A high-fiber diet may counteract the harmful health effects of pollutants

In continuation of my update on a diet high in fiber

Research from the University of Kentucky's Superfund Research Center (UK-SRC) shows that a diet high in fiber could possibly reverse the adverse effects that environmental toxins have on cardiovascular health.

The findings are part of UK-SRC's "Project #1," which examines how nutrients affect toxicity caused by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in vascular tissues.

PCBs are man-made chemicals that were used in industrial and commercial applications and have been linked to a number of adverse health effects in humans and animals. Although they were banned more than 40 years ago, PCBs can still be released into the environment from poorly maintained hazardous waste sites.

Prior UK-SRC research in the lab of Bernhard Hennig, a professor in UK's Department of Animal & Food Sciences, found a connection between PCBs and cardiovascular disease. Pan Deng, a postdoctoral researcher working in Hennig's lab, is continuing this research with a study that found that nutrients including fiber reduced PCB toxicity in multiple organ systems, including gut microbiota, liver and vasculature.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1NZnho5zOU#action=share

Deng's field of research is called metabolomics, and it examines how metabolites within a cell, tissue or biofluid of an organism respond to external stressors—in this case the toxic exposure from PCBs. Deng checks levels of nutrients and pollutants in the cells through liquid and gas chromatography testing. The process is called metabolic profiling.

"Metabolic profiling gave us the power to discover how environmental pollutants contribute to human disease. The very important thing is that this technology can be applied to biological samples obtained from humans," said Deng.
"Using animal models, we found that eating a high-fiber diet can prevent pollutant-induced cardiovascular disease," said Deng. "This finding may lead to nutritional and therapeutic interventions in people who are exposed to PCBs."

The findings may be beneficial to those impacted by or residing near toxic Superfund chemicals, which include PCBs.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has designated thousands of contaminated sites in the U.S. as "Superfund" sites. They include manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills and mining sites where hazardous waste has been improperly managed.

Kentucky is home to 20 (13 active) EPA National Priorities List Superfund hazardous waste sites. The UK-SRC is an interdisciplinary program including researchers from several UK colleges that strives to reduce the negative health and environmental impacts of chlorinated organic compounds found at these sites across Kentucky and the U.S.

The UK-SRC is funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) and is one of NIEHS's nationwide family of Superfund Research Programs. Specifically, UK-SRC biomedical research examines potential roles for nutritional components and lifestyle choices to minimize negative human health impacts related to chemical exposures.

https://phys.org/news/2016-11-interaction-environmental-toxin-exposure-nutrition.html

Veggies, Fruits and Grains Keep Your Heart Pumping

  

As if you needed any more proof that fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good for you, a new study finds they may cut your chances of heart As if you needed any more proof that fruits, vegetables and whole grains are good for you, a new study finds they may cut your chances of heart failure by 41%.

Conversely, the so-called Southern diet, which focuses on meats, fried and processed foods and lots of sweet tea, was tied to a 72% increased risk of heart failure.

"Eat more plants, limit red and processed meat," said lead researcher Dr. Kyla Lara, a cardiology fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Lara cautioned that this study cannot prove different diets cause or prevent heart failure, only that they are linked.

Nearly 6 million American adults suffer from heart failure, and that number is expected to rise with the aging population. The condition occurs when the heart does not pump blood sufficiently to meet the body's needs.

Steps to prevent heart failure include not smoking, keeping blood pressure under control, maintaining a healthy weight and eating healthy foods.

Getting people to eat healthier requires that they be educated about the benefits of plant-based diets and have access to low-cost healthy foods, Lara said.

"Animal meat is not necessary for a nutritious diet, in terms of health promotion and quality of life," she said. "Now is the time to get on board with a plant-based diet -- it's going to be the future of health."

In the study, Lara and her colleagues collected data on more than 16,000 men and women, 45 and older, who took part in a large U.S. stroke study. None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study. Participants completed a questionnaire that asked them about their diet.

The diets were classified into five types:

Convenience, which was heavy on meats, pasta, Mexican food, pizza and fast food.

Plant-based, which included vegetables, fruits, beans and fish.

Sweets and fats, which was heavy on desserts, bread, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate and other sugars.

Southern, which was heavy on fried foods, processed meats, eggs, added fats, and sugar-sweetened drinks.

