Newsbriefs: Intermittent Calorie Restriction; Aerobic Activity & Executive Functioning
No Weight Loss Boost from Intermittent Calorie Restriction
A randomized controlled trial recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found little difference between an intermittent calorie-restricted diet and a traditional continuous calorie-restricted diet. This well-conducted study followed 150 overweight or obese participants for fifty weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to follow a diet with intermittent calorie restriction (five days per week of regular calorie intake and two days per week with a 75 percent reduction in caloric intake), a diet with daily calorie restriction (a daily twenty percent reduction in caloric intake), or no intervention. Over the course of 50 weeks, the intermittent-restriction diet did not show a significant difference in weight loss, metabolic lab values, body composition, or gene expression of fat cells when compared to the continuous-restriction diet. Because both diets proved to be similarly practical and beneficial for the overweight and obese study participants, intermittent calorie restriction may be an alternative dieting approach for individuals who can tolerate it well.
Aerobic Activity May Improve Executive Functioning
A randomized trial published in the journal Neurology suggested that aerobic exercise may have neurological benefits for adults at risk for cognitive decline. One hundred and sixty sedentary participants with cognitive impairments (but no dementia) were randomly assigned to one of four study groups: aerobic exercise alone, DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet alone, a combination of aerobic exercise plus DASH diet, or health education alone. The aerobic exercise intervention mandated walking or cycling for 35 minutes, three times per week. The DASH diet emphasizes reduced sodium intake while concurrently increasing intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, low-fat dairy products, fish, and poultry. At the end of the six-month trial, researchers found that aerobic exercise resulted in significant improvements in cognitive executive functioning. Those subjects following the DASH diet for six months experienced cardiovascular health benefits, including reduced LDL and total cholesterol levels, weight loss, and a reduction in total number of blood pressure medications taken. Although only aerobic exercise resulted in neurological improvements, combining exercise with a DASH diet may yield the most positive health benefits overall.
Flavanols from Food Likely Better than Supplements
A recent study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, determined that isolated flavanols did not have a beneficial impact on systolic blood pressure and other cardiometabolic markers. Flavanols are components of whole plant foods which are thought to have beneficial health effects. The highest concentration of flavanols can be found in apples, dark chocolate, and tea, although the compounds are different among the different foods. To date, there are several small human intervention trials that have observed acute and chronic health benefits from the consumption of flavanol-rich foods. In particular, consumption of flavanol-rich foods has been associated with decreases in blood pressure, improved lipid profiles and blood sugar levels, and improved measures of arterial stiffness and cardiovascular disease risk. The current trial examined the health effects of various dosage levels of isolated flavanol(s) from apple extract for 42 study participants over a twenty-eight-day period. Researchers found no significant effects of consuming flavanols from apple extract on systolic blood pressure or any other cardiometabolic markers. Consuming flavanol-rich foods, as opposed to an isolated supplement, may yield greater health benefits, in part because these flavanol-rich foods likely replace less healthful choices.
No Heart or Cancer Benefit from High-Dose Vitamin D
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published a study that found high-dose vitamin D supplementation provided no protective benefit with regard to risk of developing either cancer or cardiovascular disease. The long duration and size of this study provided sufficient power to examine the impact of high-dose vitamin D supplementation on these two health outcomes. Nearly 26,000 healthy study participants were randomized to receive daily doses of either 2,000 international units (IU) of vitamin D3, 1,000 milligrams (mg) of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D plus omega-3 fatty acids, or a placebo. After a median follow-up of roughly five years, researchers found that vitamin D supplementation did not lower the incidence of (or deaths from) cardiovascular events or invasive cancers compared to placebo. Based on these results, a high-dose vitamin D supplement is not likely to be beneficial for the prevention of cancer or cardiovascular disease.
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