j’s blog

Kansas City infoZine - Nutrition Notes: Is Chocolate Good for You? - USA

By Karen Collins, MS, RD, CDN - Recent research shows that chocolate can provide natural health-promoting substances called flavonoids.

HealthAmerican Institute for Cancer Research - infoZine - Since flavonoids seem to help prevent heart disease and cancer, the idea of eating chocolate sounds like a tempting and delicious way to better your health. The complete message is, however, that although chocolate might be preferable to other treats, it is no substitute for vegetables and fruits, which also contain flavonoids.

The flavonoids in chocolate that laboratory studies demonstrate to have powerful antioxidant effects are called flavanols and procyanidins. These two compounds come from the flavonoid “family” that includes resveratrol, found in grape juice, and EGCG, found in green tea. When people consume these substances in chocolate and cocoa, the antioxidant status of their blood increases. This rise in antioxidant levels helps protect us from damage to the heart and blood vessels, while it also guards our DNA from damage that can lead to cancer. In addition, the flavanols and procyanidins in chocolate improve the function and flow of blood vessels and help control inflammation.

The antioxidants in chocolate have generated a lot of interest because studies show that these compounds are more powerful antioxidants than EGCG in tea, which is a strong antioxidant. One study that compared the total antioxidant activity in single servings of cocoa, green tea, black tea and red wine scored cocoa markedly higher than the rest.

Yet the flavonoid content of cocoa and chocolate is highly variable. The more cocoa in a chocolate product, the higher the antioxidant flavonoid content is. Because dark chocolate is more concentrated in cocoa content, it is higher in flavonoids than milk chocolate. For this reason, dark chocolate is used in research studies. White chocolate has no cocoa content.

A cup of hot or cold cocoa may sound like a health drink loaded with antioxidants, but almost all cocoa drink mixes contain cocoa treated with alkali (also called Dutch cocoa) to produce a darker, richer taste. Unfortunately, this process drastically reduces flavonoid content. Unless you find a chocolate mix made with untreated cocoa, start with plain cocoa (not Dutch) and add your own sweetener and milk to make a flavonoid-rich cup.

Surprisingly, the fat content of chocolate is not a reason to avoid it. Technically, chocolate contains saturated fat, but the particular type of saturated fat - stearic acid - is unique because it does not raise blood cholesterol. Studies show that neither dark or milk chocolate is a cholesterol concern in moderate amounts. But keep in mind that other ingredients added to some chocolate candies can change their nutrition impact.

But one of the reasons you shouldn’t rely on chocolate for antioxidants, in the place of vegetables and fruits, is the calorie load. A small piece of dark chocolate has only 50 calories, but most candy bars contain at least 200. In comparison, a serving of vegetables and fruits contains a generous amount of health-promoting phytochemicals and only 25 to 80 calories. An antioxidant-rich serving of green tea has no calories at all.

Besides, vegetables and fruits have more than flavonoids. They provide vitamins, minerals like magnesium and potassium, and phytochemicals that protect our health in other ways. Some, for example, block the activation of carcinogens, while others interfere with the life cycle of cancer cells and promote their destruction.

Recent research on the flavonoids in chocolate implies that we can enjoy limited amounts of this sweet treat without guilt. But this news shouldn’t discourage us from eating a mostly plant-based diet loaded with vegetables and fruits.

Man Catches Fire During Surgery - Yahoo! News

Seattle police launched an investigation on Friday to determine how a patient undergoing emergency heart surgery caught on fire at a local hospital in 2003.

The male patient, who was not identified, went up in flames after alcohol poured on his skin was ignited by a surgical instrument.

The patient died after the surgery but that was due to heart failure and not the fire, said Dr. Robert Caplan, medical quality director of Virginia Mason.

Caplan said fires are known to occur in operating rooms although they were extremely rare.

The two-year-old incident became publicly known after an anonymous letter sent to the media mentioned it as a sign of unsafe health care at the hospital, and said the patient burned to death.

Caplan strongly disputed its contents. “That letter is factually incorrect,” he said.

