A new study found that Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduced the risk of heart disease by about 10% for eight weeks.
The DASH diet aims to lower blood pressure and includes many foods rich in potassium, calcium, and magnesium. In the study, the fruit and vegetable diet included more of the related foods, but apart from that it was not significantly different from the control diet. DASH also included more fruits and vegetables, but emphasized whole grains, lean proteins, nuts, and low-fat dairy while cutting fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sugar.
When the research team compared the datasets, they noted that both the DASH diet and the fruit and vegetable diet reduced participants’ 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease by about 10% overall. However, the effect was not the same for all demographic groups. The DASH approach to food more strongly lowered the 10-year risk estimates among women.
Source: Ferra
