Leafy vegetables may forestall heart deaths
November 9, 2004 [BGlobe]
Women whose diets are rich in some plant-derived oils may get protection against sudden cardiac death, according to a study presented at a meeting of the American Heart Association in New Orleans over the weekend. Women who ate 1.5 grams or more of alpha-linoleic acid -- found in green leafy vegetables, flaxseed oil and some nuts -- were almost half as likely to sustain sudden cardiac arrest than women who ate half as much of the acid, the study found. Women with the highest intake were 21 percent less likely to die from coronary heart disease than women with the lowest intake. The findings may support theories that some types of fatty acids prevent dangerous disturbances in heart rhythm, said the researchers, who examined the records of more than 77,000 women who participated in a study of female nurses. The researchers looked at the women's self-reported eating habits on questionnaires spanning 16 years. "If this fat were to prevent sudden cardiac death, it would support the hypothesis that these oils were preventing fatal arrhythmias," Christine Albert, a professor of medicine at Harvard University Medical School, stated in the study. |
