CVD, Mortality Rates Lowered by Plant-Based Diet

Moderate intake of fruit, vegetables, and legumes is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular (CV) disease and mortality, according to a recent study. A higher intake of these foods was found to provide little additional benefit.

Findings were presented by Dr Andrew Mente on August 29, 2017, at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Barcelona, Spain.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
CVD Risk Highest Among Patients With Slightly High BP
CVD Risk Increased 6-Fold Following Pneumonia, Sepsis Hospitalization
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Although US and European dietary guidelines typically recommend consuming 400 to 800 g of fruits, vegetables, and legumes daily, this is often unaffordable for many people living in low- to middle-income countries worldwide.

To further explore the associations between fruit, vegetable, and legume consumption with the risk of CV disease in countries at different economic levels, Dr Mente and colleagues assessed the dietary habits of 135,335 individuals across 18 countries worldwide. Data was collected from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Patient ages ranged from 35 to 70 years. Follow-up lasted a median of 7.4 years.

Associations between baseline fruit, vegetable, and legume consumption and the risk of CV disease and mortality were evaluated at follow-up.

A total of 5796 patients had died, and 1649 patients had died from CV-related causes. Additionally, 4784 major CV disease events were recorded. After adjusting for demographic, lifestyle, health, and dietary factors, results of the study indicated that a greater consumption of fruit, vegetables, and legumes was associated with lower total mortality and non-CV mortality. The researchers also found that an intake of 3 to 4 servings (375-500 g) of fruit, vegetables, and legumes per day was equally beneficial to the rates of total mortality compared with a greater intake of these foods.

Ultimately, the consumption of fruits and legumes was associated with improved outcomes, while vegetable consumption was not significantly associated with improved outcomes. More than 3 servings of fruit per day was associated with an 18% lower risk of non-CV mortality and a 19% reduction in total mortality, and more than 1 serving of legumes per day was associated with an 18% reduction in non-CV mortality and a 26% reduction in total mortality.

“The findings of these studies are robust, globally applicable and provide evidence to inform nutrition policies,” the researchers concluded. “This is relevant because in some parts of the world nutritional inadequacy is a problem, whereas in other parts of the world nutritional excesses may be the problem.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Reassessing the benefits of plant-based eating (PURE) [press release]. Barcelona, Spain: European Society of Cardiology; August 29, 2017. https://www.escardio.org/The-ESC/Press-Office/Press-releases/reassessing-the-benefits-of-plant-based-eating-pure. Accessed August 29, 2017.