Choosing healthy foods is crucial for reducing heart disease risk

Choosing healthy foods is crucial for reducing heart disease risk

A new study that tracked nearly 200,000 people for several decades has found that the quality of the food consumed is just as important in food health as a low-carb or low-fat diet. The results suggest that choosing healthy, high-quality foods is key to protecting the heart.

Over the past two decades, low-carb and low-fat diets have been promoted for their potential health benefits such as weight management and improved blood sugar and cholesterol levels. However, the effects of these diets on reducing the risk of heart disease have remained an ongoing debate.

We've found that what you eat on low-carb or low-fat diets is just as important as the diet itself. Healthy versions of these diets are rich in plant foods and whole grains, which are linked to better heart health outcomes and improved metabolic function. In contrast, low-carb, low-fat diets that emphasized unhealthy foods were associated with a higher risk of heart disease. “

Zhiyuan Wu, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Qi Sun, MD, SCD, at the Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health

Wu will present the findings at Nutrition 2025, the American Society for Nutrition's flagship annual meeting, May 31-June 3 in Orlando.

The study included 43,430 men in the Health Professions Follow-up Study (1986-2016), 64,164 women in the Nurses' Health Study (1986-2018), and 92,189 women in the Nurses' Health Study II (1991-2019). Researchers followed the nearly 200,000 study participants for several decades, tracking their eating habits and whether they developed heart disease.

Based on information from detailed questionnaires filled out by study participants, researchers assigned scores indicating how healthy or unhealthy their food choices were in low-carb and low-fat diets.

The researchers classified carbohydrates, fats and proteins from foods such as whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes as high-value nutrients or healthy, while carbohydrates from potatoes and refined grains and saturated fats and proteins from animal-based foods were categorized as low-square or unsaturated.

For more than 10,000 of the study participants, researchers also measured hundreds of blood metabolites to assess how diet quality affected their metabolic regulation. “This approach allowed us to better understand the biological effects of these diets and strengthen our results,” Wu said.

The analysis showed that study participants who followed a healthy, low-carb or low-fat diet had a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease, while those who followed unhealthy versions saw an increased risk. These healthy eating patterns, whether low-carb or low-fat diets, reduced the risk of heart disease by about 15%.

“Our results suggest that improving food quality is critical to improving heart health,” Wu said. “Regardless of whether someone follows a low-carbohydrate or low-fat diet, the risk of coronary heart disease can be significantly reduced.”

For those looking to improve their diet, researchers suggest focusing on adding more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes and reducing processed meats, refined carbohydrates and sugary foods. They note that it is also important to check food labels and consider additional low-quality ingredients, such as: B. added sugars in juices and processed snacks.

In the future, researchers want to examine additional factors that may influence the relationship between diet quality and heart health. For example, they want to investigate how genetic factors, lifestyles and other metabolic markers may further influence these associations. They are also interested in how low-carb or low-fat diets may affect other health outcomes such as type 2 diabetes and cancer. This knowledge could help tailor dietary recommendations for individuals based on their unique health profiles.

WU will present this research on Sunday, June 1, during Nutritional Epidemiology at 12:45-1:45 p.m. EDT Meeting at the Orange County Convention Center.

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