Also Read
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookie Policy.
Study Says Cooked Veggies May Not Benefit Your Heart, But Dieticians Have A Different Opinion
Ever since childhood, we are told that vegetables are good for our health. While they are healthy, a new study has found that eating vegetables may not be able to help protect against heart diseases. Raw veggies, but not cooked vegetables, were found to be beneficial to the heart in a study of nearly 400,000 British individuals' diets. When lifestyle factors such as physical activity, smoking, drinking, fruit consumption, red and processed meat consumption, and use of vitamin and mineral supplements were taken into account, any heart-related advantage from vegetables vanished completely, according to the study published in the journal Frontiers in Nutrition.
The study has challenged what the previous studies had found that a plant-based diet is good for your health and offer other health benefits. In fact, a study in PLOS Medicine found that youngsters who eat more vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fruits, and nuts could live for an additional 13 years. We talked to experts to understand the importance of eating vegetables and how it benefits the heart.
Shalini Garwin Bliss, Head Dietician, Manipal hospital, Gurugram, says "Raw vegetables are beneficial, as they are rich sources of vitamins and minerals. When we cook them many of these nutrients present in the vegetables get distorted or leached out like water-soluble vitamins, Vitamin-B and Vitamin-c.
Another most important property of raw vegetables is that they possess a good number of fibres. When taken in raw amounts like in the form of salad, they help to reduce the blood cholesterol levels and help to maintain a healthy heart."
She further explained that the oils and salts we add to the vegetables while cooking makes them palatable, which is not good for heart health. "It's better to include more raw vegetables as well in your daily diet in the form of salads, at least they will act as fibres. As daily fibre recommendations are 25- 30 grams per day. Along with healthy eating, exercise is also a must for cardiac health, and of course, the elimination of tobacco alcohol, and stress from your life will reduce the risk of heart disease," she explains.
According to Ms Karthigai Selvi, chief dietician, BGS Gleneagles Global Hospital, "Eating raw vegetables may lower your risk of dying or being hospitalised due to a stroke. However, if we adopt a poor lifestyle, including smoking, drinking and stress caused due by socioeconomic factors can weaken our health condition. According to recent research, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease is considered to be 15 per cent lower, for those who eat raw vegetables, in comparison to people who eat processed and packaged food. So far, there is no evidence stating that fully cooked or raw vegetables would lead you down an easier path towards recovery or reduce the risk of heart disease."
"On the other hand, avoiding or less consumption of fruits and vegetables certainly can increase your risk of nutritional deficiency or premature death. Eating more veggies, which are rich in fibre, potassium, magnesium, antioxidants, phytochemicals will increase life expectancy. Hence, it must be included in your diet every day to live a healthy life," she notes.