Alcohol and salads, which was heavy on wine, liquor, beer, leafy greens and salad dressing.

After nearly nine years of follow-up, 363 participants developed heart failure.

The benefit of the plant-based diet was significant, but after taking into account factors such as weight, waist size, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the negative effect of the Southern diet was no longer statistically significant, Lara said.

It might be that the increased risk for heart failure in this group was due to obesity and excess belly fat or other factors, she said.

None of the other diets showed a statistically significant association with heart failure, and no association was seen between any diet and the type of heart failure people developed, the researchers noted.

The findings were published April 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"Our lifestyle, such as what we eat, if we are physically active and smoking or vaping, can contribute significantly to a poorly functioning heart, which in turn affects our quality of life and ultimately how soon we die," said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

Plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive [thinking] decline, type 2 diabetes, several cancers, depression and obesity," said Heller, who wasn't involved with the study.

For optimal health, people need to cut back on fried foods, cheese, fast food and junk foods, and processed and red meats, she said.

"It is sad and frustrating when I see patients who could quite literally save their lives by making healthier choices, but instead opt for a burger and fries," Heller said.

A cheeseburger, fries and milkshake meal sounds innocent enough, but it can add up to more than 2,600 calories, 65 grams of saturated fat and 3,400 milligrams of salt, she said.

Heller advises people to include a minimum of one high-fiber food to every meal. "Dietary fiber is only found in plant foods, such as spinach, oranges, quinoa and lentils."

Also try having meatless dinners two or three nights a week, like a grilled vegetable and black bean burrito, pasta primavera or an edamame and fresh vegetable stir fry, she suggested.failure by 41%.

Conversely, the so-called Southern diet, which focuses on meats, fried and processed foods and lots of sweet tea, was tied to a 72% increased risk of heart failure.

"Eat more plants, limit red and processed meat," said lead researcher Dr. Kyla Lara, a cardiology fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Lara cautioned that this study cannot prove different diets cause or prevent heart failure, only that they are linked.

Nearly 6 million American adults suffer from heart failure, and that number is expected to rise with the aging population. The condition occurs when the heart does not pump blood sufficiently to meet the body's needs.

Steps to prevent heart failure include not smoking, keeping blood pressure under control, maintaining a healthy weight and eating healthy foods.

Getting people to eat healthier requires that they be educated about the benefits of plant-based diets and have access to low-cost healthy foods, Lara said.

"Animal meat is not necessary for a nutritious diet, in terms of health promotion and quality of life," she said. "Now is the time to get on board with a plant-based diet -- it's going to be the future of health."

In the study, Lara and her colleagues collected data on more than 16,000 men and women, 45 and older, who took part in a large U.S. stroke study. None of the participants had heart disease at the start of the study. Participants completed a questionnaire that asked them about their diet.

The diets were classified into five types:

• Convenience, which was heavy on meats, pasta, Mexican food, pizza and fast food.

• Plant-based, which included vegetables, fruits, beans and fish.

• Sweets and fats, which was heavy on desserts, bread, sweet breakfast foods, chocolate and other sugars.

• Southern, which was heavy on fried foods, processed meats, eggs, added fats, and sugar-sweetened drinks.

• Alcohol and salads, which was heavy on wine, liquor, beer, leafy greens and salad dressing.

After nearly nine years of follow-up, 363 participants developed heart failure.

The benefit of the plant-based diet was significant, but after taking into account factors such as weight, waist size, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the negative effect of the Southern diet was no longer statistically significant, Lara said.

It might be that the increased risk for heart failure in this group was due to obesity and excess belly fat or other factors, she said.

None of the other diets showed a statistically significant association with heart failure, and no association was seen between any diet and the type of heart failure people developed, the researchers noted.

The findings were published April 22 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

"Our lifestyle, such as what we eat, if we are physically active and smoking or vaping, can contribute significantly to a poorly functioning heart, which in turn affects our quality of life and ultimately how soon we die," said Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center in New York City.

Plant-based diets have been shown to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cognitive [thinking] decline, type 2 diabetes, several cancers, depression and obesity," said Heller, who wasn't involved with the study.

For optimal health, people need to cut back on fried foods, cheese, fast food and junk foods, and processed and red meats, she said.

"It is sad and frustrating when I see patients who could quite literally save their lives by making healthier choices, but instead opt for a burger and fries," Heller said.

