Healthy Heart Beats

April-June 2008
Vol 30, Issue 2

Nutrition and Research Updates

Avoid Saturated and Trans Fats for Heart Health

With the release of the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans came recommendations for intake of trans fat as a result of research published by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). For a 6-week period, 58 volunteers ate 4 controlled diets that were either moderately high in trans fat, high in trans fat, high in saturated fat, or high in oleic acid considered to be heart healthy. LDL cholesterol was measured after each feeding period. The results showed an increase in LDL cholesterol after consuming all the diets except the oleic acid diet. The ARS research scientists emphasized the importance of minimizing saturated fat as well as trans fat intake.

Source: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/mar08/fats0308.htm (March, 2008).

Low-Fat Dairy Products, Calcium and Vitamin D Linked to Hypertension

In a study of 28,886 U.S. women 45 years of age or older, the intake of dairy products, calcium and vitamin D were assessed from food frequency questionnaires with annual follow up for 10 years. This study found that intakes of low-fat dairy products, calcium, and vitamin D were each inversely associated with risk of hypertension in middle-aged and older women. The researchers concluded that these study findings may offer additional support to the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend that the majority of Americans increase their intake of milk and milk products to three servings per day.

The women in the study with the highest average intakes of low-fat dairy (between two and nearly ten servings per day) were 11 per cent less likely to develop hypertension, compared to women with the lowest average intake. "It remains unclear why benefits are observed for low-fat dairy products but not for high-fat dairy products. A similar phenomenon has been observed for type-2 diabetes and coronary heart disease," wrote the researchers.

Source: Hypertension, 2008, 51(4): 1073-1079 (April).

DASH-Style Diet Lowers Risk for Cardiovascular Disease

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet is known to lower blood pressure. The DASH diet promotes the consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat milk and plant-based protein. This study looked at the potential link of a DASH-style diet to coronary heart disease (CHD) in more than 88,000 women, aged 34 to 59 years, whose health had been followed with food frequency, lifestyle and medical questionnaires for 24 years. Additionally, the study participants did not have a family history of diabetes or CHD. After adjustment for risk factors such as age and smoking the study's authors found that adhering to a DASH-style diet does lower the risk of CHD and stroke among middle-aged women. Those women who followed the DASH-style diet were 24 percent less likely to have a heart attack and 18 percent less likely to have a stroke.

Source: Archives of Internal Medicine, 2008, 168(7): 713-720 (April).

Childhood Obesity Linked to Dietary Pattern

Previously, the composition of diets consumed by obese children has been uncertain. This study attempted to identify a dietary pattern characterized by three risk factors for obesity: energy density, fiber density and percent of calories from fat. Over 500 children between the ages of 5 and 7 years used 3-day diet diaries completed by parents. At age 9 years body fatness was measured. Reduced rank regression was used to derive a dietary pattern score and body fat was measured. The authors concluded that an energy-dense, low-fiber, high fat diet can be correlated to higher body fat mass increasing the likelihood of childhood obesity.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2008, 87(4): 846-854 (April).

Abdominal Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality

Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between abdominal adiposity and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk independent of overall adiposity. This study further explored that premise and sought to find a correlation between abdominal adiposity and premature death resulting from CVD. This prospective study collected data from the 44,636 women in the Nurses' Health Study cohort over the course of 16 years. During that time, 3,507 deaths were identified, including 751 cardiovascular deaths and 1,748 cancer deaths.

Relative risk was calculated after adjusting for body mass index (BMI) and potential confounders. Abdominal adiposity was significantly associated with elevated CVD mortality among normal-weight women (BMI 18.5 to 25 kg/m2). Relative risk of CVD mortality associated with a waist circumference greater than 88 cm (34.6 in) was 3.02, and a waist-to-hip ratio of greater than 0.88 indicated a relative risk of 3.45. Hip circumference was significantly and inversely associated with CVD mortality after adjustment for waist circumference. This study adds to the growing body of evidence that abdominal adiposity increases both risk of CVD and CVD mortality, even among normal weight women.

Source: Circulation, 2008, 117(13): 1658-67 (April).

Significant Others Role in Dietary Changes

Making dietary changes to improve health can be difficult. The significant others response could help or hinder the outcome of attempted dietary changes. A recent qualitative study involving 21 pairs examined how significant others respond to their partner's ("the changers") dietary changes. The majority of significant others described making "minor dietary changes." This included making slight adjustments to their typical diet in order to better match their partner's, and maintaining their regular diet in the absence of the changer. Most significant others also reported cooperating with the changer by assisting with meal planning, preparation, and food shopping. Not surprisingly the supportiveness of significant others was associated with how strong they reported their relationship to be. Interviews showed that complex relationship dynamics are embedded within each partner's behaviors. For instance, one significant other reported having only minor dietary changes because his wife (the changer) made efforts to keep his meals familiar. Eating together is an integral part of relationships. It reinforces partner's roles and supports a sense of normalcy for both people in the relationship. This study reveals that relationship dynamics should be considered by dietary professionals when developing strategies for dietary interventions.

Source: Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 2008, 40(2): 80-88 (March).

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