The 3 foods linked to lower risk of heart disease – and they can be easily added into your daily meals
New research shows that three of the best foods for fighting heart disease are cheap, easy to find, and likely already on your local supermarket shelves.
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Just one cup of cooked broccoli dishes up over three times your daily vitamin K1 needs
Credit: Getty
Leafy greens like spinach, kale and broccoli are among the most effective.
The study published in the European Journal of Nutrition found that eating just a cup and a half of these vegetables a day could significantly lower the risk of atherosclerotic vascular diseases, the main cause of heart attacks and strokes.
These green veggies are rich in vitamin K1, which may help stop calcium from building up in the arteries and making them narrower, a key process in heart disease.
'Leafy green and cruciferous vegetables, like spinach, kale and broccoli, contain vitamin K1 which may assist in preventing vascular calcification processes that characterise cardiovascular disease,' said Montana Dupuy, from Edith Cowan University, in Australia, which led the research.
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'The great news is that these vegetables can be easily incorporated into your daily meals,' she added.
The recommended daily intake of vitamin K1 is around 1 microgram per kilogram (kg) of body weight. This is roughly 70mcg for a 70kg adult.
A cup of cooked spinach contains over 800mcg, while a cup of cooked broccoli provides around 220 to 250 mcg.
This means getting over your daily dose can be as simple as tossing a handful of spinach into a smoothie, adding kale to soups or pasta, or serving broccoli as a side with dinner.
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Cardiovascular disease remains the number one cause of death worldwide.
In Australia, it kills one person every 12 minutes - and in the UK, it's responsible for around one in four deaths.
New body scan phone app can reveal if you're at risk of heart disease, stroke or diabetes in just 30 seconds at home
The study found that women who consumed around 30 per cent more vitamin K1 than currently recommended had a lower long-term risk of vascular disease.
Dr Marc Sim, senior research fellow at ECU, said: 'Of importance, when we examined the blood vessels in the neck, those with a higher Vitamin K1 intake also had less thickening of these blood vessels, a marker of atherosclerosis.'
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The team is now using the findings to develop vitamin K1-rich meals for people with specific dietary needs, such as aged care residents.
'This research has provided key evidence to support our future studies,' said ECU postdoctoral research fellow Dr Liezhou Zhong.
"We are now creating new foods which pack more leafy greens that are rich in Vitamin K1.
"These novel foods can be used in communities with special nutritional and dietary requirements, such as aged care residents.
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'We are consolidating all our epidemiological data and converting that into a tangible product that would benefit the community.'
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