A clinician’s guide to healthy eating for heart disease prevention

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Scientists from Johns Hopkins and elsewhere give suggestions about healthy eating for heart disease prevention.

Despite continued advances in health care, the heart disease death rate has plateaued in recent years and appears to be trending upward.

Poor diet is a leading cause of obesity and types 2 diabetes s, which are leading contributors to heart disease death.

Although healthy diets can be a cornerstone of heart disease prevention, implementation in clinical practice is limited by inadequate formal training in nutrition science.

In the current study, the team aimed to review the individual components of a heart-healthy diet, evidence-based dietary recommendations, and the impact of diet on heart disease prevention and management.

Furthermore, the team examined the unique difficulties of dietary counseling in low-socioeconomic-status environments and provide an evidence-based method to better protect people.

The researchers showed that patients should focus on implementing a general diet plan that is high in fruits, whole grains, legumes, and non-starchy vegetables while low in trans fats, saturated fats, sodium, red meat, refined carbohydrates, and sugar-sweetened beverages.

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), Mediterranean, and vegetarian diets have the most evidence for heart disease prevention.

The team suggests that doctors should understand the barriers that patients may face in terms of access to healthy dietary choices.

Further research needs to determine the dietary changes that are most economically, socioculturally, and logistically feasible to reduce these barriers.

Improvement in the diet is a public health priority that can lead to a strong reduction in heart disease death.

It is imperative that doctors understand current dietary practice guidelines and implement evidence-based dietary counseling in people at high risk for heart disease.

The research was published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes and conducted by Vincent A Pallazola et al.

If you care about heart health, please read studies about how eating eggs can help reduce heart disease risk, and herbal supplements could harm your heart rhythm.

For more information about nutrition, please see recent studies that olive oil may help you live longer, and vitamin D could help lower the risk of autoimmune diseases.

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