Reduce cardiovascular disease by reducing one type of fat and increasing other fats.

It may look strange to you that eating more fat may decrease cardiovascular disease, but decreasing saturated fat and increasing polyunsaturated fat (PUFA) can provide health benefits. Polyunsaturated fats are found in vegetables, nuts, seeds and avocados, which are mostly omega 6 fats.

PUFA from flax seeds and cold water fish provide omega 3 fat.

The study reviewed here collected data from multiple studies investigating the effects of increased PUFA consumption as a replacement for saturated fat on cardiovascular disease (Mozaffarian D, et al. 2010).

The researchers concluded their findings provide evidence that consuming PUFA in place of saturated fat reduce cardiovascular disease.

Instead of reducing the intake of all the fat, it is healthier to only reduce saturated fat such as those found in dairy and meat. The fat found in vegetables, nuts, seeds, avocados and cold water fish provide health benefits.

Fat is involved in the regulation of inflammation and is incorporated into the cell membranes. Omega 6 fat is converted to arachidonic acid which again is converted to inflammatory substances. We need this to produce a healthy immune response, but is it important to have a balance between omega 6 and omega 3 fat since omega 3 fat helps to reduce inflammation.

You can read more about this in the books “Effective Nutrition for Effective Healing” and “The Food Connection.”

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.



Reference:

Mozaffarian D, Micha R, Wallace S. Effects on coronary heart disease of increasing polyunsaturated fat in place of saturated fat: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. PLoS Med. 2010 Mar 23;7(3):e1000252.

Low grade inflammation documented to affect executive function.

A common way of assessing low grade systemic inflammation is to test the level of highly sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), an inflammatory marker. Hs-CRP is usually used as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Hs-CRP also seems to be associated with an increased risk for dementia. The researchers who conducted the study reviewed here investigated the relationship between low grade inflammation as measured with hs-CRP and executive function (Wersching H, et al. 2010). Examples of executive function include comprehension, decision-making, planning and learning.

High-field MRI and psychometric analyses were used in the evaluation process. They found that higher levels of hs-CRP were associated with worse performance in executive function. The data suggested that low grade inflammation is associated with cerebral microstructural disintegration.

The food we eat can be a powerful tool in reducing low grade inflammation.

To learn what foods to avoid and what kind of meals to eat, read the book “The Food Connection.” The recommendations in this book can be very helpful when it comes to reducing low grade inflammation. The book is also fast and easy to read and includes a lot of easy to make recipes.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.

Reference:

Wersching H, Duning T, Lohmann H, Mohammadi S, Stehling C, Fobker M, Conty M, Minnerup J, Ringelstein EB, Berger K, Deppe M, Knecht S. Serum C-reactive protein is linked to cerebral microstructural integrity and cognitive function. Neurology. 2010 Mar 30;74(13):1022-9.

The role of vitamin D and accumulation of muscle fat

Vitamin D is important for many reasons and deficiencies are also very common. The study reviewed here is interesting, since it examined the relationship between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) and fat infiltration in muscle (Gilsanz V, et al. 2000).

25OHD is the most common way of testing to determining vitamin D status. The participants in this study were women aged 16-22 years residing in California.

Approximately 59% of the participants were found to be vitamin D insufficient with 25OHD levels of 29 ng/mL or lower and 24% of these women were deficient with a 25OHD of 20 ng/mL or less.

The percent muscle fat was found to be significantly lower in the women with normal serum 25OHD than in women with insufficient levels and deficient levels of 25OHD.

The researchers concluded that vitamin D insufficiently is associated with increased fat infiltration in muscle in healthy young women.

These women lived in California where there are plenty of sunny days, but even so the majority of the study participants did not get enough vitamin D.

Even if you do not get enough sun exposure without sunscreen it is easy to correct. Supplementing the diet with 1000-2000 IU of vitamin D3 daily will take care of that.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.


Reference:

Gilsanz Vicente, Kremer Arye, Mo, Ashley O., Wren, Tishya A.L., Kremer, Richard. Vitamin D Status and Its Relation to Muscle Mass and Muscle Fat in Young Women. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, doi:10.1210/jc.2009-2309.

Research documenting reduced risk of colorectal cancer for these nutrients.

Magnesium is important for many reasons because it maintains genomic stability and is an essential cofactor for DNA synthesis and repair.

It has now been documented that higher dietary intake of magnesium may decrease the risk of colorectal cancer in men (Ma E, et al. 2010). The study included 40,830 Japanese men and 46,287 Japanese women, but it did not find the same association for women.

High magnesium intake in women was shown some years ago to reduce the occurrence of colorectal cancer in women (Larsson SC, et al. 2005). This study included 61,433 Swedish women.

Vitamin B6 intake which is involved in nearly 100 enzymatic reactions has now also been associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer (Larsson SC, et al. 2010).

A large study including more than 520,000 participants from 10 western European countries found that lower levels of vitamin D were associated with higher colorectal cancer risk and higher concentrations were associated with lower risk (Jenab M, et al. 2010).

Higher vitamin D levels were also found to reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in an ethnically diverse population (Woolcott CG, et al. 2010).

An easy way to get all these nutrients is to take the BMJ formula, which also supports the musculoskeletal system.

To read the original abstract, click on the references below.



