HEART FOUNDATION
ORGANISATION:
HEART FOUNDATION
AUSTRALIANS NOT EATING ENOUGH VEGETABLES FOR
HEART HEALTH
Julie Howden
Senior Nutriton and Food Policy Manager
The theme for National Nutrition Week this year is “Try for 5”, with the
objective to encourage Australians to aim for 5 servings of vegetables
a day. Most Australians fall far short of this target with only 10% of
women and 3.8% of men achieving this level of intake (ABS, 2015)
despite consumer research that Australians claim they are trying to
include more vegetables in their diets.
It has been estimated that 1.34 million deaths from coronary heart
disease (CHD) worldwide were attributable to inadequate fruit and
vegetable intake in 2013, with a growing body of evidence pointing to
a linear relationship between fruit/vegetable intake and risk of CHD.
A recent systematic review and meta-analysis (Aune D 2017) reported
an 8-16% reduction in the risk of CHD for every 200g/day intake in
vegetables. The reduction in risk was steepest at 400g/day (about 5
servings of vegetables).
The protective effect of vegetables is thought to be partly attributable to
their high concentrations of a variety of bioactive compounds including
flavonoids, antioxidants, potassium, carotenoids and dietary fibre.
These ingredients are thought to act synergistically to positively impact
various metabolic processes.
A high vegetable intake is associated with lower blood pressure,
reduced inflammation, increased insulin sensitivity and improved
vascular and immune function. A reduced risk of overweight and
obesity has also been reported in those with higher vegetable intakes.
The low energy density and high satiety value of vegetables may help
to displace less nutritious foods from the diet especially discretionary
foods high in saturated fats, sodium and added sugars.
Not all vegetables appear to confer the same health benefits.
In Australia, potatoes are the most popular vegetable especially hot
potato chips. However, research suggests that green leafy vegetables,
cruciferous vegetables, red and yellow vegetables, vitamin C containing
vegetables and tomatoes are the most protective in reducing the risk of
Heart, Lung and Circulation (2018) 27, 1388
heart disease. An inverse relationship between the variety of vegetables
eaten and risk of heart disease has also been reported.
A lack of time and the absence of cooking skills have been identified
as key problems in encouraging Australians to add more vegetables
to their diets. Health professionals also need to be aware of social
factors that may adversely impact on vegetable intake including living
alone (especially men), limited access to cooking facilities and current
smoking status, all of which have been reported to be associated with
lower vegetable intake.
Any dietary recommendation needs to be considered as part of
overall eating patterns. The Heart Foundation’s Heart Healthy Eating
Principles are based on a 2017 evidence review on foods and dietary
patterns associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and
can be categorised into five healthy eating principles:
1. Eat more fruits, vegetables and wholegrains
2. Eat a variety of healthy protein sources including fish
and seafood, lean meat and poultry, legumes, nuts and seeds
3. Choose reduced fat dairy products
4. Healthy fat choices with nuts, seeds, avacados and their oils
5. Use herbs and spices to flavour foods instead of adding salt.
This style of eating is naturally low in saturated and trans fats, salt
and added sugar and is rich in wholegrains, fibre, antioxidants and
unsaturated fats (omega-3 and omega-6). Eating this way will improve
the heart health of all Australians by reducing cardiovascular disease
(CVD) risk factors such as high blood pressure and blood lipids,
decreasing the risk of CVD events and mortality.
Providing positive advice, tools and guidance around the types of foods
to eat more of can go a long way towards helping Australians adopt
healthier eating patterns. More information on heart healthy eating,
including easy recipes that are good for heart health, , can be accessed
at the Heart Foundation website, https://www.heartfoundation.org.
au/healthy-eating