Low-Fat Yogurt May Cut High Blood Pressure Risk
Reported by Julielynn Wong, M.D., ABC News Medical Unit
Low-fat yogurt may help lower your risk for high blood pressure, according to new research.
A new study of more than 2,100 adults presented at the American Heart Association’s High Blood Pressure Research 2012 Scientific Sessions Wednesday found that those who reported eating more low-fat yogurt were 31 percent less likely to develop high blood pressure than those who ate less.
The researchers also found that, over the course of the 15-year study, low-fat yogurt eaters, on average, had lower increases in systolic blood pressure — the “first” ot top number” in a blood pressure reading — compared to those who did not eat low-fat yogurt.
These results held up even after adjusting for weight, use of blood pressure medications and lifestyle factors, including diet.
This study, which was partially funded by yogurt company Dannon, was part of a bigger long-term project, known as the Framingham Heart Study.
About one in three adults living in the United States — around 68 million Americans — have high blood pressure, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death across the nation.
Dr. Robert O. Bonow, director of the Center for Cardiovascular Innovation at Northwestern’s Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, said that when it comes to keeping blood pressure at bay, every bit counts.
“As you get older, your [blood] pressure tends to go up,” said Bonow, who was not involved in the study. “If you can minimize the age-related increase, that’s good.”
The researchers behind the study and other experts cautioned that while this study found a link between low-fat yogurt and lower blood pressure, it doesn’t prove that yogurt actually lowers blood pressure.
There could be other reasons why individuals who eat low-fat yogurt do better, the researchers said.
“Yogurt may be beneficial,” Bonow said. “Is this the key to heart health? It’s not clear.”
Some nutrition experts noted, however, that these findings do add to the growing body of evidence of the health benefits of low-fat yogurt.
“Previous studies have found that including low-fat dairy foods in a healthy diet can help manage blood pressure,” said Lona Sandon, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.
“The Dash studies published over a decade ago showed that a healthy diet pattern that included lots of fruits, vegetables, three low-fat dairy servings per day and limited saturated fat along with a moderate sodium intake was effective for lowering blood pressure,” said Sandon, who was not involved with the study.
According to the researchers, low-fat yogurt is high in protein and other nutrients — calcium, potassium and magnesium — that are related to blood pressure and are typically underconsumed by Americans.
Sandon agreed. “The calcium found in yogurt and other dairy foods may be the key ingredient,” she said. ”An earlier version of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that people who ate more foods high in calcium had lower blood pressure. Taking calcium supplements does not seem to have the same effect as foods that naturally contain calcium.”
How much low-fat yogurt should you consume to try to help your blood pressure? The researchers found that eating six ounces of yogurt every three days helped.
There’s an easy way to figure out how much yogurt that is. “A woman’s fist is about one cup. The palm of a woman’s hand is half a cup,” said Connie Diekman, a registered dietitian and director of University Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, “So a little bit between those is six ounces.”
There are other known benefits of snacking on low-fat yogurt besides helping bone health, said Diekman, who was not involved in the study.
“Yogurt is a great source of protein,” she said. “The protein keeps you feeling full a little longer. It does have some liquid so it provides some hydration.”
While more rigorous research on low-fat yogurt is needed before doctors can reliably link it to lower blood pressure, nutrition experts said that adding some of it to your diet can’t hurt.
“Yogurt can be part of a healthy diet and may help with managing blood pressure,” said Sandon. “A healthy diet coupled with regular physical exercise can help you manage your health and prevent chronic diseases like high blood pressure.”
Article source: http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2012/09/19/low-fat-yogurt-may-cut-high-blood-pressure-risk/
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Categories: Fat Loss Diary Tags: Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, Framingham Heart Study, Lona Sandon, Washington University
Liposuction Might Have ‘Boomerang’ Effect
THURSDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) — Women who have the popular plastic surgery procedure known as liposuction may be trading one form of fat for another, as a new study reveals that the sudden removal of abdominal fat seems to trigger a buildup of fat around the internal organs.
At issue, the Brazilian researchers said, is an apparent trade-off between two kinds of fat, with the removal of “subcutaneous fat” spurring the growth of “visceral fat.”
