Healthy Heart Beats

Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition

Extension
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1571

Healthy Heart Beats


January-June 2010
Vol 32, Issue 1

Nutrition and Research Updates



Association of Saturated Fat to Heart Disease

A meta-analysis was funded by the US National Dairy Council, Unilever, and the National Institutes of Health. Twenty-one studies were identified for inclusion. Epidemiological data from nearly 350,000 subjects were analyzed to determine if dietary intakes of saturated fat are associated with increases in either the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) or cardiovascular disease (CVD). Data analysis revealed that dietary intake of saturated fat was not significantly linked to in increased risk of CHD, stroke or CVD. Additionally, the authors concluded, “there was insufficient statistical power for this meta-analysis to assess the effects on CVD risk of replacing specific amounts of saturated fat with either polyunsaturated fat or carbohydrate.”

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, 91(3):535-546 (March)



Replace Saturated Fat in Diet for Heart Health

Harvard researchers, led by Dariush Mozaffarian, analyzed eight randomized controlled trials for polyunsaturated fat consumption as a replacement for saturated fat. The study was supported in part by the National Heart, Lunch and Blood Institute, and NIH. The eight trials examined data on 13,614 adults and 1,042 coronary heart disease (CHD) events. The meta-analysis revealed that for every 5 per cent increase in polyunsaturated fat consumption, the study’s authors found a 10 per cent reduction in the risk of CHD.

“The results from this study suggest that polyunsaturated fats from vegetable oils may be an optimal replacement for saturated fats, an important finding for dietary guidelines and for when food manufacturers and restaurants are making decisions on how to reduce saturated fat in their products,” wrote Mozaffarian and his colleagues in the study.

“The findings also suggest that an upper limit of 10 per cent energy consumption from polyunsaturated fats may be too low, as the participants in these trials who reduced their risk were consuming about 15 per cent energy from polyunsaturated fats,” they concluded.

Source: PLoS Medicine, 2010, 7(3) March http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1000252



Added Sugar Linked to Dyslipidemia

This study looked at the link between added sugars and dyslipidemia, a lipid profile which may indicate an increase for cardiovascular disease risk. Previous studies have confirmed the association between cardiovascular risk and consumption of animal foods high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Collaborators from Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed the added sugar intake of 6,100 adults who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999-2006. Added sugars were present as ingredients in processed and/or prepared foods.

About 16 per cent of daily calories were from added sugars which was a slight increase from 1977-78 when the daily intake was 11 per cent. Those adults with higher intakes of added sugars were more likely to have lower levels of HDL (“good”) cholesterol and higher levels of triglycerides. Both of these can contribute to heart disease risk.

There was a statistically significant correlation between added sugars and several blood lipid measures for dyslipidemia. The authors concluded, “Our results support the importance of dietary guidelines that encourage consumers to limit their intake of added sugars.” Adults should be aware of not only fat in food, but also added sugars, when choosing foods for heart health.

Source: Journal of the American Medical Association, 2010, 303(15):1490-1497 (April)



Antioxidant-Rich Spices May Be Healthy

A small study involving 11 volunteers examined the effect of an antioxidant spice mixture after ingestion of cooked hamburgers. Malondialdehyde, formed during the cooking of hamburger meat, can be absorbed after ingestion and affect plasma and urinary malondialdehyde concentrations. The healthy volunteers randomly consumed hamburgers with and without the spice blend. When the malondialdehyde concentrations in plasma and urine were measured, the malondialdehyde levels were reduced in those who consumed the hamburgers seasoned with the spice blend.

“This study showed that spices rich in antioxidants may be useful when cooking meat products to reduce the formation of lipid-peroxidation products,” wrote David Herber, one of the study’s authors. This result may suggest potential health benefits for atherogenesis and carcinogenesis.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, 91(5): 1180-1184 (May)



Value of Low Fat Diet to Heart Health

The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) Dietary Modification (DM) Trial evaluated the effects of a dietary pattern low in total fat and high in complex carbohydrates including vegetables, fruit, and grains on chronic diseases in postmenopausal women. Researchers randomly assigned the women to an intervention or a comparison group. In the trial women who followed the low fat diet consumed 29.3 per cent of their calories from fat, while the comparison group consumed 37 per cent calories from fat. The intervention group increased intake of complex carbohydrates.

Significant changes in LDL cholesterol, triglycerides and other lipoprotein levels with the WHI diet were minimal. The authors noted that the “study had many strengths including its randomized design, long-term follow-up, large sample size, and ethnic and socioeconomic diversity. It must be stressed that we used the food-frequency questionnaire to assess food intake; thus, these analyses will be biased by errors in self-report.” At the end of six years the authors noted that replacing 7-8 per cent of fat with complex carbohydrates did not negatively affect lipid levels associated with heart health.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2010, 91(4):860-874 (April)



Brown Rice Protects Cardiovascular System

Brown rice is generally thought to be a healthy addition to the diet because it is a source of fiber. Not all rice is equally nutritious, and brown rice might have an advantage over white rice by offering protection from high blood pressure and atherosclerosis (“hardening of the arteries”), say researchers at the Cardiovascular Research Center and Department of Physiology at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia.

The subaleurone layer of Japanese rice, which is located between the white center of the grain and the brown fibrous outer layer, is rich in oligosaccharides and dietary fibers, making it particularly nutritious. However, when brown rice is polished to make white rice, the subaleurone layer is stripped away and the rice loses some of its nutrients.

This suggests that the subaleurone layer of rice offers protection against high blood pressure and atherosclerosis. It could also help explain why fewer people die of cardiovascular disease in Japan, where most people eat at least one rice-based dish per day, than in the U.S., where rice is not a primary component of daily nutrition.

Source: Dr. Takaguri will present the team's findings at the annual 2010 Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, CA on April 24-28. This presentation is sponsored by The American Physiological Society (APS; www.the-aps.org). The full meeting program can be viewed at http://experimentalbiology.org/content/default.aspx.



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Updated Monday, August 29, 2011