Plant-based diet could help cut risk of heart failure by 42%, say scientists

Sign up to our free Living Well email for advice on living a happier, healthier and longer life Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter Live your life healthier and happier with our free weekly Living Well newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Another team of researchers found that increasing coffee consumption by one cup per week reduced the risk of heart failure by seven per cent and stroke by eight per cent. They studied five different diet types: Convenience - red meats, pastas, fried potatoes, fast foods - red meats, pastas, fried potatoes, fast foods Plant-based - dark leafy vegetables, fruits, beans, fish - dark leafy vegetables, fruits, beans, fish Sweets - desserts, breads, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate, candy - desserts, breads, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate, candy Southern - eggs, fried food, organ meats, processed meat, sugar-sweetened drinks - eggs, fried food, organ meats, processed meat, sugar-sweetened drinks Alcohol/salads - salad dressings, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, butter, wine. Lead researcher Dr Kyla Lara, from Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said: “Eating a diet mostly of dark green leafy plants, fruits, beans, whole grains and fish, while limiting processed meats, saturated fats, trans fats, refined carbohydrates and foods high in added sugars is a heart-healthy lifestyle and may specifically help prevent heart failure if you don't already have it.” The findings about coffee consumption came about after re-analysing data from the Framingham Heart Study, a long-running US investigation of heart disease risk factors involving thousands of participants. First author Laura Stevens, from the University of Colorado, US, said: “Our findings suggest that machine learning could help us identify additional factors to improve existing risk assessment models.” Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, added: “Previous research has suggested that intakes of three to five cups of coffee a day shouldn’t affect the risk of developing heart and circulatory disease.