Which Diet Is Best for the Heart?



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CHICAGO – In the room, physicians and nutritionists clung to their idea of ​​an ideal diet like a parent clings to his or her child.

On Nov. 10, here at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions annual meeting, a group of panelists discussed which diets they thought were the best for heart health, pulling on-already-published data from recent years. There is a clear winner, the panelists agreed that it is a high quality, high in non-processed, whole foods, and low in processed meat, added sugar and carbohydrates.

Though the best diet depends on the individual … [these] Christopher Gardner, director of Nutrition Studies at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, told Live Science afterwards. [Diet and Weight Loss: The Best Ways to Eat]

But Gardner said: "The goal is to have a major change for the most part of the world."

What's more, the best diet is also the one you stick to, and more specifically, the "highest quality" one can stick to, he said.

Veggies, Meat and Lots of Olive Oil

The panelists discussed three diets – vegan, mediterranean and keto – and their effects on heart health.

The vegan diet

The vegan diet calls for the elimination of all meat and animal products from the diet, and distributes primarily on veggies.

"If you substitute animal protein with plant protein, you would have decreased mortality … [and] Dr. Kim Williams, a cardiologist at Rush University's Medical Center in Chicago, said: "These studies have shown that they are more likely to have a negative impact on their diet." Compared with a diet high in meat, a plant-based diet also decreases levels of C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation in the body, he said.

But even without the vegan diet, "if everybody went from [eating] processed red meat to [eating] just regular red meat, we would dramatically decrease cardiovascular death in this country, "Williams said.

Still, the vegan diet is not perfect. The diet can lead to a vitamin B12 deficiency – a vitamin that is found in animal products. Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to reduced blood counts, or anemia. (Another cause of anemia is iron deficiency.) What's more, the diet is not going to work, along with your veggies, you're also eating foods, Williams added. [7 Tips for Moving Toward a More Plant-Based Diet]

The Mediterranean diet

The Mediterranean diet, in contrast, allows for animal protein, but is preferred over red meat. Extra virgin olive oil takes a leading role in this diet, which also includes nuts, lots of vegetables, fruits and wine (in moderation). There is evidence that the Mediterranean diet reduces levels of "bad" cholesterol and is badociated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease, according to the Mayo Clinic.

This summer, however, has had a major impact on the Mediterranean diet. Some of the experts said that the retraction significantly weakened the claims that the Mediterranean diet is heart-healthy, others said it's enough that it is beneficial, and that they're going to recommend it, Live Science reported in June.

The principal investigator of that trial, Dr. Miguel Martínez-Gonzalez, an epidemiologist at the University of Navarra in Spain, was also a panelist at Saturday's talk. He noted that even after the team retracted the study and rebadyzed the data, the findings, for the most part, held true: The diet is still heart-healthy.

The keto diet

Finally, in this non-exhaustive list of diets, the ketogenic diet. This is a low carbohydrate and high in fat, with a moderate amount of protein. Dr. Sarah Hallberg, the medical director at Virta Health, stressed during the session that the diet keto "it is a whole food diet .. [not] a hotdog and cheese diet. "

Carbohydrates can come from non-starchy vegetables, nuts and seeds, some berries, gold dairy, but not from grains, potatoes or sugar, Hallberg said. According to Hallberg, this diet also decreases risk factors for cardiovascular disease. (Of note, Virta Health is a company that claims to be able to reverse type 2 diabetes without medications or surgery, instead of reducing carbohydrates in a person's diet.)

However, other experts have raised the issue of diet, they are more likely to suffer because of chronic diseases, Live Science reported in May. What's more, the high levels of fat and cholesterol in the diet can be harmful for heart health.

Real food is better than processed

Though all the panelists were strongly about the diet they advocated for, there was some common ground. The major point is that the panelists are much better than processed foods. [11 Ways Processed Food Is Different from Real Food]

With that in mind, Gardner said, they are healthy, but they are not, but rather, they need to focus on getting people to stick to healthy diets, Gardner said.

This can involve people in the world, they are involved in the preparation of meals, and they can eat and eat in the food and drink. what can help make healthier food more affordable.

"Most of the most Americans are eating now," said panel moderator Dr. David Katz, a Yale University's Yale-Griffin Preventive Medicine Research Prevention Center in Derby, Connecticut. "'America runs on Dunkin' and multicolored marshmallows are 'part of a complete breakfast' – fix that, and things will tend to improve."

Originally published on Live Science.

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