Effects of glycemic load on metabolic risk markers... [Am J Clin Nutr. 2010] - PubMed result

A recent study suggests that diet with a decreased Glycemic Load does not ameliorate metabolic risk markers such as fasting plasma glucose, insulin , serum total cholesterol , LDL-cholesterol , HDL-cholesterol ,triacylglycerol, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, monocyte chemoattractant protein and prothrombotic plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 in overweight subjects. This means that such subjects should concentrate on reducung weight and cholesterol rather than restricting sugar intake. Effects of glycemic load on metabolic risk markers... [Am J Clin Nutr. 2010] - PubMed result

Method of Fish Preparation Affects Cardiac Benefits

The cardioprotective effects of omega-3 fatty acids from fish consumption vary by ethnicity and method of preparation, a new study suggests. This is likely because of the types of fish consumed and the preparation methods used by different cultures, say the researchers.

Although the amount of fish consumed was key--along with whether it was high in omega-3 fatty acids, as is wild salmon and tuna--the results also indicate an important role for the method of cooking.

Those consuming adequate amounts of baked or boiled fish had lower rates of coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality during follow-up than those eating little fish. But those eating deep fried fish every day actually had higher mortality, as did those consuming salted or dried fish, she noted. The only method of frying fish that seemed protective was stir-frying, used primarily by the Japanese.

"Our findings suggest the method of preparation of fish may modify the protective effect of omega-3 fatty acids. The results can help educate people on how much fish to eat and how to cook it to prevent heart disease," Meng said. "If you want to eat fried fish, do it occasionally, but try to avoid it. Or eat it the Japanese way and stir fry it."

23% Reduction in Heart Disease Among Men Who Ate the Most Fish

Meng said that CHD mortality is known to differ by ethnicity in Hawaii, and that the disparities are not fully accounted for by known risk factors. She and her colleagues examined the source, type, amount, and frequency of dietary omega-3 consumption among participants in the Multiethnic Cohort (MEC) Study living in Los Angeles, CA and Hawaii. The cohort consisted of more than 80 000 men and 100 000 women of African American, Caucasian, Japanese, Native Hawaiian, and Latino descent, aged 45-75 years at recruitment, which occurred from 1993 to 1996; those with a history of myocardial infarction or angina were excluded. Food frequency questionnaires were used to examine fish consumption and omega-3 intake from other sources, such as plant materials like soy sauce.

The fact that the different ethnic groups in the MEC study have different sources of omega-3 provides a unique opportunity to look at this issue, and also to examine ethnic-specific data on methods of fish preparation, she said.

During an average of almost 12 years of follow-up, there were 2604 male and 1912 female deaths due to CHD.

Among men, those in the highest quintile (consuming a median of 3.3 g of dietary omega-3 fatty acids per day) had a 23% lower CHD mortality than those in the lowest quintile (median, 0.8 g per day), Meng said.

The benefits of omega-3 were more apparent in white, Japanese, and Latino men than in African Americans and native Hawaiians, she noted.

12%-15% Increase in CHD Death With Deep Fried, Salted, and Dried Fish

But these benefits were confined to raw fish or fish prepared by boiling or baking, she noted. Among both men and women, consumption of more than 6.2 g of deep fried fish per day (excluding stir-fried fish) led to a 12% increase in CHD mortality, Meng stressed, and even smaller amounts of salted or dried fish daily upped mortality by 15%. This latter effect could be due to the amount of sodium found in fish prepared in this way, she said.

Among men, Japanese ate the most fried fish, but they tended to prepare it by stir-frying, which does not seem to have the same risk as deep frying, Meng said. Second in consumption of fried fish were native Hawaiians, who also ate the most salted and dried fish, followed by African Americans.

Among women in general, the relation between fish consumption and mortality was "all in a protective direction," Meng said, but there was not as strong a dose-response as for men. Plant sources of omega-3, such as soy sauce and tofu, were particularly protective for women, she said, stressing that low-sodium products are best.

Source: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/713037

Mediterranean Diet Lets Diabetics Cut Back on Drugs

Mediterranean Diet Lets Diabetics Cut Back on Drugs - ABC News

New antioxidants extracted from cellwalls of fruits

Check out this link for detailed information on Drugs.com: http://www.drugs.com/news/fruit-even-healthier-than-thought-study-19704.html
The website is http://www.drugs.com/, which has a database of over 24,000 drugs, plus a Drug Interactions checker and a pictorial Pill Identifier.

