A study conducted at the Population Research Health Institute (PHRI) by researchers at Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University revealed that people who collectively do not consume enough of six key nutrients are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease (CVD). The danger is greater. Eating full-fat dairy products, seafood, legumes, nuts, fruits and vegetables helps reduce the risk of CVD, including heart attack and stroke.
The study also suggested that there are other strategies for maintaining a healthy diet, such as consuming less unprocessed meat or whole grains. Previous and related studies have focused on Western countries and diets that mix unhealthy, highly processed foods with nutrient-rich foods. Global in scope, this study focused on general healthy food choices.
The World Health Organization estimates that about 18 million people died from CVD in 2019, accounting for 32 percent of all global deaths. 85 percent of these deaths were due to heart attack and stroke. PHRI researchers and their global collaborators analyzed data from over 245,000 people in 80 countries from multiple studies. The results were published July 6 in the European Heart Journal.
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The researchers derived a dietary score from PHRI’s ongoing, large-scale global Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study, then applied it to measure health outcomes in different regions of the world and in people with and without prior CVD. repeated in five independent 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, PURE’s senior author and principal investigator. In addition to being truly global, the Pure Healthy Diet Score focuses specifically on the protective. Or natural, foods.
“We were unique in that focus. Other diets combine foods considered harmful — such as processed and ultra-processed foods — along with foods and nutrients believed to be protective for one’s health.” ,” said PHRI scientist and first author Andrew Mente. Assistant Professor in McMaster’s Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Effects.
“Recently the focus has been on increased consumption of protective foods for disease prevention. In addition to large amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, researchers have shown that moderation in the consumption of natural foods is important.”
“Moderate amounts of fish and full-fat dairy products are associated with a lower risk of CVD and mortality. Similar health outcomes can be achieved with moderate intake of grains and meats—as long as they are unrefined whole grains and unprocessed meats.” ”
The Pure Healthy Diet score recommends an average daily intake of: Fruit in two to three servings; vegetables in two to three servings; Nuts per serving; and dairy in two servings. The score also includes three to four weekly servings of legumes and two to three weekly servings of fish. Possible options include one serving per day of whole grains and one serving per day of unprocessed red meat or poultry.