reduced risk for heart disease and stroke.
kounteya.sinha@timesgroup.com