A global study published today indicates that unprocessed red meat and full-fat dairy are part of a heart-healthy diet.
The study was conducted in 80 countries across all inhabited continents and published in European Heart Journal, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology.
Diets emphasizing fruit, vegetables, dairy (mainly whole-fat), nuts, legumes, and fish were linked with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death in all world regions. Adding unprocessed red meat or whole grains had little impact on outcomes.
“Low-fat foods have taken center stage with the public, food industry, and policymakers, with nutrition labels, focused on reducing fat and saturated fat,” said study author Dr. Andrew Mente of the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
The study examined the relationships between a new PURE diet and a new score and health outcomes in a global population based on six foods linked with longevity: fruit, vegetables, legume, nuts, fish, and dairy.
“Our findings suggest that the priority should be increasing protective foods such as nuts (often avoided as too energy dense), fish, and dairy, rather than restricting dairy (especially whole-fat) to very low amounts. Our results show that up to two servings a day of dairy, mainly whole-fat, can be included in a healthy diet. This is in keeping with modern nutrition science showing that dairy, particularly whole-fat, may protect against high blood pressure and metabolic syndrome.”
Associations of the score with mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, and total CVD (including fatal CVD and non-fatal myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure) were tested in the PURE study, which included 147,642 people from the general population in 21 countries.
The analyses were adjusted for factors influencing the relationships, such as age, sex, waist-to-hip ratio, education level, income, urban or rural location, physical activity, smoking status, diabetes, statins or high blood pressure medications, and total energy intake.
“The associations were strongest in areas with the poorest quality diet, including South Asia, China, and Africa, where calorie intake was low and dominated by refined carbohydrates. This suggests that a large proportion of deaths and CVD in adults around the world may be due to undernutrition, that is, low intakes of energy and protective foods, rather than overnutrition. This challenges current beliefs,” said Professor Salim Yusuf, senior author and principal investigator of PURE (Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology).
In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, Boston, stated: “The new results in PURE, in combination with prior reports, call for a re-evaluation of unrelenting guidelines to avoid whole-fat dairy products. Investigations such as the one by Mente and colleagues remind us of the continuing and devastating rise in diet-related chronic diseases globally, and of the power of protective foods to help address these burdens. It is time for national nutrition guidelines, private sector innovations, government tax policy, and agricultural incentives, food procurement policies, labeling and other regulatory priorities, and food-based healthcare interventions to catch up to the science. Millions of lives depend on it.”
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