Diet to help reduce risk of heart failure

A PLANT-BASED diet and drinking coffee may both help to reduce the risk of heart failure, say scientists.

One study of five different kinds of diet found that people who ate a lot of fruit and vegetables were 42% less likely to develop the condition than those who consumed fewer plant-based foods.

Another team showed that increasing coffee consumption by one cup per week reduced the risk of heart failure by 7% and stroke by 8%.

Findings from both studies were presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions meeting in Anaheim, California.

Heart failure is a potentially fatal condition that occurs when the heart is too week to pump blood efficiently around the body. The five diet types assessed in the first study were classified as “convenience” (red meats, pastas, fried potatoes, fast foods), “plant-based” (dark leafy vegetables, fruits, beans, fish), “sweets” (desserts, breads, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate, candy), “southern” (eggs, fried food, organ meats, processed meat, sugarsweetened drinks), and “alcohol/salads” (salad dressings, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, butter, wine).

Scientists recruited 15,569 participants for the diet study.

Lead researcher Dr Kyla Lara, from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said: “Eating a diet mostly of dark green leafy plants, fruits, beans, whole grains and fish, while limiting processed meats, saturated fats, trans fats, refined carbohydrates and foods high in added sugars is a heart-healthy lifestyle and may help prevent heart failure.”