Men and women have different 'winning' foods to eat in their 20s to reduce risk of heart disease

Researchers have identified the best foods to eat in your twenties to protect yourself from heart disease in later life, and they're different for men and women.

Diet is among the most important things you can do to help keep yourself healthy, after all what you put into your body is going to affect its inner workings.

And researchers found that while eating greens is important, there are also some foods which are particularly good for you - so it's not just the veggies, but the type of veggies.

The study, carried out in Australia, found that men benefit more from eating legumes, especially beans, while for women it was cruciferous vegetables, so that's things like cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.

According to the new study, which was published in the journal Nutrition Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, consuming the right kind of vegetable can impact on someone's susceptibility to conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Neal McNamara from Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Western Australia was the lead researcher, and said: “It’s not just about piling on greens. We saw very clear sex-based differences.

"Beans for blokes and broccoli for women stood out as the real winners.”

Beans are the best food for men, according to the study (Getty Stock)

The study specifically looked at the first 37 years of our lives - so if you're reading this on your thirtieth birthday despairing then there's still time.

It found that people who followed the advice, eating either legumes or cruciferous veggies, were 'significantly less likely' to begin showing the early warning signs of heart disease.

But how much of these should you be eating?

They suggested one serving per day of the recommended food group.

And that doesn't mean you need to sit down to a steaming pile of broccoli or beans every day as it could be stirred into pasta, served with a roast, a risotto, or salads - healthy doesn't have to mean not tasty.

ECU Senior Research Fellow Dr Lauren Blekkenhorst said: “These veggies can easily be thrown into a pasta, stir-fry, salad or a Sunday roast."

She added: “What you eat now matters - and choosing to eat these veggies every day could make a real difference on how long - and how well - you live your life."

Vegetables like broccoli were the best for women, the study found (Getty Stock)

But how did the researchers measure their results?

They observed indicators of chronic disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, triglycerides (that's a type of fat), and waist cirsumference.

Professor Therese O’Sullivan, is in ECU’s Nutrition and Health Innovation Research Institute, and said: “These risk factors are appearing earlier than most people would expect.

"Nearly one in five participants already showed multiple risk factors, despite being young adults."

And researchers also found that the way that people's bodies process nutrients is different as well, including between men and women.

“Our findings suggest that men and women may process some nutrients and plant compounds from vegetables differently," said Prof O’Sullivan.

“For example, natural compounds found in legumes may affect testosterone more strongly, while compounds found in cruciferous vegetables may have a greater effect on female hormones like oestrogen and progesterone.”