MedlinePlus: Older Hearts Benefit from Fish, Soy Oil

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In elderly people, omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish and soy oil increase a measure of heart-healthiness called heart rate variability, a small study indicates.

Taking a daily fish or soy oil supplement may therefore reduce the risk of developing irregular heart rhythm or succumbing to sudden cardiac death.

Lead investigator Dr. Fernando Holguin, at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and colleagues followed 52 people aged 60 or older who were randomly assigned to take one of the oil supplements, given as 1-gram capsules twice daily for 6 months.

The heart rate variability of the participants was measured every other day.

As the team reports in the medical journal Chest, fish oil supplementation increased average total variability from 3.26 units prior to supplementation to 3.54 afterwards. Soy oil increased the measure from 3.16 to 3.28.

“Our study group showed improvements in heart function in as little as 2 weeks,” Holguin comments in a press release.

Some participants reported discomfort with the supplements. Belching was reported by 41 percent in the fish oil group and 16 percent in the soy oil group. Corresponding rates for nausea were 12.5 percent and 8 percent.

Holguin’s group recommends omega-3 fatty acids supplements derived from either soy oil or fish oil “in conjunction with other factors known to increase heart rate variability such as exercise, weight loss, stress reduction, and restoration of normal sleep” to improve heart health.

SOURCE: Chest, April 2005.

VOA News - Stress Management as Effective as Exercise In Reducing Heart Problems

By Brian Purchiav

We all feel stressed out now and then, but for people with heart problems, stress can be deadly. Researchers found that providing training in stress management was just as effective as exercise in reducing the risk of more heart problems.

Joseph Mazzetta, participated in the study
Eighty-year-old Joseph Mazzetta is having his heart function checked, because seven years ago he had angina — oxygen wasn’t getting to his heart. “I started getting shortness of breath and a little tightness in my chest,” he said.

Today he feels much better. He was one of 134 heart patients who took part in a Duke University Medical Center study. Researchers divided the patients into three groups. One got exercise training, which was Joseph’s group. Another received stress management training, and the third group got usual medical care. The training programs lasted four months, to see if exercise or training reduced stress.

Research findings are published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)
The findings appear in JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association. The author of the study is Dr. James Blumenthal. “Those patients who underwent the stress management or the exercise training experienced significant improvements in levels of depression and overall psychological distress, and not only did they experience those psychological benefits, but they experienced physical benefits as well.”

When patients experienced mental stress, exercise and stress management training were equally effective at reducing ischemia, which is when narrowed blood vessels prevent blood from flowing to the heart. But people who got stress management training saw added benefits improved blood vessel health and the way the body handles surges in blood pressure.

Dr. James Blumenthal, Duke University Medical Center
Dr. Blumenthal says, “We taught them what stress was, how to recognize it, and then we taught them strategies as to how to reduce their stress levels.” He adds that more physicians should recommend exercise or stress management training for their heart patients. “I think they feel that medication may be sufficient. I think data from this study would indicate that exercise and stress management really add to the benefits of medical management of patients.”

Joseph Mazzetta takes three heart medications a day, and continues the exercise he started during the study. “I do it also because I want to live another day (laughs), it’s as simple as that.”

Mr. Mazzetta didn’t receive stress management training, but he says regular workouts have helped reduce his stress.

Testing Elders’ Blood for Heart Disease
High Levels of a Protein Could Predict Death, Heart Trouble

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Tuesday, April 05, 2005

April 5, 2005 — A blood test could help predict heart disease in older adults even after taking into account more traditional risk factors.

The key blood chemical may change with age, according to a new study in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Could the findings lead to a new heart disease blood test for senior citizens? Perhaps, but more work is needed first, write the researchers, who included Caroline Kistorp, MD, of Denmark’s Frederiksburg University Hospital.

Heart disease is a leading cause of death for U.S. men and women. It hits older adults especially hard.

About 84% of heart disease deaths occur in people aged 65 and older, according to the American Heart Association (AHA). Similarly, about 88% of stroke deaths strike people aged 65 or older, says the AHA.

