Veggies good for the heart

Dr M. Adams and co-workers from Wake Forest University of Medicine, reported in the Journal of Nutrition, their work with rats fed on high veg diet, and compared them with rats fed ordinary diet. After 16 weeks, the rats on a high veg diet, had 38% less atheroma in their coronary artery, with also a 37% lower serum amyloid levels, suggesting that high veg diet may reduce inflammation, and therefore, atheroma. I suppose, we have always advocated a high fruits and veg diet in an attempt to lower BP (DASH diet).

This is perhaps the first study that I know of that showed atheroma reduction with a high veg diet. It is also the first study that I know of that showed that a high veg diet reduces serum amyloid. Perhaps this study may lead some researches to do a similar study in humans, using intra-vascular ultrasound to study atheroma regression, if any. Perhaps, someone should also study the effects of high veg diet on serum amyloid and perhaps, hs-CRP also. In the meantime, perhaps all of us should consider taking 5 servings of vegetables a day.