Mixed
Adhering to high-quality dietary patterns, as measured by HEI, AHEI, or DASH scores, is inversely associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegenerative diseases.
Adopt a dietary pattern that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats while limiting sodium, added sugars, and saturated fats. This approach, validated by indices like DASH, HEI, or AHEI, is associated with a 14-20% reduction in the risk of major chronic diseases and mortality. Start by swapping refined grains for whole grains and increasing vegetable variety.
Diets of the highest quality, as assessed by the Healthy Eating Index, Alternate Healthy Eating Index, and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension scores, were inversely associated with risk of all-cause mortality (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.82, I2 ¼ 68%, n ¼ 23), cardiovascular disease incidence or mortality (RR 0.80, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.82, I2 ¼ 59%, n ¼ 45), cancer incidence or mortality (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.84 to 0.89, I2 ¼ 73%, n ¼ 45), incidence of type 2 diabetes (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.78 to 0.85, I2 ¼ 76%, n ¼ 16), and incidence of neurodegenerative diseases (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.89, I2 ¼ 71%, n ¼ 12).
Why this rating
Based on a massive meta-analysis of 113 reports and over 3.2 million participants, though heterogeneity was high (I2 > 50%) and credibility was rated 'moderate'.
Source
Diet Quality as Assessed by the Healthy Eating Index, Alternate Healthy Eating Index, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Score, and Health Outcomes: A Second Update of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Cohort Studies
Jakub Morze et al. · Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics · 2020
DOI 10.1016/j.jand.2020.08.076
More from this paper
- High diet quality is associated with reduced all-cause and cancer mortality specifically among cancer survivors.Moderate
- The DASH score may be more effective than the HEI at reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, and both AHEI and DASH are associated with reduced neurodegenerative disease risk, whereas HEI was not.Moderate
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