Air pollutants can worsen cardiovascular health even at low concentrations, but diet reduces their harm. This has been shown by a study published in the journal. Environmental Research.
Researchers analyzed a high-quality study from Finland that followed 82 participants for a total of 33 weeks. The authors used data on participants’ biological samples, air pollutant concentrations, and dietary data. Diet quality was assessed using the Baltic Sea Diet Score, which is indicative of a healthy Scandinavian diet, which should include more vegetables, fruits, berries and fish, and less meat and alcohol.
“We observed that even at very low concentrations, air pollutants were associated with adverse cardiometabolic outcomes; the majority of associations were related to both fine and larger particulate matter,” the authors said.
Particulate matter enters the air when wood is burned and in exhaust gases. These pollutants affected blood parameters related to insulin sensitivity and appetite-related hormones. Total cholesterol levels rose in people with low-quality diets when exposed to high concentrations of fine particulate matter, but this was not seen in people with high-quality diets. However, adverse effects were observed even at low concentrations of pollutants, highlighting the importance of measures to reduce them.
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