Many Heart Patients Skip Fruit & Veggies

Eat your veggies. That’s a phrase kids commonly hate to hear. And apparently heart-disease patients do, too. A new study shows that healthy fruits and vegetables are often missing from the typical heart-patient’s diet.

Research shows that while heart-disease patients recognize diet is important in their treatment and will cut fat, many still don’t eat the necessary five servings of fruits and vegetables a day. The study appears in the July/August issue of The Science of Health Promotion. The two-year study included more than 100, overweight men enrolled in a three-month cardiac rehabilitation program. During the rehab, a dietitian worked individually with each man to discuss what the typical heart-patient diet should be. Researchers followed two types of behavior: eating less fat and eating at least five or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables. Less Fat but Still No Fruits The risk of having another heart attack or heart-bypass surgery jolted many people into cutting fat in their diets before rehab started, researchers write. By the end of the program, 82% were on the right track — having at least made an effort. Two years later, 87% had been doing things right for more than six months. Great news? Well, partially. These same men who made so much progress cutting fat still blew off eating five fruits and vegetables a day. After two years, only 23% had stuck with it for at least six months, while 59% did not care or had no intention of making the change. Fruit & Veggies: Powerful Allies Researchers say there are several possible reasons. First, patients already viewed fat as not being a good part of a healthy heart-patient diet. And second, “many patients perceived little or no relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and cardiovascular health,” says C. Jeffrey Frame, PhD, assistant professor of nutrition, dietetics, and food management at Murray State University in Kentucky, in a news release. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American men and women. Proper nutrition is essential to help prevent further damage to the heart. Doctors recommend the healthy heart-patient diet — and everyone’s diet, for that matter — should not only cut fat calories but also include more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes as some of the best defenses against heart disease. (Source: Frame, C. The Journal of Science and Health Promotion, July/August 2003; vol 16: pp 361-368. News Release, American Journal of Health: Cherie Berkley, MS: WebMD Medical News)