Recent research found a woman’s cardiovascular risk can rise sharply after menopause, highlighting that the years leading up to and after menopause are a critical time for women to prioritise heart health (1).

The findings, presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session earlier this year, suggest this could be because oestrogen production, which is thought to protect the heart in multiple ways, is reduced after menopause.

Other factors, such as higher cholesterol levels and more visceral body fat around organs, that often come with menopause, also impact cardiovascular health.

Almost every hour of every day, an Australian woman dies of heart disease (2). It can occur at any life stage, but the risk increases significantly around menopause. Heart Foundation

Eating a heart-healthy diet, being physically active, not smoking, managing stress, and understanding and controlling cholesterol and blood pressure, are just some of the ways women can improve their cardiovascular health.

Heart-healthy eating for women

The Heart Foundation says a heart-healthy eating pattern is not a restrictive diet. Instead, it is a pattern or combination of foods, chosen regularly, over time. One example of a healthy dietary pattern, with plenty of evidence behind it, is the Planetary Health Diet (PHD).

Two large studies, published over the past month, have found eating in line with the PHD may provide huge heart-health benefits, including in women (3,4).

The first involved 118,469 middle-aged and older British adults (aged 40–69 years), without CVD at the start of the study (3). Study participants were followed-up over (a median of) 9.4 years.

It found eating more in line with the PHD to be linked with a lower risk of CVD.

And specifically, those with the highest adherence to the PHD (as measured by a higher ‘PHD index score’) had a 14% lower risk of CVD, a 12% lower risk of myocardial infarction, and a 18% lower risk of stroke, compared to those with the lowest adherence.  

The PHD is a flexible, plant-based diet that’s high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, and unsaturated oils; low in seafood and poultry; and restricts red meat, processed meat, added sugar, refined grains, and starchy vegetables (5).

A second study, which analysed data from three large cohorts of US-based women and men who were also free of CVD at the start of the study period (4), reported similar findings.

This showed that a higher PHD index score was linked with a 17% lower risk of CVD, a 19% lower risk of coronary heart disease and a 14% lower risk of stroke, compared to the lowest index score.

The Planetary Health Diet sets the scientific target for nuts as 50g/day (with a range of 0-70g), consisting of 25g each of peanuts and tree nuts (5).

Did you know? Just 2% of Australians eat a handful of nuts a day. The average intake is just under 5g/day.

Nuts and heart health

A handful of nuts offers women heart-healthy unsaturated fats, dietary fibre, a range of antioxidants, plant sterols and polyphenols, all of which play a role in keeping the heart healthy.

Evidence from systematic reviews and meta-analyses shows that regular nut consumption reduces the risk of CVD by improving a range of CVD biomarkers – such as reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol, total cholesterol, and triglycerides, among other biomarker benefits (6).

And for those with CVD, regularly eating a handful of nuts, reduces the risk of dying from it (6).

A large umbrella review found eating a handful (an ounce, or 28g) of nuts a day, compared to eating no nuts, was linked with a 21% reduced risk for CVD, and a 22% reduce risk of dying from it (7).

Eating unsalted nuts and seeds regularly as part of a heart-healthy eating pattern can help lower total and LDL-cholesterol, and the risk of heart disease.
Heart Foundation