AJCN July, 2008 – The July American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is nearly 450 pages. Below are the headlines. The numbers show where the extracts are at my web site. Each extract is linked to the actual online article that has all of the details.
SUMMARY – Here’s my summary, with more at http://www.beloit.edu/nutrition/ln/ln08julajcn and links to the published articles:
NUTRITION AND EXERCISE
1. Your overall eating pattern is more important than whether you eat any partucular food.
2. For instance, if you eat a western meat and potatoes diet, you increase your risk of colon cancer.
3. Frequent vigorous exercise may substantially delay the onset of “getting old”.
4. And if you get that exercise, it is less hazardous to have a sugary treat later.
SPECIFIC NUTRIENTS
5. If you drink more tea, your brain is likely to function well for much longer as you age.
6. Dark and hot chocolate can lower your blood pressure measurably.
7. Women who develop breast cancer have substantially lower levels of vitamin D.
8. Getting potassium (found in bananas) is good for your heart, while sodium is not.
9. Saturated fat intake is directly related to dying sooner, the opposite of unsaturated vegetable fat consumption.
10. Fish oil reduces the risk of heart disease, and 11. lack of fish oil when pregnant is likely to cause asthma in the next generation.
12. Folate is extremely important when pregnant (and for mature men), and also for return to normal condition after pregnancy.
13. Flavanoids are also needed for a healthy heart.
14. You need enough vitamin K (from green veggies and plant oils), and 15. cobalamin (vitamin B-12) from meat or yeast.
WEIGHT CONTROL
16. Most popular weight loss diets are imbalanced and hazardous to health.
17. The reason such diets do not usually work more than a few months is that metabolic rate slows down when you do not eat plenty of calories, and stays slowed down even when you begin eating normally.
DETAILS -NUTRITION AND EXERCISE
1. OVERALL DIET PATTERN MORE IMPORTANT THAN DETAILS – The original question of interest was, “Can eating patterns characterize the diet-associated disease risk better than any one food or nutrient?” Researchers almost universally came up with the same answer to the original question, yes they do.
2. MEAT AND POTATOES INCREASE COLON CANCER – Conclusions: These results suggest that dietary patterns characterized by a low frequency of meat and potato consumption and frequent consumption of fruit and vegetables and fat-reduced foods are consistent with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer.
3. VIGOROUS EXERCISE REDUCES AGE-RELATED CHANGES – Background: Age-related change in body composition is associated with adverse health outcomes, including functional decline, disability, morbidity, and early mortality. ..Multiple adjusted odds of [having strong bones] decreased for lowest body mass (92%) and carbohydrate intake (63%) tertiles and for men aged 75 y (78%) but increased … for participation in vigorous physical activities (82%).
4. GET EXERCISE IF YOU EAT HIGH SUGAR MEALS – Background:Endothelial function deteriorates after glucose ingestion. This may be attributed to hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress. Acute endurance exercise might improve postprandial endothelial function by enhancing glucoregulation and reducing postprandial hyperglycemia.
SPECIFIC NUTRIENTS
5. TEA SAVES BRAIN FUNCTION– Total tea intake was significantly associated with a lower prevalence of cognitive impairment, independent of other risk factors. Compared with the ORs for rare or no tea intake, the ORs for low, medium, and high levels of tea intake were 0.56, 0.45, and 0.37, respectively.
6. COCOA AND DARK CHOCOLATE LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE– Conclusions: The acute ingestion of both solid dark chocolate and liquid cocoa improved endothelial function and lowered blood pressure in overweight adults. Sugar content may attenuate these effects, and sugar-free preparations may augment them.
7. VITAMIN D SUBSTANTIALLY REDUCES RISK OF BREAST CANCER – Results:Five hundred ninety-seven (75.6%) of the women [who had breast cancer] had low serum 25(OH)D, suggesting vitamin D insufficiency or frank deficiency.
8. GET POTASSIUM (BANANAS) NOT SODIUM FOR HEART – The multivariable hazard ratio for the highest versus the lowest quintiles of potassium intake was 0.65…Conclusions: A high sodium intake and a low potassium intake may increase the risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease.
9. SATURATED FAT INTAKE DIRECTLY RELATED TO DEATH – serum esterified fatty acids reflecting saturated fat intake were directly related to mortality…a low proportion of linoleic acid (unsaturated fats) predicts type 2 diabetes, myocardial infarction, stroke, left ventricular hypertrophy, and the metabolic syndrome.
10. FISH OIL REDUCES RISK OF HEART DISEASE – Conclusions: Higher plasma concentrations of EPA and DPA (fish oil fats) are associated with a lower risk of nonfatal MI among women.
11. FISH OIL WHEN PREGNANT REDUCES OFFSPRING ASTHMA – Results: During the 16 y that passed since childbirth, 19 children from the fish oil and olive oil groups had received an asthma-related diagnosis; 10 had received the diagnosis allergic asthma. The hazard rate of asthma was reduced by 63%, whereas the hazard rate of allergic asthma was reduced by 87% in the fish oil compared with the olive oil group. Conclusion: Under the assumption that intake of olive oil in the dose provided here was inert, our results support that increasing n–3 PUFAs in late pregnancy may carry an important prophylactic potential in relation to offspring asthma
12. FOLATE VERY IMPORTANT DURING AND AFTER PREGNANCY – Conclusions: Folate depletion apparently contributes to the excess risk of fetal growth restriction that is associated with short interpregnancy intervals. As a preventive option, postnatal supplementation may be beneficial, but confirmation is needed.
13. HOW FLAVANOIDS HELP YOUR HEART – Flavonoids are water-soluble plant pigments that are characterized by an aromatic ring structure with one or more hydroxyl groups. They belong to the larger group of plant (poly)phenols, which can be divided into >10 different subclasses, including flavonols, catechins, (pro)anthocyanidins, lignans, and lignins (3). Polyphenols occur in all plant foods and may contribute to the beneficial health effects of vegetables and fruit. Their contribution to the antioxidant capacity of the human diet is much larger than that of vitamins. More than 6000 different flavonoids in plants have been described, and their total intake could amount to 1 g/d, whereas combined intakes of β-carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E from food most often are <100 mg/d (4). Important dietary sources of flavonoids in Western societies are onions (flavonols); cocoa (proanthocyanidins); tea, apples, and red wine (flavonols and catechins); citrus fruit (flavanones); berries and cherries (anthocyanidins); and soy (isoflavones)… THERE IS evidence for a beneficial effect on flow-mediated dilation, blood pressure, and lipid profile, which are relevant indicators of cardiovascular health.
14. GET ENOUGH VITAMIN K (green veggies and plant oils) – Conclusion: Our findings support a potential beneficial role for phylloquinone in glucose homeostasis (opposite of diabetes) in men and women.
15. GET ENOUGH COBALAMIN (VITAMIN K) WHEN BREASTFEEDING – Conclusions: Low cobalamin status is a characteristic finding in breastfed children.
WEIGHT CONTROL
16. POPULAR DIETS OFTEN HAZARDOUS – The OmniHeart Trial compared 3 diets designed to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk—one high in carbohydrate and 2 that replaced carbohydrate with either unsaturated fat or protein. ..The OmniHeart diets were generally consistent with national guidelines to prevent cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, whereas most popular diets had limitations for fulfilling one or more guidelines.
17. WHY WE REGAIN WEIGHT AFTER DIETING – Background:Diet-induced weight reduction promotes a decrease in resting energy expenditure that could partly explain the difficulty in maintaining reduced body mass….Conclusions:Weight loss–induced decreases in resting metabolic rate persist after weight stabilization.
