Fruits
and vegetables
& Angina
Researchers at Harvard Medical School
monitored 832 men between the ages of 45 and 65 to try and find out more
about the relationship between our diet and the risk of stroke. Analysing
the results they discovered that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables
offered significant protection against strokes. They concluded that for
every three servings a day of fruit and vegetables, the risk of stroke is
reduced by 22 per cent.
JAMA, April 12, 1995
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Garlic
& Angina
Regular consumption of garlic can considerably
lower triglycerides and cholesterol in the blood and, at the same time,
increase levels of high density lipoproteins (HDL). Garlic also offers
beneficial effects to the liver without the side effects associated to
aspirin. It may also be similar to aspirin by helping blood platelets to
remain single (where otherwise excessively sticking together) and reducing
the chance of a stroke.
Atherosclerosis
1977;28:155-159
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Vitamin
C
& Angina
Researchers at the Evans Memorial Department
of Medicine at the Boston University Medical centre, USA investigated
whether vitamin C has any demonstrable beneficial effect on patients with
coronary heart disease.
Forty six patients with a
history of coronary artery disease participated in the study. A high
resolution vascular ultrasound recording was used to monitor the brachial
artery dilation in response to hyperaemia (excess blood) prior to and at
two hours following oral administration of either 2 grams of vitamin C or
a placebo tablet.
The results showed that
those patients who took vitamin C tablets had a marked improvement in
dilation of the brachial artery whereas those patients who were given a
placebo tablet showed no improvement. No adverse effects were observed in
any of the patients in the vitamin C group.
The researchers concluded
that vitamin C has specific beneficial effects on arterial dilation in
patients with coronary artery disease and that the results of their study
suggest that patients with atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction
would particularly benefit from vitamin C supplementation.
This was a detailed,
controlled study with clear objective data and adds weight to the growing
body of evidence associating therapeutic benefits of vitamin C
supplementation. Hopefully, it will initiate further research in this
field into the role of other antioxidants , in particular vitamins A and
E.
Levine GN. Ascorbic acid
reverses endothelial vasomotor dysfunction in patients with coronary
artery disease. Circulation 1996; 93:6,1107-1113.
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Coenzyme
Q10 &
Angina
Coenyzme Q10 is known to
be a soluble antioxidant and recent research has shown that it is
particularly helpful to patients suffering from congesive heart failure
In 1995 a review of the
results from pooled randomised double-blind trials including more than
1,000 patients confirmed that Coenzyme Q10 may have an important role to
play as an adjunct therapy for patients suffering from congestive heart
failure. The review found that Coenzyme Q10 is safe, well tolerated and it
improves symptoms, exercise capacity and patients’ quality of life.
Mortensen S.A., Soja A.M.,
Leth A, Agner E, Rohde M. Coenzyme Q10 - clinical overview: potential
roles in prevention and as adjunctive therapy of cardiovascular disease.
9th International Symposium on Biomedical and Clinical aspects of Coenzyme
Q10.
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Folic
Acid
& Angina
There has been a lot of publicity relating to
the importance of folic acid for pregnant women in preventing spinobifida
and folic acid supplements are now commonly prescribed by doctors for
their pregnant patients. However, recent research has revealed that a lack
of folic acid may also be a major cause of heart disease along with
smoking, diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure) and cholesterol.
Researchers from Health Canada in Ottawa believe that they have found a
direct link between heart disease and low levels of folate (folic acid) in
the blood. Monitoring over 5,000 men and women between the ages of 39 and
79, the researchers found that the 165 who died from heart disease had the
lowest levels of folate in their blood.
Their findings seem to
confirm earlier reports which associated high levels of the amino acid
homocystine can adversely affect the heart and blood vessels. Homocystine
is lowered by folic acid and it is known that most people in the UK
consume low amounts of folic acid.
The research paper has been
praised as being "an important advance" by members of the
Harvard School of Public Health as it suggests that increasing the dietary
intake of folic acid may help reduce the incidence of heart disease. Folic
acid is mainly found in fresh fruits and vegetables.
JAMA
June 26 1996.
