NEW YORK (Dispatches) -- According to Two studies, eating more nutritious, plant-based foods is heart-healthy at any age.
Researchers found that both young adults and postmenopausal women had fewer heart attacks and were less likely to develop cardiovascular disease when they ate more healthy plant foods.
An overall healthy dietary pattern that emphasizes a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, skinless poultry and fish, nuts and legumes and non-tropical vegetable oils is suggested by the American Heart Association Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations. It also advises limited consumption of saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, red meat, sweets and sugary drinks.
Yuni Choi, Ph.D., lead author and colleagues examined diet and the occurrence of heart disease in 4,946 adults enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Participants were 18- to 30-years-old at the time of enrollment (1985-1986) in this study and were free of cardiovascular disease at that time.
Participants who received higher scores ate a variety of beneficial foods, while people who had lower scores ate more adverse foods. Overall, higher values correspond to a nutritionally rich, plant-centered diet.