Eat Right - Live Longer

(June 26, 2008) - If you want to live longer, then it's a good idea to eat the right foods. A study that followed over 70,000 women for 20 years found that women who eat a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, fish and poultry may reduce their risk of death from just about everything, especially cardiovascular disease. (Read about "Coronary Heart Disease") Women who follow a traditional "Western" diet of red and processed meat, refined grains, fries and sweets may increase their risk. (Read about "Dietary Guidelines")

The study appears in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

The study of 72,113 healthy women found that high adherence to the "prudent" dietary pattern was associated with a 28 percent lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 17 percent lower risk of premature death from all causes when compared to the lowest adherence.

In contrast, high adherence to the "Western" dietary pattern was associated with a 22 percent higher risk of death from cardiovascular disease, a 21 percent higher risk of premature death from all causes and a 16 percent increase in death from cancer when compared to the lowest adherence.

"These results highlight the importance of intensifying public health efforts to promote the adoption of a healthy overall diet including high intakes of vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, fish and poultry and low intakes of red and processed meat, refined grains, French fries and sweets," said Christin Heidemann, Dr.P.H., M.Sc., lead author of the study.