VARIETY on our meal tables holds the key to a long and healthy life.
Food that contains anti-oxidants, wholegrains and vital fatty acids can cut the risk of killer illnesses including heart disease, Alzheimer’s and diabetes, a study shows.
Scientists found that the diet could reduce cholesterol – a significant cause of heart disease – by a third and bring blood pressure down by nearly a tenth.
But rather than just a narrow range of foods being responsible for boosting health, the research showed that the answer was a widely varied diet that might include oily fish, porridge oats and blueberries.
Nutritionist Angela Dowden said: “The key is definitely to introduce these kinds of foods into the diet. It is a very healthy diet and completely proves the point that it is about healthy eating as a whole, not just doing one thing.
Green vegetables
“It is a lifestyle change instead of tweaks here and there. It could be that it is just one of the foods that is producing these effects but it is much more likely that it is an additive affect of them all contributing.
“I think this study is very interesting and it is showing time and time again that it is about an additive approach, not just doing one thing.”
Ms Dowden, who was not part of the research group, added: “This is another spin on the Mediterranean diet.
“All of these foods have independently been shown to have some health benefits so it makes sense that they have a big impact when combined.”
It has long been known that a healthy diet protects you against a range of diseases such as heart problems and cancer. Anti-oxidant rich fruit and vegetables, nuts, oily fish and whole grains have all been highlighted in previous research.
However, the latest study suggests that varied meals had a great impact than adding single foods.
Professor Björck said it was not possible to tell which foods had the greatest positive effect.
‘That’s the point,’ she said.
vegetables
‘We believe in the idea of combined effects. Drug or specific products with health claims affect only one or maybe a couple of risk factors.
‘By a combination of food you can in a simple and striking way affect many risk parameters simultaneously.’
The study was based on 44 healthy but overweight people aged between 50 and 75 years old.
Over four weeks they ate foods which are presumed to reduce low-grade inflammation in the body, a condition that triggers metabolic syndrome and thus obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The test diet was high in antioxidants, low-GI foods (slow release carbohydrates), omega fatty acids, wholegrain products, probiotics and viscous dietary fibre.
Examples of foods eaten were oily fish, barley, soy protein, blueberries, almonds, cinnamon, vinegar and a certain type of wholegrain bread.
The results showed bad cholesterol was reduced by 33 per cent, blood lipids (fats) were down by 14 per cent and a risk marker fo blood clots by 26 per cent.
A marker of inflammation in the body was also greatly reduced, while memory and cognitive function were improved.
Professor Björck said: ‘We hope that these results on healthy subjects will inspire more preventative efforts in society.’
Inflammation is believed to be a key cause for chronic diseases and can cause cells to turn cancerous.
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Adding whole grains to your diet can mean you’ll carry less harmful fat around your internal organs.
Eating more whole grains may reduce our risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, according to a new study by researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Researcher Center on Aging at Tufts University, USA (USDAHNRCA).
The findings, published online in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that people who ate a number of servings of whole grain each day, and limited their intake of refined grains had lower levels of Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT). This type of fat tissue surrounds the internal organs and is believed to play an important part in triggering cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.
The scientists used diet questionnaires completed by 2,834 men and women who are part of the Framingham Heart Offspring and Third Generation study cohorts (a study which has been running since 1948). The volunteers, aged 32 to 83, then had special scans to measure their volumes of VAT and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT).
“VAT volume was approximately 10 percent lower in adults who reported eating three or more daily servings of whole grains and who limited their intake of refined grains to less than one serving per day,” said Nicola McKeown, PhD, a scientist with the Nutritional Epidemiology Program at the USDA HNRCA.
“For example, a slice of 100% whole wheat bread or a half cup of oatmeal constituted one serving of whole grains and a slice of white bread or a half cup of white rice represented a serving of refined grains.”
This study follows on from previous studies that also linked whole grain intake with reduced risk of metabolic syndrome (where you have a cluster of risks, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol) and insulin resistance. “However, because these studies are observational, future research that specifically investigates whole grain intake and body fat distribution in a larger, more diverse study population is needed to identify the mechanism that is driving this relationship,” said co-author Paul Jacques.
Just adding some whole grain to your meals and sticking with your normal diet is unlikely to cut your risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. “Whole grain consumption did not appear to improve VAT volume if refined grain intake exceeded four or more servings per day,” said McKeown.
“This is very interesting and makes a lot of sense,” says Asmina Govindji, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association. “There’s quite a lot of research to suggest that whole grains can help you reduce your risk of heart disease, as part of a balanced diet. For me this study is a confirmation that whole grains can reduce your risk of heart disease.
“It’s about improving your diet and making substitutions, not saying ‘I’m going to continue to eat my normal diet of refined white bread, low fibre foods and take-aways, but I’m going to make sure I have some granary bread once in a while’. This involves making a long-term lifestyle change, where you do include at least three servings of whole grains a day; a lot of research points to three servings.
“In practical terms that means having a whole grain cereal in the morning, a granary sandwich at lunch time, and in the evening perhaps try brown rice or a stuffed wholemeal pitta bread. I think it’s achievable and the results are very reassuring. We should remember that it’s part of a balanced lifestyle. You should also have fruit and veg, shouldn’t overdo the calories and should be physically active.”