The compounds found in these foods can reduce diabetes, risk of heart disease

A new study has revealed that compounds in many oils, fruits, vegetables and whole plants based on plants can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

The results “support the long -standing recommendation to increase the amount of plant food that people eat”, the main author of the study, Fenglei Wang, PHD, research partner at Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health, said Health.

Previous studies have shown that compounds called phytosterols or plant sterols can help avoid high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and hypertension. The new research, presented at the Conference of the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando this week, made a depth to know if the consumption of a diet rich in phytosterol seems to have an effect on chronic diseases. It has not yet been published in a review evaluated by peers.

Phytosterols are compounds found in all plant foodsLike fruits, vegetables, legumes and seeds. They are in high quantities in nuts such as almonds, nuts and pistachios – as well as linen seeds, wheat germ, rye bread and other types of whole grains.

Substances are also concentrated in unrefined vegetable oils, including certain seed oils. In recent months, seed oils have been faced with online criticisms, with assertions that they fuel chronic conditions and are less healthy than beef tallow or other animal fats – but a large number of searches show that seed oils can be a healthy choice.

Vegetable oils – some of which are considered as seed oils – as well as olive oil and nut oils, are among the best sources of plant sterols.

In addition, you can find phytosterols in the form of a supplement.

Instead of focusing on supplements, like many previous items, Wang and his colleagues wanted to see how people could draw the benefits of the food they eat.

They studied how the three main types of plant sterols –β-Sitosterol, Campesterol and Stigmasterol– Assign the intestinal microbiome and metabolic biomarkers that may indicate underlying problems such as inflammation and insulin resistance. Both are linked to type 2 diabetes and at the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Researchers used data from three studies, including more than 206,000 people who were followed up to 36 years old. Almost 80% were women. The data detailed what people ate, as well as blood biomarkers for more than 40,000 participants and blood metabolites for almost 11,500. The team was able to analyze the intestinal microbiobas of 465 participants.

Using this data, scientists have examined the association between quantity and types of phytosterols that people get their diet and metabolic biomarkers linked to the disease.

Compared to people who have eaten food containing the least phytosterol, Those who ate the most were 9% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease and 8% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The inhabitants of the group in High-Innume have consumed a daily consumption of approximately:

• Four to five portions of vegetables
• Two to three portions of fruit
• Two whole portions of grain
• A half-portion of nuts

The β-Sitosterol, which is in vegetables, in particular broccoli and cauliflower, as well as in oranges, avocados and soy oil, was most associated with potentially beneficial changes in the intestinal microbiome.

The compound seems to be metabolized in the intestine, a process that creates more intestinal bacteria that produce short chain chain fatty acids, which are strongly linked to a risk of type 2 diabetes with low content

Β-suosterol can also reduce the n-oxide of trimethylamine, or TMAO, a compound produced by intestinal bacteria that decompose red meat. The high TMAO has been linked to an increase in cardiovascular risk, he added.

The new study was observational, which means that it shows only an association but does not prove causality. He also used survey data that asked people to remember what they ate, which can be biased by the capacity of people to recall. However, Mozaffarian said that the results maintain what an increasing set of research has revealed – that plant sterols seem to have a positive effect on health.

Researchers have long since known that phytosterols can help reduce LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. The compounds derived from plants have a structure similar to cholesterol and compete with cholesterol in the intestine, preventing the body from absorbing part of the LDL cholesterol you eat.

About 10% of American adults and 7% of children and adolescents have high cholesterol, according to centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over time, an excess cholesterol accumulates in the form of a plate inside the arteries, which exercises you at a higher risk of heart disease.

Plant phenols can have anti-inflammatory properties In addition to blocking the body of the absorption of LDL cholesterol, said Julia Zumpano, RD, a dietitian recorded at the Cleveland Clinic Center for Human Nutrition which was not involved in the new study.

The new study opens up other questions about other ways whose plant phenols could make adjustments throughout the body that modify the risk of a person’s disease. “We have generally considered plant sterols as a kind of mechanics – it absorbs in the intestine, blocking cholesterol,” said Mozaffarian. “But we now learn all these interesting paths. He metabolizes in the intestine and releases metabolites that can have an impact on health. ”

Zumpano said that in her own preventive cardiology practice, she often prescribes vegetable sterol supplements to patients who need to reduce their LDL cholesterol.

According to Wang, studies that have found vegetable sterols can reduce LDL cholesterol generally used supplements which offer around 2,000 milligrams of compounds per day.

“The diet data shows that people generally get less than 600 mg per day of food,” he said, noting that the study revealed that the amount that people get food always seem to have a positive effect.

Phytosterol’s food sources are less well studied than supplements, but many Experts prefer them for their potential health benefits. In general, people must make sure they eat a lot of plant foods that are commonly found in the Mediterranean diet.

“As nutrition researchers, we are still focusing on increasing food consumption because these foods – vegetable, fruits, whole grains – are not only rich in phytosterols but on other beneficial compounds,” said Wang.