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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Eat Fruit, Leafy Greens and other Vegetables to Prevent Heart Disease! Heart disease was mainly predominant in the western countries 25 to 30 years ago, yet it is now increasingly affecting people in developing countries as well. 80 percent of the patients who have heart disease today are in the low- to middle-income countries. This is partly due to the fact that more people in developing countries have switched to western diets too. A recent groundbreaking study, published on October 20, 2008 in “Circulation”, the journal of the American Heart Association, showed that around the world, diets that are rich in fried and salty foods increase heart attack risk, but eating lots of fruit, leafy greens and other vegetables reduces that risk. The so-called INTERHEART study analyzed the 16,000 heart attack patients and controls in countries on every continent between 1999 and 2003. These patients had been admitted to coronary care units in 262 centers around the world, and at least one control subject was assigned per patient. The main countries in the study were Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Colombia in South America; Canada and the United States in North America; Sweden in western Europe; Croatia, Poland and Russia for eastern Europe; and Dubai, Egypt, Iran, Kuwait and Qatar for the Middle East.
Other countries included in the study are Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe in sub-Saharan Africa; India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka in South Asia; the Philippines and Singapore in Southeast Asia. The patients and controls participated were asked to fill in a “dietary risk score” questionnaire based on 19 food groups containing both healthy and unhealthy items, and dietary preferences of each country taking part in the study were also included. People eating “Western Diet” had a 35 percent greater risk of having a heart attack than people who ate little or no fried foods or meat, regardless of where they live. “Western Diet” is one that is high in fried foods, salty snacks, eggs, and meat. Those who preferred “Prudent Diet” had a 30 percent lower risk of heart attack than those who consumed little or no fruit and vegetables. “Prudent Diet” refers to one that is rich in leafy green vegetables, other raw and cooked vegetables and fruits. Eating “Oriental Diet” had little impact on heart attack risk. “Oriental Diet” consists of foods like tofu and soy sauce and is consumed in Asian societies. Although protective properties such as vitamins and anti-oxidants can be found in “Oriental Diet”, items like soy sauce does have a high salt content that is bad for health. This study, according to the researchers, indicates that the relationships that are observed in western countries do similarly exist in different regions of the world.
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