What do Forrest Whitaker, Bill Clinton and Carrie Underwood have in common? They're all vegetarians. If they dodge French fries and hushpuppies, their adopted diets give them a younger RealAge and help them avoid fatal heart disease.
The amazing powers of veggies can help you, too. Even if, like Clinton, you have advanced cardiovascular issues before going for the greens. Harvard researchers recently announced preliminary findings on data from more than 73,000 women and men enrolled in two major epidemiological studies. They found that an increase in the amount of healthy veggies and fruits you eat directly influences how protected you are from cardio-related death!
Over a 12-year period, they found the risk of death was 10 percent lower in folks who increased their veggie intake the most. That meant replacing 1 daily serving of refined grains with whole grains, increasing both fruit and vegetable intake by 1 daily serving and decreasing sugary beverage intake by 1 serving a day!
But, they warn, folks who upped their daily vegetable intake with nutrient-lacking, processed carbs (fries; pastas made with refined, white grain; white rice) ended up with a 6 percent higher risk of cardiovascular-disease death than they had to begin with! Better to eat such starches cold the next morning. That way, when you digest them, they act more like fiber than sugar.
So, aim for 7-9 servings of vegetables and fruits with at least two servings of 100 percent whole grains daily. You'll be heart-healthier tomorrow!
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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