Probing the Blood to Predict Heart Trouble

In middle-aged people, high blood levels of the inflammatory marker known as C-reactive protein have been linked to heart problems. But a few decades from now, another blood marker may be more important, say Kistorp and colleagues.

For adults aged 50-89, another protein was a better predictor of heart disease than C-reactive protein, says Kistorp’s study.

The protein studied was called NT-proBNP. Besides beating C-reactive protein as a heart disease predictor, it also surpassed another marker of heart disease — urine protein levels.

Tracking Heart Disease

Results came from 626 people in Copenhagen. Virtually all were white, which is one reason why Kistorp’s team says further, more diverse tests are needed.

At the study’s start, none had heart or kidney failure, and 537 had no history of heart disease. The participants gave blood and urine samples for screening and were followed for five years.

During the study, 94 people died of any cause and 65 had a first major cardiovascular “event.” Those included a nonfatal heart attack, stroke, heart failure, chest pain (unstable angina), coronary heart disease, and transient ischemic attacks (ministroke).

Participants with the highest blood levels of NT-proBNP were at higher risk of heart disease deaths and heart problems, including heart attack and stroke, than those with the lowest levels.

The increased risk of heart disease continued to exist even after the researchers took into account traditional risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking and being overweight.

Earlier Findings

In 2003, other researchers reported that another inflammatory marker, interleukin-6, was a better predictor of heart disease, stroke, and heart failure in a three-year study of 2,225 people in their 70s.

That study didn’t cover the type of protein studied here, but the researchers said they thought C-reactive protein might not be as closely tied to cardiovascular events in older people. That study appeared in the November 2003 edition of the journal Circulation.

SOURCES: Kistorp, C. The Journal of the American Medical Association, April 2, 2005; vol 293: pp 1609-1616. News release, JAMA/Archives. American Heart Association. WebMD Medical Reference from Healthwise: “Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) — Topic Overview.” Cesari, M. Circulation, Nov. 2003; vol 108: pp 2317-2322. News release, American Heart Association (2003).

|| DukeMedNews || Exercise, Stress Management Show Physiological Benefits for Heart Patients

DURHAM, N.C. — Behavior modification techniques such as exercise and stress management can not only reduce the levels of depression and distress in heart patients, but can also improve physiological markers of cardiovascular health, according to the results of a randomized controlled trial conducted by Duke University Medical Center researchers.

According to the research team, this may be the first randomized trial to demonstrate that a non-pharmaceutical approach can have positive effects on such physiological determinants of cardiovascular health as blood flow to heart, the responsiveness of the lining of blood vessels and the ability of the cardiovascular system to regulate surges in blood pressure.

“While studies have shown that psychosocial factors such as depression, stress and anxiety place heart patients at a much greater risk of suffering future cardiac events or dying, few have looked at the effects of modifying psychosocial factors,” said Duke medical psychologist James Blumenthal, Ph.D., lead author of a study appearing in the April 6, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The trial was supported by a $4.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

“Our results suggest that exercise and stress management training offer considerable promise for patients with heart disease by not only improving psychosocial functioning and reactions to mental and physical stressors, but also by modifying important bio-markers of risk that may translate into improved clinical outcomes,” he said.

The Duke trial enrolled 134 patients with stable heart disease and randomized them to one of three groups – exercise, stress management or standard medical therapy. Patients randomized to the exercise group participated in 35 minutes of supervised aerobic exercise training three times a week for 16 weeks. Those in the stress management arm received 16 weekly 1.5-hour classes designed to help patients recognize the sources of stress in their everyday lives and to teach them strategies to respond more adaptively to those stresses.

Patients enrolled had stable heart disease, meaning they did not experience chest pain while at rest, and exhibited evidence of myocardial ischemia, or reduced blood flow to the heart, during exercise. All participants underwent a battery of psychological and physiological testing before randomization, which was repeated four months later.

One of the physiological markers studied was the endothelium, which forms the inner lining of the blood vessels and controls how the vessels reacted to changes in blood flow and pressure. The researchers took ultrasound images of the brachial artery of the arm before and after a tourniquet was applied and released to determine how the vessels responded. Healthy arteries will dilate to accommodate the increased blood flow, while diseased arteries are less responsive, the researchers said.

