Good night's sleep 'protects heart'

Seven or more hours' sleep a night boosts the benefits to the heart of a healthy lifestyle, research suggests.

According to a large study, traditional advice on exercise, diet, drinking and smoking reduced deaths from heart disease or stroke, but even more lives were saved by also having enough sleep.

Advice on getting enough sleep could have a substantial impact on public health, say European researchers.

In theory, many heart and stroke deaths could be prevented or postponed.

A team in the Netherlands tracked heart disease and strokes in more than 14,000 men and women for more than a decade.

By the end of the study, about 600 individuals had suffered heart disease or stroke, and 129 died.

The study found that deaths were less likely in people who followed all four positive lifestyle recommendations - taking exercise, eating a healthy diet, drinking alcohol in moderation, and not smoking.

Observing all four behaviours was associated with a 57% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 67% lower risk of dying from stroke or heart disease, they say.

But when sufficient sleep - seven or more hours a night - was added to the other four lifestyle factors, the beneficial effect was amplified - resulting in a 65% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and an 83% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

The researchers say other studies have shown a link between poor sleep and cardiovascular disease, but this is the first to look at whether sleep - added to the other four healthy lifestyle recommendations - can further reduce risk.

"If all participants adhered to all five healthy lifestyle factors, 36% of composite cardiovascular disease [heart disease or stroke] and 57% of fatal cardiovascular disease could theoretically be prevented or postponed," say the researchers, from the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, and Wageningen University.

"The public health impact of sufficient sleep duration, in addition to the traditional healthy lifestyle factors, could be substantial."

Commenting on the work, published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, Prof Grethe S Tell, of the University of Bergen, Norway, said the benefits of sleep should be considered by public health experts and parents alike.

"The main message of the study is that we need to consider sleep as an important factor for health," she told BBC News.

"From a public health point of view we should encourage people to get enough sleep and like all other healthy lifestyle factors this needs to be taught at home."

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Excess omega-3 fatty acids could lead to negative health effects

A new review suggests that omega-3 fatty acids taken in excess could have unintended health consequences in certain situations, and that dietary standards based on the best available evidence need to be established.
"What looked like a slam dunk a few years ago may not be as clear cut as we thought," said Norman Hord, associate professor in OSU's College of Public Health and Human Sciences and a coauthor on the paper.
"We are seeing the potential for negative effects at really high levels of omega-3 fatty acid consumption. Because we lack valid biomarkers for exposure and knowledge of who might be at risk if consuming excessive amounts, it isn't possible to determine an upper limit at this time."
Previous research led by Michigan State University's Jenifer Fenton and her collaborators found that feeding mice large amounts of dietary omega-3 fatty acids led to increased risk of colitis and immune alteration. Those results were published in Cancer Research in 2010.
As a follow-up, in the current issue of the journal Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes & Essential Fatty Acids,Fenton and her co-authors, including Hord, reviewed the literature and discuss the potential adverse health outcomes that could result from excess consumption of omega-3 fatty acids.
Studies have shown that omega-3s, also known as long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs), are associated with lower risk of sudden cardiac death and other cardiovascular disease outcomes.
"We were inspired to review the literature based on our findings after recent publications showed increased risk of advanced prostate cancer and atrial fibrillation in those with high blood levels of LCPUFAs," Fenton said.

Omega-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties, which is one of the reasons they can be beneficial to heart health and inflammatory issues. However, the researchers said excess amounts of omega-3 fatty acids can alter immune function sometimes in ways that may lead to a dysfunctional immune response to a viral or bacterial infection.
"The dysfunctional immune response to excessive omega-3 fatty acid consumption can affect the body's ability to fight microbial pathogens, like bacteria," Hord said.
Generally, the researchers point out that the amounts of fish oil used in most studies are typically above what one could consume from foods or usual dosage of a dietary supplement. However, an increasing amount of products, such as eggs, bread, butters, oils and orange juice, are being "fortified" with omega-3s. Hord said this fortified food, coupled with fish oil supplement use, increases the potential for consuming these high levels.
"Overall, we support the dietary recommendations from the American Heart Association to eat fish, particularly fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, lake trout or sardines, at least two times a week, and for those at risk of coronary artery disease to talk to their doctor about supplements," he said.
"Our main concern here is the hyper-supplemented individual, who may be taking high-dose omega-3 supplements and eating four to five omega-3-enriched foods per day," Hord added. "This could potentially get someone to an excessive amount. As our paper indicates, there may be subgroups of those who may be at risk from consuming excess amounts of these fatty acids."
Hord said there are no evidence-based standards for omega-3 intake and no way to tell who might be at health risk if they consume too high a level of these fatty acids.

Read more at: http://depkhoenews.com/tin-tuc/tieu-thu-qua-nhieu-omega-3-co-the-anh-huong-den-suc-khoe.html

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Những thực phẩm làm sạch động mạch và giảm mỡ máu

Gastric bypass surgery may lower diabetes risks, but also carries dangers

Gastric surgery may not only help people combat obesity: Evidence shows it can also help reduce diabetes risk factors.

A new University of Minnesota study published in JAMA on June 5 reveals that mild to moderately obese patients with Type 2 diabetes had more improvements in their blood glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure after they underwent gastric bypass surgery, than patients who made lifestyle changes with medical counseling.

About 35.7 percent of the U.S. adult population is obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity has been linked to heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, some cancers and some of the leading causes of preventable death.

About 25.8 million people have diabetes in the U.S. as of 2010, the NIH reports. The vast majority of those people have Type 2 diabetes, which is when the body does not produce enough insulin or the cells do not use the insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas and is required for a process in which the body wants to use energy from glucose, or broken down sugars and starches obtained from food.

The best treatment for Type 2 diabetes is weight loss, but controlling glucose levels, blood pressure and cholesterol are important as well, the study authors noted. However, the optimal way to manage all those factors remains unknown.

Researchers looked at 120 participants who had a hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) level of 8.0 percent or higher, body mass index (BMI) between 30.0 and 39.9 signifying they were obese, a C peptide level of more than 1.0 ng/mL, and Type 2 diabetes for at least six months.

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9 loại thực phẩm không làm tăng cholesterol (phần cuối)

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