The Polymeal is a diet-based approach to combatting heart disease, proposed in December 2004 by Oscar Franco, a Colombian public health scientist at the University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Franco and his colleagues suggest the "Polymeal" as a natural alternative to the "Polypill", a multi-drug-based strategy for reducing heart disease. The researchers used the same technique in the polypill paper: a statistical "meta-analysis" which combined the results of many previous studies. The paper, appearing in the BMJ's traditionally light-hearted Christmas issue, may be regarded as somewhat satirical, as noted in responses in the journal.
The study claims that adherence to the polymeal diet would delay the average onset of heart attack by nine years among men and by eight years among women. Because cardiovascular disease is the #1 cause of mortality in first-world nations, this delay of heart failure would increase the average lifespan of men by six years and women by 5.5 years.
The researchers combined several food items:
They suggest a person should consume, every day:
as well as 118 g of fish per day four times each week.
Since the Polymeal is based on principles of combating inflammation, this diet could be extended to the following foods:[ citation needed ]
Alcohol's overall effect on health is uncertain. In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that there is currently no conclusive evidence from studies that the potential benefits of moderate alcohol consumption for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes outweigh the increased cancer risk associated with these drinking levels for individual consumers. [1]
A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies and soft drinks. Traditionally warm beverages include coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Caffeinated drinks that contain the stimulant caffeine have a long history.
In nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food.
The French paradox is an apparently paradoxical epidemiological observation that French people have a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD), while having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats, in apparent contradiction to the widely held belief that the high consumption of such fats is a risk factor for CHD. The paradox is that if the thesis linking saturated fats to CHD is valid, the French ought to have a higher rate of CHD than comparable countries where the per capita consumption of such fats is lower.
The Mediterranean diet is a diet inspired by the eating habits and traditional food typical of southern Spain, southern Italy, and Crete, and formulated in the early 1960s. It is distinct from Mediterranean cuisine, which covers the actual cuisines of the Mediterranean countries, and from the Atlantic diet of northwestern Spain and Portugal. While inspired by a specific time and place, the "Mediterranean diet" was later refined based on the results of multiple scientific studies.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases, heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, cardiomyopathy, arrhythmia, congenital heart disease, valvular heart disease, carditis, aortic aneurysms, peripheral artery disease, thromboembolic disease, and venous thrombosis.
A polypill or single pill combination (SPC) is a type of drug combination consisting of a single drug product in pill form and thus combines multiple medications. The prefix "poly" means "multiple", referring to the multiplicity of distinct drugs in a given "pill". In precise usage, a pill is a polypill if it contains at least 4 drugs. An occasional synonym is combopill. A polypill is commonly targets treatment or prevention of chronic conditions.
A healthy diet is a diet that maintains or improves overall health. A healthy diet provides the body with essential nutrition: fluid, macronutrients such as protein, micronutrients such as vitamins, and adequate fibre and food energy.
In gastronomy, red meat is commonly red when raw, in contrast to white meat, which is pale in color before cooking. In culinary terms, only flesh from mammals or fowl is classified as red or white. In nutritional science, red meat is defined as any meat that has more of the protein myoglobin than white meat. White meat is defined as non-dark meat from fish or chicken.
A whole grain is a grain of any cereal and pseudocereal that contains the endosperm, germ, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm.
In a 2018 study on 599,912 drinkers, a roughly linear association was found with alcohol consumption and a higher risk of stroke, coronary artery disease excluding myocardial infarction, heart failure, fatal hypertensive disease, and fatal aortic aneurysm, even for moderate drinkers. Alcohol abuse may also cause occupational cardiovascular disease. The American Heart Association states that people who are currently non-drinkers should not start drinking alcohol.
The health effects of wine are mainly determined by its active ingredient – alcohol. Preliminary studies found that drinking small quantities of wine, particularly of red wine, may be associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular diseases, cognitive decline, stroke, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and early death. Other studies found no such effects.
The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted and the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss and Long-term Health is a book by T. Colin Campbell and his son, Thomas M. Campbell II. The book argues for health benefits of a whole food plant-based diet. It was first published in the United States in January 2005 and had sold over one million copies as of October 2013, making it one of America's best-selling books about nutrition.
The National Heart Foundation of Australia is a charity established in 1959. Its activities have been funding cardiovascular research, supporting health professionals in their practice, developing health promotion activities, informing and educating the public and assisting people with cardiovascular disease. It describes its mission as "to reduce heart disease and improve the heart health and quality of life of all Australians through our work in Risk Reduction, Support, Care and Research."
The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study is a Europe-wide prospective cohort study of the relationships between diet and cancer, as well as other chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease. With over half a million participants, it is the largest study of diet and disease to be undertaken.
The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension or the DASH diet is a diet to control hypertension promoted by the U.S.-based National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The DASH diet is rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy foods. It includes meat, fish, poultry, nuts, and beans, and is limited in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat, and added fats. In addition to its effect on blood pressure, it is designed to be a well-balanced approach to eating for the general public. DASH is recommended by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a healthy eating plan. The DASH diet is one of three healthy diets recommended in the 2015–20 U.S. Dietary Guidelines, which also include the Mediterranean diet and a vegetarian diet. The American Heart Association (AHA) considers the DASH diet "specific and well-documented across age, sex and ethnically diverse groups."
Nathan Pritikin was an American inventor, engineer, nutritionist and longevity researcher. He promoted the Pritikin diet, a high-carbohydrate low-fat plant-based diet combined with regular aerobic exercise to prevent cardiovascular disease. The Pritikin diet emphasizes the consumption of legumes, whole grains, fresh fruit and vegetables and non-fat dairy products with small amounts of lean meat, fowl and fish.
A low sodium diet is a diet that includes no more than 1,500 to 2,400 mg of sodium per day.
Canadian health claims by Health Canada, the department of the Government of Canada responsible for national health, has allowed five scientifically verified disease risk reduction claims to be used on food labels and on food advertising. Other countries, including the United States and Great Britain, have approved similar health claims on food labels.
Dariush Mozaffarian is a cardiologist, Jean Mayer Professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, Professor of Medicine at Tufts School of Medicine, and an attending physician at Tufts Medical Center. His work aims to create the science and translation for a food system that is nutritious, equitable, and sustainable. Dr. Mozaffarian has authored more than 500 scientific publications on dietary priorities for obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, and on evidence-based policy approaches and innovations to reduce diet-related diseases and improve health equity in the US and globally. Some of his areas of interest include healthy diet patterns, nutritional biomarkers, Food is Medicine interventions in healthcare, nutrition innovation and entrepreneurship, and food policy. He is one of the top cited researchers in medicine globally, he has served in numerous advisory roles, and his work has been featured in an array of media outlets.
The Atlantic diet refers the traditional eating habits of people in northwestern Spain and Portugal, and focuses on unprocessed foods, vegetables and fruits, nuts, whole grain bread, fish, dairy, eggs, olive oil and some red meat and wine. As both emphasize avoiding processed foods, the Atlantic diet is similar to the Mediterranean diet. The Atlantic diet involves more fish, milk, potatoes, bread, red meat and pork, while the Mediterranean diet has more pasta, beans and seeds, and greater emphasis on healthy fat from extra-virgin olive oil rather than fatty fish like mackerel, sardines and salmon.