In these tests of flow-mediated dilation, patients who received the behavioral treatments displayed nearly a 25 percent improvement when compared to those patients who only received usual medical care.

“To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that stress management might reduce cardiovascular risk in part through beneficial effects on vascular endothelial function,” Blumenthal said. “This is a level of improvement is comparable to that achieved in drug trials. For that reason, these findings add additional support for the use of non-pharmaceutical approaches to treating patients with heart disease.”

The researchers also found that patients who received exercise training or stress management had improved baroreflex sensitivity, a phenomenon by which receptors located along the walls of blood vessels respond to changes in blood pressure. These receptors are connected to the heart by nerves, which carry the message to pump faster or slower in response to pressure changes.

“This finding is important because past studies have demonstrated that abnormally low baroreflex sensitivity has been shown to be associated with worse outcomes for patients with heart disease–improvement may produce clinical benefits,” Blumenthal said.

Additionally, the researchers measured changes in the left ventricle — the pumping chamber of the heart — during periods of both mental and physical stress. The research team used radionuclide imaging tests to identify wall motion abnormalities (WMAs). These WMAs, or areas of abnormal contractions of the left ventricle, are known indicators of ischemia.

“While there was no difference in WMA scores between the three groups during mental stress testing, among the subgroup of patients who had mental stress-induced WMAs before treatment, those in the exercise and stress management groups had lower WMA scores after treatment compared to patients in usual care.”

Other findings, which were expected, showed that patients in the exercise group had the largest improvements in such measures as exercise duration and aerobic capacity. For the psychosocial tests, the researchers found that exercise and stress management had reduced general distress and depression compared to usual care controls.

Future studies are planned to determine if stress management and exercise together have an even greater positive effect on these markers of cardiovascular health. The researchers also said further investigation is needed to reveal the biological mechanisms behind the improvements seen.

Cranberry juice modulates atherosclerotic vascular dysfunction

Six months on cranberry juice normalizes blood vessel function-relaxation and may protect against heart disease -

San Diego (April 3, 2005) - Protection against a wide variety of diseases is among the many benefits of a diet high in whole fruits and vegetables. Cranberries over the years have been identified with preventing or ameliorating urinary tract infections and playing a positive role gum disease, ulcers and even cancer.

Recent work shows that cranberries contain naturally derived compounds (antioxidants, flavonoids, and polyphenols) that may help protect against heart disease. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine studied the effects of taking cranberry juice powder regularly over six months and found a pronounced improvement in the vascular function — the ability of blood vessels to relax - in subjects with high blood cholesterol and atherosclerosis.

“Since the abnormal functioning of blood vessels is an important component of heart disease, finding ways to improve vascular function in patients with high cholesterol and atherosclerosis is critical to helping protect these patients from consequences such as heart attack or stroke,” according to lead researcher Kris Kruse-Elliott.

Taking the whole-food approach

“The value of fruits and vegetables in our diet has recently been an area of intense research and studies like this help us to understand the specific mechanisms by which the nutrients we consume can protect against heart disease,” Kruse-Elliott said. She said that the next steps are “to determine what specific components of cranberries are most important to the improvements in vascular function that we observed, exactly how they modify blood vessel relaxation, and how they can be most easily consumed as part of the diet.”

Kruse-Elliott’s collaborator, Jess Reed has been working with other foods such as pomegranates and grape seed extract, as well as whole cranberries. According to Reed, “the equivalent consumption of dried cranberries would be 4-8 servings, or 10-20 servings of cranberry juice, in order to achieve the levels in the current study. However, the point to be emphasized is that total polyphenol intake is very low in western diets and a diet rich in polyphenols would in fact give a daily intake that is equivalent to the levels in our cranberry feeding experiments.”

