For heart health, include more fruits, vegetables, and nuts in your diet
Photo: Evgenia GUSEVA
A long-term study of scientists was recently published in the authoritative European Heart Journal (Diet, cardiovascular disease and mortality in 80 countries | European Heart Journal | Oxford Academic (oup.com). 80 countries A quarter of a million people participated in the study.
For one thing, cardiologists haven’t discovered anything new: the more fruits, vegetables, and nuts in your diet, the healthier your heart will be. On the other hand, it means that we are moving in the right direction! And if you follow the recommendations of doctors, you look and we will live to be 100 years old. Of course, if you do not forget to sleep enough and move properly. By the way, doctors and science also constantly talk about this (here, for example, the latest study Scientists have shown: if you do not get enough sleep, then sports will not help – KP.RU).
Still, there are some interesting points in the new study. After all, scientists have very clearly indicated how much we should eat various types of food, if we really care about the cardiovascular system. In principle, “the healthiest diet for the heart”, according to scientists, is the quintessence of the Mediterranean diet, DASH (developed by American cardiologists) and the so-called Planetary Health diet, that is, a flexible diet for all living on Earth (created by Lancet experts) /
These are their main messages:
* 3 servings of vegetables every day. It can be pumpkin, bell pepper, green beans, onions, greens, eggplants, tomatoes – in general, to choose from. At least 300 grams (remark of the compilers of the diet: a serving is a glass of vegetables, half a glass of other vegetables).
* 2-3 servings of fruit every day. The most useful for the heart are bananas, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, oranges and seasonal berries. Only about 250 grams per day (diet compilers comment: a serving is 1 medium apple or banana, or pear, etc.).
* 2 servings of dairy a day. For example, yogurt or kefir and cottage cheese. Do not forget about cheese, especially young. It is perfect for salads (diet compilers comment: a serving is a glass of milk or yogurt or 30 grams of cheese).
* Once a day – nuts. Ideally walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pine nuts, pistachios, and pumpkin seeds. Necessary for the elasticity of the walls of blood vessels (remark of the compilers of the diet: one serving is about 30 grams).
* 3-4 times a week for dinner or lunch – a side dish of legumes (peas, beans, etc.). They normalize cholesterol levels. (Diet compilers comment: One serving is half a glass of cooked beans or lentils.)
* 2 times a week – fish. But not fried! Best steamed or cooked in a sleeve in the oven. And ideally – sea. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids reduce the risk of thrombosis and improve blood flow (comment from diet planners: one serving equals about 100 grams of fish).
But what about meat, you ask? Of course, you can’t go anywhere without meat, because it’s a complete protein, and you won’t get far on just peas and fish. But the creators of the “healthiest diet for the heart” recommend it as a minimum, that is, literally: 30 grams of poultry and 50 grams of red and white meat every day, or once every 2-3 days, but a whole part. But they still make discounts that one serving, that is, 100 grams of boiled (!) Meat per day, does not contradict a healthy diet.
Scientists have deduced that it is precisely this ratio of products from different groups that is built into the ideal BJU (protein-fat-carbohydrate) formula: 56% energy from carbohydrates, 27% fat (including 8.9% saturated and 15.0% unsaturated fat), 17.2% protein.
But at the same time, the WHO experts, and with them the experts of the Russian Ministry of Health, recommend a different combination for a good diet: in their opinion, at each meal, the ideal should be a combination of 3:3 :4. , that is, 30% protein, 30% fat and 40% carbohydrates. It is what meets the needs of a healthy body.
The truth, as always, is in the middle. But it’s definitely worth adding more seasonal fruits and vegetables to your plate when, if not now! And the heart will be healthier, and extra pounds will not stick.
