a) plant-based diet is associated with better heart health and lower risk of death, said Casey Rebholz, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University and senior author of the study. “Plant-based diets emphasize higher intakes of plant foods and lower intakes of animal foods. Foods derived from plants include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and legumes,” Rebholz said. “Animal foods include meat, eggs, dairy, and fish or seafood,” she said. “In this study, we did not define plant-based diets on the basis of complete exclusion of animal foods from the diet but rather ranked individuals according to their relative frequency of intake of these foods.” The study involved data on 12,168 middle-aged adults in the United States. The adults, who were followed up from 1987 through 2016, did not have cardiovascular disease at the start of the study. The researchers took
a) general US population who don't necessarily identify as vegetarian, the higher the proportion of plant foods in the diet, the lower the risk of cardiovascular events and death from any cause,” McMacken said, adding that plant-based diets can promote heart health by multiple mechanisms. “First, they are higher in beneficial nutrients such as fiber, plant fats, potassium, and antioxidants, and lower in potentially harmful nutrients such as animal-based iron, animal fats and nitrite preservatives,” she said. “Second, plant-based diets are also linked to healthier body weights, lower inflammation, lower risk of type 2 diabetes, better blood pressure and blood vessel function, and beneficial gut bacterial metabolites,” she said. “All of these factors translate into
a) large study suggests. For five years, researchers tracked more than 32,000 patients from 45 countries. All were living with stable coronary artery disease, which means the arteries that carry blood to the heart were narrowed or clogged but hadn't been causing problems for at least several months. About 11 percent of study participants lived alone. [A] After accounting for factors that might influence the risk of heart problems - such as age, sex, smoking status, and diabetes - the researchers found that overall, compared to participants who lived with other people, those living alone had no higher risk for heart attacks, strokes, heart failure or death.