Martijn B Katan

..However, present evidence is sufficient to promote use of sterols and stanols for lowering LDL cholesterol levels in persons at increased risk for coronary heart disease...

..The most effective way for obese people to normalize their blood lipids is to lose weight, which is, unfortunately, hard to do in our society...

..The content of n-3 (omega-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids in fat tissue is a valid indicator of their long-term consumption. We studied the stability of n-3 fatty acids in human subcutaneous fat microbiopsies after 6 and 11 y of storage...

..We offer a plea for regulations that will permit all health claims that are supported by the totality of scientific evidence, and ban all claims that suggest an unproven benefit...

..However, we cannot exclude effects of n-3 fatty acids on clinical relevant endpoints that are not easily detected by prior changes in the ECG...

..A large body of evidence suggests that n-3 fatty acids from fish prevent fatal heart disease. They may be an effective and safe alternative to drug treatment for reducing the risk of arrhythmia and sudden cardiac death...

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..We therefore investigated the effect of betaine, of its precursor choline in the form of phosphatidylcholine, and of the classical homocysteine-lowering vitamin folic acid on blood lipid concentrations in healthy humans...

..A high protein intake and hence a high intake of methionine--the sole dietary precursor of homocysteine--may raise plasma tHcy concentrations...

..The increase in tHcy induced by methionine, the sole dietary precursor of homocysteine, might be modulated by other amino acids present in dietary proteins...

..Choline is the precursor for betaine, but the effects of choline supplementation on plasma total homocysteine (tHcy) concentrations in healthy humans are unknown...

..Effects of n-3 fatty acids on these risk indicators of arrhythmia have not been widely studied. We investigated the effect of supplemental intake of n-3 fatty acids on HRV and BRS in apparently healthy subjects aged 50 to 70 years...

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..It is not known whether this potential of betaine to "stabilize" circulating homocysteine concentrations lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease...

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..The functional consequences of these differences are a challenging focus for future investigation...

..There is a need for food-based trials to establish the efficacy of low doses of n-3 fatty acids in CVD prevention...

..Bioefficacy, determined by changes in plasma homocysteine concentrations, was 106% (77%, 134%). CONCLUSION: The polyglutamate chain of folates in the diet reduces their bioavailability...

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..In this paper, the authors discuss the results of human studies with regard to the hypothesis that n-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of fatal coronary heart disease through antiarrhythmic effects...

..Therefore, this study does not support the hypothesis that cafestol decreases bile acid synthesis in humans...

..Very-long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 PUFAs) from fish are thought to reduce risk of sudden death, possibly by reducing susceptibility to cardiac arrhythmia...

..CONCLUSION: In older adults, daily supplementation with folic acid effectively lowers plasma homocysteine concentrations, and a daily dose of approximately 400 micro g is the minimum dose required for adequate homocysteine reduction...

..This includes biologic and reading variation. Repeated measurements and repeated readings of recorded measurements are recommended to reduce variability...

..Whether the changes in serum paraoxonase activity caused the changes in endothelial function needs to be further investigated...

..The effects on EpRE can also explain the induction of GSH which seems to be involved in the reported beneficial effects of cafestol, for example, when administered with aflatoxin B1 or other toxic or carcinogenic compounds...

..The bioavailability of natural food folates is lower than that of synthetic folic acid, but no agreement exists as to the extent of the difference...

..Colonic mucosal samples were isolated at day 2 post-infection...

..The FOS-induced increase in mucin excretion in our human study suggests mucosal irritation in humans, but the overall effects are more moderate than those in rats...

..Metabolites of dietary phenols have lower antioxidant activity than their parent compounds; therefore, the contribution of dietary phenols to antioxidant activity in vivo might be lower than expected from in vitro tests...

..70; 95% CI 1.12-2.58). This meta-analysis shows that consumption of ALA might reduce heart disease mortality. However, the association between high intake of ALA and prostate cancer is of concern and warrants further study...

..Thus, humans absorb a large part of ingested olive oil phenols and absorbed olive oil phenols are extensively modified in the body...

..Consumption of unfiltered or filtered coffee raises total homocysteine concentrations in healthy volunteers. The responsible compound, however, is unknown...

..This requires coordinated action at the level of governments, international organizations, civil society and responsible sections of the food industry...

..The question whether these ruminant TFA have the same effect on coronary heart disease risk as industrial TFA has not been settled...

..In conclusion, cafestol acts as an agonist ligand for both FXR and PXR, and this may contribute to its impact on cholesterol homeostasis...

..The underlying electrophysiologic mechanisms are poorly understood. We studied the arrhythmias and the electrophysiologic changes during regional ischemia in hearts from pigs fed a diet rich in fish oil...

..Materials and Methods The authors studied within-person variation in serum total and high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in 458 participants of 27 dietary intervention studies in Wageningen, The Netherlands, from 1976 to 1995...

..The limited incorporation of dietary ALA into the hepatic phospholipid pool contributes to the low hepatic conversion of ALA into EPA. A low conversion of ALA-derived EPA into DPA might be an additional obstacle for DHA synthesis...

..These results do not support the hypothesis that (n-3) fatty acids prevent arrhythmia through electrophysiologic effects on heart cell membranes. However, an effect on the ECG in more susceptible populations can not be excluded...

..Cofortification of flour with folic acid and vitamin B-12 could simultaneously improve folate and vitamin B-12 status...

..Short term administration of raloxifene in elderly men did not affect AA or DHA. The synthesis of AA and DHA from precursors may be enhanced through an estrogen receptor-dependent pathway...

..In conclusion, the CYP7A1 polymorphism has a small but significant effect on the increase in plasma HDL cholesterol and plasma total cholesterol after an increased intake of dietary cholesterol and cafestol, respectively...

..The effect of fish oil on heart rate (HR), a major risk factor for sudden death, is not well established. We calculated this effect in a meta-analysis of randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in humans...

..This could be an indication that the RDA for folate should be higher for men than for women, or that the RDA should be expressed per kilogram of lean body mass...

..Fats, however, also affect HDL cholesterol, and the ratio of total to HDL cholesterol is a more specific marker of CAD than is LDL cholesterol...

..This work should facilitate the investigation of this class of dietary antioxidants as a contributor to disease prevention...

..Human in vivo data on dietary determinants of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA; 18:3n-3) metabolism are scarce...

..During pregnancy there is a high demand for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is needed for formation of the fetal brain. Women who do not consume marine foods must synthesize DHA from fatty acid precursors in vegetable foods...

..We conclude that green vegetables may decrease colon cancer risk because chlorophyll prevents the detrimental, cytotoxic and hyperproliferative colonic effects of dietary haem...

..76 (0.57, 1.00; p-value for test of trend=0.03). While we found no overall association between intake of flavonols and risk of breast cancer, there was an inverse association with intake of beans or lentils that merits further evaluation...

..Over the next 14 years, manufacturers worldwide followed suit. This experience illustrates that food companies need to know about the health effects of their products and how to apply that knowledge...