New vitamin D and fish oil study: how you can participate

The National Institutes of Health is funding a study of vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids to determine whether taking these supplements can reduce the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, and stroke in people who have no history of any of these conditions.

The study, called VITAL (VITamin D and OmegA-3 triaL) will include 20,000 men and women. Recruitment for the trial will begin in January 2010.

Would you like to participate? Even though the study is being run by Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, people from anywhere across the United States can be a part of the study. Here’s what you need to know.

Who is eligible for VITAL?
Any woman aged 65 or older or man aged 60 or older who has not previously experienced a heart attack, stroke, or cancer (you can enroll if you have had skin cancer) may be eligible to participate in the study. Potential participants must fill out a questionnaire, and those chosen for the study will be contacted by the study team.

How VITAL works
The study is designed for participants to take about 2000 IU vitamin D and/or about 1 gram of fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids), or placebo, daily. The chosen participants will receive their necessary supplements and instructions via mail. Eligible individuals will be randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups: (1) take both vitamin D and fish oil; (2) take vitamin D and placebo fish oil; (3) take placebo vitamin D and fish oil; or (4) take placebo vitamin D and placebo fish oil.

For each year individuals participate in the study, they will need to complete a questionnaire, which can be completed in about 15 to 20 minutes. The questions are about habits such as exercise, diet, smoking, use of medications, family history of illness, and use of dietary supplements. Participants will occasionally be contacted by telephone to verify or collect information.

Participants must agree to limit their intake of vitamin D (besides the supplements provided by the study) to no more than 800 IU daily and to limit calcium supplement intake to 1200 me or less daily.

How to enroll in the study

You can visit the study website (http://www.vitalstudy.org/) after Labor Day, and instructions on how to receive a questionnaire and introductory materials will be posted.

Can the “Tomato Pill” Prevent Heart Disease?

So have you heard the recent hype about the new “tomato pill”?

 The “tomato pill” contains lycopene which is one of the main ingredients of the Mediterranean diet, which is a well know diet proven to prevent heart disease.  Lycopene is an antioxidant found in tomato skin, but in its natural form it is poorly absorbed.  Ateronon is the name of the new dietary tomato supplement.  Preliminary results (only 150 people studied) suggest that ateronon may help reduce harmful fats in the blood and prevent the build-up of plaque in the blood vessels.

 Further studies are needed in order to prove the heart healthy benefits and assess for any adverse reactions.  The initial study was promising so we will have to wait and see what the future holds for the “tomato pill”.

 At this time though, the recommendation is to consume a diet high in fruits and vegetables (including red fruits and vegetables that contain lycopene) to prevent heart disease.  Cooked tomato products (tomato sauce, tomato paste) provide better absorption than raw tomatoes.  Also the redder the fruit or vegetable the better – higher lycopene levels are found in redder foods.

Fruit Drinks Increase Your Risk for Diabetes

 

Fruit drinks oftentimes are considered a healthier choice that soft drinks but they may actually be more likely to lead to weight gain and diabetes.

 A recent report from the Black Women’s Health Study (published in the Archives of Internal Medicine) which included over 2,700 women found that the higher the intake of sweetened fruit drinks the greater the likelihood of developing diabetes.  Women who consumed two or more sweetened beverages a day were much more likely to develop diabetes than women who consumed fewer than one per month.  The incidence of diabetes is dramatically higher among black women compared to white women and this study points out the importance of avoiding sweetened fruit drinks especially among black women.

 Believe it or not – Fruit drinks often have more calories than sweetened soft drinks.  It’s important to read those food labels!! (Fruit drinks in this study included powdered fruit flavored beverages, fruit flavored beverages, fortified fruit drinks and juices other than orange and grapefruit juice)

 For more heart healthy info visit www.heart-strong.com

Learn More From Our New Book “Take Charge: A Woman’s Guide to a Healthier Heart” available at www.heart-strong.com

A Fresh Look at Organic Produce

A Fresh Look at Organic Produce from the National Women’s Health Resource Center’s e-newsletter, HealthyWomen Take 10

 Which is better for you-an organic tomato or one that’s grown through conventional methods? The answer might not be as obvious as it seems.

