Guest guest Posted June 29, 2004 Report Share Posted June 29, 2004 Tue, 29 Jun 2004 09:50:50 -0500 HSI - Jenny Thompson Horse Sense Horse Sense Health Sciences Institute e-Alert June 29, 2004 ************************************************************** Dear Reader, If you eat like a horse, your heart just might stay as strong as a champion thoroughbred. According to a new study from US Department of Agriculture researchers at Tufts University, compounds in oats called avenanthramides significantly suppress the types of molecules that make blood cells stick to artery walls, causing the inflammation that leads to atherosclerosis. For HSI members, it certainly isn't news that dietary fiber (such as steel-cut oatmeal) is good for you. In fact, low fiber intake has long been associated with an increased risk of heart disease and a variety of cancers (including breast and colon cancers). But if you've been eating lots of whole wheat products to help the digestive tract move things along, you may be missing out on the important benefits of soluble fiber. ----------------------------- The water way ----------------------------- Dietary fibers are classified as either water-soluble (such as oats) or insoluble (such as whole wheat). And because soluble fibers have been shown to support cardiovascular health, a team of researchers at Tulane University studied the dietary and medical records of nearly 10,000 subjects enrolled in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Follow-up Study (NHEFS) looking for correlations between soluble fiber intake and coronary heart disease (CHD). All subjects were disease-free when the study began. During an average follow-up period of 19 years, 1,843 cases of CHD were recorded. Examination of the dietary records showed that subjects with the highest intake of insoluble fiber (approximately 21 grams per day) had about 12 percent lower risk of developing CHD as those with the lowest intake (approximately 6 grams per day). When the same records were compared for water-soluble fiber intake, subjects with the highest intake of this fiber (approximately 6 grams per day) had a 15 percent lower risk of developing CHD, compared to those with the lowest intake (less than one gram per day). ----------------------------- Fruit gets results ----------------------------- Another recent study among almost 1,000 heart patients in Milan, Italy, produced conclusions similar to the Tulane study. Dietary factors were assessed in interviews that showed that higher fiber intake reduced the risk of heart attack by well over 25 percent. But among those who had the highest intake of fruit and water-soluble fiber, heart attack risk was reduced by an impressive 36 percent. One surprising fact emerged from the collected data: Those with the highest intake of cereal fiber actually increased their heart attack risk by more than 10 percent. This was attributed to the fact that the sources of this type of fiber appeared to be refined grains. It's no secret to HSI members that many food products claim to be " whole grain " or " whole wheat, " but actually contain very little of either. ----------------------------- Go to the source ----------------------------- Most people don't eat enough unrefined, water-soluble fiber to produce the positive results shown in the Milan and Tulane studies. But good quality soluble fiber is easy to come by when a little care is taken to find unrefined sources of these foods: * Fruits; especially oranges, peaches, apples, and grapes * Vegetables; especially carrots, squash, and corn * Nuts and seeds (in particular, psyllium seeds) * Legumes; including peanuts, lentils, peas, and kidney, black, and pinto beans * Oats and barley Some people add fiber supplements to their diets, but William Campbell Douglass, M.D., has warned against using these supplements and eating fiber-enriched food, stating that the total effect they may have on the human body is still unknown and potentially dangerous. Dr. Douglass compares fiber-enriched foods to trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear, noting that, " adding fiber to foods with refined carbohydrates and artery clogging vegetable fats isn't going to make these already unhealthy foods any less bad for you. " Exactly so. Especially when it's so easy to find plenty of water-soluble fiber foods in your neighborhood grocery store. ************************************************************** To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit: http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopy.html Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert. ************************************************************** ... and another thing As we've seen many times with various therapies, one size rarely fits all. And the same is true with vitamin supplements. An HSI member named Doug sent an e-mail with this question: " It seems to me that dosages should somehow reflect a relationship to a person's body mass in order to be equally effective for all persons. Should a 90 lb. woman, or a 110 lb. teenager take the same dose as a 250 lb man? Perhaps the lack of expected results are only a result of not getting enough of what should help correct a condition when we all simply follow the directions for suggested dosages as shown on labels. " I knew that HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., would have an opinion on this topic, so I shared Doug's question with Dr. Spreen and here's what he had to say: " Nutrient supplementation, to be effective, is very often a dose-related phenomenon. If you want to prove that vitamins do NOT work, simply take a garden variety 100% RDA type hard pill multi-vitamin. The dosage contained is so low (except for iron) that it's usually impossible to even detect in the blood that the person ever took anything (even if the pill breaks down, which is not a given at all). " You are, therefore, correct. A Dallas Cowboys lineman would need, as a rule, a higher amount of nutrients to experience the same level of 'health insurance' or therapeutic efficacy as a 90-pound housewife (not to mention the additional physical stress he undergoes). " Concerning multi-vitamin/mineral preparations there can be one problem, and that's iron. It's too high, in my opinion, for most everyone as it is a known generator of free radicals in biological systems (if it's inorganic iron as most are in supplements). Therefore, you should either find a good multi that permits you to choose the same supplement 'with' or 'without' iron before deciding to increase the dose because you're a big guy. " Depending on the situation I might vary the dose of a supplement, even though the label says something like 'adult dose 1 per day'. Since I normally use doses that are quite a bit higher than 'normal' (whatever that is) for everyone, I worry less about the person's weight. My concern is the person's history, which gives me hints as to specific nutrients that might be under-supplied for a particular individual. I throw a strong multi in there, and using the history try to make an educated guess as to what other agents might be added to the 'team' for the best potential response. (For the record I add extra vitamin C to ALL supplement routines, as I don't believe any multi contains enough for even the smallest individual). " So, Doug, if you ARE a lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, it might be time to boost the vitamin dosage. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson Health Sciences Institute ************************************************************** To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit: http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopya.html Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert. ************************************************************** Sources: " Oats May Keep Arteries Out of Sticky Situations " Agricultural Research, June 2004, ars.usda.gov " Dietary Fiber Intake and Reduced Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in US Men and Women " Archives of Internal Medicine, Vol. 163, No. 16, 9/8/03, archinte.ama-assn.org " Fibre-Rich Diet Proves Good for Heart " NutraIngredients.com, 9/10/03, nutraingredients.com " Which Fibre is Most Healthy? " NutraIngredients.com, 3/13/03, nutraingredients.com " Fiber Fibs " William Campbell Douglass, M.D., Daily Dose, 2/18/03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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