Animal studies suggest vegetables may reduce hardening of arteries

[Guest guest]

Colleagues, the following is FYI and does not necessarily reflect my own

opinion. I have no further knowledge of the topic. If you do not wish to

receive these posts, set your email filter to filter out any messages

coming from @nutritionucanlivewith.com and the program will remove

anything coming from me.

---------------------------------------------------------

Public release date: 17-Jun-2006

http://www4.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/wfub-ass061206.php

Contact:

krchrdsn@...

Koontz

shkoontz@...

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center

Animal studies suggest vegetables may reduce hardening of arteries

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – New research suggests one reason vegetables may be

so good for us – a study in mice found that a mixture of five common

vegetables reduced hardening of the arteries by 38 percent compared to

animals eating a non-vegetable diet. Conducted by Wake Forest University

School of Medicine, the research is reported in the current issue of the

Journal of Nutrition.

" While everyone knows that eating more vegetables is supposed to be good

for you, no one had shown before that it can actually inhibit the

development of atherosclerosis, " said , D.V.M., lead

researcher. " This suggests how a diet high in vegetables may help

prevent heart attacks and strokes. "

The study used specially bred mice that rapidly develop atherosclerosis,

the formation on blood vessel walls of fatty plaques that eventually

protrude into the vessel's opening and can reduce blood flow. The mice

have elevated low-density lipoprotein ( LDL), or " bad " cholesterol,

which is also a risk factor for atherosclerosis in humans.

Half of the mice in the study were fed a vegetable-free diet and half

got 30 percent of their calories from a mixture of freeze-dried

broccoli, green beans, corn, peas and carrots. These five vegetables are

among the top-10 vegetables in the United States based on frequency of

consumption.

After 16 weeks, the researchers measured two forms of cholesterol to

estimate the extent of atherosclerosis. In mice that were fed the

vegetable diet, researchers found that plaques in the vessel were 38

percent smaller than those in the mice fed vegetable-free diets. There

were also modest improvements in body weight and cholesterol levels in

the blood.

The estimates of atherosclerosis extent involved measuring free and

ester cholesterol, two forms that accumulate in plaques as they develop.

The rate of this accumulation has been found to be highly predictive of

the actual amount of plaque present in the vessels.

said it is not clear exactly how the high-vegetable diet

influenced the development of plaques in the artery walls.

" Although the pathways involved remain uncertain, the results indicate

that a diet rich in green and yellow vegetables inhibits the development

of hardening of the arteries and may reduce the risk of heart disease, "

said .

He said that a 37 percent reduction in a certain marker of inflammation

in mice suggests that vegetable consumption may inhibit inflammatory

activity.

" It is well known that atherosclerosis progression is intimately linked

with inflammation in the arteries, " said. " Our results, combined

with other studies, support the idea that increased vegetable

consumption inhibits atherosclerosis progression through antioxidant and

anti-inflammatory pathways. "

Numerous studies in humans have shown that a high-vegetable diet is

associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, as well as

with reductions in blood pressure and increases in " good " cholesterol.

This is believed to be the first study to address the effect of

increased vegetable consumption on the development or progression of

atherosclerosis.

Despite compelling evidence supporting the health benefits of increased

vegetable consumption, intake remains low, said. The mean

consumption is 3.2 servings per days, with about 40 percent coming from

starchy vegetables such as potatoes.

###

The research was funded by the General Mills Company, which supplied the

freeze-dried vegetables.

Co-researchers were Deborah Golden, B.S., Haiying Chen, Ph.D.,

Register, Ph.D., all with Wake Forest, and T. Gugger, Ph.D., with

the Bell Institute of Health and Nutrition, General Mills Company. The

cholesterol analysis was performed by the Core Lipoprotein Laboratory of

the Department of Pathology/Lipid Sciences at Wake Forest.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health

system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest

University Health Sciences, which operates the university's School of

Medicine. U.S. News & World Report ranks Wake Forest University School

of Medicine 18th in family medicine, 20th in geriatrics, 25th in primary

care and 41st in research among the nation's medical schools. It ranks

32nd in research funding by the National Institutes of Health. Almost

150 members of the medical school faculty are listed in Best Doctors in

America.

--

ne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar@... >

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

http://www.nutritionucanlivewith.com/