Your Heart Loves Pistachios
Adding to a growing body of evidence of nuts' potential heart-health benefits, Penn State researchers report that pistachios not only lower "bad" LDL cholesterol but also pack a potent antioxidant punch. Pistachios contain higher amounts of antioxidants, including beta-carotene, g-tocopherol and lutein, than most other nuts, which may help pistachios combat inflammation in the body. Researchers tested 28 volunteers, ages 35-61, with mildly high LDL levels on a low-fat control diet and diets with one and two daily servings of pistachios (ranging from a little over an ounce of nuts to about four and a half ounces daily). After four weeks on each test diet and two weeks on a baseline Western diet, participants had lower LDL levels when eating pistachios than when on the low-fat diet; LDL levels on two daily servings of nuts were also lower compared to the baseline measurements. Blood levels of lutein, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and g-tocopherol were also boosted by eating pistachios. Researchers concluded, "Beneficial effects on multiple cardiovascular-disease risk factors would be expected to reduce cardiovascular-disease risk beyond that achieved by decreases in LDL-cholesterol alone through lowering cholesterol and the benefits of the antioxidants in the nuts." — Journal of Nutrition

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Reducing Saturated Fat? Watch What Carbs You Substitute
New research continues to show that reducing saturated fat by itself isn't the key to preventing heart disease. Too many Americans, it turns out, have replaced those fatty calories in their diets with refined carbohydrates and added sugars. Now a Dutch study reports that replacing saturated fats with processed carbohydrates is actually associated with a higher risk of heart attack, while substituting foods such as whole grains and vegetables is linked to lower risk. Researchers followed 53,644 healthy adults for an average 12 years, during which 1,943 subjects suffered heart attacks. Those who substituted refined carbohydrates, as measured by a food's glycemic index (GI), for saturated fats were 33% more likely to have a heart attack. People who picked low-GI carbohydrates in lieu of saturated fat, on the other hand, were at slightly lower risk than average. The scientists concluded that their findings would tend toward a recommended consumption of "less-refined foods, non-starchy vegetables, fruit and legumes," along with dietary patterns high in fiber and micronutrients, to reduce heart-disease risk. — American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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Metabolic Benefits from 10 Minutes of Exercise Last an Hour
The metabolic changes triggered by just 10 minutes of brisk exercise can linger for as long as an hour, according to new research in the emerging field of "metabolomics" — metabolic profiling. Researchers tested the metabolic effects of exercise on three groups: people who become short of breath with exertion, the healthy middle-aged, and marathon runners. While metabolic changes from 10 minutes on the treadmill could still be measured an hour later, people who were already fit and thinner people showed the most lasting benefits from a workout. And longer exertion produced even more metabolic changes: The 25 Boston Marathon runners tested had 10-fold increases in key metabolic products after running the race; by measuring metabolic changes, scientists could even tell which runners had finished the marathon under four hours and who were laggards. Next, researchers hope to measure metabolic changes in people on different diets. "The long-term hope," they say, "is you could use this in making our way toward personalized medicine." — Science Translational Medicine

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Investigation Finds Deceptive Marketing of Herbs and Supplements
Undercover agents from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), posing as elderly customers, have busted a host of deceptive and even dangerous marketing practices by sellers of herbs and other supplements. According to a GAO report, "The most egregious practices included suspect marketing claims that a dietary supplement prevented or cured extremely serious diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease." Under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHEA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not approve dietary supplements before they go on the market, unlike prescription drugs. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulates the marketing of supplements, which are forbidden from claiming to treat medical conditions. Investigators, in the guise of elderly buyers in stores or on the phone, also were given dangerously erroneous information about interactions between supplements and medications, such as those that raise the risk of internal bleeding. Others were advised they could drop their prescription drugs and take herbal remedies instead.

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Frequent Toothbrushing Linked to Healthier Heart
Want to protect your heart? Pick up your toothbrush. Scottish researchers report a strong association between good dental hygiene and reduced risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular-disease events. They followed nearly 12,000 men and women, average age 50, without pre-existing cardiovascular disease over eight years. Those who reported rarely or never brushing their teeth were 70% more likely to suffer heart problems, even after adjusting for many other factors. Even brushing once rather than twice a day was associated with a 30% greater risk of cardiovascular-disease events. While cautioning that the study couldn't prove cause and effect, researchers suggested the connection between teeth and heart might involve periodontal disease, a complex inflammatory condition of the gums. Indeed, when a subgroup of 4,830 participants had their blood tested, less-frequent toothbrushing was correlated with markers of inflammation, such as C reactive protein, linked to heart disease. — BMJ

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