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Eat 'supermeals' to protect heart: experts
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-12-18 14:28
Eating meals that include all ingredients known to improve cardiovascular
health could add years to your life, according to new study findings released
Friday.
According to an international group of experts' calculations, if men age 50
and older added almonds, garlic and other heart-healthy ingredients to their
daily diets, they might increase their life expectancy by more than 6 years, and
spend more time free of cardiovascular disease.
Among women, following the same recipe after age 50 could tack on almost 5
extra years of life, the authors report in the British Medical Journal.
They call their recommended diet the "Polymeal," playing off the "Polypill"
idea, which got a lot of attention last year, of giving everyone a combination
pill to prevent heart disease.
The Polymeal includes ingredients that research has consistently shown can
decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. The menu includes wine, fish, dark
chocolate, fruits, vegetables, garlic and almonds. All ingredients must be
consumed daily in the recommended amounts, except for fish, which research
suggests should be eaten four times per week.
To investigate which ingredients to include in the Polymeal, Dr. Oscar H.
Franco and his colleagues combed medical reports investigating the influence of
different foods on the health of the heart and blood vessels.
Previous research has shown that drinking 150 milliliters of wine every day
can reduce cardiovascular disease by 32 percent, while eating fish four times
per week cuts the risk of disease by 14 percent.
Treating yourself to 100 grams of dark chocolate every day appears to reduce
systolic blood pressure -- the top number in a blood pressure reading -- by 5
units, and the bottom blood pressure number by almost 2 units, which research
suggests may reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems by 20 percent.
Consuming 400 grams of fruits and vegetables does as good a job of reducing
blood pressure as dark chocolate, while research shows that both garlic and
almonds lower cholesterol, an important factor in protecting people from
cardiovascular problems.
Based on calculations using mathematical models, Franco and his colleagues
estimate that people who combine these ingredients into Polymeals may have a 76
percent lower risk of cardiovascular problems, and spend many extra years of
life with healthy hearts and blood vessels.
Franco, who is based at the University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The
Netherlands, told Reuters Health he hopes that this research encourages people
to "focus more on eating a healthy diet as a good means to reduce their heart
disease."
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