Eating just one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables each day can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease by up to 26%, according to research from New Edith Cowan University (ECU).
The study sought to find out whether people eating a diet with higher quantities of nitrate-rich vegetables, such as leafy greens and beetroot, had lowered blood pressure, and it also examined whether these same people were less likely to have a heart disease diagnosis in later years.
Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of deaths around the world, attributed to some 13 million deaths in 2010 and making up one in every four deaths.
The study examined the diets of over 50 000 people in Denmark, who took part in the Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study over a 23-year period. People who consumed the greatest amounts of nitrate-rich vegetables had about a 2.5 mmHg lower systolic blood pressure, and their risk of heart disease was 12 to 26% lower.
The results were published in the European Journal of Epidemiology. It is a collaboration between Edith Cowan University, the Danish Cancer Society and The University of Western Australia.
Lead researcher Dr Catherine Bondonno from ECU’s Institute for Nutrition Research said that it was a priority to identify diets that prevent heart disease.
“Our results have shown that by simply eating one cup of raw (or half a cup of cooked) nitrate-rich vegetables each day, people may be able to significantly reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease,” Dr Bondonno said.
“The greatest reduction in risk was for peripheral artery disease (26 percent), a type of heart disease characterized by the narrowing of blood vessels of the legs, however we also found people had a lower risk of heart attacks, strokes and heart failure.”
The study found that only one cup of nitrate-rich vegetables was needed for optimum results, and it didn’t seem that there were any more benefits from eating more.
“People don’t need to be taking supplements to boost their nitrate levels because the study showed that one cup of leafy green vegetables each day is enough to reap the benefits for heart disease,” Dr Bondonno said. “We did not see further benefits in people who ate higher levels of nitrate rich vegetables.”
Dr Bondonno added that some shortcuts such as adding a cup of spinach when making a banana or berry smoothie could be an easy way to include more daily leafy greens.
“Blending leafy greens is fine, but don’t juice them. Juicing vegetables removes the pulp and fiber,” Dr Bondonno said.
The research adds to a growing body of evidence linking vegetables generally and leafy greens specifically with improved cardiovascular health and muscle strength.
Source: Medical Xpress
Journal information: Catherine P. Bondonno et al, Vegetable nitrate intake, blood pressure and incident cardiovascular disease: Danish Diet, Cancer, and Health Study, European Journal of Epidemiology (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s10654-021-00747-3
