Plant-based diet cuts risk of cardiovascular disease 植物性飲食可降低心血管疾病風險

Editor’s note: Simply eating a nutritionally balanced plant-based diet can eliminate all chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease. This nutritionally balanced plant-based diet also needs to be prepared with care. Good foods cooked at severe conditions can not only reduce nutritional value, but also cause the formation of harmful compounds. Follow these: 1) try to use 70% raw organic plant-based foods, use of fire/heat needs to be limited as heat destroy nutrients, 2) used of processed plant foods should be limited including cooking oil, sugar.

編者按：只要吃營養均衡的植物性飲食，就可以消除包括心血管疾病在內的所有慢性疾病。 這種營養均衡的植物性飲食也需要謹慎準備。 在嚴酷條件下烹製的好食物不僅會降低營養價值，還會導致有害化合物的形成。 遵循這些：1）盡量使用 70% 的有機植物性原料，需要限制火/熱的使用，因為熱量會破壞營養，2）應限制使用加工過的植物性食物，包括食用油、糖。

Friday Aug 27, 2021 (jkzx.com/healthabc.com) — A new study  released this month in Journal of the American Heart Association suggests that consuming a plant-based portfolio diet can significantly reduce risk of cardiovascular disease.

Specifically, higher adherence to the portfolio diet was associated with a 11%, 14%, and 17% reduced risk of total cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease and heart failure, respectively.

Portfolio diet consists of cholesterol lowering foods that feature plant protein (soy products, pulses), tree nuts, viscous fiber (oats, barley, psyllium, oranges, eggplants, berries, and apple), and phytosterols (wheat germs ) in addition to foods high in monounsaturated fat such as canola oil, olive oil.

Another study led by David R. Jacobs from University of Minnesota and colleagues also found evidence to suggest that plant-based diet can reduce risk of cardiovascular disease during young and middle adulthood.

The study, also released this month in the same journal, shows that individuals who used a diet with a highest score of APDQS (A Priori Diet Quality Score) reduced their risk of cardiovascular risk by 50%.

A diet with a high APDQS score consists healthy plant based foods, void of fatty meat and less healthy plant foods. The scoring of a food seems to be according to three categories of foods, beneficial, adverse and neutral foods.

According to the study report, the beneficial foods include “fruit, avocado, beans/legumes, green vegetables, yellow vegetables, tomatoes, other vegetables, nuts and seeds, soy products, whole grains, vegetable oil, fatty fish, lean fish, poultry, alcohol (beer, wine, and liquor), coffee, tea, and low‐fat milk/cheese/yogurt.”

It is controversial to consider alcohol as a beneficial food. But the study authors recognize that alcohol consumption should be controlled below a moderate level.

(Editor’s comment: In our opinion, alcohol and vegetable oil and certain fruits with high sugar should be limited or completely eliminated from the diet.)

Adverse foods include “fried potatoes, grain dessert, salty snacks, pastries, sweets, high‐fat red meats, processed meats, organ meats, fried fish/poultry, sauces, soft drink, whole‐fat milk/cheese/yogurt, and butter.”

The neutral foods include “potatoes, refined grains, margarine, chocolate, meal replacements, pickled foods, sugar substitutes, lean meats, shellfish, eggs, soups, diet drinks, and fruit juices.”

(Editor’s comment: This category is most controversial. We do not consider refined grains, margarine, meal replacements, sugar substitutes, diet drinks, and fruit juices as neutral. They should be eliminated in order to 100% prevent cardiovascular disease risk )

The reduction in risk of cardiovascular disease with a high APDQ score diet is significant, but is not the optimal. A good or carefully designed plant based diet such as Ornish diet plus some exercise program can help prevent cardiovascular disease 100%. (Dr. Lu)