When your grandmother urged you to eat your vegetables, she had your health at heart. She might not have known why, but scientists have confirmed that people who eat about a cup of dark green leafy veggies daily have slightly but significantly lower blood pressure. This research demonstrate followed more than 50,000 Danes for over 20 years (European Journal of Epidemiology, April 21, 2021). It demonstrated that a diet rich in vegetables could help ward off heart failure as well as heart disease and stroke. While guidelines for the DASH diet (see below) call for multiple servings of veggies, the Danes benefited from just one cup of greens a day.
What Did the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study Show?
The study volunteers did not have any cardiovascular disease when the study started. They all filled out detailed dietary questionnaires. Using these data and a vegetable nitrate database, the scientists calculated daily vegetable nitrate consumption.
Compared to those who ate the fewest vegetables, those who got about 60 mg of nitrates from vegetables every day were 15 percent less likely to develop heart disease, stroke, heart failure or peripheral artery disease. To get that much vegetable nitrate, all one needs is about a cup of spinach, beet greens or beet root, bok choy, arugula, leaf lettuce, parsley or fennel. That comes out to about half a cup of cooked vegetables. Scarfing down even more leafy greens did not improve the outlook, which seemed to plateau at 60 mg.
Do Veggie Lovers Have Lower Stress?
Some of the same researchers have also reported a different benefit for veggie lovers. A study of middle-aged Australians revealed that those who reported the highest intake of vegetables and fruits also reported the lowest levels of perceived stress in their lives (Clinical Nutrition, April 15, 2021). Although this research can’t establish cause and effect, the benefits of eating vegetables are many, and the downsides are few. One potential drawback for overachievers in the veggie-eating department: kidney stones. Many dark green leafies, like spinach, are rich in oxalates. Consistently consuming more than a cup of raw vegetable a day could predispose a vulnerable individual to kidney stones, a very painful complication. So it makes sense to stick to a cup, or to vary the vegetables as you would when following the DASH diet.
What Is the DASH Diet?
Many studies have shown that the DASH diet can help people lower their blood pressure. Researchers have found that individuals who follow DASH diet guidelines also reduce their risk of developing heart failure (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, May 10, 2019).
DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. This eating plan is rich in vegetables, fruit and low-fat dairy products. People following it eat nuts and legumes (beans and peas) regularly and rarely consume red meat or desserts. Sugar-sweetened beverages and alcohol are off limits on this diet. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute offers its guidelines for a DASH diet here. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics discusses the DASH diet plan here. Finally, the T. H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard University offers its review here.
Can More Vegetables Really Ward Off Heart Failure?
One study included nearly 4,500 participants of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. These individuals were under 75 years of age and they answered detailed questionnaires about their usual diets. During approximately 15 years of follow-up, the scientists noted which volunteers were diagnosed with heart failure. Those who followed DASH guidelines most closely were 60 percent less likely to have such a diagnosis compared to those whose usual diets were least compatible with this approach.
The study is observational, so scientists can’t claim that a DASH diet will infallibly ward off heart failure. However, this is not the first research to point in this direction. A review published a few years ago suggested that a DASH diet “may be optimal for patients with HF [heart failure]” (Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, Mar-Apr. 2016). Other reviews have reached similar conclusions (Nutrients, June 26, 2018). However, most of the scientists say they cannot draw clear conclusions without randomized controlled trials (Heart Failure Reviews, March 28, 2019).
Drinking Coffee Is OK:
Exercise and other components of a healthy lifestyle can also help ward off heart failure. Surprisingly, people who consume coffee regularly lower their likelihood of this complication. An analysis of five studies with 140,000 participants found that those who drank approximately two cups of coffee daily were 11 percent less likely to develop heart failure than those who forgo their morning joe (Circulation: Heart Failure, July 2012). People who already have heart failure–that includes 5.8 million Americans–are often warned to avoid coffee. Despite that, the researchers say this study shows moderation makes more sense.
Learn More:
If you would like more details on following a DASH diet, you will find them in our book, The People’s Pharmacy Quick & Handy Home Remedies. Following the diet should help you lower your blood pressure and control your blood sugar as well as ward off heart failure.
