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HowToPreventHeartDisease.com |
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Would Flavanol Rich Diet Prevent Heart Disease? Flavanols are a sub-group of flavonoids that are naturally occurring compounds found in plants. They are known for their antioxidant properties. They can be found in cocoa, tea, apples, as well as in foods like onions, kale, grapes and red wine, peaches, berries, tomatoes, lettuce, scallions, and broccoli. Mounting evidence has suggested that a diet rich in flavanols can have a positive impact on cardiovascular health. According to new research published October 21, 2020 in ‘Scientific Reports’, eating foods high in flavanols, like tea and cocoa, can help lower blood pressure, even among people with hypertension (high blood pressure). Researchers at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom examined data for 25,618 adult participants in the United Kingdom on blood pressure and cardiovascular disease as well as results from urine tests, looking for biomarkers of flavan-3-ol, a substance that indicates how much flavanol is in the diet. Systolic blood pressure was found to be about 1.9 mmHg lower in men and about 2.5 mmHg lower in women with the highest flavanol intake than it was among their counterparts with the lowest flavanol intake. Systolic blood pressure is the top number that indicates how much pressure blood exerts on artery walls when the heart beats. Differences in blood pressure associated with a high-flavanol diet were also found to be more pronounced in older adults and in people diagnosed with hypertension than in younger individuals and those with normal blood pressure. But how do flavanols help with blood pressure? According to health experts, flavanols may improve blood pressure by favorably impacting the hormones that regulate and control blood pressure.
One advantage of this study is that it used urine tests to estimate how much flavanol people had in their diets. Furthermore, using biomarkers instead of self-reported dietary information is another strength of the study because the amount of flavanols in a particular food or drink can vary. For instance, tea can contain between 10 and 600 mg of flavanols per cup. Using nutritional biomarkers to estimate the intake of bioactive food compounds has long been seen as the gold standard for research, as it allows intake to be measured objectively. Nevertheless, there are limitations, too. The biggest one is that results from this study in the United Kingdom, where tea is the main source of dietary flavanols. This may not reflect what would happen in other populations where people tend to like different foods and beverages. Furthermore, researchers looked at urine tests for flavanol intake at only a single point in time, and it is possible that eating habits changed over time in ways that might impact blood pressure or cardiovascular disease risk. Earlier studies have found flavanols may help reduce stiffness in arteries, cholesterol, blood pressure, and the risk of developing or dying from cardiovascular disease, according to a review published in June 2018 in ‘Molecular Aspects of Medicine’. In particular, this review linked flavanols in cocoa and tea with these heart-healthy benefits. The blood pressure reduction seen with flavanols in the current study is comparable to what some earlier research found with 2 heart-healthy diets, the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. One study, published in 2013 in ‘BMC Medicine’, found that following a Mediterranean diet reduced diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number that indicates how much pressure blood exerts on artery walls when the heart rests between beats) by 1.5 mmHg. But this trial did not find a connection between the Mediterranean diet and systolic blood pressure. An older study, published in ‘New England Journal of Medicine’, reported that when people tried to cut their sodium intake to the lowest level possible, following a DASH diet reduced systolic blood pressure more than eating in other ways, by 11.5 mmHg more for people with hypertension and by 7.1 mmHg more for people without hypertension. When people tried to reduce sodium intake from high levels to intermediate levels, the DASH diet reduced systolic blood pressure by 2.1 mmHg. By incorporating flavanol-rich foods into the diet on a consistent basis, together with other healthy lifestyle changes like managing stress, avoiding cigarette smoking, and maintaining a healthy weight may help manage hypertension and hence prevent heart disease. Date: December 31, 2020
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