The equivalent of eating a single walnut half per day appeared to cut the risk of dying from inflammatory disease about in half, whereas fish did not appear to play a protective role. That may be why those eating vegetarian foods have lower levels of inflammation and chronic disease risk.
Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties of white compared to yellow and purple potatoes. Purple potatoes may also help lower high blood pressure.
For the same reason aspirin should be avoided in pregnancy, chamomile has such powerful anti-inflammatory properties that regular consumption may result in a serious fetal heart problem—premature constriction of the fetal ductus arteriosus, which allows the fetus to “breathe” in the womb.
Mushrooms appear to have an anti-inflammatory effect on human arterial lining cells in vitro, which may help stop the inflammatory cascade, thought to be integral to the progression of atherosclerotic (artery-clogging) heart disease. The effects of shitake, crimini, oyster, maitake, and plain white button mushrooms are compared.
By preventing the buildup of cholesterol in our bloodstream, we can prevent atherosclerosis in our coronary arteries—the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. This involves increasing our intake of fiber-containing plant foods, and decreasing our intake of trans fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol found in junk food and animal products.
Atherosclerotic plaques in coronary arteries may be more aptly described as pimples, initiated by the infiltration of cholesterol into the lining of our arteries. The ending—should blood flow to our heart muscle be cut off by a clot formed by the rupture of one of these inflamed pockets of pus in our arterial lining—is a heart attack.
Fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. But which is more protective—raw or cooked?
There are four common types of cinnamon: Vietnamese, Chinese (cassia), Indonesian, and Ceylon (true) cinnamon. Which is safest in terms of the level of coumarin, which may damage the liver at toxic doses?
Watermelon is a rich source of citrulline, which has been found to improve erection hardness in men with mild erectile dysfunction (impotence).
High cholesterol can lead to atherosclerosis in the vertebral arteries that nourish our spine, and result in disc degeneration and lower back pain—a leading cause of disability.
The buildup of cholesterol in pelvic arteries can lead to sexual problems among both men and women via a similar pathway (erectile dysfunction).
Poultry workers exhibit an excess of a wide range of diseases, from thyroid conditions to schizophrenia, and autoimmune neurological disorders, such as myasthenia gravis. This may be due to exposure to viruses present in chickens and turkeys.
Monday, March 12, 2012: The Harvard Health Professionals Follow-up Study and the Harvard Nurses’ Health Study concluded that red meat consumption was associated with living a significantly shorter life—increased cancer mortality, increased heart disease mortality, and increased overall mortality.
The effect of kale juice on LDL and HDL cholesterol, and the antioxidant capacity of the blood.
If nitrates can boost athletic performance and protect against heart disease, which vegetables have the most—beans, bulb vegetables (like garlic and onions), fruiting vegetables (like eggplant and squash), greens (such as arugula), mushrooms, root vegetables (such as carrots and beets), or stem vegetables (such as celery and rhubarb)?
The nitrate in vegetables, which the body can turn into the vasodilator nitric oxide, may help explain the role dark green leafy vegetables play in the prevention and treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart disease.
Are soybeans better than other types of beans for heart disease prevention—or does the soy industry just have more money and clout to tout?
Harvard study found that men and women eating low carb diets live significantly shorter lives, but what about the “eco-Atkins diet,” a plant-based, low carbohydrate diet?
A case report in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly Journal of the American Dietetic Association) of a man who went on the Atkins diet, lost his ability to have an erection—and nearly lost his life.
Antioxidants protect NO synthase—the enzyme that produces the artery-relaxing signal, nitric oxide. This may explain why those who eat especially antioxidant-rich plant foods have improved flow-mediated dilation of the brachial arteries.
For a dollar a month, Indian gooseberry (amla) powder may work as well as a leading diabetes drug—without the side effects.
Indian gooseberries (amla), an important plant in Ayurvedic medicine, may have anticancer properties, as well as cough-, fever-, pain-, stress-, and diarrhea-suppressing effects.
Which common dried fruit is the most antioxidant-packed: apple rings, dried apricots, dried cherries, dried mango, prunes, or raisins?
A study of 15,000 American vegetarians suggests their lower chronic disease rates translate into fewer surgeries (including hysterectomies) and medications (including aspirin, sleeping pills, tranquilizers, antacids, pain-killers, blood pressure medications, laxatives, and insulin).
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in our diet are thought to accelerate the aging process.
What dietary behaviors may cut the odds of developing of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in half?
A million Americans have a silent aneurysm in their abdominal aorta (AAA) that may become life-threatening over time.
The intake of trans fats, which come mostly from junk food and animal products; saturated fat, mostly from dairy products and chicken; and cholesterol, coming mostly from eggs and chicken, should be as low as possible.
Cardiologists suggest that cholesterol-lowering statin drugs be given out free with fast food meals
To achieve the cholesterol level necessary to prevent heart attacks, most people must take cholesterol-lowering drugs—or eat a plant-based diet.
The average “bad” cholesterol (LDL) level in people having heart attacks is in the “near-optimal” range, suggesting that the current guidelines are too lax.
Most people hospitalized with heart attacks have cholesterol levels considered “desirable” under the current recommendations. Having a “normal” cholesterol in a society where it’s normal to die of heart disease is not necessarily a good thing.
Food companies (such as POM Wonderful) invoke the First Amendment to defend false and unsubstantiated health claims.
The USDA Dietary Guidelines Committee stands accused of ignoring the science to justify its recommendation to eat meat.
Since foods are a package deal, Dr. Walter Willet, the Chair of Harvard’s nutrition department, recommends we emphasize plant sources of protein, rather than animal sources.
The success story in Finland shows that science-based dietary guidelines can save millions of lives.
What happens when the twin mandates of the USDA—to both promote agribusiness, and protect our nation’s health—come into conflict?
Why does the medical establishment sometimes ignore highly efficacious therapies, such as plant-based diets, for heart disease prevention and treatment?
The China-Oxford-Cornell Diet and Health Project directed by T. Colin Campbell and colleagues showed that chronic diseases, such as heart disease, are not inevitable consequences of aging.
Dr. Dean Ornish proved decades ago that heart disease could be reversed solely with diet and lifestyle changes.
