To reap heart benefits of a plant-based diet, avoid junk food
Plant-based diet found to reduce cardiovascular risk, but only if foods are healthful
Harokopio University (Greece), March 18, 2020
Plant-based diets are becoming more popular in many areas of the world, but the health benefits of this dietary pattern may depend largely on the specific foods consumed. A new study being presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC) suggests that people following a plant-based diet who frequently consumed less-healthful foods like sweets, refined grains and juice showed no heart health benefit compared with those who did not eat a plant-based diet.
“Based on these results, it seems that simply following a plant-based or vegetarian diet is not enough to reduce cardiovascular disease risk,” said Demosthenes Panagiotakos, PhD, professor of biostatistics, research methods and epidemiology at Harokopio University of Athens, Greece and the study’s lead author. “It is also important to focus on specific, healthful plant-based food groups to see a benefit in terms of reducing cardiovascular disease.”
Researchers tracked eating behavior and the development of heart disease among more than 2,000 Greek adults over a 10-year period, beginning in 2002. Participants were asked to complete a detailed food frequency survey at the time of enrollment, after five years and after 10 years.
At the end of the study period, researchers analyzed the relationship between diet and the development of cardiovascular disease using a dietary index that divided participants into three groups based on the number of animal-based foods (which included meats as well as animal-derived products such as eggs and dairy) they consumed per day. Overall, men eating fewer animal-based foods were 25% less likely to develop heart disease compared to men eating more animal-based foods. The same overall trend was seen in women, but the relationship was less strong, with an overall risk reduction of about 11% among women eating the fewest animal-based foods.
Even though the difference in cardiovascular disease risk was significant between these groups, the overall difference in consumption of animal-based foods was relatively small. Those following a more plant-based diet consumed, on average, three animal-based foods daily while those following a less plant-based diet consumed five.
“These findings highlight that even a small reduction in the daily consumption of animal-based products–principally the less healthy foods, such as processed meat products–accompanied by an increase in healthy plant-based foods may contribute to better cardiovascular health,” Panagiotakos said.
Focusing in on participants who followed a more plant-based diet, researchers then categorized each participant’s diet as either healthful (reflecting increased consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, oils and tea or coffee) or unhealthful (reflecting increased consumption of juices,
sweetened beverages, refined grains, potatoes and sweets). Only participants following a healthful plant-based diet had a significant reduction in cardiovascular risk compared to those who ate more animal-based products.
Differences in eating patterns–and associated cardiovascular risk reduction–were also observed between women and men. In general, men ate about three times per day while women tended to snack more, eating four to five times daily. At the same time, women showed a more dramatic increase in heart disease risk when eating an unhealthful plant-based diet and a more dramatic reduction in risk when eating a healthful plant-based diet compared to men who fell into the same two categories. This suggests that snacking on healthful foods can be beneficial while snacking on unhealthful foods can bring higher risks, Panagiotakos said.
The study was limited by its reliance on questionnaires to track participants’ diets. However, the findings bolster evidence for the heart health benefits of a plant-based diet and could help inform future dietary guidance for prevention of cardiovascular disease.
“In the future, I believe it will be useful if cardiovascular disease prevention guidelines offer clearer and specific nutrition suggestions, in terms of the types of foods that are recommended and the portions that should be consumed,” Panagiotakos said.
This study received funding from the Hellenic Cardiology Society, Hellenic Atherosclerosis Society and the pharmaceutical industry.
Probiotics can destroy cancer cells and prevent their spread
Putra University Malyasia, March 18, 2020
The probiotic effects of metabolites produced by certain microbes have attracted scientific interest in recent years. Called bioactive postbiotic metabolites (PM), these compounds are said to promote gut health, relieve gastrointestinal disorders and enhance innate immunity.
Some studies have reported the anti-cancer effects of different components of bacteria like Lactobacillus gasseri and L. crispatus. In particular, scientists have noted how culture supernatants and bacterial cell extracts exhibit cytotoxicity and induce apoptosis in different types of cancer. Due to these interesting findings, researchers from Malaysia decided to test the effects of PMs from six different strains of L. plantarum on various cancer and normal cells.
In their study, which appeared in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, the researchers demonstrated the ability of PMs to kill malignant cancer cells without harming normal cells. They believe that these compounds have great potential as functional supplements and as adjuncts to cancer treatments.
The anti-cancer activities of postbiotic metabolites
PMs are considered the “master health-regulating compounds” as they play regulatory roles inside the body. These compounds affect every organ system, including the brain and immune system. PMs are produced by probiotic bacteria while they break down dietary fiber from foods, and these products range from soluble or secreted factors and bacteriocins (bacterial proteins) to metabolites and cell-free supernatants.
