Can Heart disease be reversed? I'm Dr. David DeRose, we'll look at some evidence in a moment on WellnessWise.

In America and other Western nations, we are making progress in combating the scourge of heart disease. Nonetheless, it is still our leading killer. Furthermore, internationally, heart disease claims the lives of millions each year.

It is true that advanced surgical, diagnostic and drug therapies have made an impact on heart disease. However, many experts feel that risk factor control offers more hope than high tech procedures in the ongoing fight against heart disease. Attention to risk factors like high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and high cholesterol can help _prevent_ heart disease from ever occurring.

IN 1990 the Lifestyle Heart Trial demonstrated the power of health habit changes in _treating_ heart disease. Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco put a group of heart disease patients on a "comprehensive lifestyle" program. That program included moderate aerobic exercise, stopping smoking, stress management training, a low-fat vegetarian diet, and caffeine avoidance. Dye studies of the participant's heart blood vessels were performed before and after one year on this lifestyle program. Remarkably, over 80% of the patients demonstrated reversal of their blocked heart arteries.

Those results indicate that even diseased heart blood vessels can be improved by an excellent lifestyle.

For WellnessWise, I'm Dr. David DeRose.

Ornish D, Brown, SE, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, et al. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary artery disease? The Lifestyle Heart Trial, Lancet 336:129-133, 1990

DIET AND HEART DISEASE REVERSAL

What is the best diet to prevent or reverse heart disease? I'm Dr. David DeRose. In a moment we'll attempt to come closer to an answer on WellnessWise.

What diet is really best for heart disease? The topic has been hotly debated for years. In 1990 researchers at the University of California at San Francisco used a low-fat vegetarian diet as part of a lifestyle program to reverse blocked heart arteries. 80% of the participants reversed their atherosclerosis on such a program.

These researchers apparently thought that one of the advantages of the vegetarian diet was its low fat content. However, subsequent research has revealed that certain types of fat-rich foods may actually play a role in heart disease prevention.

For example, 1992 Israeli study found that a higher fat diet can actually reduce cholesterol levels---that is if you choose your fats carefully. A 33% fat diet using high fat plant foods like almonds, olive oil and avocados lowered cholesterol values more than a low fat diet with only 18% of calories from fat. That higher fat diet lowered the critical LDL cholesterol a full 14%!

In other words, you don't have to give up all high fat foods to fight heart disease.

For Wellness Wise, I'm Dr. David DeRose.

Ornish D, Brown, SE, Scherwitz LW, Billings JH, et al. Can lifestyle changes reverse coronary artery disease? The Lifestyle Heart Trial, Lancet 336:129-133, 1990 Israeli study quoted in :Sabati J & Fraser G, "Nuts: new protective food against coronary heart disease." Current Opinion in Lipidology 1994, 5:11-16.

HEART DISEASE, DIETARY FAT, AND NUTS--PART I

Are all high fat foods bad for your heart? I'm Dr. David DeRose, in a moment we'll look at that question on WellnessWise.

Nuts are a fat-rich food group that actually appears to be healthy for the heart. Dr. Sabati, Fraser and colleagues at Loma Linda University studied the diet of Seventh day Adventists. Adventists are known for their lower risk of heart disease than the average American.

What the researchers were surprised to find was that the people who ate the most nuts had the lowest risk of heart disease. When compared to those eating nuts less than once per week, those eating nuts five or more times per week had less than half the risk of heart attacks and heart attack deaths.

Eating nuts helped decrease heart disease risk for all kinds of people. It helped men as well as women, those overweight as well as of normal weight, and those with high blood pressure as well as those with normal blood pressure.

But nut consumption does not only help Seventh-day Adventists. In the Iowa Women's Health Study, for example, the diets of 34,000 women were examined. Again, a 40% decreased risk of heart disease death was observed among the most frequent nut eaters.

These studies suggest that certain high-fat foods--like nuts--can be part of a heart healthy program. Some fatty foods may be best eaten in moderation rather than avoided completely.

For WellnessWise, I'm Dr. David DeRose.

Ref.: Sabati J & Fraser G, "Nuts: new protective food against coronary heart disease." Current Opinion in Lipidology 1994, 5:11-16.

HEART DISEASE, DIETARY FAT, AND NUTS--PART II

Why might some high fat foods decrease your risk of heart disease? I'm Dr. David DeRose. In a moment: more on nuts and heart disease prevention on WellnessWise.

Nuts have been grabbing center stage since 1992. A report from Loma Linda University that year showed that a diet higher in nuts could decrease heart disease deaths by as much as 50%.

But what is it about nuts that may help the heart? Researchers Sabati and Fraser have suggested the following:

1. Most nuts are rich in monounsaturated fat-- a type of fat that is known to lower blood cholesterol values.

2. Nuts are high in fiber--another nutrient that lowers cholesterol. Anywhere from 4% to 11% of a nut's weight is fiber.

3. Nuts are an excellent source of vitamin E. More and more evidence suggests that vitamin E can help prevent hardening of the arteries.

4. Nuts are rich in an amino acid called arginine. Arginine may help to prevent excessive blood clotting as well as hardening of the arteries.

5. Nuts are excellent sources of the heart-healthy mineral magnesium.

Nuts are a tasty high fat food that appears to truly be heart healthy. They provide more evidence that a diet that is "good for you" need not be bland, uninteresting or even "nearly fat-free."

For WellnessWise, I'm Dr. David DeRose.

Ref.: Sabati J & Fraser G, "Nuts: new protective food against coronary heart disease." Current Opinion in Lipidology 1994, 5:11-16.

SECTION III

SCIENCE/HEALTH ABSTRACTS

We really appreciate Phylis Austin, an Emory University research librarian and author. Phylis continues to allow us to reprint portions of back issues of her bimonthly periodical called "Science/Health Abstracts."

Phylis Austin is an Emory University medical research librarian and author who allows us to reprint portions of back issues of her bimonthly periodical called "Science/Health Abstracts." I include selections from her work in the same spirit in which I post my radio scripts: the spirit of stimulating inquiry--not necessarily of establishing fact. I try to select from "Science/Health Abstracts" material that is not getting much current coverage (even though the articles in some cases may have first been published some time ago). If you are interested in purchasing a subscription to current issues of her publication, feel free to e-mail me at the address below. -- DJD

Earlier studies have shown a relationship between high maternal hemoglobin levels and low birth weight. A recent study suggests that high hemoglobin levels may hinder circulation in the placenta. (Acta Obstetrica Gynecologica Scandinavica 69:127-133, 1990) This decreased blood flow may decrease nutrition for the growing infant.

SECTION IV PARTING WORDS

SUBSCRIPTION INFO

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