Doctors urged to prescribe fruits and veggies: heart health study

It’s not a myth — an apple a day could soon keep the doctor away.

A produce prescription could slash the risk of heart disease, according to new research.

Participants at higher risk of cardiovascular disease saw a decline in body mass index, blood pressure and blood sugar, and the odds of being food insecure were slashed by one-third, according to the study published Tuesday in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality.

Study author Dr. Kurt Hager, an instructor at UMass Chan Medical School, said the research suggests a need for produce prescriptions.

“We know that food insecurity impacts health through several important pathways, including overall dietary quality, but also through stress and anxiety, mental health and tradeoffs between paying for food and other basic needs such as housing costs, utilities and medications,” Hager said in a statement.

The team of researchers evaluated 3,881 people — 2,064 adults with an average age of 54 and 1,817 children aged two to 17 — who already developed or were at heightened risk for poor heart health due to their socioeconomic status.

They received a voucher for a median of $63 per month to use at local grocery stores or markets throughout the program, during which they also went to nutrition classes.

Throughout the experiment, which lasted about four to 10 months during 2014 to 2020, participants recorded their produce consumption, health status and food insecurity, and were evaluated for weight, height, blood pressure and blood sugar at the beginning and end of the program.

“Poor nutrition and nutrition insecurity are major drivers of chronic disease globally, including cardiometabolic conditions like Type 2 diabetes and their cardiovascular consequences, including heart failure, heart attack and stroke,” said Dr. Mitchell Elkin, a Columbia University professor of neurology and epidemiology and chief clinical science officer at the AHA.

The study showed adults’ fruit and vegetable intake had increased daily by almost a cup, while children’s intake increased by a quarter of a cup.

Additionally, adults with diabetes saw a decrease in blood sugar, while those with high blood pressure saw a decrease in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure.

While BMI did not change among children participants, adults — who were 62% more likely to report improved health status and one-third less likely to report food insecurity after the study — saw a significant reduction in BMI.

“This analysis of produce prescription programs illustrates the potential of subsidized produce prescriptions to increase consumption of nutritious fruits and vegetables, reduce food insecurity and, hopefully, improve subjective and objective health measures,” Elkin said.

The research supports the mission of the American Heart Association’s Food is Medicine Initiative. Launched this spring, the initiative, in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation and Kroger, seeks to bring nutritious food to improve public health.