Vegetables, nuts winners for heart health

Tues April 14th, 2009

A review of dozens of studies on the link between food and heart disease has given the thumbs up to the so-called Mediterranean diet, researchers reported last night.

Top of the list for heart health were vegetables, nuts and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as olive oil, all combining to create a so-called Mediterranean-style diet.

Foods such as trans-fatty acids and those with high levels of sugar were found to be harmful to heart health, according to the report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Researchers from the Population Health Research Institute in Canada also found some evidence of the protective effects of foods such as fish, whole grains, fruits and dietary vitamins E, C and beta carotene.

But they said the evidence showed it was doubtful that individual nutrients or foods would substantially protect against heart disease.

"The relationship between dietary factors and coronary heart disease has been a major focus of health research for almost half a century," the authors said.

But they said this was the first time the evidence had been systematically evaluated in one study.

The study encompassed 146 studies and 43 randomised controlled trials (where participants are randomly assigned to a dietary intervention or a control group).

Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(7):659-669.

Tags: Diet & Food | Heart Health | North America

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