Not eating enough of these six foods is associated with higher cardiovascular disease and deaths globally.
A study published in the European Heart Journal that was global in scope, led by McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences researchers at the Population Research Health Institute (PHRI), has found that not eating enough of certain foods in combination appears to be associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in adults located in high, middle, and low-income countries. Specifically, consuming these six foods was found to be the key to lowering the risk of CVD, including heart attacks and strokes:
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Legumes
- Nuts
- Fish
- Whole-fat dairy products
The researchers and their global collaborators analyzed data from 245,000 people in 80 countries from multiple studies. A diet score was derived from PHRI’s ongoing, large-scale global Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, and was then replicated in five independent studies to measure health outcomes in different world regions and in people with and without prior heart disease. The PURE Healthy Diet Score recommends an average daily intake of:
- fruits at two to three servings;
- vegetables at two to three servings; nuts at one serving;
- and dairy at two servings; and notably,
- the score also includes three to four weekly servings of legumes and two to three weekly servings of fish.
References
https://academic.oup.com/eurheartj/article/44/28/2560/7192512
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
