Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the No.1 cause of death in the world. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), almost 31% out of total deaths occur due to CVDs worldwide. The usual suspect for these conditions are hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, obesity, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle.
Most of these risk factors are associated with one's bad dietary habits. Consumption of sufficient amounts of fruits and vegetables should be a part of our life. According to the Sri Lanka Ministry of Health publication " Food based dietary guidelines for Sri Lankans " our daily fruit and vegetable consumption should be at least as follows :
- 2-3 servings of fruits per day (1 serving = one medium sized fruit / one cup of cut fruits)
- 3-5 serving of vegetables per day (1 serving tablespoons of cooked vegetables/ 1/2 cup of raw vegetables)
Fruits and vegetables are naturally low in fat and high in fibre which helps in the control of hypertension due to their low calorie content. Dietary fibre in fruits and vegetables can lower the risk of CVD through different mechanism. First the soluble fibre, when fermented in the large intestine, produces certain chemicals (glucagons - like peptide and peptide). These two can act as gut hormones and play a role in including satiety. Second, dietary fibre may significantly decrease energy intake. It can reduce the rate of obsorption of fat and sugar from small intestine, as well as replacing high fat foods from the diet.
Fibre increases the excretion of fecal bile acid and removal of cholesterol. If not high absorption of sugars and carbohydrates will increase the blood density. Meanwhile the deposition of fat in the artery walls can causes arterial stiffness. As a result the heart has to pump harder to move blood around the body. Over time, the increased force can damage the artery walls and weaken the heart muscles, setting the stage for heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular problems later in life.
Fruit and vegetables which have high content of K+ are beneficial in lowering blood pressure, especially in individuals who consume more salt. In addition fruits and vegetables that are rich in anthocyanin such as grapes, strawberries, eggplant can help against high blood pressure.
Fruit and vegetables are rich source of antioxidants and are considered functional foods. Mainly vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin E and phytochemicals (chemical compounds produced by plants) can act as antioxidants. The antioxidants in fruits and vegetables appear to decrease the oxidation of LDL cholesterol ( low density lipoprotein ) and decrease arterial plaque formation. Research has proved that fruits and vegetables like potatoes, tomatoes, soybean, eggplant, dioscorea, onions, celery, avocado, mango, apple and green leafy vegetables show great potential in preventing and treating cardiovascular disease.
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