Death and Diet Dos and Don’ts

Nearly half of heart disease-related deaths are associated with eating or drinking certain foods, according to survey analyses reported in the March issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers looked at the diets of 702,308 people whose deaths in 2012 were due to heart disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes—putting them in the category of cardiometabolic deaths. The study focused on consumption of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains, unprocessed red meats, processed meats, sugar-sweetened beverages, polyunsaturated fats, seafood omega-3 fats and sodium.

The data showed that 318,656, or almost half, of the deaths were related to diet.