Kruse-Elliott added: “We’re lucky to have a unique animal model for atherosclerosis - familial hypercholesterolemic (FH) swine, whose genetic defect causes them to spontaneously develop high blood cholesterol leading to atherosclerosis and vascular dysfunction by eight months of age, very similar to the way human beings do.” She noted that the FH pigs’ blood vessels don’t function normally, such as not relaxing well, compared with normal pigs.

“However when the FH pigs were fed cranberry juice powder, made from whole cranberries, for six months their vessels acted more like normal pigs, Kruse-Elliott said. FH pigs who didn’t get cranberry juice powder had “significantly less vascular relaxation” than either normal or cranberry-fed pigs. The pigs on the CJP diet received 150g/kg per day.

Next steps. A series of experiments are planned to dig deeper into the cranberry-vessel function link in several cases applying tests used on humans to the pigs. For instance people with atherosclerosis take flow-mediated vasodilation tests using ultrasound to measure the change in size of the blood vessels and in flow rate. “We also will be measure CRP (C-reactive protein), which some people think is a predictor of cardiovascular disease,” Kruse-Elliott said. “Furthermore, we want to correlate all those findings with LDL (levels), which should yield important physiological results as well as further validating the FH model,” she said.

And what will be the diet of choice in the next stage? It turns out pigs like whole cranberries. Tart and yummy.

Concord Grape Juice Lowered Blood Pressure in Preliminary Clinical Study; Also Lowered BP, Cholesterol and Inhibited Atherosclerosis in Lab Study

SAN DIEGO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 4, 2005–

Concurrent Studies Point to Positive Effect on Blood Pressure, Other Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Three current studies point to a positive effect of Concord grape juice consumption on blood pressure, adding to the growing body of scientific evidence that drinking Concord grape juice assists with healthy cardiovascular function. In a preliminary study published in the current issue of Biofactors, drinking Concord grape juice lowered the blood pressure of mildly hypertensive men by almost seven points.

In addition, two laboratory studies presented today at the Experimental Biology meeting in San Diego complement the Biofactors study; one offers a possible mechanism of action for the blood pressure effect, the other shows similar effects in a laboratory model that closely mimics human cardiovascular behavior.

The Biofactors study tested 40 Korean men with mild hypertension (blood pressure averaging 146/94 mm Hg). In a double-blinded study, half drank Concord grape juice for eight weeks while the other half drank a calorie-matched placebo drink. At the end of the study, the grape juice group had a significant decline of 7.2 mm systolic and 6.2 diastolic compared to baseline. The placebo group saw a lesser decrease in both measurements.

“It is exciting to see complementary research presented at the same time on a topic as important as blood pressure,” explains John D. Folts, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and an author of one of the laboratory studies. “Nonetheless, we need to be cautious when interpreting preliminary data such as from the Korean study. For example, the placebo group also saw a small drop in blood pressure, although not a significant one, and while the Concord grape juice group’s numbers were significant compared to baseline, they did not reach significance when compared group to group. A larger trial will be necessary to confirm the blood pressure lowering effect.

“On the other hand, our study also saw the lowering of blood pressure in a laboratory model, as well as the lowering of cholesterol and the inhibition of atherosclerosis–all significant versus a placebo group and all of which adds credence to the Korean study, suggesting that the Concord grape juice is functioning on a number of levels in the cardiovascular system.”

In the second laboratory study presented at Experimental Biology, researchers from the Louis Pasteur University in Strasbourg, France, led by Valerie Schini-Kerth, Ph.D., found that Concord grape juice produced arterial relaxation by increasing the activity of a nitric oxide synthase in cells lining the arterial wall.

“Dr. Schini-Kerth’s data certainly suggest a mechanism whereby Concord grape juice-based polyphenols may reduce blood pressure by encouraging the relaxation of the artery wall,” notes Dr. Folts. “Previous studies by my group have shown that Concord grape juice enables the brachial arteries to expand to accommodate increased blood flow. Likewise, other researchers have shown that nitric oxide production from platelets may well be the mechanism behind Concord grape juice’s ability to reduce the tendency for the blood to clot. So there are a lot of supporting data in this area.”

