The protective effect of vegetable consumption on the heart may be limited to raw rather than cooked food, according to a major new analysis.
The different impacts of cooked and raw vegetables have been examined previously, with mixed results, according to the researchers.
Now it has been investigated using information from 399,586 men and women in the UK Biobank.
Raw and cooked vegetable intake was measured and cardiovascular disease diagnosis and death over the following 12 years were analysed, taking into account socioeconomic status, other health factors, and lifestyle. In this time, 18,052 major cardiovascular events and 4,406 cardiovascular deaths occurred.
Writing in *Frontiers in Nutrition* on Monday, the researchers, led by the UK Biobank’s chief scientist Professor Naomi Allen, write: "Raw vegetable intake was inversely associated with both cardiovascular incidence and mortality. Cooked vegetable intake was not."
The authors conclude: "This study suggests the need to reappraise the evidence on the burden of cardiovascular disease attributable to low vegetable intake in high-income populations."
Professor Allen stated: “Here we make use of the UK Biobank’s large sample size, long-term follow-up, and detailed information on social and lifestyle factors."
Co-author Dr Qi Feng added: “Our large study did not find evidence for a protective effect of vegetable intake on the occurrence of cardiovascular disease.
"Instead, our analyses show that the seemingly protective effect of vegetable intake against cardiovascular disease risk is very likely to be accounted for by bias from residual confounding factors, related to differences in socioeconomic situation and lifestyle.”
The team suggest that future studies should further examine whether particular types of vegetables or their method of preparation might affect the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Feng, Q. et al. Raw and cooked vegetable consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease: a study of 400,000 adults in UK Biobank. *Frontiers in Nutrition* 21 February 2022 doi: 10.3389/fnut.2022.831470
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