Diet High In B-vitamins Lowers Heart Risks In Japanese Study
Eating more foods containing the B-vitamins folate and B-6 lowers the risk of death from stroke and heart disease for women and may reduce the risk of heart failure in men, according to Japanese research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
“Japanese people need more dietary intake of folate and vitamin B-6, which may lead to the prevention of heart disease,” said Hiroyasu Iso, M.D., professor of public health at Osaka University.
The findings on the value of B vitamins were consistent with studies in Europe and North America, although the dietary consumption of vitamin B-6 is generally lower in Japan than in the United States.
Researchers analyzed data from 23,119 men and 35,611 women (ages 40-79) who completed food frequency questionnaires as part of the large Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study. During a median 14 years of follow-up, 986 died from stroke, 424 from heart disease and 2,087 from all diseases related to the cardiovascular system.
Investigators divided participants into five groups based on their intake of folate, vitamin B-6 and vitamin B-12. Comparing those with the diets lowest and highest for each nutrient, they found that higher consumption of folate and vitamin B-6 was associated with significantly fewer deaths from heart failure in men, and significantly fewer deaths from stroke, heart disease and total cardiovascular diseases in women. Vitamin B-12 intake was not associated with reduced mortality risk. Read more
Young Men Consuming An Alarming Amount Of Salt
Young Swedish men are consuming at least double the recommended amount of salt according to a study carried out by the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg and Sahlgrenska University Hospital.
“It’s alarming that young Swedish men are consuming so much salt, and something needs to be done about it. We can really only speculate on the consequences of such a high salt intake later on in life, in the form of cardiovascular diseases and stroke,” says Lena Hulthén, Professor in Clinical Nutrition at the Sahlgrenska Academy.
The study included almost a hundred men in their twenties. Urine samples from all participants were analysed over a 24-hour period. The participants also answered questions about their eating habits. The urine samples showed that the young men were consuming at least two times the World Health Organisation’s recommended daily intake of six grams.
“High salt intake can lead to high blood pressure, but we couldn’t detect any connection in our study. High blood pressure doesn’t usually develop until a person is in their 30s or 40s, since the kidneys’ ability to deal with the excess salt deteriorates with age,” says Lena Hulthén.
Salt in food is found largely in ready meals such as pizza and frozen meat hash, but it is also in bread, cheese, meat sandwich fillings, fish products, breakfast cereals and other products produced by the food industry. An earlier Danish study has shown that only a tenth of the salt that we consume comes from our own salt cellars. Read more