Diet and Heart Disease: Following a high-quality dietary pattern with heart-healthy foods can reduce the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in Asians.

‘Healthy eating can save you from heart disease. So, fuel your heart with high quality diets. #HeartDisease #heart_healthydiet #medindia #hearthealth’






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Heart Health Starts on Your Plate
Dietary patterns are usually categorized using predefined dietary quality indices that assess how well a person follows certain dietary guidelines. They can also be created using data-driven methods that analyze the eating habits of specific populations.Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are among the major leading causes of mortality in the world, with a significant number of premature heart disease deaths occurring in Asia. Previous reviews and meta-analyses on dietary patterns and cardiovascular disease have mostly relied on dietary quality indices based on data from non-Asian populations.
In recent years, many Asian countries have created their own dietary quality indices, such as the Japanese Food Guide Spinning Top and the Chinese Food Pagoda, which include details about foods unique to their local populations.
A new study examined the results of 41 studies to gain a clearer insight into how Asian dietary patterns affect heart disease risk.
The authors highlighted that this is the first meta-analysis to thoroughly examine how both non-Asian and Asian diet quality indices, as well as data-driven dietary patterns, are linked to cardiovascular disease risk in South, Southeast, and East Asian populations.
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To Stay Heart-Healthy: Power Up with Quality Diets
Foods were classified asHigh Quality Foods
- Fruits and vegetables
- Whole grains
- Healthy protein sources (legumes, nuts, low-fat dairy, fish, seafood and lean meats)
- Plant oils
Low Quality Foods
- Ultra-processed foods
- Beverages and foods with added sugar
- Foods high in salt
- Alcoholic beverages
Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Diseases in Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
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The study findings suggest that following a high-quality diet, whether based on non-Asian indices, Asian indices, or data-driven patterns, is consistently linked to lower cardiovascular disease risk in South, Southeast, and East Asian populations.
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Better Diets, Healthier Hearts
In general, these high-quality diets contain higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, low-fat dairy, fish, seafood, lean meats, and plant oils. Hence, eating high-quality diet keeps heart disease risk at bay.However, the authors noted that the associations between current Asian diet quality indices and cardiovascular disease risk were weaker compared to established non-Asian indices like the Alternative Healthy Eating Index and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.
As a result, the study authors suggest that Asian dietary guidelines and quality indices might need updating to better align with the latest recommendations for cardiovascular health.
Reference:
- Dietary Patterns and Cardiovascular Diseases in Asia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis - (https://advances.nutrition.org/article/S2161-8313(24)00083-8/fulltext)
Source-Medindia