Raw vegetables and fruit 'counteract heart risk genes'

People who are genetically susceptible to heart disease can lower their risk by eating plenty of fruit and raw vegetables, a study suggests. It says five or more daily portions should be enough to counteract culprit versions of a gene on chromosome 9, thought to be possessed by a fifth of people of European ancestry. Healthy diets appeared to weaken its effect. The US researchers investigated more than 27,000 people for their work. The findings were published in Plos Medicine journal. These participants came from from around the globe, including Europe, China and Latin America.

Vegetarians have less metabolic syndrome

Vegetarians have lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome - a precursor to heart disease and diabetes - than non-vegetarians, U.S. researchers say. Metabolic syndrome involves having three or more of the following - blood pressure equal to or higher than 130/85 millimeters of mercury; fasting blood sugar equal to or higher than 100 milligrams per deciliter; large waist circumference [for men, 40 inches or more, for women 35 inches or more]; low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [for men, under 40 mg/dL, for women, under 50 mg/dL; and triglycerides equal to or higher than 150 mg/dL. The study examined more than 700 adults - 35 percent were vegetarians - randomly selected from Loma Linda University's long-term study of the lifestyle and health of almost 100,000 Seventh-day Adventists across the United States and Canada. On average, the vegetarians and semi-vegetarians were 3 years older than non-vegetarians, but despite the older age, the vegetarians had lower triglycerides, glucose levels, blood pressure, waist circumference and body mass index. In addition, semi-vegetarians had a significantly lower body mass index and waist circumference compared to those who ate meat more regularly. "I was not sure if there would be a significant difference between vegetarians and non-vegetarians, and I was surprised by just how much the numbers contrast," lead researcher Nico S. Rizzo of Loma Linda University says in a statement. The findings are publishes in the journal Diabetes Care

Older people who eat healthy diets 'lead longer lives'

"Older people who follow healthy diets may live longer, a study suggests. Research in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found those who ate a low-fat diet that contained lots of fruit and vegetables lowered their risk of dying over 10 years. The study compared the diets of 2,500 US adults aged 70 to 79. Those who ate a high fat diet rich in ice cream, cheese, and whole milk, had the highest risk of death. The study showed that 12 extra people in every hundred survived over the ten years, if they ate healthily. Participants were split into six different groups, according to how often they ate certain foods. The groups were: healthy foods; high-fat diary products; meat, fried foods and alcohol; breakfast cereal; refined grains and sweets and desserts. Those who had a "healthy foods" diet ate more low-fat dairy products, fruit, whole grains, poultry, fish, and vegetables" - BBC

Eating vegetables, fruits as children linked to healthier arteries as adults

"Children who consistently eat lots of fruits and vegetables lower their risk of having stiff arteries in young adulthood, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Arterial stiffness is associated with atherosclerosis, which underlies heart disease. When arteries are stiff, the heart works harder to pump blood. Researchers compared childhood and adulthood lifestyle factors - including consumption levels of vegetables, fruit, butter and alcohol, as well as smoking and physical activity status - with pulse wave velocity in young adulthood. Pulse wave velocity assesses arterial stiffness. 'When the heart beats, the blood's ejection causes a pulse wave, which travels along the wall of the arterial tree,' said Mika Kähönen, M.D., Ph.D., senior study author and professor and chief physician for the Department of Clinical Physiology at Tampere University Hospital in Tampere, Finland. 'The velocity of this pulse wave is dependent on the stiffness of the arterial wall; the stiffer the wall, the higher velocity. It is well known that the arterial stiffening process has a major role in the development of cardiovascular diseases. 'To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study looking at the associations between childhood lifestyle risk factors and pulse wave velocity in young adulthood.' The researchers examined lifestyle factors and measured arterial pulse wave velocity of 1,622 participants in the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study, which followed children ages 3 to 18 for 27 years"

Most Americans still not eating enough fruits, veggies

"In 2000, the U.S. government set modest goals for the amount of fruit and vegetables people should eat, but a decade later the majority of Americans are not even close to reaching those thresholds, health officials said Thursday. In fact, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2009, 67.5 percent of adults ate fruit less than two times daily and 73.7 percent ate vegetables less than three times per day. The goals of Healthy People 2010 were for 75 percent of people to eat at least two servings of fruit and 50 percent to eat at least three servings of vegetables every day" - The report is published in the September 10 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

How greens may protect the heart (UK)

"Researchers have discovered a possible reason why green vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower are good for the heart. Their work suggests a chemical found in the vegetables can boost a natural defence mechanism to protect arteries from disease. The Imperial College London team hope their work could lead to new dietary treatments to prevent heart problems. Details appear in Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology" - BBC