Researchers led by Peking University were able to improve cardiovascular disease markers by switching current Chinese diets to healthier versions.
As a result of the increasing unhealthy diet of more eggs, meat, salt, and processed food in China, especially in urban areas, China has seen skyrocketing cardiovascular disease rates in their country,
For their study, researchers recruited 265 Chinese adults with an average of 56 years old, with systolic blood pressure of 130 mmHg or more, with at least half of the participants were on blood pressure medications. Heart-healthy diet developed by catering companies based on DASH diet recommendations including halfing salt intake from 6,000 mg daily to 3,000 mg daily, reduced fat, and doubling dietary fiber in the new meals. Additionally, the meals were prepped so that while the nutritional content changed, the taste were similar to their regional variants in China. 135 participants were randomly selected to eat the new heart healthy version for 28 days while the rest were to continue their normal diet.
By the end of the study, researchers found that the heart-healthy variant dishes dropped the participants’ systolic pressure by an average of 10 mmHg. Additionally, nutrients of fiber, potassium, magnesium, and calcium increased with the healthy diet while calories from fat decreased. Sodium intake obviously dropped to below 3000 mg per day. The blood pressure lowering effects were consistent between all regional cuisine types.
The also found that the participants enjoyed and highly rated the heart healthy diet just as much as their regular diet. And despite being healthier, the heart healthy diet cost only USD$0.60 more per day per person on average compared to the usual local diet.
Researcher estimate that by changing the current Chinese diet to the heart healthy version can drastically improve the health of the country by decrease cardiovascular disease by 20%, heart failure by 28%, and all-cause mortality by 13%.
“Health professionals should recommend a heart-healthy diet with low sodium and high potassium, fiber, vegetables and fruits as the first-line treatment to their patients with high blood pressure,” said Yangfeng Wu, one of the authors of the study.
Y Wang et al. Effects of cuisine-based Chinese Heart-Healthy Diet in lowering blood pressure among adults in China: multicenter, single-blind, randomized, parallel controlled feeding trial. Circulation. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.059045
