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This is the diet that could save your heart
To keep all of the organs in your body working, your heart muscle must work tirelessly.
Unfortunately, as you age, your chance of heart failure goes up significantly. And, as it fails, it stops pumping the needed blood to those organs, leading to damage.
Experts estimate that heart failure already affects more than 5.7 million adults – a number that is expected to rise. This is an especially frightening statistic since doctors consider the condition especially difficult to treat and patients can experience extreme disability thanks to the problems that come with it including:
- Extreme fatigue
- Cognitive impairment
- Dizziness
Luckily, there is a diet that can support your heart, lower your risk and stave off heart failure.
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The only diet shown to protect
A study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that looked at the association between five different diets and the risk of heart failure.
The researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health studied over 16,600 people and categorized them based on the diets, which were classified as:
- Convenience – Heavily meat dishes, pasta, Mexican dishes, pizza, and fast food
- Plant-based – Vegetables, fruit, beans, and fish
- Sweets/fats – Heavy on desserts, bread, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate, and other sugar
- Southern – Heavy on fried food, processed meats, eggs, added fats, and sugar-sweetened beverages
- Alcohol/salads – Heavy on wine, liquor, beer, leafy greens, and salad dressing
And, after following up for an average of almost nine years, they found that people who most closely followed a plant-based diet were at a whopping 41 percent lower risk of heart failure!
Plant-based diets are associated with a lower risk of heart failure in adults without known heart disease, while Southern diets consisting of more fried and processed foods and sweetened drinks are associated with greater risk, according to a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology that looked at the association between five dietary patterns and risk of heart failure.
On the other hand, people that most closely followed that Southern diet had a 72 percent higher risk of heart failure hospitalization. However, when the Southern diet was adjusted for BMI, waist circumference, hypertension, problems with cholesterol and other factors, the association was no longer statistically significant. In other words, the Southern diet is more likely to cause obesity and excess fat around your middle and that is what causes the increased heart failure risk.
None of the other diets showed an association to the risk of heart failure, either positive or negative.
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Heart Failure Prevention
So, if you want to avoid heart failure as you age, eating a diet that focuses on fresh fruits, veggies, beans, and fish could be key. If you had to stick to choose and give it a name, well, it sounds like the Mediterranean diet would be pretty darn close.
Other heart failure prevention tips include:
- Adding beetroot juice to your diet
- Losing the extra pounds that put a strain on your heart
- Eating a serving of nuts at least three times per week
- Protecting your heart with garlic oil
Also, be sure to check out the natural supplements recommended for better heart function by Dr. Michael Cutler, a board-certified family physician with more than 20 years of experience since every step you take to protect your heart today could change your future for the better.
Editor’s note: While you’re doing all the right things to protect your brain as you age, make sure you don’t make the mistake 38 million Americans do every day — by taking a drug that robs them of an essential brain nutrient! Click here to discover the truth about the Cholesterol Super-Brain!
Sources:
- Plant-based diets can be effective in reducing heart failure risk — EurekAlert!
- What’s to know about congestive heart failure? — Medical News Today
- Keep your heart from failing — Easy Health Options®
- AFIB and heart failure protection you can snack on — Easy Health Options®
By Dr. Adria Schmedthorst
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