A cheeseburger, fries and milkshake meal sounds innocent enough, but it can add up to more than 2,600 calories, 65 grams of saturated fat and 3,400 milligrams of salt, she said.

Heller advises people to include a minimum of one high-fiber food to every meal. "Dietary fiber is only found in plant foods, such as spinach, oranges, quinoa and lentils."

Also try having meatless dinners two or three nights a week, like a grilled vegetable and black bean burrito, pasta primavera or an edamame and fresh vegetable stir fry, she suggested.

Veggies, Fruits and Grains Keep Your Heart Pumping 

Want to Avoid Type 2 Diabetes? Eat More Whole Grains

It may seem counter intuitive, but eating bread, pasta and cereal may actually help prevent type 2 diabetes, as long as those foods are made from whole grains, new research suggests.

The study found that each serving of whole-grain foods per day was linked to as much as an 11 percent drop in the risk of type 2 diabetes.

"Whole grains appear to play an important role in the prevention of type 2 diabetes, and choosing whole grains over refined grains is highly recommended," said study author Cecilie Kyro. She is a post-doctoral researcher at the Danish Cancer Society Research Center in Copenhagen.

Kyro added that, in addition to preventing type 2 diabetes, there is evidence that whole grains can help prevent heart disease and colon cancer.

More than 30 million Americans have diabetes, and most have type 2 diabetes, according to the American Diabetes Association (ADA). People with type 2 diabetes don't use the hormone insulin efficiently.

Insulin normally ushers blood sugar into cells to be used as energy. But some people are resistant to the effects of insulin, and then more and more insulin is needed to do the same job. Eventually, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas can't keep up with the demand, and blood sugar levels rise, resulting in type 2 diabetes, according to the ADA.

Lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise, are known to play a role in type 2 diabetes. In the latest study, researchers wanted to see what role specific whole grains played in type 2 diabetes.

To do this, they reviewed diet information from more than 55,000 people, aged 50 to 65, in Denmark. On average, the group was slightly overweight.

Overall, about 7,400 people were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes during the study's average 15-year follow-up.

The study volunteers completed food diaries. From these food diaries, the researchers calculated how many grams of whole grains each person ate daily.

The investigators found that for every serving of whole-grain food, the risk of type 2 diabetes dropped by 11 percent for men and 7 percent for women.

In women, only wheat and oats seemed to reduce the risk of diabetes. But for men, all whole grains -- wheat, rye and oats -- were linked to a lower risk of the blood sugar disorder. Kyro said this difference may just be a statistical anomaly because fewer women developed diabetes.

She added that all whole-grain products can be recommended for preventing type 2 diabetes in both men and women.

Exactly how whole grains help prevent type 2 diabetes isn't clear from this study. Because it's an observational study, it isn't designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship.

Still, the scientists suspect that there may be several reasons why whole grains could be protective, including reduced blood sugar secretion after a meal.

Registered dietician Samantha Heller said the findings fall in line with previous research.

"People who consume whole grains have lower risks of type 2 diabetes, as well as inflammation, coronary heart disease and cancer," she said. In addition, a diet including whole grains also helps with weight management and may improve digestive health.

"Whole grains contain fiber, vitamins, minerals, protein and phytonutrients, all of which play important roles in maintaining a healthy body. Dietary fiber decreases insulin resistance, after-meal blood sugar spikes and decreases inflammation, all of which may contribute to its beneficial effects on type 2 diabetes," Heller explained. (Phytonutrients are nutrients from plant sources.)

Kyro said one serving of whole grain contained 16 grams of whole grain. That can vary depending on the type or brand of a product, but 16 grams is approximately one slice of whole-grain bread, she said.

Heller said that U.S. dietary guidelines recommend three to four servings of whole grains a day. A serving is one slice of bread, one-cup of ready-to-eat cereal or 1/2-cup cooked rice, pasta or cereal. She said those recommendations are for people who are sedentary. If you're more active, you may need more grains each day.

Findings from the study were published in the September issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

Eating plant-based diet can reduce risk for heart problems in people with type 2 diabetes

Plant-based diets improve glycemic control, lead to weight loss, and improve cholesterol in people with type 2 diabetes, according to a new review published in the journal Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers reviewed nine randomized controlled trials that assessed the effectiveness of vegan and vegetarian diets for diabetes patients. The results show that those who ate a plant-based diet lowered their cholesterol, lost weight, lowered HbA1c levels, and improved other cardiometabolic risk factors when compared to those who ate a nonvegetarian diet.