 There’s certainly a benefit to eating foods that don’t contain pesticides, especially if you’re pregnant or nursing or feeding the foods to young children. Yet data from about 87,000 tests analyzed by the Environmental Working Group, a food watchdog organization, discovered that more than half of conventionally grown tomatoes had no detectable pesticide residue on them.

 The same was true for broccoli, eggplant, cabbage and sweet peas. More than 90 percent of the samples of conventionally grown asparagus, sweet corn and onions also had no detectable pesticides.

 In addition, a 2008 Italian study found that organically grown tomatoes contained less vitamin C and lycopene-important nutritional components-than did conventional tomatoes. The organic tomatoes did have more salicylic acid, another beneficial nutrient. Yet, other studies have shown more nutritional benefits in some organically grown produce, such as blueberries.

 So how do you choose what to buy? Organic produce contains little or no pesticide residue and organic growing methods tend to support land and water ecology. If you buy conventionally grown vegetables and fruits, some of them contain high levels of residue. Be especially cautious about buying the “dirty dozen” (see list below), which includes peaches, apples, bell peppers and celery.

 Rinsing conventionally grown produce will help remove some pesticide residue, but not all of it. You can peel fruits and vegetables to avoid a lot of the residue, but that also results in losing nutrients.

 On the practical side, organic produce is often more expensive and harder to find, with fewer items available. You may get fresher, less expensive produce from local growers (even nonorganic ones), who use less gasoline getting their fruits and vegetables to your market than do organic farmers located at greater distances.

 To help find your way through the confusion in the produce aisle, the Environmental Working Group created a list of which conventionally grown vegetables and fruits retain the most pesticide residue and which have the lowest levels. You can use these lists to guide your decision making when wondering whether to buy organic or not:

 Highest levels of pesticide residue (highest first)
Peach
Apple
Bell pepper
Celery
Nectarine
Strawberries
Cherries
Kale
Lettuce
Grapes (imported)
Carrot
Pear

 Lowest levels of pesticide residue (lowest first)
Onion
Avocado
Sweet corn
Pineapple
Mango
Asparagus
Sweet peas
Kiwi
Cabbage
Eggplant
Papaya
Watermelon
Broccoli
Tomato
Sweet potato

 Whichever type of produce you decide to buy, be sure to eat plenty of fruits and veggies (fresh or frozen) every day. For women who get less than 30 minutes of physical activity daily, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends:

 Vegetables: Women under 50, 2-1/2 cups per day; women 50 and over, 2 cups per day

• Fruits: Women under 30, 2 cups per day; women 30 and over, 1-1/2 cups per day

 More active women may increase their consumption from those daily levels.

 References

Environmental Working Group. “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.” http://www.foodnews.org/methodology.php. Accessed April 14, 2009.

 Rossi F, Godani F, Bertuzzi T, et al. “Health-Promoting Substances and Heavy Metal Content in Tomatoes Grown With Different Farming Techniques.” European Journal of Nutrition. 2008;47(5):266-272.

Environmental Working Group. “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides.” http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php. Accessed April 14, 2009.

 Wang SY, Chen CT, Sciarappa W, et al. “Fruit Quality, Antioxidant Capacity, and Flavanoid Content of Organically and Conventionally Grown Blueberries.” Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry. 2008;56(14):5788-5794.

 For information on recommended daily food consumption, go to http://www.mypyramid.gov.

 © 2009 National Women’s Health Resource Center, Inc. (NWHRC) All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from the NWHRC. 1-877-986-9472 (toll-free).

Eat your antioxidants but avoid the supplements

I still see many people taking antioxidant supplements (Vitamin E, C and beta carotene) to prevent heart disease.  This was based on some early studies done several years ago that suggested that antioxidant vitamins can prevent the development of plaque in the blood vessels.  Recent trials (HOPE, Nurses Health Study, WAVE, HATS just to name a few) have found NO benefit in preventing heart disease with Vitamin E and Vitamin C supplements.