According to studies, PMs are just as effective as live probiotics and may even be safer than them. Due to their benefits, scientists have proposed the use of PMs in the treatment and prevention of gut-related diseases, such as inflammatory bowel diseases. In the case of L. plantarum, a probiotic found widely in fermented food products, the bacteriocin-containing PMs produced by six different strains have shown growth- and health-promoting effects in rats, poultry and pigs. Hence, the researchers decided to test their effects on cancer cells.
For their study, the researchers used normal human primary cells and breast, colorectal, cervical, liver and leukemia cancer cell lines. They also used different assays to determine the toxicity of L. plantarum PMs in vitro.
The researchers reported that UL4 PM had the lowest maximum inhibitory concentration (IC50) value against breast cancer cells. Meanwhile, a PM designated as RG14 had the lowest IC50 against colorectal cancer cells. Two PMs, RG11 and RI11, had the lowest IC50 values against leukemia cells. None of the tested PMs caused hemolysis (rupture) of human, dog, rabbit and chicken red blood cells, or exhibited cytotoxicity toward normal human and animal cells.
Due to the pronounced cytotoxicity shown by UL4 PM, the researchers tested it on MCF-7 (breast cancer) cells. They found that UL4 PM exerted anti-proliferative effects on MCF-7 cells after 72 hours of incubation at a concentration of 30 percent (v/v). Meanwhile, RG14 PM did the same on HT-29 (colorectal cancer) cells. Further analysis revealed that the cytotoxicity of the two PMs was mediated through apoptosis.
Based on these findings, the researchers concluded that the PMs produced by six strains of L. plantarum are selectively cytotoxic to malignant cancer cells in a strain-specific and cancer cell type-specific manner. These PMs can thus be used as functional supplements and as adjuncts to cancer treatments.
CoQ10 supports breast cancer patients’ quality of life
Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences (Iran), March 16 2020.
A double-blind, randomized trial found improvement in several aspects of quality of life in association with coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) supplementation among women being treated for breast cancer. The results were published on February 20, 2020 in the journal Psychology Research and Behavior Management
The trial included thirty women being treated for breast cancer who received 100 milligrams CoQ10 or a placebo daily for eight weeks. Responses to questionnaires administered at the beginning and end of the study provided the investigators with information concerning the participants’ quality of life. A separate questionnaire assessed physical activity. Three-day dietary records were used to evaluate food intake.
At the end of the study, women who received CoQ10 had better physical, emotional and cognitive functioning, and less appetite loss than the placebo group. No significant changes in health status or symptoms were noted at the end of the eight-week period.
Among potential mechanisms supporting the benefits revealed by the study, authors Seyed Ahmad Hosseini of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Iran and colleagues noted that CoQ10 functions as an antioxidant, membrane stabilizer and regulator of the mitochondria (which use CoQ10 in the production of energy). According to the authors, CoQ10 treatment decreases fatigue, depression and pain sensitivity via anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and neuroprotective effects. It has also been shown to reduce muscle weakness, while improving walking distance, exercise tolerance and oxygen utilization.
“In this study, we discovered proof demonstrating significant effects of CoQ10 on physical, social, and mental conditions in women with breast cancer,” the authors concluded. “In short, the supplemented patients showed better quality of life at the end of the study. Separate studies should be conducted in different age-groups and larger populations for longer periods to generalize the evidence gained.”
Carnosine ameliorates age-related dementia via improving mitochondrial dysfunction in mice
Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine (China), March 18, 2020
According to news reporting originating from Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Dementia is a kind of age-related neurodegenerative disease. Carnosine, an endogenous dipeptide consisting of b-alanine and l-histidine, has been shown to have neuroprotective effects.”
Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, “However, the exact mechanism is still obscure. In this study, senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice, an age-related animal model, were used. Carnosine (100 and 200 mg kg-1 day-1) was orally administered to the mice once daily for six weeks. Behavioral tests, western blotting, and detection kits were used to evaluate the potential effects of carnosine on SAMP8 mice. Open-field and new object recognition experiments have shown that carnosine improved cognitive deficits in SAMP8 mice. Carnosine decreased the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and the level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in SAMP8 mice. Concomitantly, western blotting results proved that carnosine increased the protein expressions of Mitofusin-1, Mitofusin-2, and Bcl-2 and reduced the protein expressions of P-Drp1, Bax, cleaved Caspase-3 and NLRP3 inflammasomes in the hippocampus of SAMP8 mice.”