The U.S. National High Blood Pressure Education Program estimates that lowering systolic blood pressure by five points would results in a 14% drop in deaths from stroke, a 9% drop in heart disease deaths, and a 7% drop in overall mortality.

Experts also note that all foods should be consumed in moderation, and that a healthy diet should include a wide range of colorful fruits and vegetables, and complemented by regular physical exercise.

The Concord grape juice for these studies was provided by Welch Foods Inc. The laboratory studies were partially supported by grants from Welch Foods Inc.

Yahoo! News - Cranberries May Help Keep Arteries Clear

SUNDAY, April 3 (HealthDay News) — In a study in pigs, cranberry juice helped relax blood vessels clogged with high blood cholesterol and narrowed by atherosclerosis, according to a study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine.

The pigs used in the study had a genetic defect — familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) — that causes them to develop high blood cholesterol, which in turn causes atherosclerosis and vascular dysfunction. However, some of these pigs were fed cranberry juice powder, made from whole cranberries, for six months and their blood vessels started to function like those in normal pigs.

FH pigs that weren’t fed the cranberry powder had much less vascular relaxation than either normal pigs or the FH pigs that ate the cranberry powder.

The study was to be presented Sunday at the Congress of the International Union of Physiological Sciences, in San Diego.

“Since the abnormal functioning of blood vessels is an important component of heart disease, finding ways to improve vascular function in patients with high cholesterol and atherosclerosis is critical to helping protect these patients from consequence such as heart attack or stroke,” study lead researcher Kris Kruse-Elliott said in a prepared statement.

“The value of fruits and vegetables in our diet has recently been an area of intense research, and studies like this help us to understand the specific mechanisms by which the nutrients we consume can protect against heart disease,” she said.

The research team now plans to determine which components of cranberries are most important in improving vascular relaxation.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about atherosclerosis.

Yahoo! News - Arthritis Inflammation Increases Cardiac Death Risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Systemic inflammation increases the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, a new study shows, even after factoring in the effects of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and other illnesses.”

The rate of illness and death from cardiovascular disease is higher among rheumatoid arthritis patients, and there is increasing evidence that inflammation plays a key role in the development of atherosclerosis, also known as hardening of the arteries, Dr. Sherine E. Gabriel of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and colleagues report in the medical journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.

They therefore conducted a study to investigate if evidence of more severe inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients might be associated with an increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

Gabriel and colleagues looked at 603 patients with rheumatoid arthritis, representing all residents of Rochester 18 years or older who were diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis between 1955 and 1995. Study subjects were followed for an average of 15 years.

The researchers found a number of factors and other illnesses increased the risk of cardiovascular death, including personal history of cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, cancer and history of alcoholism.

After accounting for these factors, the researchers found that three markers of inflammation were independently associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular death.

These included having at least three high erythrocyte sedimentation rate tests; rheumatoid arthritis vasculitis; and rheumatoid lung disease. Swelling of large joints also was associated with a greater risk of cardiovascular death.

In addition, the researchers found that corticosteroid drug use increased the risk of cardiovascular death among rheumatoid arthritis patients who had no history of heart disease, but reduced cardiovascular death risk among those who did have a history of heart disease.

While these drugs can promote high blood pressure and high cholesterol, the researchers note, their anti-inflammatory effects may benefit patients with existing heart disease.

The researchers suggest that new studies should investigate whether aggressive treatment to tightly control systemic inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients can reduce the risk of cardiovascular death — similar to the benefits of tightly controlling blood sugar levels in diabetics.

SOURCE: Arthritis and Rheumatism, March 2005.

At first the article says glasses, but later ounces. Unless they’re using really tiny glasses, I assume it’s one or the other, but not sure which. I vote for glasses.

Office of Public Affairs at Yale - News Release

CONTACT: Jacqueline Weaver, jacqueline.weaver at yale dot edu

For Immediate Release: March 17, 2005 (#83)

Red Wine Protects the Heart

New Haven, Conn. — A review article of the latest studies looking at red wine and cardiovascular health shows drinking two to three glasses of red wine daily is good for the heart, according to a Yale School of Medicine researcher in the Journal of American College of Surgeons.

“The current consensus is that it is not just the alcohol, but something else,” said Bauer Sumpio, M.D., professor and section chief of vascular surgery in the Department of Surgery. “There are probably several mechanisms of protection from a cardiovascular viewpoint.”

He said researchers have been trying to pinpoint why red wine has a cardiovascular protective effect ever since the discovery of the so–called “French Paradox” in 1992 when researchers found a 40 percent lower mortality rate from ischemic heart disease among people in France despite the high amount of saturated fats in their diet.

Sumpio said there are several studies showing drinking two to three ounces of alcohol each day has a beneficial effect, but any more than that and the alcohol begins to have a negative health effect. Studies comparing spirits, beer and wine show some benefit from spirits and beer, but an overwhelming benefit from drinking red wine.

His laboratory found polyphenols, minus the alcohol, are powerful anti–oxidants. Polyphenols also are found in fruit, particularly berries, as well as green tea and chocolate. Anti–oxidants slow cell deterioration. The polyphenols also help prevent the build up of plaque on the smooth muscle cells, as well as inhibit platelet formation, which can lead to blood clotting.

“A better understanding of the health benefits of red wine and perhaps the specific polyphenolic extracts with the described properties would be a great contribution to society,” Sumpio said.

Co–authors Alfredo Cordova, M.D., La Scienya Jackson, M.D., and David Berke–Schlessel, of Yale. The research was supported in part by the North American Foundation for Limb Preservation.

Citation: J. Amer. College of Surgeons 200: 428–439 (March 2005)

Yahoo! News - Pomegranate Juice Cuts Cardiovascular Risks

By Serena Gordon

TUESDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) — A large glass of pomegranate juice a day may help keep the heart doctor away.

Italian and American scientists report that pomegranate juice helped keep fatty deposits from collecting on artery walls in mice, and kept human heart cells healthier.

“Mice that drank pomegranate juice were able to significantly reduce the progression of atherosclerosis, [by] at least 30 percent,” said study co-author Dr. Claudio Napoli, a professor of medicine and clinical pathology at the University of Naples School of Medicine in Italy.

The findings appear in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (news - web sites).

Pomegranates, a native Middle Eastern fruit, are finding their way into more and more homes in the United States. The fruit contains crunchy seeds surrounded by juicy pulp and is a good source of potassium, vitamin C and antioxidants, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (news - web sites) (USDA).

“Pomegranates are fun to eat, but messy,” noted Samantha Heller, a senior clinical nutritionist at New York University Medical Center. For that reason, she said, “juice may be a better option.”

Napoli and his colleagues tested the effects of pomegranate juice in mice that were bred to have high cholesterol and on human heart cells in culture.

Previous studies, according to Napoli, have suggested the antioxidants found in pomegranate juice might reduce plaque buildup on artery walls and reduce oxidative stress on endothelial cells, the cells that line blood vessels. These cells produce nitric oxide, a substance that helps the blood vessels relax.

The researchers found that heart cells treated with pomegranate juice had a 50 percent increase in nitric oxide production, and that mice given pomegranate juice reduced the rate of plaque buildup by about 30 percent.

“The protective effects of pomegranate juice were higher than previously assumed,” Napoli noted.

The researchers don’t know the exact reason why pomegranate juice appears to protect artery walls from fatty deposits, but they suspect that the increased nitric oxide production may play a role, and that polyphenols — powerful antioxidants contained in pomegranates and other foods — may directly protect the arteries by reducing oxidative stress.

Other fruits and juices that contain polyphenols include blueberries, cranberries, oranges and grapes. Red wine also contains polyphenols, Napoli said.

Heller pointed out that while pomegranates are very healthy and high in antioxidants, they can be expensive and aren’t always easy to find. Plus, she said, “all fruits and vegetables are just packed with healthy phytochemicals.” Examples she cited as being high in antioxidants include berries, beans, apples, pecans and artichokes, just to name a few.

