Eating certain foods, such as fatty fish and nuts, can help keep your heart healthy, while others, such as meat-topped pizza, may put you at risk.
New research finds that for people with a history of heart problems, eating a diet full of processed foods can increase the risk of dying from heart disease.
The study, published in the journal European Heart, looked at 1,171 adults with a history of heart disease over an average period of just over a decade.
Using a questionnaire about eating habits, the researchers compared the amount of ultra-processed foods the participants ate each day with the total amount of food they consumed.
They found that among participants who ate the highest proportion of ultra-processed foods, the chance of dying from cardiovascular disease was about two-thirds higher than it was for the average group.
In addition, the highly processed diet increased all-cause mortality by about 40 percent.
“People should start thinking about returning to a traditional diet, which severely limits highly processed foods, and instead favours home preparation and consumption of unprocessed foods,” said study author Marialaura Panasio.
Processed foods are foods that have been modified to last longer or to improve their taste. They are processed by adding salt, sugar or yeast, such as bacon, homemade bread, canned fruits and vegetables, smoked fish and malt beverages.