According to the news editors, the research concluded: “The present data provided evidence that carnosine might improve cognitive impairment in SAMP8 mice through modulating mitochondrial dysfunction.”
Study reveals sage extract helps with hot flashes during menopause
A. Vogel AG (Switzerland), March 18, 2020
In a study published in the journal BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, researchers from Germany and Switzerland explored the mode of action of the common sage in the brain, with particular focus on neurologic impulse transmission. Their objective was to shed light on how this multi-purpose herb can reduce common symptoms of menopause.
How sage helps menopausal women
To understand how the common sage can ease menopause symptoms, the researchers first obtained a hydroalcoholic extract from freshly harvested sage leaves and ensured that it was thujone-free. Thujone is a plant compound that’s known for its toxicity. The researchers then subjected the sage extract to an acetylcholinesterase enzyme assay, as well as several receptor binding assays.
The researchers found that the extract replaced 50 percent of the specific ligand binding to y-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAA) and GABAB receptors at an inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 89 and 229?micrograms per milliliter (mcg/mL), respectively. GABAA and GABAB receptors both respond to their ligand GABA, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS).
The researchers also observed that the sage extract has a strong binding affinity to the adrenergic a2A receptor, u-opioid receptors, muscarinic M3 receptors and serotonin 5-HT1A receptors. Additionally, they noted moderate interference with 5-HT2B, 5-HT2C receptors and the human serotonin transporter. Compared with extracts from dried sage or stipes, the extract from freshly harvested sage exhibited a higher activity and lower IC50 values.
The a2A receptor is important for regulating oxygen consumption of the heart muscle, blood flow through the arteries and CNS neurotransmitters. The u-opioid receptors, meanwhile, mediate pain-relieving effects. Muscarinic M3 receptors are expressed in brain regions involved in regulating glucose homeostasis, while serotonin receptors are linked to the control of physiological functions, such as the sleep-wake cycle, thermoregulation, food intake and sexual behavior.
Based on these results, the researchers concluded that the sage extract works by modulating neuro-receptors and serotonin transporters to normalize thermoregulation and mental impairment during menopause.
New COVID-19 Research: The Immune System Can Fight Back
University of Melbourne (Australia), March 18, 2020
Melbourne researchers have mapped immune responses from one of Australia’s first novel coronavirus (COVID-19) patients, showing the body’s ability to fight the virus and recover from the infection.
Researchers at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) – a joint venture between the University of Melbourne and the Royal Melbourne hospital – were able to test blood samples at four different time points in an otherwise healthy woman in her 40s, who presented with COVID-19 and had mild-to-moderate symptoms requiring hospital admission.
Published today in Nature Medicine is a detailed report of how the patient’s immune system responded to the virus. One of the authors on the paper, research fellow Dr Oanh Nguyen said this was the first time that broad immune responses to COVID-19 have been reported.
“We looked at the whole breadth of the immune response in this patient using the knowledge we have built over many years of looking at immune responses in patients hospitalised with influenza,” Dr Nguyen said.
Three days after the patient was admitted, we saw large populations of several immune cells, which are often a tell-tale sign of recovery during seasonal influenza infection, so we predicted that the patient would recover in three days, which is what happened.
The research team was able to do this research so rapidly thanks to SETREP-ID (Sentinel Travellers and Research Preparedness for Emerging Infectious Disease), led by Royal Melbourne Hospital Infectious Diseases Physician Dr Irani Thevarajan at the Doherty Institute.
SETREP-ID is a platform that enables a broad range of biological sampling to take place in returned travellers in the event of a new and unexpected infectious disease outbreak, which is exactly how COVID-19 started in Australia.
“When COVID-19 emerged, we already had ethics and protocols in place so we could rapidly start looking at the virus and immune system in great detail,” Dr Thevarajan said.
“Already established at a number of Melbourne hospitals, we now plan to roll out SETREP-ID as a national study.”
Working together with University of Melbourne Professor Katherine Kedzierska, a laboratory head at the Doherty Institute and a world-leading influenza immunology researcher, the team were able to dissect the immune response leading to successful recovery from COVID-19, which might be the secret to finding an effective vaccine.
“We showed that even though COVID-19 is caused by a new virus, in an otherwise healthy person, a robust immune response across different cell types was associated with clinical recovery, similar to what we see in influenza,” Professor Kedzierska said.
“This is an incredible step forward in understanding what drives recovery of COVID-19. People can use our methods to understand the immune responses in larger COVID-19 cohorts, and also understand what’s lacking in those who have fatal outcomes.”
