You know what they say: eat your greens so you can stay healthy! New research suggests that veggies might not be as helpful for some health conditions as experts previously thought. The University of Oxford published the study earlier this month, which challenges previously-held notions regarding vegetable consumption and the risk for cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular Disease
CVD is a life-threatening condition that can lead to heart attacks and other cardiovascular complications. Health organizations say that CVD is a preventable condition that patients can avoid by pursuing healthy lifestyle choices. One of those lifestyle choices is eating vegetables, which doctors have claimed for decades is a critical component of preventing heart disease.
“Our large study did not find evidence for a protective effect of vegetable intake on the occurrence of CVD,” says Dr. Qi Feng, the lead researcher in the Oxford study. The team found that previous research has overlooked the impact of factors such as alcohol intake, smoking, and other lifestyle decisions.
What Causes CVD?
“Instead, our analyses show that the seemingly protective effect of vegetable intake against CVD risk is very likely to be accounted for by bias from residual confounding factors, related to differences in socioeconomic situation and lifestyle,” Dr. Qi Feng.
What does this mean? In short, it indicates that people who eat vegetables are more likely to be wealthier, healthier people in the first place. A vegetable-based diet is more expensive than a diet of fast food and canned meats, which precludes some poorer patients from accessing those foods.
Despite this, experts encourage the public to focus on a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle choices. Vegetables are good for you in plenty of ways besides lessening your risk for CVD, as they’re high in vitamins and minerals that are vital to your growth and development.
