Researchers say that a combined intake of fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish and full-fat dairy products is important in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart attack and stroke, in adults. According to the study published in the European Heart Journal, a healthy diet can be achieved in a variety of ways, such as including moderate amounts of whole grains or unprocessed meats.
Researchers from the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) and their global collaborators analyzed data from 245,000 people in 80 countries from multiple studies.
“Previous dietary scores, including the EAT-Lancet Planetary Diet and the Mediterranean Diet, primarily tested the association of diet to CVD and death in Western countries. The PURE Healthy Diet score includes a good representation of high, middle and low income countries,” said Salim Yusuf, senior author and principal investigator of the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study.
According to the researchers, processed and ultra-processed foods containing nutrients and nutrients are believed to be protective for one’s health.
“Recently the focus has been on greater consumption of protective foods for disease prevention. In addition to large amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, the researchers showed that moderation in the consumption of natural foods is important,” said first author Andrew Mente, PHRI scientist and assistant professor in health research methods, evidence and effects.
The Pure Healthy Diet scores two to three times the recommended average daily intake of fruit; vegetables in two to three servings; Nuts per serving; and two servings of dairy, three to four weekly servings of legumes and two to three weekly servings of fish.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), nearly 18 million people died of CVD in 2019, which is 32 percent of all global deaths. 85 percent of these deaths were due to heart attack and stroke.