A diet rich in fruits and vegetables was found to help protect heart health, stated new study. These findings strengthen recommendations for the DASH diet, or increased consumption of fruits and vegetables as a means of optimizing cardiovascular health.
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‘Adopting a healthy diet directly reduces cardiovascular disease (CVD) injury or is effective for the primary prevention of CVD.’
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They found that after 8 weeks, participants in both the fruits and vegetables and the DASH diet groups had significantly lower concentrations of the biomarkers for subclinical cardiac damage and strain compared with control group. These associations did not differ between the DASH and fruit and vegetable diets, and none of the diets affected hs- CRP, a marker of inflammation. 
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The authors hypothesize that dietary factors common to both the DASH and fruit-and-vegetable diets, such as higher amounts of potassium, magnesium, and fiber, may partly explain the observed effects. These findings strengthen recommendations for the DASH diet, or increased consumption of fruits and vegetables as a means of optimizing cardiovascular health.
Source-Eurekalert