Heart-Felt Nutrients

Foundations of a Heart-healthy Lifestyle

It’s clear that the foundation for a healthy heart includes getting enough physical activity, keeping our weight down, and sticking as much as possible to a Mediterranean style diet which emphasizes fish, nuts, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, olive oil and moderate red wine, while limiting red meat and sugars. But there’s often a divide between what we know and what we actually do. Americans tend to eat an insufficient amount of fish, for example, and to go overboard on sugary foods and beverages.

Several papers published last month focus on the cardiovascular (CV) benefits of the omega-3 fats from fish and the perils of excess sugar. A third study gets to the heart of how vitamin D (from sunlight, oily fish and egg yolks) contributes to CV health in diabetics.

Review Endorses CV Benefits of Fish Oil

A new review – probably the most extensive ever – concludes that the evidence from three decades of research supports fish oils as beneficial for everyone (1). This applies to healthy people as well as those with heart disease – including patients who have had a heart attack, those with heart failure, atherosclerosis and those with many kinds of heart arrhythmias. One of the most significant benefits is seen in atrial fibrillation, the most common form of abnormal heart rhythm.

Though fish oil, or more specifically the omega-3 fats they contain, can both prevent and treat many aspects of cardiovascular disease, it is not promoted often enough by physicians to their patients, according to the authors of the review.

The authors also echo the recommendations of the American Heart Association (AHA) in advising that healthy people get at least 500 mg of EPA and DHA per day – equal to around 2 fatty fish meals weekly – and that those with coronary heart disease or heart failure get about 1000 mg daily. Fish oil supplements free of mercury and other contaminants are a good alternative, note the authors, as few people are going to consume therapeutic doses of fatty fish.

AHA Urges Major Cutbacks in Sugar Intake

Americans are swallowing 22 teaspoons of sugar each day on average, and it’s time to cut way back according to the AHA (2). The heart organization distinguished between naturally occurring sugars and sugars added to foods during processing, and picked out the later for attack. Added sugars are likely contributors to the obesity crisis and are associated with increased risks of high blood pressure and elevated triglyceride levels, as well as other causes of heart disease and stroke.

Women should be getting no more than 6 teaspoons of added sugar daily, according to AHA guidelines, while 9 teaspoons is the limit recommended for most men. Regular soft drinks are one of the biggest culprits for adding sugars, followed by candy, cakes, cookies and pie. The sugar in just one 12-ounce can of regular soda exceeds the daily limit for women! So sit back with a glass of water with a twist of lime and sprig of mint, and learn more about the amount of added sugars in common foods at the US Dept. of Agriculture database.

How Vitamin D Helps Diabetic Heart Health

Regular readers of this newsletter know that vitamin D research is booming, and that low blood levels of this essential nutrient are common in people, including diabetics who have a higher risk of heart disease. New research with diabetic subjects has found that vitamin D inhibits the ability of cholesterol to be taken up by cells called macrophages (3).

With vitamin D deficiency, macrophage cells gobble up more cholesterol than they can eliminate. Once they’re clogged with cholesterol, macrophages become foam cells – one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis. This eventually leads to stiffened blood vessels and blocked blood flow. The researchers noted that it may be possible to delay or reverse the development of atherosclerosis by helping diabetics regain adequate vitamin D levels.

References

1. Lavie DJ, et al. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and cardiovascular disease. J Am Coll Cardiol 54:585-94, 2009.
2. Johnson RK, et al. Dietary Sugars Intake and Cardiovascular Health: A Scientific Statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation [Epub ahead of print, Aug 24] 2009.
3. Oh J, et al. 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D inhibits foam cell formation and suppresses macrophage cholesterol uptake in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Circulation 120:687-98, 2009.