Nutrition & Fitness Newsbriefs: Nuts; Fasting; Mouthwash
Nuts Lower Risk of Cardiovascular Death. Regularly eating nuts is associated with a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, researchers reported at this year’s World Congress of Cardiology. In 2001, the team recruited 5,432 adults with no history of cardiovascular disease and assessed their nut consumption with a validated food frequency questionnaire. The investigators then interviewed participants or family members every two years until 2013 to identify any cardiovascular events or death. Eating nuts at least twice per week, they found, was associated with a 17% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality compared with consuming nuts once every two weeks.
Alternate-Day Fasting Is Beneficial. A study published in the journal Cell Metabolism in August suggests that strict alternate-day fasting (ADF) offers health benefits beyond weight loss. Researchers studied two groups of people: 60 normal-weight participants who alternated 36-hour fasts with 12-hour eating periods for four weeks and 30 people who had been practicing strict ADF for more than six months. Fasting participants lost an average of 7.7 pounds; showed more ketone bodies, even on nonfasting days, which may be health promoting; and had lower levels of a marker linked to age-associated disease and inflammation. They had decreased levels of triiodothyronine, which has been linked to longevity in humans, lowered levels of cholesterol, and less belly fat. The researchers noted that ADF may be good for obese people or those with diseases driven by inflammation, but they do not recommend it for everyone until more research is completed.
Mouthwash Offsets an Exercise Benefit. Exercise lowers blood pressure unless you use antibacterial mouthwash, according to unexpected results from a new study published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine. Researchers asked 23 adults to run for 30 minutes and then rinse their mouths out with water or an antibacterial mouthwash four times after exercising (at one, 30, 60, and 90 minutes). When participants rinsed with water, the researchers found, they had an average reduction in systolic blood pressure of 5.2 millimeters of mercury (mmHg). When they rinsed with mouthwash, however, the reduction was only 2.0 mmHg.
Here’s why: When we exercise, our bodies produce nitric oxide, which widens blood vessels to increase blood flow. Nitric oxide degrades into nitrate, and some species of oral bacteria then convert the nitrate to nitrite. When nitrite in saliva is swallowed, some of it converts back to nitric oxide, which helps to maintain the exercise-widened blood vessels. Antibacterial mouthwash destroys those oral bacteria, which disrupts the nitric oxide cycle and reduces post-exercise blood pressure suppression.
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