Eating more vegetables tied to better artery health for older women

Elderly women who eat more vegetables maybe less likely to develop hardening of the arteries, anAustralian study suggests.

Researchers surveyed 954 women aged 70 and older. They alsoused ultrasound to assess the thickness of the walls of thecarotid artery in the neck, and the extent of plaqueaccumulation. Thinner artery walls and less plaque buildup areassociated with a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes.

Compared to women who had less than two servings of vegetables aday, women who consumed at least three servings daily hadcarotid artery walls that were about 0.036 millimeters, or 5per cent, less thick, researchers found. With three servings ofvegetables, maximum artery thickness was 0.047 millimeterslower, they report in the Journal of the American HeartAssociation.

In addition, each daily 10-gram (or about a third of anounce) increase in consumption of cruciferous vegetables likebroccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage wasassociated with 0.8 per cent lower average artery wall thickness.

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"We were excited to find out that intake of cruciferousvegetables seemed to be the most beneficial," said lead studyauthor Lauren Blekkenhorst, a nutrition researcher at theUniversity of Western Australia in Crawley.

"However, this does not discount the importance of othervegetable types, as we know increasing a variety of allvegetables is important to maintain good health," Blekkenhorstsaid by email. "Our research suggests that recommendations toinclude a couple of servings of cruciferous vegetables amongstthe recommended amount of vegetables may help to optimize thevascular health benefits."

Less than one in 10 people consume the minimum recommendedfive servings of vegetables a day, Blekkenhorst added. The womenin the study were no exception.

Influence on arteries

Food questionnaires asked women to describe their typicalvegetable intake in a range from "never eating vegetables" toconsuming them "three or more times a day."

Overall, women in the study consumed an average of about 200grams a day of vegetables, or about 2.7 servings.

The study wasn't a controlled experiment designed to provewhether or how vegetable consumption might directly impactartery health or the risk of cardiovascular disease, heartattacks or stroke.

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It's possible that when people eat more vegetables, theyhave healthier arteries because veggies are filling and there'sless room in their diet for processed junk food that can damagearteries, Blekkenhorstsaid.

Vegetables are also full of vitamins and minerals that havebeen shown to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, factorsthat can contribute to cardiovascular disease, she added.

Another limitation is that researchers relied onparticipants to accurately recall and report on how often theyate vegetables and what types they typically consumed, anapproach that can be unreliable.

Even so, many previous studies have linked higherplant-based diets and higher vegetable consumption to a lowerrisk of developing heart disease or dying from it, said NourMakarem, a researcher at Columbia University in New York Citywho wasn't involved in the study.

"This study shows that this beneficial effect of vegetablesmay be due to their influence on the arteries," Makarem said byemail. "In particular, this study shows that higher intakes ofvegetables in general and cruciferous vegetables in particularare associated lower risk of thickening and stiffness of thewalls of arteries."