The best diet for the heart and arteries, and more, is that which follows the dictates of the Mediterranean diet. Fruits, vegetables, whole foods, fish, extra virgin olive oil, nuts, just to name a few ingredients of our grandparents’ diet. Having made this clarification, it is worth underlining the results of a research that appeared on the Journal of American Heart Association, coordinated by Ying Li of Harbin University, in China, which tried to go beyond these general rules, focusing not so much on nutrition as a whole, but on the timing of intake of specific foods, or to consider dietary patterns in the context of different meals .
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The results certainly make us reflect: if you consume snacks rich in starch (in practice, the experts speak of derivatives of white potatoes, the classic “chips”) after each meal there is an increase in the risk of death linked to cardiovascular disease, while on the contrary the consumption of fruit, vegetables and dairy products at specific times of the day could be protective in this regard.
The investigation
The survey looked at over 21,500 people who participated in the survey Nhanes (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) conducted on women and men over the age of 30 followed from 2003 to 2014. The data collected were then compared with those of the deaths observed in this population for the various causes. The dietary patterns considered were different. For breakfast, the classic Western breakfast, the starchy breakfast and the fruit-based breakfast were considered. Western lunch, vegetable lunch, and fruit lunch have been identified as the main dietary patterns for the mid-day meal. Western dinner, vegetable dinner and fruit dinner have been identified as the main dietary patterns for dinner.
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Also important is the rating of snacks, which were collected in cereal snacks, starchy snacks, fruit snacks and dairy-based snacks were identified as the main snack patterns between meals. Participants in the Western lunch group consumed most of the servings of refined grains, solid fats, cheese, added sugars, and cured meats. Participants in the fruit lunch group ate most of their servings of whole grains, fruit, yogurt, and nuts. Participants in the vegetable dinner group instead ingested most of the portions of dark vegetables, red and orange vegetables, tomatoes, other vegetables and legumes.
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The results say that the classic lunch that contains refined grains, cheese and cured meats was associated with a 44% increase in the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. When fruit was preferred, the risk appeared to be reduced by 34%. The vegetable dinner was associated with a 23% and 31% reduction in cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Finally, the starchy snack such as those contained in potatoes at the end of the meal was associated with an increased risk of mortality from all causes of 50-52% and the risk of mortality related to cardiovascular disease of 44-57%.
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“It is further proof, should we suffer from the lack, that the replacement of salty snacks derived from white potatoes (read chips) with fruit, vegetables or yogurt is healthy and that the conversion of a typical Western lunch or dinner with something more mediterranean can only bring health benefits – he comments Andrea Ghiselli, President Sisa (Italian Society of Food Science) – the risk reduction is not small because it varies from one third to half. Once again, the data shows quite clearly that a fruit-based snack between breakfast and lunch, a fruit-yogurt lunch, a high-vegetable dinner, and an after-dinner dairy-based snack are associated with reduced mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all causes, while on the contrary Western habits are linked to a higher mortality risk “.
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