Adverse metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of not maintaining circadian rythm

The following studies signify the importance of maintaining a regular routine of sleeping, eating and other daily activities.
In a recent study, Ciprian and colleagues found increased pathological remodeling and vascular injury in mice with aberrant circadian rhythms, Bmal1-knockout and Clock mutant. In addition, naive aortas from Bmal1-knockout and Clock mutant mice exhibit endothelial dysfunction. Akt and subsequent nitric oxide signaling, a pathway critical to vascular function, was significantly attenuated in arteries from Bmal1-knockout mice. The authors concluded that their data reveal a new role for the circadian clock during chronic vascular responses that may be of significance in the progression of vascular disease.
In another study by Scheer et at, Ten adults (5 female) underwent a 10-day laboratory protocol, wherein subjects ate and slept at all phases of the circadian cycle—achieved by scheduling a recurring 28-h “day.” Subjects ate 4 isocaloric meals each 28-h “day.” For 8 days, plasma leptin, insulin, glucose, and cortisol were measured hourly, urinary catecholamines 2 hourly (totaling ≈1,000 assays/subject), and blood pressure, heart rate, cardiac vagal modulation, oxygen consumption, respiratory exchange ratio, and polysomnographic sleep daily. Core body temperature was recorded continuously for 10 days to assess circadian phase. Circadian misalignment, when subjects ate and slept ≈12 h out of phase from their habitual times, systematically decreased leptin (−17%, P <>P <>P = 0.006), completely reversed the daily cortisol rhythm (P <>P = 0.001), and reduced sleep efficiency (−20%, P <0.002).>
Sources:
Vascular Disease in Mice With a Dysfunctional Circadian Clock
Ciprian B. Anea, MD; Maoxiang Zhang, PhD; David W. Stepp, PhD; G. Bryan Simkins, BS; Guy Reed, MD; David J. Fulton, PhD; R. Daniel Rudic, PhD
From the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology (C.B.A., M.Z., G.B.S., D.J.F., R.D.R.), Department of Physiology (D.W.S.), Vascular Biology Center (D.W.S., D.J.F.), and Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine (G.R.), Medical College of Georgia, Augusta.
Circulation. 2009;119:1510-1517
Published online before print March 9, 2009, doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.827477
Adverse metabolic and cardiovascular consequences of circadian misalignment
Frank A. J. L. Scheer, Michael F. Hilton, Christos S. Mantzoros, and Steven A Shea
Division of Sleep Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
Harvard Medical School, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115; and
Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215
Published online before print March 2, 2009, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0808180106
PNAS March 17, 2009 vol. 106 no. 11 4453-4458

Vinegar Reduces Post-Prandial Glucose

A mixture of vinegar and olive oil is the traditional salad dressing used in the Mediterranean diet. The consumption of vinegar with meals was used as a home remedy for diabetes before the advent of pharmacologic glucose-lowering therapy. Indeed modern studies indicate that vinegar significantly reduces post-meal glycemia, probably because acetic acid slows gastric emptying and thus delays carbohydrate absorption and improves satiety. Recent studies show that 1 to 2 tablespoons of vinegar, when added to a meal containing high-glycemic-index foods such as white bread or white rice, will both: 1) lower post-prandial glucose by 25% to 35% increase post-meal satiety by more than 2-fold. Thus the addition of vinegar to a standard meal can not only improve the meal-induced oxidant stress by blunting the post-prandial glucose excursion, but also can increase and prolong satiety, which should help to reduce food cravings and lower caloric intake over the subsequent 2 to 4 h. Finally, vinegar with olive oil is generally consumed with green leafy vegetables, which have superior nutrient-to-calorie ratios and very low glycemic indexes.

Sources:

• Östman E, Granfeldt Y, Persson L, Björck I. Vinegar supplementation lowers glucose and insulin responses and increases satiety after a bread meal in healthy subjects. Eur J Clin Nutr 2005;59:983-988.
• James H. O’Keefe, MD, Neil M. Gheewala, MS and Joan O. O’Keefe, RD . Dietary Strategies for Improving Post-Prandial Glucose, Lipids, Inflammation, and Cardiovascular Health. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2008; 51:249-255, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2007.10.016

Nuts, Olive Oil, and Fish Oil

Nuts, when consumed with a meal, will significantly reduce the post-prandial glucose excursion by slowing digestion. Recent studies show that almonds, pistachios, or peanuts, when eaten along with high glycemic index carbohydrates such as white bread or mashed potatoes, will reduce the post-prandial glucose area under the curve by approximately 30% to 50%. Importantly, nuts also decrease meal-induced oxidative protein damage because they lower post-prandial oxidative stress and additionally provide antioxidants.
A recent trial randomized 772 subjects at high risk for CAD to a low-fat diet or a Mediterranean-style diet supplemented with either walnuts (30 g/day) or virgin olive oil (1 l/week). This trial found that after 3 months the Mediterranean diets supplemented with either nuts or olive oil produced clinically significant reductions in systolic blood pressure, fasting glucose, and inflammatory biomarkers compared with the low-fat diet.

