A study published in the Journal of Nutrition claims that eating prunes can help ward off heart disease. American researchers discovered that when mice were fed on regular snacks of prunes they were less likely to develop atherosclerosis – furring of the arteries with fatty deposits and a risk factor for heart disease. In the study, scientists gave powdered prunes to mice with high-cholesterol diets. Prunes are low in fat and high in fibre, which is beneficial for the cardiovascular system. Five months later they measured the amount of cholesterol that had accumulated in the blood vessels and found that cholesterol levels were significantly lower in those mice fed a daily diet of prune power.

Q: Can you explain the difference between fat and cholesterol? 

A: This is an excellent question and one that I am asked about frequently in the clinic. Cholesterol is a type of fat that exists in all our cell membranes. It is vital for such functions as nerve transmission, the formation of vitamin D – needed for bone health, the manufacture of our sex hormones and of some of our stress hormones, and for the formation of bile. So you can see that having enough cholesterol is important. Approximately, 80% of cholesterol is produced in your liver – only 20% comes directly from your diet. 

 

Cholesterol is only found in animal products such as meat, dairy products, butter and eggs. So foods with fats do not necessarily contain cholesterol. It is not found in vegetable products, for example, so although an avocado or olive contains fat they do not contain cholesterol. 

 

It is often easy to see if a food contains fat but difficult to know if it contains cholesterol. So an egg can contain good levels of both fat and cholesterol, whereas vegetables contain low levels of both. Then you have the foods like shellfish, which contain very little fat but a high level of cholesterol, and nut butters (like peanut butter), which are high in fat and low in cholesterol. 

 

Cholesterol has to travel in the bloodstream and in order to do this it is combined with a protein. When combined with this protein, the cholesterol is then called a lipoprotein. There are two main types of lipoprotein that carry cholesterol around your body. Low density lipoproteins (LDL- ‘bad’) are responsible for carrying cholesterol to the artery wall, while the other high density lipoprotein (HDL – ‘good’) helps to return cholesterol to the liver. If you have high LDL then this can deposit on damaged and inflamed arterial walls. These deposits, which also consist of saturated fats and calcium (that is why cardiologists talk about calcification of arteries), are called arterial plaque or atheroma. The balance of these two lipoproteins in the blood is more important than the total cholesterol.

 

In the Star Question next month, I will cover how to reduce cholesterol and LDL naturally. 

 

 

Kale is a member of the brassica family of vegetables. They are not only packed with health-boosting vitamins and minerals but are full of anti-carcinogenic phytonutrients, mostly in the form of the organo-sulphur compounds that give them their slightly bitter taste.

Kale’s sulphurophane, for example, interferes directly with tumour growth, as well as stimulating the body’s own defences against disease to create an antioxidant effect that lasts long after the kale has been eaten. Recent research has found that sulphurophane can disrupt the growth of breast cancer cells, even at the later stages, while an epidemiological study from China found that women who eat more brassicas, such as kale, have significantly reduced risks of breast cancer.

 

Kale has the highest levels of the carotenoids lutein and beta-carotene. Along with vitamin A and its beta-carotene precursor (which the body converts to vitamin A), good dietary intakes of lutein and zeaxanthin are vital for eye health. They are thought to act as filters in the eye, protecting against damaging ultraviolet light, and also as antioxidants that quench similarly damaging free radicals.

 

Epidemiological studies suggest that an increased consumption of the latter two nutrients is associated with a reduced risk for age-related macular degeneration, while another important study found that people who had the highest dietary intake of lutein-zeaxanthin had half the risk of cataracts as those with the lowest. Diets rich in carotenoids are also linked to lower rates of heart disease, while lutein protects against colon cancer.

 

Just 100g of kale provides 769mcg of vitamin A – that’s 110% of a man’s and 128% of a woman’s RDA – and very high levels of beta-carotene, which in the diet are linked to a reduced risk for heart disease. Kale can protect your heart in other ways, too: there are 120mcg of vitamin C per 100g of kale, providing an incredible 300% of your RDA. Apart from playing an important role in immunity and a healthy nervous system, this antioxidant vitamin is known to protect ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol from the oxidative damage by free radicals that can lead to cardiovascular disease. Kale is also high in fibre (2g/100g – 11% of RDA), and fibre-rich diets have been shown to lower the risks of heart disease by up to 12% and potassium (447mg/100g – 13% of RDA), which can help to lower blood pressure, thus reducing the risk of strokes.

 

Epidemiological studies suggest that diets rich in vitamin-C foods such as kale may protect against inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis. These greens also supply you with lots of omega-3 essential fatty acids, which can also protect against arthritis and rheumatism, as well as reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks.