A new study co-authored by UMass Medical School preventive cardiology expert Lara Kovell, MD, finds that diets with lots of fruits and vegetables and not too much salt positively impact three markers that can predict or be evidence of existing cardiovascular disease.
“The direct benefits of a healthy diet on cardiac damage beyond improving risk factors for cardiovascular disease is fiercely debated. Our objective was to determine the effects of sodium reduction and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH diet, alone or combined, on three markers of cardiac injury, strain and inflammation,” said Dr. Kovell, assistant professor of medicine. “Compared to a higher sodium, typical American diet, a lower sodium, DASH diet significantly reduced subclinical markers of cardiac injury and strain.”
The study, published May 24 by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that combining the DASH diet with sodium reduction lowers cardiac injury and strain, while DASH alone reduces inflammation.
Investigators analyzed specimens from 412 study participants from the original DASH-Sodium trial with elevated blood pressure to determine the independent and combined effects of the DASH diet and sodium reduction on high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I, a measure of cardiac injury; N-terminal b-type pro natriuretic peptide, a measure of strain; and high sensitivity C-reactive protein, a measure of inflammation. All three markers have been shown to predict cardiovascular events in adults without known disease.
Cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States, with diets containing too few fruits and vegetables and too much salt major culprits. Proven to reduce blood pressure, the DASH diet is one healthy diet often recommended for people with hypertension, and it emphasizes fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, poultry, fish and nuts. Also important, DASH focuses on reducing saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol, red meat, sweets and sugar-containing beverages. The DASH diet includes eight to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. The study’s control diet was designed to reflect a diet typical of what many people in the U.S. eat, including just two to four servings of fruits and vegetables, well below the suggested minimum of five or more servings a day.
“Our study represents some of the strongest evidence that dietary strategies can improve distinct mechanisms of subclinical cardiac injury in a relatively short time period, suggesting that the improvements in cardiovascular risk factors observed from a reduced sodium, DASH diet may also reduce concurrent cardiac damage,” said Kovell. “These findings reinforce the importance of a reduced sodium diet rich in fruits and vegetables.”
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