A recent study has revealed the best way to keep your heart healthy, and it involves six key foods. Researchers at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences found that not eating enough of these six foods together can increase your risk of heart disease.
These foods are essential for reducing the chances of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart attacks and strokes.
The Six Heart-Healthy Foods
The six foods, dubbed the ‘Magnificent Six,’ are fruits, vegetables, legumes (like beans and lentils), nuts, fish, and whole-fat dairy products. Including these foods in your diet can help protect your heart and lower your risk of CVD.
The good news is that you don’t have to give up everything else. You can also enjoy moderate amounts of whole grains and unprocessed meats. This gives you a wide range of options to build a healthy diet while keeping your heart strong.
A Global Perspective on Diet
Most previous studies have focused on Western diets, which often combine healthy foods with processed and ultra-processed foods. This study took a different approach by examining healthy eating on a global scale.
In 2019, the World Health Organization reported that almost 18 million people died from CVD, which accounted for 32% of all deaths worldwide. Most of these deaths were due to heart attacks and strokes.
The researchers analyzed data from 245,000 people across 80 countries to better understand how diet influences heart health. The findings were published in the European Heart Journal.
How the Study Was Conducted
The study used data from the ongoing Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study, which examines global health patterns. The research team compared their findings with five other studies to ensure the results applied to people from different parts of the world, whether they had a history of CVD or not.
Dr. Salim Yusuf, the senior author of the study, pointed out that many diet studies, like the EAT-Lancet Planetary Diet and the Mediterranean Diet, have primarily focused on Western countries. The PURE Healthy Diet Score, however, included people from a variety of high-, middle-, and low-income countries.
What makes this study unique is that it focused only on protective or natural foods, without mixing in harmful processed foods.
Andrew Mente, the study’s first author, emphasized that other diet scores often included both healthy and harmful foods, making it difficult to clearly see the benefits of natural foods.
Balance is Key
The researchers found that increasing the intake of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes can help prevent disease. But they also stressed the importance of balance.
Eating moderate amounts of fish and whole-fat dairy was shown to lower the risk of CVD and death. The same benefits were seen when people ate moderate amounts of whole grains and unprocessed meats.
How to Eat for a Healthy Heart
According to the PURE Healthy Diet Score, a heart-healthy diet includes:
- Two to three servings of fruits per day
- Two to three servings of vegetables per day
- One serving of nuts per day
- Two servings of dairy per day
- Three to four servings of legumes per week
- Two to three servings of fish per week
If you prefer, you can swap in one daily serving of whole grains or one daily serving of unprocessed red meat or poultry. This variety of heart-friendly foods makes it easier to enjoy a balanced, nutritious diet.
Conclusion: A Simple Diet for a Healthy Heart
Incorporating the ‘Magnificent Six’ foods—fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, fish, and whole-fat dairy—into your daily meals can significantly improve your heart health.
Add some whole grains and unprocessed meats in moderation, and you’ve got a well-rounded, heart-healthy diet. So, start making small changes today to keep your heart healthy and happy!
For more information on heart health, check out studies on how eggs may help reduce heart disease risk, or how Vitamin K2 could play a role in protecting your heart.
If you care about heart health, please read studies that vitamin K helps cut heart disease risk by a third, and a year of exercise reversed worrisome heart failure.
For more information about heart health, please see recent studies about supplements that could help prevent heart disease, stroke, and results showing this food ingredient may strongly increase heart disease death risk.
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