In Oregon, researchers showed a direct link between unhealthy diets and more than 400,000 deaths from heart and blood vessel diseases in 2015. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study showed eating more heart healthy foods and less salt and trans fats could save tens of thousands of lives in the United States each year.
Designed to pinpoint how diet impacts heart and blood vessel disease, the study found that both a lack of healthier foods and an excess of less healthy foods played a role in the deaths of nearly half of cardiovascular disease deaths in the United States.
The team evaluated the degree to which leading dietary risk factors were linked to cardiovascular disease deaths and found that a low intake of nuts, seeds and vegetables each accounted for more than 10 percent of the deaths. Another 9 percent were due to excess salt consumption.