Epidemiologic studies consistently indicate that consumption of nuts at least 5 times per week will reduce CAD and diabetes risks by 20% to 50%. Tree nuts are comprised predominantly of monounsaturated fats and are a rich source of antioxidants, fiber, phytosterols, magnesium, and folic acid, which might beneficially influence CV risk. Replacing refined carbohydrates with monounsaturated fats (using nuts and/or olive oil) will reduce post-prandial hyperglycemia and hypertriglyceridemia, increase high-density lipoprotein, and decrease oxidative stress . One practical way to accomplish this is to substitute nuts (all of which have very low glycemic indexes) for the sugary and starchy snack foods that are staples in the American diet.

Fish oil (omega-3 fatty acids) lowers post-prandial triglyceride levels by 16% to 40% in a dose-dependent fashion, in part by upregulating lipoprotein lipase activity and accelerating the clearance of chylomicrons. Thus, some of the documented anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective activities of omega-3 fatty acids may be conferred in part by significant improvements in post-meal lipid levels

Source: James H. O’Keefe, MD_^*, Neil M. Gheewala, MS and Joan O. O’Keefe, RD Dietary Strategies for Improving Post-Prandial Glucose, Lipids, Inflammation, and Cardiovascular Health. J Am Coll Cardiol, 2008; 51:249-255, doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2007.10.016

Serious hepatic reactions associated with the dietary supplement Fortodol

Herb-based dietary supplement contained active drug substance.

> The Medical Products Agency issues a warning against the herb-based dietary supplement Fortodol. The product has been on sale in Sweden since 2004. Analyses of the product revealed that it contains the drug substance nimesulide which is suspected to have caused serious liver injuries including liver failure and cardiovascular events with fatal outcome. At least 240 000 jars totalling 24 million capsules is reported having been sold in Sweden and Norway since 2004.

> The Medical Products Agency has received information about four cases of liver damage among Swedish patients who have taken Fortodol. In one of the cases, this led to acute liver failure resulting in death of the patient. The Norwegian Medical Products Agency has information about five cases of liver damage, and one case of death, with temporal association with the intake of Fortodol. It is known that the substance nimesulide can cause serious liver injury. Nimesulide is not an approved medicinal product in Sweden.

>  People consuming Fortodol should immediately cease the intake of it. Should you suffer from symptoms such as poor appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, dark urine or yellow skin, you should contact a medical care facility for a liver check up, says Barbro Gerdén, physician at the Medical Products Agency.

> The dietary supplement Fortodol, which is on sale on the Internet and in health food shops is said to relieve arthritis and muscle pains as well as head aches. The table of contents specifies that the product contains turmeric extract and the amino acid dl-phenylalanine. In two of nine analysed batches, the Medical Products Agency found the drug substance nimesulide.

> In those EU-countries where nimesulide is approved as a medicinal product the recommendations state that the substance should only be used for temporary treatments with prescriptions of not more than 30 doses. Fortodol has been sold in packages of up to 100 capsules.

> This is a product which has been launched as a dietary supplement, not as a medicinal product which implies a risk that people use it for longer periods of time, says Per Claeson, pharmacist at the Medical Products Agency.

> This is not the first time that the Medical Products Agency finds hazardous levels of drug substances in products sold as herbal products. Earlier examples are weight loss products and potency enhancers. This is the first time that an illegal drug substance has been discovered in a product used by people with painful disease states such as joint and muscle ailments. 

Case report on Nimesulide induced Angina

Fatty acids profile of edible oils and fats in our diet in India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Indian_refined_oils_safe_for_cooking/articleshow/4078251.cms

http://www.morungexpress.com/express_review/13494.html

http://www.cseindia.org/oil/soyabean.htm

Download the following pdf file and see Annexure II pages 38-40

http://www.cseindia.org/oil/fatty_acids_profile.pdf