Healthy eating habits can lower premature deaths caused by respiratory, cardiovascular, or cancer-related conditions.
A new study conducted by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health researchers links a variety of healthy eating patterns to a lower risk of early death.
Premature Deaths
Participants who scored highly on at least one of four healthy eating patterns were less likely to die during the study period from any cause and from cardiovascular disease, cancer, or respiratory disease, compared to those who scored lower.
The purpose of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans is to give scientifically-based dietary advice that promotes good health and lowers major chronic diseases.
Consequently, it is crucial to explore the links between DGA-recommended dietary patterns and long-term health outcomes, including mortality, according to corresponding author Frank Hu, Frederic J. Stare Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology and chair of the Department of Nutrition.
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Healthy Diet
The findings will be published online in JAMA Internal Medicine on January 9, 2023. Few studies have examined whether greater adherence to DGA-recommended dietary patterns is related to an increased risk of total and cause-specific mortality over the long term.
The researchers utilized health data acquired over the course of 36 years from 75,230 female participants of the Nurses’ Health Study and 44,085 male participants of the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. At the beginning of the trial, all subjects were free of cardiovascular disease and cancer and completed dietary questionnaires every four years.
Their data was rated according to each of the four dietary pattern indicators (Healthy Eating Index 2015, Alternate Mediterranean Diet, Healthful Plant-based Diet Index, and Alternate Healthy Eating Index). All dietary patterns have fundamental components, including whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, although other components vary.
At least one of the indices was associated with a decreased risk of premature death from all causes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and respiratory disease. Higher scores on the AMED and AHEI were associated with a decreased risk of neurodegenerative disease-related mortality.
The outcomes were the same for non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and Hispanics.
The latest Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2015-2020) provide several healthy eating patterns that can be tailored to individual dietary traditions and tastes. The U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Agriculture issue an updated version of the Guidelines every five years (USDA).
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