Fruit and Vegetables Cut Heart Disease Risk, Says Study

The meta-analysis by scientists from France’s INSERM in Paris, Lille’s Pasteur Institute, and Rouen’s Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, pooled nine cohort studies giving an overall study population of 91,379 men, 129,701 women, and 5,007 coronary heart disease events.

Studies were included in the meta-analysis if they reported relative risks for coronary heart disease or mortality and if fruit and vegetable intake was quantitatively assessed.

The analysis, found that the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), conditions that cause of 20 per cent of deaths in the US and 17 per cent of deaths in Europe, was cut by four per cent for each additional fruit and vegetable portion consumed, and by seven per cent for fruit portion intake.

The link between the risk of CHD and vegetable intake however was mixed with a more beneficial relationship observed for general cardiovascular mortality (26 per cent risk reduction) than for the more specific fatal and nonfatal heart attacks (myocardial infarction) (five per cent).

“This meta-analysis of cohort studies shows that fruit and vegetable consumption is inversely associated with the risk of CHD,” concluded the reviewers.

“The causal mechanism of this association, however, remains to be demonstrated.”

The analysis has several strengths, including the well-defined inclusion criteria and the large sample population, but some limitations are inherent. The analysis is based on cohort studies that are observational by nature and therefore subject to errors. Also, no distinction could be made between different fruit and vegetables. Indeed, the researchers suggest that the calculated relative risks were “probably overestimated”.

the Journal of Nutrition (Vol. 136, pp. 2588-2593),

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DID YOU KNOW:
Do You Want Diabetes with Your Order of Fries? : Women who splurged on french fries just once a week were 21 percent more likely to get diabetes than those who ate none, in a 20-year Harvard School of Public Health study of 84,500 women. Eating five servings per week of any white potatoes, including mashed and baked, raised the risk by 14 percent over those who ate less than half a serving per week. Blame it on spuds’ high glycemic index, or GI; potatoes break down quickly in your stomach, creating a fast, steep blood sugar rise. Obese women were even more likely to get diabetes from high potato intake. If you’re overweight and/or sedentary, switch to sweet potatoes.