Women who adhered to the DASH diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension), which is high in fruits and vegetables and low in animal protein, significantly lowered their risk of coronary heart disease and stroke, according to a study published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers from Simmons College, Boston, followed more than 88,000 healthy women for almost 25 years. The study found that women in the top 20 percent of the DASH score were 24 percent less likely to have heart disease and 18 percent less likely to have a stroke than the women who scored in the bottom 20 percent of the DASH score.
After examining their food choices and looking at the incidence of heart attacks and strokes, the study found that diet has also been shown to reduce low-density lipoprotein ("bad") cholesterol and is recommended in national dietary guidelines as an example of a healthy eating pattern.
The DASH diet favors fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and plant-based protein over meat. Previous research has shown this kind of diet can help prevent high blood pressure and cholesterol, which both can lead to heart attacks.
Blood pressure is a measurement of the force exerted on the artery walls by the pumping blood. High blood pressure (hypertension) is the most significant known risk factor for stroke.
For a person with high blood pressure, blood pumps harder than it necessary, putting unnecessary strain on the vessels of the circulatory system. Every two in five U.S. women is at the risk of developing a cardiovascular disease as she reached 50 years of age.
Hypertension also contributes to other serious and potentially life-threatening conditions, including heart attack, heart failure and kidney disease. Untreated hypertension can also cause permanent eye damage.
Although the study only followed women, the researchers say men would also get similar benefits from the approach.