More than 100 million Americans currently have diabetes or prediabetes. Those with diabetes are two to four times more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who do not have diabetes.

"The link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease is strong. Sixty to seventy percent of people who have type 2 diabetes die of heart disease," says study co-author Hana Kahleova, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical research at the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. "The good news is that this study shows that the same simple prescription--eating a plant-based diet--can reduce our risk for heart problems and improve type 2 diabetes at the same time."

The study authors suggest that plant-based diets, which center on fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes, benefit both glycemic control and cardiovascular health, because they are low in saturated fat, rich in phytochemicals, high in fiber, and often rich in low-glycemic fruits and vegetables.

Previous controlled trials and prospective cohort studies have shown that a plant-based dietary pattern is associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, hypertension, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality.

Ref : https://www.elsevier.com/books/vegetarian-and-plant-based-diets-in-health-and-disease-prevention/mariotti/978-0-12-803968-7#

Animal studies examine role of raspberry products in weight management and motor function

 

The latest issue of the Journal of Berry Research includes two new animal studies that investigate the effects of raspberry consumption in helping to support healthy weight and motor function (strength, balance and coordination). Future studies are needed to support the results found in these studies.

One-cup of frozen red raspberries has only 80 calories, is an excellent source of vitamin C, and provides nine grams of fiber (more fiber than any other berry). Like most berries, raspberries are a low-glycemic index food. Raspberries contain phytochemicals, such as ellagic acid, quercetin, gallic acid, cyanidins, pelargonidins, catechins, kaempferol and salicylic acid.

Animal and cellular studies examining how phytochemicals may work at the molecular level suggest that certain phytochemicals may help slow age-related declines. Age is the number one risk factor for many chronic diseases. Likewise, obesity is a major risk factor for chronic disease. These latest animal studies examine two important areas of health where raspberry products may play a role in weight management and also support motor function.

OBESITY

An animal study conducted by researchers at Oregon State University found that when added to a high-fat, high-sucrose diet, raspberry products and raspberry phytochemicals were found to significantly decrease weight gain associated with a high-fat, high calorie diet. Raspberry juice and raspberry puree concentrates were provided at 10% of total energy (the equivalent of 200 calories in a 2,000 calorie diet), and a combination of ellagic acid and raspberry ketone were provided at 0.2% weight/weight.

In the study, 76 male mice were divided into the following diets: a low-fat control group (10% calories from fat), a high-fat control group (45% calories from fat) and seven "high-fat treatment" groups that included a high-fat diet plus either raspberry juice concentrate, raspberry puree concentrate, raspberry fruit powder, raspberry seed extract, raspberry ketone and a combination of equal parts of ellagic acid and raspberry ketone.

"The addition of raspberry juice concentrate, raspberry puree concentrate and the combination of ellagic acid plus raspberry ketones to the high fat diet significantly reduced weight gain observed in the high-fat fed mice," said Dr. Neil Shay, Principal Investigator. "In the case of the high-fat and raspberry juice concentrate diet, weight gain was reduced to a level that was statistically equivalent to the weight gain of the low-fat fed mice, despite the fact that all high-fat fed groups consumed the same amount of calories and more energy than the low-fat control group throughout the study."

The researchers concluded that the intake of a reasonable level of some raspberry food products may influence some of the metabolic consequences of consuming a high-fat, high-calorie diet in the development of obesity in male mice.

"We hope that the findings from this study can help guide the design of future clinical trials," said Dr. Shay.

MOTOR FUNCTION

Researchers from the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University evaluated the effectiveness of a red raspberry-supplemented diet on age-sensitive measures of learning, memory and motor performance in older rats.

In this 10-week study, red raspberry supplementation was found to significantly improve motor skills. Specifically, compared to rats fed a standard well-balanced diet, rats fed a diet supplemented with freeze-dried raspberry extract performed better on tests which measured psychomotor coordination and balance, as well as tests that measure muscle tone, strength, and stamina.

"These results may have important implications for healthy aging," said lead researcher Barbara Shukitt-Hale, PhD. "While further research in humans is necessary, animal model studies are helpful in identifying deficits associated with normal aging."