Low-sodium dietary approaches to stop hypertension-type diet including lean red meat lowers blood pressure in postmenopausal women

Low-sodium Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diets are base producing but restrict red meat without clear justification. We hypothesized that a vitality diet (VD), a low-sodium DASH-type diet with a low dietary acid load containing 6 servings of 100 g cooked lean red meat per week, would be more effective in reducing blood pressure (BP) compared with a higher acid load reference healthy diet (RHD) based on general dietary guidelines to reduce fat intake and increase intake of breads and cereals. A randomized, parallel dietary intervention study was conducted to compare the BP-lowering effect of these 2 diets in postmenopausal women with high/normal BP. Women were randomly assigned to follow either VD or RHD for 14 weeks. Home BP was measured daily with an automated BP monitor under standard conditions. Of 111 women commencing the study, 95 completed (46 VD, 49 RHD). Systolic BP (SBP) throughout the intervention was lower in the VD group compared to the RHD group (repeated-measures analysis of variance time by diet, P = .04), such that at the end of the study, the VD had a fall of SBP by 5.6 &plusmn; 1.3 mm Hg (mean &plusmn; SEM) compared with a fall of 2.7 &plusmn; 1.0 mm Hg in the RHD (group difference, P = .08). When only those taking antihypertensive medications were assessed, the VD (n = 17) had a significant fall of 6.5 &plusmn; 2.5 mm Hg SBP (P = .02) and 4.6 &plusmn; 1.4 mm Hg diastolic BP (P = .005) after 14 weeks, and their BP was lower than that of the RHD group (n = 18) throughout the study (P &lt; .05). We concluded that a low-sodium DASH diet with a low dietary acid load, which also included lean red meat on most days of the week, was effective in reducing BP in older women, particularly in those taking antihypertensive medications.<br /

Effect of increasing dietary calcium through supplements and dairy food on body weight and body composition: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

This meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials assessed the effect of Ca on body weight and body composition through supplementation or increasing dairy food intake. Forty-one studies met the inclusion criteria (including fifty-one trial arms; thirty-one with dairy foods (n 2091), twenty with Ca supplements (n 2711). Ca intake was approximately 900&nbsp;mg/d higher in the supplement groups compared with control. In the dairy group, Ca intake was approximately 1300&nbsp;mg/d. Ca supplementation did not significantly affect body weight (mean change (&nbsp;-&nbsp;0&middot;17, 95&nbsp;% CI -&nbsp;0&middot;70, 0&middot;37)&nbsp;kg) or body fat (mean change (&nbsp;-&nbsp;0&middot;19, 95&nbsp;% CI -&nbsp;0&middot;51, 0&middot;13)&nbsp;kg) compared to control. Similarly, increased dairy food intake did not affect body weight (&nbsp;-&nbsp;0&middot;06, 95&nbsp;% CI -&nbsp;0&middot;54, 0&middot;43)&nbsp;kg or body fat change (&nbsp;-&nbsp;0&middot;36, 95&nbsp;% CI -&nbsp;0&middot;80, 0&middot;09)&nbsp;kg compared to control. Sub-analyses revealed that dairy supplementation resulted in no change in body weight (nineteen studies, n 1010) (&nbsp;-&nbsp;0&middot;32, 95&nbsp;% CI -&nbsp;0&middot;93, 0&middot;30&nbsp;kg, P=&nbsp;0&middot;31), but a greater reduction in body fat (thirteen studies, n 564) (&nbsp;-&nbsp;0&middot;96, 95&nbsp;% CI -&nbsp;1&middot;46, -&nbsp;0&middot;46&nbsp;kg, P &lt;&nbsp;0&middot;001) in the presence of energy restriction over a mean of 4 months compared to control. Increasing dietary Ca intake by 900&nbsp;mg/d as supplements or increasing dairy intake to approximately 3 servings daily (approximately 1300&nbsp;mg of Ca/d) is not an effective weight reduction strategy in adults. There is, however, an indication that approximately 3 servings of dairy may facilitate fat loss on weight reduction diets in the short term

BMI and all-cause mortality in older adults: a meta-analysis

Whether the association between body mass index (BMI) and all-cause mortality for older adults is the same as for younger adults is unclear

Hypercholesterolemic effect of an entericcoated garlic supplement. JACN.

Objective: To evaluate the hypocholesterolemic effect of an enteric-coated garlic supplement standardized for allicin-releasing potential in mild to moderate hypercholesterolemic patients. Methods: A double-blind randomized, placebo-controlled intervention study was conducted in 46 hypercholesterolemic subjects who had failed or were not compliant with drug therapy. Each subject was given dietary counseling to lower fat intake and enteric-coated Australian garlic powder tablets with 9.6 mg allicin-releasing potential or matching placebo tablets. Results: After 12 weeks, the garlic supplement group (nϭ22) had a significant reduction in total cholesterol (TC, Ϫ0.36 mmol/L, Ϫ4.2%) and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C, Ϫ0.44 mmol/L, Ϫ6.6%) while the placebo group (nϭ24) had a non-significant increase in TC (0.13 mmol/L, 2.0%) and LDL-C (0.18 mmol/L, 3.7%). HDLcholesterol was significantly increased in the placebo group (0.09 mmol/L, 9.1%), compared to the garlic group (Ϫ0.02 mmol/L, Ϫ0.9%), and no significant difference in triglycerides or in LDL/HDL ratio was observed between groups. Conclusions: The study demonstrates that enteric-coated garlic powder supplements with 9.6 mg allicinreleasing potential may have value in mild to moderate hypercholesterolemic patients when combined with a low fat diet. Taken with other evidence, the efficacy of garlic for lipoprotein metabolism might require allicin bioavailability to be enhanced through the use of, for example, an enteric-coated dose form. If this is the case, the possibility remains that greater hypocholesterolemic efficacy may be evident at a higher allicin dose. Also noteworthy in this study was a small reduction in energy intake with garlic compared with placebo, attributable to reduction in fat, carbohydrate and alcohol intakes. This may also have contributed to the effects on blood lipids. This study suggests that garlic supplementation has a cholesterol-lowering effect, which may be mediated by direct action of a biologically active compound or compounds and in part through the effect on food and nutrient intake

Dietary patterns are associated with cognition among older people with mild cognitive impairment

There has been increasing interest in the influence of diet on cognition in the elderly. This study examined the cross-sectional association between dietary patterns and cognition in a sample of 249 people aged 65-90 years with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Two dietary patterns; whole and processed food; were identified using factor analysis from a 107-item; self-completed Food Frequency Questionnaire. Logistic regression analyses showed that participants in the highest tertile of the processed food pattern score were more likely to have poorer cognitive functioning; in the lowest tertile of executive function (OR 2.55; 95% CI: 1.08-6.03); as assessed by the Cambridge Cognitive Examination. In a group of older people with MCI; a diet high in processed foods was associated with some level of cognitive impairment. © 2012 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland