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Diet, Exercise Said to
Help Heart in Three Weeks
WASHINGTON (Reuters)
- As little as three weeks of eating
healthily and exercising can significantly lower a man's risk
of heart disease by reducing blood pressure and cholesterol, researchers
reported Tuesday. Eleven obese men who signed up for three weeks
of eating a low-fat, high-fiber diet rich in fruits and vegetables
lost a little weight but, more importantly, lowered blood pressure,
the researchers reported in Tuesday's issue of Circulation.
The men also took a brisk daily walk.
"This is the first study to show that
this type of diet and exercise can reduce oxidative stress, lower
blood pressure, and improve risk factors for other chronic diseases
in a very short time," R. James Barnard, a professor of physiological
science at the University of California Los Angeles who led the
study, said in a statement.
During the three weeks, the men got
fewer than 10 percent of calories from fat, 15 to 20 percent from
protein and 70 to 75 percent from whole grains, fruit and vegetables.
They could eat all the whole-meal bread, pasta, fruit and vegetables
they wanted.
They also walked on a treadmill for
45 to 60 minutes a day.
Barnard's team tested the men's blood
for cholesterol, glucose and insulin measurements, all associated
with heart disease, at the start and end of the program. They
measured blood pressure, nitric oxide availability and looked
for the presence of charged particles called "free radicals" that
can damage blood vessels and cause heart disease.
Nitric oxide helps to relax blood
vessels, reducing blood pressure, and higher levels can help prevent
clogged arteries.
After just three weeks, the seven
men who started out with high blood pressure had normal blood
pressure.
Overall, the men reduced their cholesterol
by an average of 19 percent, blood pressure by 14 percent and
free radicals by 28 percent. Insulin levels plunged 46 percent
and glucose fell 7 percent.
Reference
Source 89
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