References:

Jenab M, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Ferrari P, van Duijnhoven FJ, Norat T, Pischon T, Jansen EH, Slimani N, Byrnes G, Rinaldi S, Tjønneland A, Olsen A, Overvad K, Boutron-Ruault MC, Clavel-Chapelon F, Morois S, Kaaks R, Linseisen J, Boeing H, Bergmann MM, Trichopoulou A, Misirli G, Trichopoulos D, Berrino F, Vineis P, Panico S, Palli D, Tumino R, Ros MM, van Gils CH, Peeters PH, Brustad M, Lund E, Tormo MJ, Ardanaz E, Rodríguez L, Sánchez MJ, Dorronsoro M, Gonzalez CA, Hallmans G, Palmqvist R, Roddam A, Key TJ, Khaw KT, Autier P, Hainaut P, Riboli E. Association between pre-diagnostic circulating vitamin D concentration and risk of colorectal cancer in European populations:a nested case-control study. BMJ. 2010 Jan 21;340:b5500. doi: 10.1136/bmj.b5500.

Larsson SC, Bergkvist L, Wolk A. Magnesium intake in relation to risk of colorectal cancer in women. JAMA. 2005 Jan 5;293(1):86-9.

Larsson SC, Orsini N, Wolk A. Vitamin B6 and risk of colorectal cancer: a meta-analysis of prospective studies. JAMA. 2010 Mar 17;303(11):1077-83.

Ma E, Sasazuki S, Inoue M, Iwasaki M, Sawada N, Takachi R, Tsugane S; Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study Group. High dietary intake of magnesium may decrease risk of colorectal cancer in Japanese men. J Nutr. 2010 Apr;140(4):779-85. Epub 2010 Feb 17.

Woolcott CG, Wilkens LR, Nomura AM, Horst RL, Goodman MT, Murphy SP, Henderson BE, Kolonel LN, Le Marchand L. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and the risk of colorectal cancer: the multiethnic cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2010 Jan;19(1):130-4.

Omega 3 fatty acids decrease arterial stiffness

A lot of research has documented the anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular protective benefits of omega 3 fatty acids.

The study reviewed here is interesting because it measured an almost immediate benefit after eating an omega 3 rich meal (Chong MF, et al. 2010).

12 men and 13 women participated in the study and received on two occasions and in a random order an omega 3 rich meal and a control meal.

The researchers measured arterial stiffness at baseline and at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 and 240 minutes after a meal.

A significant improvement of arterial stiffness was seen after eating the meal high in omega 3 fat. It was concluded that this has important implications for the beneficial properties of omega 3 fatty acids and cardiovascular risk reduction.

Eating fish high in omega 3 fat, like wild salmon, is healthy. It may however not be good to eat it every day because of contamination with heavy metals like mercury and also other contaminants like pesticides.

Taking high quality fish oil capsules containing higher amount of EPA and DHA, the beneficial fats in fish oil, will solve that problem.

Our product “Better Fish Oil” has been extensively tested for both mercury and pesticides as well as many other toxins to ensure the product is of high quality.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.



Reference:

Chong MF, Lockyer S, Saunders CJ, Lovegrove JA. Long chain n-3 PUFA-rich meal reduced postprandial measures of arterial stiffness. Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar 1.

Green tea, breast and liver cancer

Many benefits have been associated with green tea consumption. The polyphenols in green tea may also be preventive against various cancers.

Regular consumption of green tea and breast cancer risk was evaluated recently (Shrubsole MJ, et al. 2009). Compared with nondrinkers, regular drinking of green tea was associated with a slightly decreased risk for breast cancer.

A dose-response relationship was also found with the amount of green tea consumed per month. Higher amount provided more protection.

The association between green tea consumption and liver cancer incidence has also been evaluated (Ui A, et al. 2009). 41,761 adults aged 40-79 years participated in the study which lasted for 9 years.

The researcher found that green tea consumption was inversely associated with the incidence of liver cancer. Higher green tea consumption was associated with lower risk. 5 cups or more per day provided the most protection.

If you like green tea, it is better if you also make it strong. It is the polyphenols in the green tea which provides the protection. If you don’t want to drink 5 cups or more daily of green tea, you can take one capsule per day of a green tea extract, which is equivalent to 5 or more cups.

To read the original abstracts, click on the references below.


References:

Shrubsole MJ, Lu W, Chen Z, Shu XO, Zheng Y, Dai Q, Cai Q, Gu K, Ruan ZX, Gao YT, Zheng W. Drinking green tea modestly reduces breast cancer risk. J Nutr. 2009 Feb;139(2):310-6. Epub 2008 Dec 11.

Ui A, Kuriyama S, Kakizaki M, Sone T, Nakaya N, Ohmori-Matsuda K, Hozawa A, Nishino Y, Tsuji I. Green tea consumption and the risk of liver cancer in Japan: the Ohsaki Cohort study. Cancer Causes Control. 2009 Dec;20(10):1939-45. Epub 2009 Sep 19.

Be happy and reduce your risk for coronary heart disease.

Being happy certainly makes life more enjoyable both for ourselves and other people we come in contact with. It may also help protect us from serious diseases.

In a large study which included 14,916 person-years of observation, the researchers investigated that being happy could help prevent coronary heart disease events over a period of 10 years (Davidson KW, et al. 2010).

When age, sex and cardiovascular risk factors were accounted for, it was still found that being happy and positive was protective against coronary heart disease.

Feeling happy is easier said than done sometimes. Meditation is one tool you can use for working on being happier. If you do it regularly, it can help you stay in a better state of mind.

To read the original abstract, click on the reference below.



Reference:

Davidson KW, Mostofsky E, Whang W. Don't worry, be happy: positive affect and reduced 10-year incident coronary heart disease: The Canadian Nova Scotia Health Survey. Eur Heart J. 2010 Feb 17.