Newsbites: Plant Based Diets; Coffee and Health; Vitamin D and Cholesterol; Alzheimer’s Risk Factors
Avoiding Animal Products Does Not Ensure a Healthy “Plant-Based” Diet
An observational study recently published in the BMJ found that a healthy plant-based diet was associated with lower blood pressure, but an unhealthy plant-based diet was not. The study compared dietary recall and blood pressure data from over 4,600 men and women ages 40 to 59 living in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and China.
Plant-based foods scored as “healthy” included whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, vegetable oils, and tea/coffee. Less healthy plant-based foods included fruit juices, sugar-sweetened beverages, refined grains, potatoes, and sweets and desserts. Animal foods (dairy products, eggs, fish and shellfish, total meat, and mixed foods like a hamburger on a bun) were also considered less healthy.
Diets that were simply low in animal products were not associated with lower blood pressure. Sugar-sweetened beverages and refined grains are animal-free, but they are associated with negative health effects.
This study supports the concept that, while one does not need to become vegan or vegetarian, minimizing animal proteins and low-quality plant-based foods while emphasizing intake of high-quality plant foods is good for blood pressure.
Coffee is Good for You…But it Might Not be the Caffeine
Good news for coffee drinkers: a review article published in the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that drinking coffee does not increase risk for cardiovascular diseases and cancers, as once thought. In fact, consumption of three to five standard cups of coffee daily has been consistently associated with a reduced risk of several chronic diseases. These effects may not be due to caffeine, however. Coffee contains hundreds of other biologically active phytochemicals that may reduce oxidative stress, improve the gut microbiome, and impact the metabolism of fat and blood sugar.
Any health benefits conferred by drinking coffee are not strong enough to suggest non-coffee drinkers should start. Be aware that unfiltered coffee (such as French press or Turkish coffees) contain a compound called cafestol, which has been shown to increase serum cholesterol levels. Be mindful to minimize the sugar, syrups, and cream often added to that cup of coffee.
Vitamin D Supplements Do Not Help Cholesterol Levels
Researchers from Tufts University and Tufts Medical Center have found that taking vitamin D3 supplements has no effect on serum cholesterol. Their randomized controlled trial, published recently in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, does not support results from observational studies that found an association between serum levels of vitamin D and LDL or HDL cholesterol concentrations.
One hundred and twenty-seven participants were given either 4,000 International Units of vitamin D3 a day or a placebo for 24 weeks. At the end of the study period, the supplement group’s serum vitamin D levels were higher, but their cholesterol profiles were not significantly different. There was also no change in how much cholesterol they absorbed from food or how much was manufactured by the body. “Our hypothesis was that raising vitamin D levels would improve cholesterol concentrations by decreasing cholesterol absorption,” says Alice H. Lichtenstein, executive editor of Tufts Health & Nutrition Letter and the study’s senior author. “In fact, our hypothesis was rejected.”
Targets for Reducing Alzheimer’s Risk Identified
A large analysis published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry identified ten risk factors that appear to have a significant effect on risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, and many of these factors can be modified with lifestyle changes. The international team of researchers looked at results from 395 studies to draw its conclusions. Diabetes, high homocysteine levels, high body mass in late life, lower levels of education, hypertension in midlife, dizziness upon standing (orthostatic hypotension), head trauma, low cognitive activity, and high stress and depression were all significantly associated with development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Although we cannot eliminate risk altogether, it is heartening to know that staying mentally (and physically) active and protecting cardiometabolic health can lower our risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
The post Newsbites: Plant Based Diets; Coffee and Health; Vitamin D and Cholesterol; Alzheimer’s Risk Factors appeared first on University Health News.