Subcutaneous fat, located directly under the skin, is the primary target of liposuction. Visceral fat wraps itself around internal organs, and its accumulation has been strongly linked to a higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.
Here’s the good news: The same research team found that liposuction patients who adopted an exercise program shortly after surgery both enjoyed the benefits of abdominal fat removal while largely preventing the post-surgical growth of visceral fat.
“Importantly, a four-month, supervised exercise program prevented this compensatory visceral fat increase, increased fat-free mass and improved physical capacity and insulin sensitivity,” the team, led by Fabiana Benatti from the University of Sao Paulo, reported.
Benatti and her colleagues detail the findings in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The authors focused on the experience of 36 healthy Brazilian women between the ages of 20 and 35, all of whom underwent abdominal liposuction between 2010 and 2011 in Sao Paulo.
None of the women had a body-mass index (BMI) over 30 prior to the procedure, meaning that while they were overweight none was obese. All of the surgeries were also described as being “small-volume” in nature.
Two months post-surgery, the women were divided into two groups: the first embarked on a four-month (three times per week) exercise regimen, while the second essentially maintained a sedentary lifestyle.
Both groups were deemed to have experienced similar drops in body weight and overall fat mass as a result of their surgery, and both followed comparable diets post-procedure.
Those in the exercise group engaged in aerobic and anaerobic (weight training) training through the four-month period.
The result: Six months after their operation, neither group had regained fat in the abdominal region that was the target area of the liposuction surgery, leading the team to describe the procedure as “cosmetically efficient.”
However, patients in the sedentary group experienced a roughly 10 percent increase in visceral fat, equating to what the authors described as a “significant regain of total fat mass.” In contrast, those in the exercise group did not.
Benatti’s team said that it is not yet clear exactly how liposuction raises the risk for visceral fat growth. What is clear, however, is that exercise seems to mitigate that risk.
Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas, expressed little surprise with the findings.
“You oftentime have this snapback of the fats,” she said. “Sure, you can get rid of some of it with surgery. But if you don’t change your lifestyle, it doesn’t stay away forever. And certainly if you’ve spent all this money and incurred the risk of undergoing liposuction — and it’s not a risk-free option, by any means — why wouldn’t you want to do what you can to preserve the gain?”
“So, no, I don’t think it’s surprising that exercise helps after surgery,” Sandon added. “And in that respect, cardiovascular exercise, in particular, is one of the best ways to go. That means jogging, swimming, biking, roller blading, getting your heart rate up for an extended period of time and burning calories. Even walking helps to decrease visceral fat, even in people who have not had liposuction. And so I would expect it would work the same for people who have had liposuction.”
Connie Diekman, director of nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, seconded the notion.
“This is a small study,” she cautioned. “And it raises the question of how this might play out among women who were significantly more overweight than those included in this study.”
“But I think there is a very important message here,” Diekman added, “in that this study is an example of how you can make a positive change with exercise. It may not ultimately prevent the return of body fat, but clearly it can change its distribution or delay its return. And that is very good news.”
More information
For more on liposuction, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
SOURCES: Lona Sandon, R.D., assistant professor, clinical nutrition, University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas; Connie Diekman, director, nutrition, Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri; July 2012 Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Copyright © 2012 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Article source: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/HealthDay665763_20120614_Liposuction_Might_Have__Boomerang__Effect.html?cmpid=138896554
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Categories: Fat Loss Diary Tags: Fabiana Benatti, Lona Sandon, Missouri July, Sao Paulo
Liposuction may boost the growth of dangerous visceral fat
(Credit:
istockphoto)
(CBS News) While liposuction may be a way to get a skinnier stomach, new research shows it may spur on the growth of another kind of fat.
Liposuction focuses on the removal of subcutaneous fat, which is right under the skin. After surgery, patients gained visceral fat, which surrounds the internal organs. Visceral fat has been linked to a higher risk for diabetes and heart disease, the researchers noted.
The good news is there’s a way to keep blubber off: exercise. Women who participated in an exercise program after their surgery were able to keep off the fat better than the non-trained group.
The findings were published in the July 2012 issue of The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism.
For the study, scientists in Brazil looked at 36 women who had undergone liposuction surgery. All the women had a body mass index of 30 or under, meaning that none of them were obese. Both groups lost about the same amounts of body weight and overall fat mass as a result of the surgery.
Then, half the group was enrolled in a four-month exercise program, while the other group was told not to. The training regiment consisted of aerobic and anaerobic (weight training). Six months after the experiment, women in the non-trained group retained a 10 percent increase in visceral fat. The women who exercised were able to keep it off, as well as improve their physical capacity and insulin sensitivity.
Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas, told HealthDay that this study shows how important it is to make changes in your daily routine if you are committed to losing the excess inches.
“You oftentimes have this snapback of the fats,” she said to HealthDay. “Sure, you can get rid of some of it with surgery. But if you don’t change your lifestyle, it doesn’t stay away forever. And certainly if you’ve spent all this money and incurred the risk of undergoing liposuction — and it’s not a risk-free option, by any means — why wouldn’t you want to do what you can to preserve the gain?”
Article source: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57453624-10391704/liposuction-may-boost-the-growth-of-dangerous-visceral-fat/
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Categories: Fat Loss Diary Tags: Brazil, Lona Sandon, money
Liposuction Might Have ‘Boomerang’ Effect
By Alan Mozes
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) — Women who have the popular plastic surgery procedure known as liposuction may be trading one form of fat for another, as a new study reveals that the sudden removal of abdominal fat seems to trigger a buildup of fat around the internal organs.
At issue, the Brazilian researchers said, is an apparent trade-off between two kinds of fat, with the removal of “subcutaneous fat” spurring the growth of “visceral fat.”
Subcutaneous fat, located directly under the skin, is the primary target of liposuction. Visceral fat wraps itself around internal organs, and its accumulation has been strongly linked to a higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.
Here’s the good news: The same research team found that liposuction patients who adopted an exercise program shortly after surgery both enjoyed the benefits of abdominal fat removal while largely preventing the post-surgical growth of visceral fat.
“Importantly, a four-month, supervised exercise program prevented this compensatory visceral fat increase, increased fat-free mass and improved physical capacity and insulin sensitivity,” the team, led by Fabiana Benatti from the University of Sao Paulo, reported.
Benatti and her colleagues detail the findings in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.
The authors focused on the experience of 36 healthy Brazilian women between the ages of 20 and 35, all of whom underwent abdominal liposuction between 2010 and 2011 in Sao Paulo.
None of the women had a body-mass index (BMI) over 30 prior to the procedure, meaning that while they were overweight none was obese. All of the surgeries were also described as being “small-volume” in nature.
Two months post-surgery, the women were divided into two groups: the first embarked on a four-month (three times per week) exercise regimen, while the second essentially maintained a sedentary lifestyle.
Both groups were deemed to have experienced similar drops in body weight and overall fat mass as a result of their surgery, and both followed comparable diets post-procedure.
Those in the exercise group engaged in aerobic and anaerobic (weight training) training through the four-month period.
The result: Six months after their operation, neither group had regained fat in the abdominal region that was the target area of the liposuction surgery, leading the team to describe the procedure as “cosmetically efficient.”
However, patients in the sedentary group experienced a roughly 10 percent increase in visceral fat, equating to what the authors described as a “significant regain of total fat mass.” In contrast, those in the exercise group did not.
Benatti’s team said that it is not yet clear exactly how liposuction raises the risk for visceral fat growth. What is clear, however, is that exercise seems to mitigate that risk.
Lona Sandon, an assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern at Dallas, expressed little surprise with the findings.
“You oftentime have this snapback of the fats,” she said. “Sure, you can get rid of some of it with surgery. But if you don’t change your lifestyle, it doesn’t stay away forever. And certainly if you’ve spent all this money and incurred the risk of undergoing liposuction — and it’s not a risk-free option, by any means — why wouldn’t you want to do what you can to preserve the gain?”
“So, no, I don’t think it’s surprising that exercise helps after surgery,” Sandon added. “And in that respect, cardiovascular exercise, in particular, is one of the best ways to go. That means jogging, swimming, biking, roller blading, getting your heart rate up for an extended period of time and burning calories. Even walking helps to decrease visceral fat, even in people who have not had liposuction. And so I would expect it would work the same for people who have had liposuction.”