What we do know is that antioxidant vitamins in fresh fruits and vegetables are beneficial.  It’s important to eat all the colors of the rainbow:

Red: strawberries, tomatoes, watermelon, apples

Orange: carrots, sweet potatoes, orange, apricot

Yellow: squash, lemons

Green: spinach, lettuce, croccoli, asparagus

Blue: blueberries, grapes, plums, prunes

GET YOUR ANTIOXIDANTS FROM FOODS NOT VITAMIN SUPPLEMENTS

For more heart healthy nutritional info visit: www.heart-strong.com

Weight Loss Pills Harmful to Your Heart

Trying to lose weight? Stay away from those quick fix infomercials promising to burn your fat away “naturally”.  If they sound too goo to be true – they are!

The Food and Drug Administration recently found that 28 dietary supplements (many from China being sold on the internet) may actually lead to serious health problems.

Many of the pills contained sibutramine which is a powerful appetite suppressant but has similar effects to amphetamines.  These supplements can actually lead to heart attacks, palpitations and strokes.  Sibutramine is found in the presecription drug Meridia, which is used to treat obesity, but over-the-counter weight loss supplements often contain dangerous levels (two to three times the recommended daily dosage).  Another common ingredient in these weight loss supplements is phenolphthalein (frequently used as a laxative) which is being withdrawn from the market due to an increased risk of cancer.

Before considering any weight loss supplements you should consult your health care provider or pharmacist, better yet avoid them altogether. Remember the best way to lose weight is to decrease portion sizes and exercise! To lose one pound a week you need to either consume 500 less calories per day or burn off (exercise) 500 calories per day.

 

For more heart healthy nutritional advice visit www.heart-strong.com

Heart Healthy Snacks for National Nutrition Month

Promise® SuperShots® for cholesterol (drinkable yogurt)

Foods containing at least 0.4g per serving of plant sterols, eaten twice a day with meals for a total daily intake of at least 0.8 g, as part of a low saturated fat, low trans fat and low cholesterol diet, may reduce the risk of heart disease. A serving of Promise® SuperShots® provides 2.0g plant sterols. More info available at: http://www.promisehealthyheart.com/products_supershots.aspx

 

Promise® SuperShots® for blood pressure (drinkable yogurt)

Good source of potassium and low in sodium. Diets containing foods that are good sources of potassium and low in sodium may reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke.  More info available at: http://www.promisehealthyheart.com/products_supershots.aspx

CocoaVia® Brand Chocolate Bars and cholcolate covered almonds

 

Phytosterols have been studied for more than 50 years and it’s well documented that a significant decrease in LDL-cholesterol can be achieved by consuming 1-3 grams of plant sterols each day.  Each 22-gram bar of CocoaVia® Original Chocolate contains 100 mg flavanols and 1.1 grams of natural plant extracts.

Almonds are an excellent source of the antioxidant vitamin E, and provide many other nutrients such as protein, fiber, B6, magnesium, calcium, potassium and zinc.

More info available at http://www.cocoavia.com/

 

Handful of Almonds, Walnuts, Peanuts (unsalted), Pistachios (unsalted)

 

Nuts are easy to store and travel with. Good source of fiber, unsaturated (healthy fats), omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and plant sterols. Even though nuts contain healthy fats they still have a lot of calories so should be eaten in moderation.  Current guidelines suggest eating 1 to 2 ounces (or a small handful) of nuts each day.

 

Snacks Rich in Fiber

 

Women should eat about 25 grams of fiber per day, men 30 grams.  High fiber diets can help lower blood pressure, cholesterol, reduce belly fat and prevent diabetes and colon cancer.  High fiber, low calorie snacks include: air-popped popcorn, fresh fruits (with peel), whole grain crackers.

Flaxseed (actual seeds or ground up flaxseed, not the oil) contains a lot of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids. We recommend sprinkling on yogurt, cereal, vegetables, salad.

 

More heart healthy nutritional information available in “Take Charge: A Woman’s Guide to a Healthier Heart” visit http://heart-strong.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For National Nutrition Month Check Out the Food Pyramid

“One size doesn’t fit all” is the logo on MyPyramid.gov.

If you haven’t checked the site out yet that would be a great activity to do for National Nutrition Month. The site offers guidelines for adults and children, interactive tools and pod casts about nutrition.