Dr Thevarajan said that current estimates show more than 80 per cent of COVID-19 cases are mild-to-moderate, and understanding the immune response in these mild cases is very important research.
“We hope to now expand our work nationally and internationally to understand why some people die from COVID-19, and build further knowledge to assist in the rapid response of COVID-19 and future emerging viruses,” she said.
Step it up: Higher daily step counts linked with lower blood pressure
University of California at San Francisco, March 18, 2020
The smart watches seen on the wrists of roughly 1 in 5 Americans could be more than just a fun gimmick but a potentially useful research tool to track habitual physical activity levels. People who took more steps daily, as tracked by their watch, had lower blood pressure on average than those taking fewer steps in a study presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
The research is part of the Framingham Heart Study, a project focusing on factors affecting heart disease that has been ongoing for more than 70 years. Researchers analyzed data from 638 study participants who were asked to wear an Apple Watch daily and record their blood pressure at home weekly. Over the course of the study, participants’ average systolic blood pressure was 122 mm Hg and average diastolic blood pressure was 76 mm Hg, levels that are considered normal to slightly elevated according to the 2017 ACC/AHA High Blood Pressure in Adults guideline.
The study is one of the first to use commercially available wearable devices to track habitual physical activity in a large group of people in the context of daily life outside of a health care setting or research center.
“Measuring habitual physical activity in community-based settings in this way distinguishes our study from prior studies that have looked at either self-reported physical activity or used accelerometers to measure daily activity for only a short amount of time, usually about a week,” said Mayank Sardana, MD, a clinical fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, and the study’s lead author.
Although the study was observational and does not show cause and effect, the findings align with previous research suggesting that being more physically active can help lower blood pressure. After accounting for demographic factors, the study found participants’ systolic blood pressure was about 0.45 points lower for every 1,000 daily steps taken, meaning that a person taking 10,000 steps daily would have a systolic blood pressure 2.25 points lower than a person taking just 5,000 steps daily, on average. Given that study participants had an average systolic blood pressure of 122 mm Hg, this amount could make the difference between blood pressure that is considered normal (less than 120 mm Hg) and elevated (120 mm Hg or higher).
“This study solidifies our understanding of the relationship between physical activity and blood pressure and raises the possibility that obesity or body mass index accounts for a lot of that relationship,” Sardana said. “Going forward, it would be useful to look at how smart devices might be leveraged to promote physical activity, reduce the burden of obesity and potentially reduce blood pressure.”
Researchers excluded data from the participants with less than 30 days of wear time to ensure participants were accustomed to wearing the watch. They also excluded data from the days on which the watch was worn for less than five hours to ensure the step counts reflected most of a person’s daily movements. Over the course of about five months, participants averaged about 7,500 steps per day. Those with a higher daily step count had significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure. In a secondary analysis, the researchers found the association between step count and blood pressure was no longer significant if BMI was taken into account, which suggests BMI might be a mediating factor in the relationship.
However, the study was not designed to discern whether BMI affects step count or the other way around.
“We should look to future studies to answer the question of directionality with a randomized trial or cohort intervention,” Sardana said.
Sardana added that the electronic Framingham Heart Study cohort is the largest sample of participants developed leveraging the seminal Framingham Heart Study who are providing continuous data from smart devices for research. Their findings support the role of leveraging the data from wearable devices in epidemiology research to enhance the understanding of the relationship between cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease.
Nearly half of U.S. adults are estimated to have high blood pressure, and many don’t know they have it. Over time, elevated blood pressure can weaken the heart, blood vessels, kidneys and other parts of the body.
Social, financial factors critical to assessing cardiovascular risk
Food, housing and financial insecurity strongly linked with increased likelihood of heart disease
George Mason University, March 17, 2020
Certain markers of a person’s financial and social status, known as social determinants of health, offer valuable information about a person’s potential risk of heart disease but are often overlooked, according to research presented at the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session Together with World Congress of Cardiology (ACC.20/WCC).
Two studies examined how social determinants such as food security, financial stability and access to health care can play a defining role in a person’s risk of heart disease. Considering these factors as part of medical records and decision-making could help address health disparities, researchers said.
“We are very focused on addressing certain cardiovascular risk factors, but we forget about factors such as food, housing and financial security that often play a major role in the development of cardiovascular disease,” said Tarang Parekh, MBBS, an assistant researcher in the Department of Health Administration and Policy at George Mason University and lead author of one of the studies. “We are not investing enough to address these issues. We [must] start addressing patients’ problems from a broader perspective in order to better reduce the toll of cardiovascular diseases.”
