Warding Off Heart Disease with Vegetables

The DASH diet, also known as Dietary Approaches to Stopping Hypertension, is well recognized for its ability to lower blood pressure. Even more important, there is evidence that eating fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, poultry, fish and nuts and cutting back on sugar and soft drinks can reduce the risk of heart disease. New research suggests such a diet may be especially helpful for African-Americans. The investigators estimate that for this group, a DASH-type diet would reduce the 10-year risk of heart disease by over 20 percent. That’s because it helps lower both blood pressure and cholesterol. Getting people to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables, however, remains a big challenge. The DASH diet calls for nine to eleven servings daily.
[Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, online Aug 31, 2010]