Heller also noted that the study was done primarily on mice and that data from mice don’t always extrapolate to humans. But, she added, “the phytochemicals in pomegranates, which are also present in other fruits and vegetables, are really very good for us, and do help prevent certain chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.”

Napoli said that while it is hard to extrapolate data from mice to humans, an equivalent amount of pomegranate juice for humans would be the equivalent of about 16 ounces daily.

More information

To learn more about antioxidants, visit the American Heart Association.

Yahoo! News - When It Comes to Chocolate, Order Dark, Not White

Mon Mar 21

By Alison McCook

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Dark chocolate — but not white chocolate - may help reduce blood pressure and boost the body’s ability to metabolize sugar from food, according to the results of a small study.

Investigators from the University of L’Aquila in Italy found that after eating only 100 grams, or 3.5 ounces, of dark chocolate every day for 15 days, 15 healthy people had lower blood pressures and were more sensitive to insulin, an important factor in metabolizing sugar.

In contrast, eating roughly the same amount of white chocolate for the same period of time did not affect either blood pressure or insulin sensitivity.

This is not the first study to demonstrate potential health benefits of dark chocolate, which contains high levels of a kind of antioxidant called flavonoids. Research shows that flavonoids that can help maintain a healthy heart and good circulation and reduce blood clotting, which can lead to heart attacks and stroke.

Dr. Claudio Ferri and co-investigators explained that flavonoids help the body by neutralizing potentially cell-damaging substances known as oxygen-free radicals, which are a normal byproduct of metabolism.

However, despite dark chocolate’s apparent benefits, Ferri urges caution when interpreting the results. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants, but also a lot of fat and calories, Ferri said, and people who want to add some chocolate to their diet need to subtract an equivalent amount of calories by cutting back on other foods, to avoid weight gain.

He added that each 100 grams of dark chocolate contains roughly 500 calories.

Other research validates that when it comes to chocolate, type does matter. One study found that eating milk chocolate did little to raise antioxidant levels in the blood, perhaps because milk interferes with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate.

Another study showed that elderly people with high blood pressure experienced a drop in pressure after eating dark chocolate bars, but not white chocolate, which contains no flavonoids.

Ferri and colleagues asked 7 men and 8 women, all healthy, to eat 100 grams of dark chocolate or 90 grams of white chocolate every day for 15 days. The subjects consumed no chocolate for the next 7 days and then switched to the other chocolate type for 15 days.

Ferri’s team found that after eating dark chocolate, participants’ blood pressure decreased, and they showed improvements in insulin sensitivity, meaning they were better able to metabolize glucose (sugar), according to the report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (news - web sites).

“The identification of healthy foods and the understanding of how food components influence normal physiology will help to improve the health of the population,” Dr. Cesar G. Fraga of the University of California, Davis, notes in an accompanying editorial.

SOURCE: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, March 2005.

Yahoo! News - Heavy Drinking Tied to Hardening of Heart Arteries

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In contrast to the beneficial effects of moderate alcohol intake on the heart, higher levels of alcohol consumption are linked to calcification of the coronary arteries, researchers report.

Dr. Mark J. Pletcher, of the University of California, San Francisco, and colleagues looked into the relationship between alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and coronary calcification in 33- to 45-year-old subjects enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study.

All told, 3037 participants — of whom 45 percent were black — were followed for 15 years.

According to the team’s report in the American Journal of Epidemiology, at the end of follow-up, 8 percent in the 1435 who did not drink showed evidence of coronary calcification.

The rate increased as the amount of alcohol consumed went up — 9 percent in the 1023 who had up to 6 drinks per week, 13 percent among the 341 who had 7 to 13 drinks per week, and 19 percent in the 238 subjects who had at least 14 drinks per week.

In addition, binge drinkers were twice as likely to have coronary calcification as non-drinkers.

These patterns were seen most clearly in black men, the team found.

Alcoholic beverage preference did not affect the association between alcohol consumption and coronary calcification.

The researchers suggest that the heart-protective effects of moderate alcohol intake "are counterbalanced by other harmful effects from alcohol in young persons." This, they conclude, appears to be especially true in black men.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, March 1, 2005.