Connie Diekman, director of nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, seconded the notion.
“This is a small study,” she cautioned. “And it raises the question of how this might play out among women who were significantly more overweight than those included in this study.”
“But I think there is a very important message here,” Diekman added, “in that this study is an example of how you can make a positive change with exercise. It may not ultimately prevent the return of body fat, but clearly it can change its distribution or delay its return. And that is very good news.”
Article source: http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2012/06/14/liposuction-might-have-boomerang-effect
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Categories: Fat Loss Diary Tags: Connie Diekman, Fabiana Benatti, Lona Sandon, Sao Paulo
Low-Fat Dairy Linked to Lower Stroke Risk
THURSDAY, April 19 (HealthDay News) — In what the researchers
say is the largest study on the issue to date, adults who consumed higher
amounts of low-fat dairy products also had a somewhat lower long-term risk
of stroke.
The study involved nearly 75,000 Swedish adults who were tracked for an
average of 10 years after completing a dietary questionnaire.
Those who consumed low-fat versions of products such as milk, yogurt or
cheese had a 12 percent lower risk for stroke than those whose diet
typically included high/full-fat versions of these dairy staples.
“I think this finding certainly makes sense,” said Lona Sandon, a
dietician and assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University
of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. “When you have more
high-fat dairy you have more saturated fat, which we know is one of the
types of fats that can affect LDL, or ‘bad,’ cholesterol levels. And
eating saturated fat leads to clogging up arteries in the heart and the
brain. So then you’re more likely to have the clots breaking off and
causing something like an ischemic stroke.”
However, “when you’re looking at stroke risk you’d really want to look
at an individual’s whole dietary pattern,” said Sandon, who was not
involved in the new research. “But it is certainly plausible that
whole-fat dairy bumps up the risk that is out there.”
A research team led by Susanna Larsson, from the division of
nutritional epidemiology at the National Institute of Environmental
Medicine at Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute, reported the findings April
19 in the journal Stroke.
The study authors noted that in the United States, about one-third of
all adult men and women over the age of 18 have high blood pressure, which
they describe as a “major controllable risk factor” for stroke. Still,
they added, only about half of affected Americans have their blood
pressure under control.
With that in mind, experts have long touted the benefits of the Dietary
Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH diet), with its emphasis on low-fat
dairy consumption.
In 1997, the Swedish team administered food surveys to almost 75,000
men and women between the ages of 45 and 83, none of whom had a prior
history of either heart disease or cancer.
From that point forward, the incidence of stroke among study
participants was monitored via data collected by the Swedish Hospital
Discharge Registry.
Over the course of about a decade, nearly 4,100 strokes occurred, the
authors noted. People who stuck to low-fat dairy products appeared to have
a somewhat lower risk for stroke. The study was only able to find an
association between eating low-fat dairy products and lowered odds for
stroke; it could not prove cause-and-effect.
The Swedish researchers called for further large studies to examine the
apparent association, while at the same time suggesting that, if it holds
up upon further scrutiny, the finding could have broad public health
implications.
Larsson’s team pointed out that when it comes to dairy consumption, the
typical North American diet closely mirrors that of northern Europeans, so
a snapshot of Swedish diets and stroke risk might be relevant to a U.S.
population.
“The bottom line is that if you’re consuming more fat in your day — no
matter where it’s coming from — it is going to increase your risk for
atherosclerosis [hardening of the arteries], and thereby your risk for
stroke,” said Sandon. “And that’s what’s behind the USDA’s Dietary
Guidelines for Americans, which recommends that you get three dairy
servings per day, in order to get enough calcium and potassium, but at the
same time making sure that those servings are low-fat.”
Larsson’s study was funded by the Swedish Council for Working Life and
Social Research and the Swedish Research Council.
More information
For more on how diet impacts stroke risk, head to the National Stroke Association.
Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/low-fat-dairy-linked-lower-stroke-risk-200618425.html
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Categories: Fat Loss Diary Tags: Lona Sandon, National Stroke Association, North American, Susanna Larsson