"About half of all U.S. deaths from heart disease stroke and Type  diabetes are linked to poor diets according to a new study httpjamanetwork.comjournalsjamafullarticle published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And eating more  or less  of just  types of food can help raise or lower the risk of death from these causes the researchers found. Scientists at Tufts University identified the foods that seem to contribute the most to the risk. At the top of the list Salt. Consuming too much salt was associated with . percent of the deaths. Next  and I sympathize with all of you who love to eat these  high intake of red meat and processed meats such as bacon was linked to  percent of the deaths. And sugary drinks were a factor in . percent of the deaths. We know it may be tough to cut back on foods you love. Bacon is so alluring to many that it has even been called the gateway to meat  http vegetarians But heres the flip side The researchers also found theres a significant risk in eating too little of certain healthy foods. So think of it this way You can start consuming more of the foods that are protective. Article continues after this message from our sponsor For instance the study found that low consumption of nuts and seeds was linked to about  percent of deaths. In addition diets low in seafood whole grains and fruits and vegetables were found to contribute to about  percent of the deaths. The good news is that we now understand which foods we need to target to prevent Americans from dying prematurely from cardiometabolic diseases says lead study author Renata Micha httpsnutrition.tufts.eduprofilefacultyrenatamicha a public health nutritionist and epidemiologist at the Friedman School at Tufts University. In  about  Americans died from these diseases. Diet was linked to nearly  of these deaths. This is a remarkable burden nearly  deaths each day linked to dietary habits says senior study author Dariush Mozaffarian httpnutrition.tufts.eduprofilefacultydariushmozaffarian dean of the Friedman School at Tufts. So changing Americans dietary habits could have a significant impact the authors argue. Our research suggests that nearly half of the risk can be reduced by eating a healthy diet Mozaffarian says. The new analysis is based on data from the federal survey known as NHANES the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Researchers asked some  participants about their eating habits. In addition Mozaffarian and his colleagues estimated associations of diet and disease from prior studies and clinical trials. Now the task of estimating death or disease linked to diet is tricky. Scientists use statistical methods to try to tease apart the impact of diet as part of peoples overall lifestyle. One challenge People who have healthy diets often have other healthy habits too  such as getting regular exercise. Dietary habits also track with socioeconomic status. So people with lower incomes are more likely to have poorer diets compared with wealthier people. The Tufts researchers used studies that had controlled for these lifestyle factors but its not a perfect science. Relying on evidence from observational studies...carries the potential limitation of confounding bias states an editorial that was published httpjamanetwork.comjournalsjamafullarticle alongside the study. The editorial raises the possibility that the effect of confounding factors such as socioeconomic status and physical activity could be substantial. For instance its possible that processed meat consumption merely reflects a Westernized dietary pattern. Mozaffarian acknowledges the limitations. At the end of the day our findings might modestly over  or underestimate the health burdens he told us. He says the bigger point is this Whether poor diet is causing  cardiovascular and diabetes deaths per day or  it remains among the leading causes of preventable suffering. Poor diets are also linked to billions of dollars in healthcare spending. For instance diabetes costs https the U.S.  billion a year. In the U.S. a women with diabetes incurs https on average about  in lifetime health care costs. Many cost studies dont separate Type  and Type  diabetes. If you love foods that are associated with cardiovascular risks you dont have to give them up entirely. As most nutrition studies show its excessive consumption that drives up the risk. For instance dietary guidelines recommend limiting sugar consumption to no more than  percent of daily calories. This means that a single calorie sugary drink may be OK for a person who typically consumes a  calorieperday diet. The problem Most Americans consume much more. http"