Eat Vegetables to Fight Arterial Hardening

A new research conducted on animals suggests increased consumption of certain vegetables can help prevent heart attacks and strokes by reducing hardening of arteries. The results reconfirm previous studies showing high vegetable diets are associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease in addition to keeping blood pressure under control and increasing ‘good cholesterol’.

The research study was conducted on mice by feeding them a mixture of five common vegetables. While half the mice were fed a vegetable free diet, the other half were fed 30% of their calories in the form of a mixture of broccoli, green beans, corn, peas and carrots.

Researchers measured the levels of both good and bad cholesterol in each mice group after 4 months to estimate the extent of atherosclerosis. In the mice put on a vegetable diet, it was found plaques were 38% smaller than those in the mice on vegetable free diets. Some improvements were also found in body weight and cholesterol levels in the blood for the vegetable fed mice.

Specially bred mice that rapidly develop atherosclerosis were used for the study. These mice had elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or "bad" cholesterol, which is also a risk factor for atherosclerosis in humans.

Leader of the research team Michael Adams said, “While everyone knows eating more vegetables is supposed to be good for you, no one had shown before that it can actually inhibit the development of atherosclerosis. This suggests how a diet high in vegetables may help prevent heart attacks and strokes.”

“Although the pathways involved remain uncertain, the results indicate a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables inhibits the development of hardening of the arteries and may reduce the risk of heart disease,” said Adams.

While the researchers were unable to understand the exact method by which the high vegetable diet influenced plaque development in the arteries, they did find a 37% reduction in a particular inflammation marker. This suggests vegetable consumption may inhibit inflammatory activity.

Commenting on this Adams said, “It is well known atherosclerosis progression is intimately linked with inflammation in the arteries. Our results, combined with other studies, support the idea that increased vegetable consumption inhibits atherosclerosis progression through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways.”

The research was conducted by Wake Forest University School of Medicine and has been published in the latest issue of the Journal of Nutrition.

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