(21-02-13) Proper diet is the key to prevent a second (and first) heart attack and stroke

by John Phillip

(NaturalNews) Although it may not sound like a cutting edge scientific
discovery, researchers have confirmed that eating a proper diet and avoiding
processed convenience foods can dramatically lower the risk of suffering a
second heart attack or stroke. Health-minded individuals and alternative
medical practitioners have known this for many years, as healthy eating also is
the key lifestyle factor in preventing vascular and many other chronic
illnesses in the first place. Nonetheless, it may signal an important turning
point in mainstream medicine to have this information published in the well
respected journal of the American Heart Association, Stroke.

A research team from the McMaster University's Population Health Research
Institute in Canada has found that a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits,
vegetables and fish significantly reduces the chance of a second heart attack
and stroke in people with cardiovascular disease. The scientists determined
that heart healthy dietary modifications prove much more important to prevent
future vascular events as compared to those prescribed the typical
pharmaceutical cocktail of dangerous drugs.

Lead study author, Dr. Mahshid Dehghan noted "At times, patients don't think
they need to follow a healthy diet since their medications have already lowered
their blood pressure and cholesterol -- that is wrong... dietary modification
has benefits in addition to those seen with aspirin, angiotensin modulators,
lipid-lowering agents and beta blockers." To assess the impact of diet on
cardiovascular health, researchers conducted a five year study on a cohort of
32,000 patients with an average age of 66.5 years.

Natural food diet lowers risk of heart disease by nearly one-quarter
To conduct their study, the team utilized food frequency questionnaires to
determine consumption of milk, vegetables, fruits, grains, fish, nuts, meat and
poultry over the past 12 months. They then used two dietary indexes to assess
diet quality to provide a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial
infarction, stroke, or congestive heart failure. During the 56 month study
period, the scientists recorded 5,190 events that followed a graded association
between diet quality and the recurrence of cardiovascular events.

The researchers found that those with the healthiest eating patterns that
excluded sources of sugar, hydrogenated fats and chemical preservatives
experienced a "consistent benefit" over and above the benefits of taking
medications to reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Healthy eating was
associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease by more than 20 percent.

The authors concluded "Physicians should advise their high-risk patients to
improve their diet and eat more vegetables, fruits, grains and fish.... this
could substantially reduce cardiovascular recurrence beyond drug therapy alone
and save lives globally." Although this study focused on patients with existing
cardiovascular disease, health-conscious individuals understand that a diet
consisting primarily of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and organic meats will
dramatically lower the risk of vascular and most deadly chronic illnesses.

Sources for this article include:

http://circ.ahajournals.org
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/253599.php
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Prevention/36251
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121203162931.htm

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