Eat Smart for a Healthy Heart Research volunteers are provided
with experimental diets for 5-6 weeks per phase. Here, nutrition
technician Chervonte Hernandez (left) and nutritional biochemist
Alice Lichtenstein (right) discuss a study diet with a
participant. An estimated 80 million American aduts—one in
three—have one or more types of heart disease, says the American
Heart Association (AHA), based in Dallas, Texas. Diet can have a
significant effect on reducing the risk of developing heart
disease. Since even people on statins (cholesterol-lowering
drugs) develop heart attacks, dietary interventions should not
be underestimated. Dietary Components Are Key Evidence suggests
that dietary patterns have a lot to do with the development of
heart disease. A study conducted by nutritional biochemist Alice
Lichtenstein and colleagues has found that sticking to the 2005
Dietary Guidelines for Americans reduced the progression of
arterial plaque—the buildup of fatty deposits in artery walls—in
women who already had t