Young people who consume seven to nine daily servings of fruits and vegetables were less likely to have coronary artery calcium (CAC) build-up 20 years later making them at a lower risk of heart disease, a new study says.

The study, published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation, was the first direct study to analyze the effects of diet and coronary artery disease in later life. Since they noted that the relationship was unclear, they decided to conduct a study to clarify the link between eating healthy foods like fruits and vegetables; and heart health in the future.

Atherosclerotic plaque formation, the hallmark of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD), is known to begin early in life. It is a disease of the arteries characterized by the deposition of plaques of fatty material on their inner walls.

They carry oxygenated blood and if the walls of the arteries are clogged, it would be difficult for the blood to pass through leading to high blood pressure. Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is a direct marker of CVD and is proven to predict mortality for people with high levels of CAC than those who have none.

Researchers led by Dr. Michael Miediema, senior consulting cardiologist and clinical investigator at the Minneapolis Heart Institute in Minneapolis, enrolled 2,506 young and healthy participants who were enrolled in the government-funded Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. This long-term cohort study started in 1985 to 1986 wherein the diet history and other health-related data were collected from young adults aged 18 to 30 years old to determine the progression of CVD risk.

The participants were divided into three groups (tertile) based on the number of servings of fruits and vegetables they consume per day. The first group ate around seven to nine servings while the bottom group ate just two to three servings.

The cardiac status and CAC build-up were assessed through a CT (computed tomography) scan 20 years after the start of the study. They found out that the people in the upper tertile who ate more fruits and vegetables were 25 percent less likely to have CAC deposits compared to the people in the bottom tertile.

"People shouldn't assume that they can wait until they're older to eat healthy-our study suggests that what you eat as a young adult may be as important as what you eat as an older adult," said Dr. Miediema.

"Our findings support public health initiatives aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable intake as part of a healthy dietary pattern. Further research is needed to determine what other foods impact cardiovascular health in young adults," he added.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Approximately 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every year.