Some useful tips include:

Increase your calcium rich foods

Go lean with your protein (lean meat selections)

Increase your intake of whole grains (eat 3 ounces of whole grains every day)

Vary your fruit and vegetable selections but go easy on the sweetened fruit juices

Make more foods from scratch using fresh ingredients to decrease your sodium intake from processed foods

Visit MyPyramid for Preschoolers and for Kids – It’s important to help our children develop healthy eating habits early.

Low Vitamin D Linked to Increased Body Fat

 

Previous studies have demonstrated an increased risk for heart disease with inadequate vitamin D levels.  (See Jan 2009 post of this blog site – Latest Buzz on Vitamin D)  A new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism now suggests that increased body fat is also related to low vitamin D levels.  This study evaluated ninety women 16 to 22 years old.  Women with low vitamin D levels had more body fat (both deep abdominal fat and subcutaneous or superficial fat) than women with normal vitamin D levels. The researchers were not able to determine if low vitamin D levels lead to increased body fat or if increased body fat lead to low vitamin D levels. Further studies are needed to evaluate this association further.

The American Heart Association recommends getting Vitamin D from food sources (milk, salmon, mackerel, sardines, fortified cereals) rather than taking supplements. Most people should consume between 800 and 1,000 IU of Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) daily.

 

Journal of Clinical Endocrinology &  Metabolism (November 2008)

Heart Healthy National Nutrition Month Tips

March is National Nutrition Month, this month you should think about focusing on good nutritional habits and a heart healthy lifestyle.  Try to get yourself on the right track by examining your refrigerator and pantry and write down some goals to improve your nutritional habits…

A healthy diet includes 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.  Try eating more whole grains, lowfat dairy products, nuts (handful a day), fish (two servings per week), and lean meats.  Cut back on trans fats and saturated fats also limit your salt/sodium intake to less than 2,400 mg per day (less than 2,000 mg per day if you have high blood pressure or heart failure), also watch the added sugars. Fiber is very important (women should get about 20 to 25 grams of fiber per day, men 30 grams per day).

Fill your refrigerator with:

Fresh fruits and vegetables (variety is important – eat all the different color fruits and vegetables to improve the nutritional value)

Low-fat dairy products

Skinless chicken, turkey, lean beef, fish

Frozen vegetables without added sauces to limit the added sodium

Stock your pantry with:

Olive or canola oil (avoid vegetable oil)

Non-fat cooking sprays

Try experimenting with different seasonings and spices (avoid salt or seasonings with sodium)

Raw nuts and seeds, dried fruits, whole grain crackers, baked chips, brown rice cakes, plain popcorn, whole grain pretzels make good snack choices

Before you eat it – Read it! Check the food label (especially serving sizes – most products list the nutrient values per serving but the package may contain several servings).

Avoid or limit empty calories like soda, sweetened juices, alcohol.

Watch your portion sizes and limit your fast food intake.

Many of you may have made a New Year’s Resolution to lose weight – well it’s three months into the new year – How are you doing?  Avoid those infomercials and diet supplements that promise quick weight loss and try and stick to a sensible diet.  A recent study found that the best way to lose weight is to CUT CALORIES – it doesn’t matter which diet you are following (low fat, high protein, low carb). To lose one pound a week you need to eat 500 fewer calories per day or burn 500 calories per day (exercising). If you need help think about consulting a nutritionist – they can help you develop an individualized plan.

Recent research studies have also shown that coronary artery disease starts to develop in children even though symptoms do not appear until adulthood. Encourage your kids to develop a heart healthy eating habits early – remember your children learn by watching you!

Happy National Nutrition Month – try to celebrate by making at least one healthy change to your diet, your heart and body will thank you.  Remember you can’t change everything overnight, try to make small gradual changes.

For more information visit www.eatright.org (American Dietetic Association)

“Take Charge: A Woman’s Guide to a Healthier Heart” is a new book we wrote which includes heart healthy shopping and cooking tips and healthy suggestions when eating out. Learn your risk factors and how to prevent heart disease. More information is available at www.heart-strong.com