Adding Monounsaturated Fats to Diet May Boost Heart Health

The success of a low-cholesterol diet can be improved by adding monounsaturated fat (MUFA), which are commonly found in nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils such as olive oil, canola oil and sunflower oil, new research suggests.

In the study, researchers randomly assigned 17 men and seven postmenopausal women with mild to moderate elevated cholesterol levels to either a high-MUFA diet or a low-MUFA diet.

Both groups consumed a vegetarian diet that included oats, barley, psyllium, eggplant, okra, soy, almonds and a plant sterol-enriched margarine. In the high-MUFA group, the researchers substituted 13 percent of calories from carbohydrates with a high-MUFA sunflower oil, with the option of a partial exchange with avocado oil.

In the high-MUFA group, levels of "good" cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or HDL) increased 12.5 percent while levels of "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or LDL) decreased 35 percent, according to the report in the Nov. 1 issue of CMAJ, the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

People with low HDL levels and high LDL levels are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease, Dr. David Jenkins of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Center at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, and colleagues explained in a news release from the journal's publisher.

"The addition of MUFA increased [HDL] and therefore may further enhance the cardioprotective effect of the cholesterol-lowering dietary portfolio without diminishing its cholesterol-lowering effect," Jenkins and colleagues wrote.

Monounsaturated fats are commonly consumed in what is known as the Mediterranean diet, noted the researchers, who added that exercise, moderate alcohol consumption, not smoking and weight loss can also help raise "good" HDL cholesterol.

More information

The American Heart Association has more about cholesterol.

Peanut Allergies Start Before Birth

Pregnant women who eat peanuts may put their infants at risk for peanut allergies, according to a new study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

Researchers evaluated 503 U.S. infants aged 3 months to 15 months with suspected milk or egg allergies or significant eczema and positive allergy tests to milk or egg. The infants had no previous diagnosis of peanut allergy. A total of 140 infants had strong sensitivity to peanut based on blood tests, and consumption of peanut during pregnancy was a significant predictor of the test result.

“Researchers in recent years have been uncertain about the role of peanut consumption during pregnancy on the risk of peanut allergy in infants," said Scott H. Sicherer, MD, professor of pediatrics, Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “While our study does not definitively indicate that pregnant women should not eat peanut products during pregnancy, it highlights the need for further research in order make recommendations about dietary restrictions."

In 2000, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that women whose infants were at increased risk of allergies based upon family history consider avoiding peanut products while pregnant and breast feeding. However, the recommendation was withdrawn in 2008 due to limited scientific evidence to support it. The Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), which was just awarded a renewed $29.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, is conducting this ongoing, observational study to help better understand the risk factors behind a child's developing peanut allergy, as well as allergies to milk and egg.

The Raw Milk Debate

The debate over raw milk versus pasteurized milk is making headlines as consumers want the freedom to rebel against the industrialized by drinking locally grown, natural products but are being prevented from doing so by laws that prohibit the sale of raw milk.

Raw milk devotees don’t mind paying a premium price for the unpasteurized beverage because they believe it is a more healthful option because it contains more nutrients and has a creamier and richer taste. They also say cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream and sour cream made from raw milk tastes better than store-bought goods.

However, raw milk isn’t easy to come by if you are not a dairy farmer. In states like Ohio and Wyoming it is illegal to sell raw milk so people drive to neighboring states like Pennsylvania or Colorado where it is legal.

In Wyoming, a group of legislators and raw milk proponents want to legalize raw milk sales with a bill next year that would allow people to purchase a share of a cow or goat, paying for a portion of its care in exchange for milk. The advocates say government has no business telling informed consumers what foods they can put in their bodies; however, health and agriculture officials dispute the perceived benefits of raw milk and say legalizing raw milk sales will lead to more foodborne illnesses.

According to one state epidemiologist, raw milk can contain several harmful organisms, including Salmonella, E. coli and brucellosis that can cause severe illness and even death. In fact, a number of states experienced outbreaks of foodborne illness this year that were tied to raw milk.

The raw milk movement has gained enough momentum that researchers at Ohio State University are conducting a study of milk drinkers to determine why people make the choice to drink raw or pasteurized milk. The researchers are looking for 60 participants and hope to complete the study in the next few months.

Beware the Jellybean

Functional foods is a lucrative market—over $30 billion in the United States—but one that might be fraught with legal landmines. The FDA again has gone after food companies that the agency believes have crossed the legal line, issuing warning letters to Unilever (for Lipton Green Tea 100% Natural Naturally Decaffeinated) and Cadbury Adams Dr Pepper Snapple Group (for Canada Dry Sparkling Green Tea Ginger Ale).

According to the warning letters, Lipton Tea’s transgressions were:

1) Including a link to its websites (making those websites “labeling”) that promote the product “for conditions that cause it to be a drug” that is “intended for use in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease” under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. (The website discussed studies showing a cholesterol lowering effect from tea or tea flavonoids.)

2) Unauthorized nutrient content claims using the term “antioxidant” in several ways that do not meet current regulations, saying “The use of a term, not defined by regulation, in food labeling to characterize the level of a nutrient misbrands a product.”

The FDA warned Canada Dry about:

1) Labeling that “bears a nutrient content claim that is not authorized by regulation” (again concerning the product’s use of the term “antioxidants”).

2) Fortifying a carbonated beverage while “21 CFR 104.20(a) states that the FDA does not consider it appropriate to fortify snack foods such as carbonated beverages” (The infamous “jellybean rule”).

It’s not just the government who’s getting tough with functional foods either. The September 2010 Scientific American Magazine ran an editorial, “Snake Oil in the Supermarket,” which tarred the segment with a broad brush, saying in part, “consumers are getting a rotten deal. Although health claims for foods may appear to be authoritative, in many cases science does not support them and the government does not endorse them.”

These are just the latest in a series of indications that functional food and beverage purveyors have to scrutinize the concept, the carrier and the communication of any benefits to stay on the side of the regulatory angels and maintain consumer confidence in the industry. Most of the information is set out in the CFR, albeit the language occasionally has a Jabberwocky feel to it. Crossing the line—intentionally or not--may seem a bold move, but likely will cause the government and the slithy pundits to give you some unpleasant surprises.

So, remember when fortifying foods (with apologies to Lewis Carroll):

Beware the Jellybean, my friend!

The laws that bite, the claims that catch!

Beware the soda pop to shun

The frumious Fed’s dispatch!