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Posted on Oct 21, 2008, 7 a.m.
By Rich Hurd
New research suggests that the typical Western diet accounts for approximately 30% of the risk of heart disease in a population, thus suggesting that swapping fried food for fruit and vegetables could cut the incidence of heart attack by a third.
New research suggests that the typical Western diet accounts for approximately 30% of the risk of heart disease in a population, thus suggesting that swapping fried food for fruit and vegetables could cut the incidence of heart attack by a third.
Salim Yusuf and colleagues conducted a study to investigate the association between dietary patterns and myocardial infarction. Using data obtained from participants in the worldwide INTERHEART Study, the researchers found that three major dietary patterns exist around the world: Oriental (high intake of tofu and soy and other sauces), Western (high in fried foods, salty snacks, eggs, and meat), and prudent (high in fruit and vegetables).
After adjusting for know risk factors, results showed that participants who ate a Prudent diet had a 30% lower risk of heart attack than participants who ate little or no fruit and vegetables. However, participants who ate a Western diet had a 35% greater risk of heart attack than participants who ate little or no fried foods or meat.
The Oriental diet was found to have no effect upon heart attack risk. The researchers believe that this is because some components of the Oriental diet are heart-friendly, but others are not, e.g. the high content of salt in soy sauces, thus canceling each other out.
Iqbal R, Anand S, Ounpuu S, Islam S, Zhang X, Rangarajan S, Chifamba J, Al-Hinai A, Keltai M, Yusuf S, on behalf of the INTERHEART Study Investigators. Dietary Patterns and the Risk of Acute Myocardial Infarction in 52 Countries. Results of the INTERHEART Study. Circulation 2008; doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.107.738716
