Eating Plenty of Vegetables And Fruit Help Fight Inflammation - Study

Recent study found that people who ate plenty of vegetables and fruit, fish, nuts and fiber-rich grains generally had more gut bacteria that fight inflammation.

In contrast, people who favored meat, processed foods and sugar tended to have clusters of gut microbes that promote inflammation -- a state associated with many disease processes.

All of that is in line with diet recommendations for heart health: According to the AHA, people should strive for nine daily servings of vegetables and fruit -- of all kinds -- along with six servings of high-fiber whole grains.

That's not only for the sake of a diverse microbiome. Eating whole foods instead of processed foods will help people cut down on added salt and sugar, Van Horn said.

Similar benefits were seen among people who drank just under three glasses of red wine per week.

And while modest amounts of red wine were tied to benefits in this study, the AHA urges caution: There are risks to drinking, and people should not start a red-wine habit in the hopes of gaining heart benefits.