Hearts damaged by heart attack actually pumped better when fueled with a high-fat diet, according to an animal study published in the American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology.
CHANDLER: Fats are not actually bad for the heart.
Study author Dr. Margaret Chandler, assistant professor of physiology and biophysics at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
CHANDLER: Traditionally, if you were to ask the general public what the recommendation was for diet for people with heart disease, they would say it was low-fat. And we’re saying, no it shouldn’t necessarily be low-fat, it should just be good fats, in combination with complex carbohydrates.
Good fats are found in foods like nuts, vegetable oils and fish. It’s still recommended to stay away from saturated fats—found in foods like red meat and cheese—because they raise cholesterol levels.
While this research is still in the early stages, says Chandler, it offers hope to the millions of heart attack survivors who have weakened organs:
CHANDLER: There may be a way that their hearts can actually pump better when they’ve been damaged.