No License to Binge

Drugs and diet to lower blood pressure and cholesterol equal a longer life.

Girl staring at plate of meat

Weekly Newsletter

The best of The Saturday Evening Post in your inbox!

SUPPORT THE POST

Girl staring at plate of meat

So, you popped your cholesterol meds then tucked into a juicy steak. The pill can handle a little cholesterol surge, right? “At times, patients don’t think they need to follow a healthy diet since their medications have already lowered their blood pressure and cholesterol—and that is wrong,” says Mahshid Dehghan, Ph.D., study author and nutritionist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. Eating well offers benefits beyond standard drug therapy.

In fact, researchers found patients taking drugs to prevent recurrent heart attacks and strokes who also ate a heart-healthy diet reduced their risk of cardiovascular death (by 35 percent), congestive heart failure (28 percent), stroke (19 percent), and new heart attacks (14 percent) compared to those with less healthy eating habits.

Become a Saturday Evening Post member and enjoy unlimited access. Subscribe now