STRIKE BACK AGAINST HEART ATTACK: ADDED INSURANCE – THE HEART-PROTECTION DIE
TIn addition you can make food one of your strongest allies in keeping heart disease at bay. This is the latest from the research front.Anti-oxidants are substances in foods that are thought to prevent chronic diseases (heart disease being one of them) by “mopping up” stray oxygen molecules called free radicals which cause cellular and other damage in our bodies. In the case of heart disease, such damage could alter free-circulating cholesterol into a form that sticks to arteries and clogs them. There are several antioxidants; hedge your bets by trying to incorporate as many of them as you ean in your heart-healthy diet:Flavonoids. Recent studies have suggested that foods rich in flavonoids — natural chemical compounds found in fruits, vegetables, wine and tea — reduce the risk of fatal heart- disease. Flavonoids, in their anti-oxidant role, are thought to clean up toxic particles that can damage cells in the coronary arteries and other parts of the body. In one study reported in The Lancet, older men who consumed foods and beverages with the most flavonoids — primarily tea, onions and apples — were less than half as likely to die of heart disease as were men who consumed the least.Carotenoids. Another group of anti-oxidants is the carotenoids, the “pigments” that give some fruits and vegetables their deep rich hues of orange, yellow and red as in mangoes, papayas, carrots, oranges, tomatoes and yellow corn. They are also found in green leafy vegetables like spinach and turnip greens, though here chlorophyll hides the carotenoid colours. Scientists have discovered more than 50 different edible carotenoids in the plant kingdom; of these, beta-carotene has received the most press. However, more recently, it’s lycopene — the carotenoid in tomatoes — that has become the health establishment’s darling. Earlier research had chiefly linked it to a reduced risk of various deadly cancers. Now a study of 139 middle-aged European men at the University of North Carolina has found that those who consumed the most lycopene in their foods cut their risk of heart disease by half, compared to those who consumed the least. 662 of the men had suffered previous heart attacks. In contrast to several other studies that asked subjects how much of lycopene -rich foods they ate, this one determined the actual amount of this carotenoid by measuring its presence in the body. The team simultaneously measured levels of other anti-oxidants like alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein in the men’s bodies; but lycopene alone was associated with a reduced risk for heart disease.Tomatoes are the richest source of lycopene; but the body does not absorb it well unless the tomatoes are cooked. Other sources include water-melon, red grapefruit and, in smaller quantities, shellfish like lobster and crab.Vitamin E. Several studies indicate that vitamin E may have special chemical properties that make it heart-protective. Lab research shows that LDL cholesterol (the artery-clogging kind) may be able to cling to artery walls only after it has been oxidized (that is, chemically altered by certain destructive molecules in the body — the so-called “free radicals”.) And Vitamin E, which travels through the bloodstream by latching on to LDL molecules, appears to be in an ideal position to inhibit such oxidation.Indeed, various lab and human trials have shown that Vitamin E intake:Results in fewer oxidized LDL molecules in the blood.Slows down the clogging of coronary arteries with cholesterol deposits. (Also, reduces the incidence of re-clogging in arteries that have been opened up with angioplasty.)Helps to prevent the formation of blood clots (which can trigger a heart attack by plugging a partially-clogged artery).Reduces the risk of developing coronary disease.Reduces the risk of dying from coronary disease.Medical opinion is that, while the evidence is strong, it may be too soon to prescribe Vitamin E as a heart-protective supplement. Still, you may wish to boost your own intake. Doing so through diet alone may prove difficult since the best Vitamin E sources are the concentrated plant fats, such as vegetable and seed oils. If you don’t need to worry about your weight you could try boosting your dietary intake by substituting these plant fats for animal fats like butter, cream or ghee. Other good sources include wheatgerm, sunflower seeds, peanuts, sweet potatoes and avocados.But the strongest evidence of the heart-protective benefits of Vitamin E has been found with higher levels than can he achieved in a healthy diet. All the same, if you do supplement, stick to modest doses of 100 to 400 IU daily. Extremely high doses increase the risk of life-threatening haemorrhagic strokes.Also, if you regularly take medications that inhibit clotting (such as warfarin and, possibly, aspirin), talk to your doctor before starting to take Vitamin E.Fill up on fibre. Studies have shown that subjects put on a high-fibre diet lowered their cholesterol more than the controls (put on only a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet) did. But the most dramatic effects were seen in. those who (i) had a high level of blood cholesterol to start with; (ii) customarily ate a low-fibre high-fat diet; and (iii) were put on very large amounts of fibre (say, 100 grams of oat bran every day.) Other studies (including the pioneering Harvard research that caused oat-bran sales to crash) have found little effect in subjects who already had normal cholesterol.A major, long-term study of 40,000 men who were followed for six years found that the risk of a heart attack was 36 per cent lower among the men who consumed the most fibre compared to those who consumed the least. Though fibre from grains, fruits and vegetables was associated with a reduced heart-attack risk, the link was strongest in the case of fibre from grains.Overall, the consensus is that if you’re at high risk for one of the diseases that fibre can affect (and heart disease is one of them), then higher amounts, as part of a calorie-controlled, doctor-supervised diet, may reduce your risks. (That means higher than the normal daily recommendation of 20 to 30 grams).But there are two types of fibre, and the one that has an impact on heart disease is soluble fibre, found in oat bran, in pectin-rich fruits like apples, and in psyllium (a seed that forms the active ingredient in some brands of “natural laxatives”).How does soluble fibre act in the body to lower heart disease risks? In different ways, it appears. Some fibres bind with bile acids and carry them out of the intestines so that they can’t be used to form cholesterol. The soluble pectin fibre in fruits and the beta glucan in oat bran appear to sponge up harmful fatty acids. In a few cases, an oily substance in the fibre seems to interfere with cholesterol synthesis.*55\332\2*
