Eat Plants to Reduce Your Heart Failure Risk by 40%

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, affecting about 11.5% of the adult population. Despite its prevalence, it’s one of the more preventable chronic illnesses, with diet and lifestyle being key factors. What we eat is just as important as the number of calories we consume each day, and a diet that’s more plant-based could cut our heart failure risk by over 40%.

A recent study compared 5 different types of eating habits: plants, convenience, sweets, alcohol/salad and Southern. Researchers found people who ate plant-based diets had a 41% lower heart attack risk, while people who ate a Southern diet increased their heart attack risk to 72%. The findings reinforce current recommendations to eat diets high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and healthy oils. 

Startling Statistics

A recent study compared the dietary patterns of 16,068 men and women, breaking down 150 different foods the people regularly ate into 5 groups: plants, convenience, sweets, alcohol/salad and Southern. They then broke the participants into 5 diet groups:

• Plant-based diets, which are high in fiber and low in saturated fats.
• Diets high in convenience foods.
• Diets high in sweets.
• Diets that include high alcohol and salad consumption.
• The Southern diet, which includes high amounts of fried foods and meats.

The participants’ average age was 64, and 58.7% of them were women. Among the group, 34% lived in the “stroke belt,” a cluster of 8 states in the southeast United States where an unusually high number of people die of strokes. All were relatively healthy at the beginning of the study.

Researchers followed up about 8.7 years after the initial assessment, finding 363 participants had been hospitalized due to heart failure. The lowest number of hospitalizations went to the plant-based diet group, with a 41% reduced risk of heart attack. The highest number went to the Southern diet group, showing an increased heart attack risk of 72%. The other food groups didn’t appear to affect heart disease risks either way.

Healthy Choices

An analysis of the results suggests diets that increase your waistline are more likely to increase your heart disease risk. This coincides with long-established recommendations to keep both a healthy diet and a healthy weight. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends eating a varied diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, lean meats and healthy oils.

Heart disease might be the most common killer in America, but you don’t have to be one of its victims. Shifting your diet to include more plants and less meat is such a simple way to improve your odds, so why not give it a try? You can also decrease your heart disease risk by controlling your portion sizes, limiting foods cooked in saturated or trans fats, exercising at least 150 minutes each week and quitting smoking.