Plant Foods Linked to Lower CVD Risk

Two separate studies in the US suggested that plant-based foods were associated with lower risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in young adults andpostmenopausal women. One study included 4,946 adults, 18 to 30-years-old at the time of enrollment from 1985 to 1986; 2,509 Black and 2,437 white adults, 54.9% women overall. The quality of the participants diets was scored based on the A Priori Diet Quality Score. During 32 years of follow-up, 289 of the participants developed CVD. People who scored in the top 20% on the long-term diet quality score (meaning they ate the most nutritionally rich plant foods and fewer adversely rated animal products) were 52% less likely to develop CVD. In addition, between year 7 and 20 of the study when participants ages ranged from 25 to 50, those who improved their diet quality the most (eating more beneficial plant foods and fewer adversely rated animal products) were 61% less likely to develop subsequent CVD, in comparison to the participants whose diet quality declined the most during that time. The other study included 123,330 women between 50-79 years old (average age of 62) from 1993 to 1998, with an average follow-up time of 15.3 years. Compared to women who followed the Portfolio Diet less frequently, those with the closest alignment were 11% less likely to develop any type of CVD, 14% less likely to develop coronary heart disease and 17% less likely to develop heart failure. There was also a dose response in the study. The Portfolio Diet includes nuts; plant protein from soy, beans or tofu; viscous soluble fiber from oats, barley, okra, eggplant, oranges, apples and berries; plant sterols from enriched foods and monounsaturated fats found in olive and canola oil and avocadoes; along with limited consumption of saturated fats and dietary cholesterol. The findings provide a most reliable estimate for the diet-CVD relation to-date and highlight opportunities to lower CVD risk by encouraging people to consume more plant-based foods. Source: https://newsroom.heart.org/