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Diet Plans Can Unclog Arteries
Low-fat, low-carb,
Mediterranean regimens all help the heart, study finds
By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter
|
MONDAY, March 1 (HealthDay News) -- Any one of three heart-healthy diets
-- low-fat, low-carbohydrate, Mediterranean -- can reverse the thickening of
artery walls that can lead to heart attack and stroke, an Israeli study
indicates."Once one adheres to a sensible diet, even though you
experience only a moderate weight loss, if you stick to it long enough you
can cause regression of atherosclerosis," explained Iris Shai, a nutritional epidemiologist at Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev, and lead author of a report to be published in the
March 16 print issue of the journal Circulation. Atherosclerosis
involves a thickening and narrowing of blood vessels. When narrowing leads to
a full blockage of blood flow, heart attacks or strokes are the result. Shai and her colleagues assigned 140 middle-aged, overweight men
and women to one of three low-calorie diets: low-fat; low-carbohydrate; or
the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes fruits, vegetables and healthy fats
such as those found in olive oil. About one-third of
the participants were taking blood pressure medications and one-quarter were
taking cholesterol-lowering medications, mostly statins. The researchers
tracked the participants' adherence to the recommended diet, as well as their
weight and blood pressure. Using ultrasound scans to obtain three-dimensional
images, the team also assessed the volume and thickness of the carotid
arteries, the major vessels carrying blood to the brain. After two years, the
researchers found that dieters experienced a significant 5 percent reduction
in average carotid artery wall volume and a 1.1 percent reduction in carotid
wall thickness. There were also
moderate reductions in blood pressure and average weight. "With a healthy
diet and only moderate weight loss and reduction in blood pressure, you can
see regression of plaque that naturally progresses over the years," Shai said. All three diets had
certain elements in common -- an increased consumption of fruits and
vegetables, and decreased consumption of dangerous trans-fats, especially
those found in processed foods, she said. "The message
seems to be that weight loss, no matter how you accomplish it, is good for
the carotid artery," said Dr. Robert H. Eckel,
professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, a past president of the
American Heart Association. While the reduction
in blood pressure was perhaps the most important dietary effect, "with
weight reduction many things change in the right direction," Eckel said. Anyone undertaking
to follow such a diet must be prepared to stick with it over the long run, he
stressed. "Blood pressure
measured during active weight loss is bound to fall," Eckel said. "But that might not be sustained. Blood
pressure must continue to be monitored, and treated to reach a goal. |