Parekh and colleagues analyzed 2017 data from more than 400,000 U.S. adults in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a large phone-based survey that has been conducted annually for more than 35 years. Nearly 1 in 10 of the survey respondents reported having at least one form of heart disease. The researchers examined how respondents’ perceptions of their levels of food, housing and financial security related to their likelihood of having various forms of heart disease, including heart attack, stroke, coronary artery disease and congestive heart disease.
After adjusting for demographic factors, socioeconomic status and known heart disease risk factors, Parekh and his colleagues found several social factors to be independently associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Food and housing insecurity increased the odds of heart disease by more than 50%, while health care access hardship increased the odds by 47%. People with a high degree of financial insecurity (those who said they frequently felt stressed about having enough money to pay their rent or mortgage) were more than twice as likely to have heart disease as those who considered themselves financially secure.
While the study does not show cause and effect, Parekh said there are several possible reasons for the associations. Food insecurity (frequently feeling worried about having enough money to buy nutritious meals) could make it difficult to maintain a heart-healthy diet, he said, while financial or housing insecurity can lead to stress that can trigger physiological effects that contribute to heart disease. Suboptimal access to health care can cause people to delay screening or care until a cardiovascular problem is more advanced and harder to control.
Recognizing these challenges, he said, many health systems are reaching out beyond their clinic walls to connect patients with community resources to reduce barriers to accessing health care, food and housing.
“Recently, health care systems have been considering adding questions relevant to social determinants of health to electronic health records, which would be a really good step,” Parekh said. “In addition, some physicians have started asking questions about the challenges patients may be facing in terms of food, housing and finances and collaborating with non-profit [and community] organizations to address these issues in addition to other cardiovascular risk factors a patient has.”
The study is limited by the potential for bias in sample selection and its reliance on self-reporting by participants, Parekh said. The researchers plan to further investigate the timing of heart disease development to shed more light on its relationship with social and financial factors.
Redefining risk scores
A separate study focused on the modeling tools doctors commonly use to gauge a patient’s cardiovascular risk. Researchers found that current risk prediction models, which do not incorporate details about income, education level, housing status or food insecurity, likely underestimate the cardiovascular risk faced by patients in minority groups and those with low income. Because doctors use risk scores to guide treatment decisions, the study authors said this shortcoming could contribute to health disparities.
“If we systematically underpredict risk, we will systematically undertreat,” said Gmerice Hammond, MD, cardiology fellow at Washington University School of Medicine and the study’s lead author. “Our study is the first to show that if you bring a robust panel of social determinant factors into the risk models, you may actually be able to improve clinical risk prediction.”
Polyphenol-rich green tea extract induces thermogenesis by mechanism dependent on adiponectin signaling
Cruzeiro do Sul University (Brazil), March 17, 2020
According to news reporting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil, research stated, “Adiponectin is downregulated in obesity negatively impacting the thermogenesis and impairing white fat browning. Despite the notable effects of green tea (GT) extract in the enhancement of thermogenesis, if its effects are being mediated by adiponectin has been scarcely explored.”
Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from Cruzeiro do Sul University, “For this purpose, we investigated the role of adiponectin in the thermogenic actions of GT extract by using an adiponectin-knockout mice model. Male wild-type (WT) and knockout (AdipoKO) C57Bl/6 mice (3 months) were divided into 6 groups: mice fed a standard diet+gavage with water (SD WT, and SD AdipoKO), high-fat diet (HFD)+gavage with water (HFD WT, and HFD AdipoKO), and HFD + gavage with 500 mg/kg of body weight (BW) of GT extract (HFD + GT WT, and HFD + GT AdipoKO). After 20 weeks of experimentation, mice were euthanized and adipose tissue was properly removed. Our findings indicate that treatment with GT extract reversed complications of obesity in WT mice by decreasing final BW gain, adiposity index, adipocyte size and insulin resistance (IR). However, the action of the GT extract was not effective in reversing those markers in the AdipoKO mice, although GT acts independently in the reversal of IR. GT-treatment induced enhancement in energy expenditure (EE), BAT thermogenesis, and promoted browning phenotype in the subcutaneous WAT (scWAT) of WT mice. On the other hand, the thermogenic program was markedly impaired in BAT and scWAT of AdipoKO mice.”
According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Our outcomes unveiled adiponectin as a key direct signal for GT extract inducing adaptive thermogenesis and browning in scWAT.”