Eating a diet full of fruit and vegetables can slash your risk of a heart attack by a third, according to new research.
Scientists measured blood pressure and heart disease risk factors like high cholesterol in 162 non-smoking men and women aged between 40 and 70.
One group ate what was deemed a 'traditional British diet' high in saturated fat, salt and sugar, and low in fibre, oily fish and fruit and vegetables.
The other group consumed a diet full of fruit and vegetables, and lower levels of animal fat, that included oily fish once a week, and restricted sugar and salt intake.
Men and women in the “healthy diet” group were also asked to replace cakes and biscuits with fruit and nuts and supplied with cooking oils and spreads high in mono-unsaturated fats.
The healthy diet was linked to a significant fall in blood pressure, an average reduction in heart rate of 1.8 beats per minute, and an 8 per cent fall in cholesterol levels.
The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, also found men and women over 40 who adapted their diet to meet UK Government guidelines reduced their risk of heart disease by up to a third.
Tom Sanders, of the study team, said: “Our findings apply to middle-aged and older people without existing health problems. This is important because most heart attacks and strokes occur in those not identified as being at high risk.
“We show that adherence to current dietary guidelines which advocate a change in dietary pattern from the traditional British diet (high in saturated fat, salt and sugar, low in fibre, oily fish and fruit and vegetables) would substantially lower that risk.”
