Category Archives: Cardiovascular Health

Daily Olive Oil Supplementation Improves Coronary Artery Disease Risk

Olive oil has been implicated over and over again in prevention of

Photo by Flickr user USDA (http://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/6896388410)
Photo by Flickr user USDA (http://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/6896388410)

cardiovascular disease in many populations. Research has found that the oleic acid and other phenolics in the olive oil contributes to lowered cardiovascular disease risk, specifically interacting with low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and other urinary proteomic biomarkers.

A new study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition aimed to evaluate whether or not supplementing a person’s diet with olive oil had any effect on various urinary proteomic biomarkers for coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes. Additionally, two olive oil treatments were compared: one with low levels of phenolics or one with high levels of phenolics.

69 healthy people participated in this study and were randomly assigned supplementation with either high phenolic olive oil, or low phenolic olive oil. Supplementation occurred daily over a period of 6 weeks. Daily doses were 20mL.

Low phenolic olive oil was categorized as containing 18mg caffeic acid equivalents per kg, while high phenolic olive oil was categorized as containing 286mg caffeic acid equivalents per kg.

Urinary proteomic biomarkers, blood lipids, antioxidant capacity, and glycation markers were measured were measured at baseline, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks after daily olive oil supplementation.

Important Findings

  • Daily supplementation of both olive oils reduced biomarker levels for coronary artery disease.
  • Daily supplementation of both olive oils had no influence on biomarker levels of chronic kidney disease or diabetes.
  • There were no significant differences in reduction of disease biomarkers between olive oil with low levels of phenolics versus olive oil with high levels of phenolics.

The results of this study indicate that supplementation with olive oil improved coronary artery disease risk based on urinary proteomic

Photo by Flickr user Smabs Sputzer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08/6825479819)
Photo by Flickr user Smabs Sputzer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/10413717@N08/6825479819)

biomarkers in healthy adults. On the other hand, olive oil supplementation did not seem to influence chronic kidney disease or diabetes risk based on urinary proteomic biomarkers.

Finally, there were no significant differences between the high and low phenolic doses of olive oil supplements, indicating that low dose of 18mg caffeic acid/kg is just as good as a high dose of 286mg caffeic acid per kg in reducing coronary artery disease risk.

Source:

Silva, S., Bronze, M.R., Figueira, M.E., Siwy, J., Mischak, H., Combet, E., and Mullen, W. 2015. Impact of a 6-wk olive oil supplementation in healthy adults on urinary proteomic biomarkers of coronary artery disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes (types 1 and 2): a randomized, parallel, controlled, double-blind study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition: ajcn.114.094219v1101/1/44.

Healthy Lifestyle Choices Significantly Reduce Heart Disease in Younger Adult Women

While heart disease is one of the top killers of Americans, the number of cases has actually been on the decline recently. Despite this supposed downward trend, cases of heart disease in young women have stabilized. One possible explanation for this lack of

Photo by Flickr user Global Panorama (http://www.flickr.com/photos/121483302@N02/15683243130)
Photo by Flickr user Global Panorama (http://www.flickr.com/photos/121483302@N02/15683243130)

further decline in heart disease cases in young women could be related to lifestyle choices.

A new study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology explored this issue by evaluating the proportion of heart disease cases and cardiovascular risk factors among young women that may be related to poor diet and other lifestyle choices.

88,940 younger women between the ages of 27 and 44 were followed between 1991 and 2011.

Lifestyle habits were determined by self-reported questionnaires.

A “healthy lifestyle” was defined by: 1) non-smoker; 2) “normal” BMI; 3) being physically active for at least 2.5 hours per week; 4) watching TV for less than 7 hours per week; 5) eating a healthy diet (i.e. in the top 40% of Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores); and 6) consuming between 0.1 and 14.9g/day of alcohol.

Proportion of heart disease and risk factors (inc. diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia) were calculated.

Important Findings:

Continue reading Healthy Lifestyle Choices Significantly Reduce Heart Disease in Younger Adult Women

Eating a Healthy Diet Reduces Risk of Systemic Inflammation in Older Adults

Systemic inflammation is known to be associated with several health problems and diseases, including various types of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancers. It is also known that a poor diet is also linked to these same diseases and more, raising the question of

Photo By Dimitrije Krstic (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo By Dimitrije Krstic (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
whether diet choice is associated with systemic inflammation, or if these markers for certain diseases are mutually exclusive.

A new research study from Lund University in Sweden focused on a group of 667 older adults between the ages of 63 and 68, to determine if diet quality was associated with the clinical signs of systemic inflammation.

At baseline, the participants answered questions related to socio-demographics. Additionally, height, weight, BMI, hip and waist circumferences, blood pressure, various blood sample measurements, and diet quality indices were collected and analyzed.

Important Findings:

Continue reading Eating a Healthy Diet Reduces Risk of Systemic Inflammation in Older Adults

Exercise and Eating a Mediterranean Diet Is Even Better than Exercise Alone for Cardiovascular Health

As we get older, our risk of cardiovascular problems increases, particularly in the form of endothelial function and microvascular

Photo by Anne Brown Rodgers [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Anne Brown Rodgers [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
strength and integrity. Part of the story is age, while another part might be related to diet, exercise, and other lifestyle choices.

One recent study out of the UK examined whether or not this decline in endothelial function and microvascular integrity could be reversed when combining exercise and the Mediterranean diet for a total of 8 weeks. This study followed up with participants after one year, to determine if this improvement in cardiac function remained, or if when transitioning back to their pre-study diets their risk for declining endothelial and microvascular health once again increased to their pre-study levels.

This study measured various outcomes related to endothelial function and microvascular integrity on 20 individuals aged 55 and older. In the original study, half the participants participated in a specific exercise regime, while the other half was put on a specific Mediterranean diet plan and did the same exercise regime as the first group, all for 8 weeks.

One year later, the same outcomes related to endothelial function and microvascular integrity were measured on these 20 individuals.

Photo by Bill Branson (Photographer) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Bill Branson (Photographer) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Important Findings:

Continue reading Exercise and Eating a Mediterranean Diet Is Even Better than Exercise Alone for Cardiovascular Health

Eating a Mediterranean-Style Diet Results in Significantly Reduced Left Ventricular Mass

Increased left ventricular mass is considered a risk factor for cardiovascular disease in many populations. An increase in the left ventricular mass results in the heart having to work a lot harder to pump blood through the body, increasing risk to many cardiovascular problems, including hypertension and eventually heart failure.

There are data to suggest that one’s diet has an influence on cardiovascular health, however, there have been very few scientific studies examining the relationship between

Photo by Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator (Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator) [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
Photo by Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator (Patrick J. Lynch, medical illustrator) [CC-BY-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons
left ventricular mass and the consumption of a Mediterranean-style diet.

A new collaborative study by researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine (FL) and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (NY) looked at 1937 multi-ethnic patients and determined what type of diet they regularly consumed as well as the mass of their left ventricle (using echocardiography).

Important findings:

Continue reading Eating a Mediterranean-Style Diet Results in Significantly Reduced Left Ventricular Mass