A diet rich in fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of heart and kidney disease, a study finds – Indianapolis News | Indiana Weather | Indiana Traffic

(CNN) Eating a few extra apples (and some broccoli florets, cucumbers, bananas or green beans) may actually help keep the doctor away, especially for people with high blood pressure at risk for heart and kidney disease, new research suggests.

“The two big problems that patients with high blood pressure have are heart disease and kidney disease,” said the study’s lead researcher, Dr. Donald Wesson, a professor in the department of internal medicine at the University of Texas Dell Medical School in Austin.

“The study evaluated whether reducing the amount of acid in our diet reduces complications of high blood pressure related to kidney and heart disease,” he said.

Animal products, especially meat, tend to produce acid, while fruits and vegetables produce bases when consumed, Wesson said.

To explore how plants might help, researchers conducted a randomized control trial involving 153 people with high blood pressure and a high risk of worsening chronic kidney disease.

Participants were divided into three groups: one that added 2 to 4 cups of fruits and vegetables to their diet, another that added two daily doses (four or five 650-milligram tablets) of baking soda, and another that continued standard medical care. Baking soda reduces acidity, according to the study.

After five years of study, researchers found that both the plant-rich diet and baking soda promoted kidney health, but only fruits and vegetables also improved heart health, Wesson said.

“Our conclusion was that diets rich in fruits and vegetables should be a fundamental part of our treatment for patients with high blood pressure or hypertension,” he said.

The study is just the latest in a growing body of literature on the health benefits of plant-rich diets, said Dr. Marion Nestle, the Paulette Goddard Professor Emeritus of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University. She was not involved in the research.

“We have known this for a long time, but it is good that the benefits are accompanied by fewer kidney diseases,” he said.

Basic and acidic

Why should acid be avoided? Wesson’s laboratory studies focus on how the kidney removes acid from the blood and disposes of it through urine.

Years ago, his lab team showed that an acid-producing diet was bad for the kidneys of animals and that a base-producing diet was healthy for the kidneys, he said. Later research yielded similar results in humans.

The problem is that most Americans eat far more meat and animal products (which produce acid) than basic fruits and vegetables, Wesson said.

“The real question going forward is not whether fruits and vegetables work for patients with hypertension,” he said. “The question is how do we get the majority of patients with hypertension to follow and maintain these diets?”

How to get all your fruits and vegetables

Even if you don’t have high blood pressure, the more fruits and vegetables you can eat, the better, Wesson said.

The American Heart Association recommends four to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day; one serving is five to eight florets of broccoli, one banana, one cup of raw leafy greens, or four large strawberries.

Particularly helpful for heart health is the DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension.

The DASH eating plan includes four to six servings of vegetables and four to six servings of fruit; three servings of whole grains; two to four servings of fat-free or low-fat dairy products; and several servings of lean meats and nuts, seeds, and legumes each day.

While nutritional changes can be very helpful in improving health, they are rarely prioritized, Wesson said.

“In our society, where there is limited availability or limited appeal of fruits and vegetables in our diet, it has historically been very difficult for patients to follow such diets,” she said.

To address limited appeal, cardiologist Andrew Freeman recommends experimenting with the way you eat. He was not involved in the research.

When fruits are in season, they can be incredibly sweet and delicious. And adding condiments and sauces, particularly those that relate to your heritage, can be a fun way to add the flavor you enjoy to vegetables, said Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver.

“There is a growing movement in the culinary world where chefs and cooks are putting more emphasis on making vegetables ‘unapologetically delicious’ (see the Edgy Veggie Toolkit website at Stanford),” said Dr. Christopher Gardner, research professor of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center. in California, In an email, Gardner, who heads the center’s Nutrition Studies Research Group, was not involved in the research.

“Instead of just raw or steamed vegetables, there are many simple ways to prepare them that can make eating them more enjoyable,” she said.

Managing chronic diseases with nutrition

However, communities sometimes have limited access to fresh produce, Wesson added.

Medication intervention remains an important part of managing blood pressure, kidney disease and heart disease, Wesson said. This study shows that health systems should redouble their efforts to make nutrition part of managing these conditions.

“A diet based largely, but not necessarily exclusively, on plants is demonstrably associated with good overall health, a lower prevalence of chronic diseases (including kidney disease) and premature mortality,” Nestlé said.