The conclusion comes from a new analysis which looked at the intake of electrolytes in relation to hypertension.

Electrolytes are minerals that have an electric charge. Dissolved in water or in blood, urine, tissues and other body fluids, they help increase electrical conductivity which helps ensure that nerves, muscles, the heart and the brain work the way they should. Key electrolytes include sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, magnesium and phosphate.

Scientists from the Medical University Vienna reviewed of 32 peer-reviewed meta-analyses published within the last 10 years that studied the effect or association between electrolytes and blood pressure in humans. In a paper published earlier this month in the journal Nutrients​​​, they noted that the potassium’s ability to lower systolic blood pressure “was approximately in the order of 8 to 9 mmHg, which roughly equals a monotherapy with an antihypertensive drug.”​

Higher magnesium intake was also associated with beneficial effects on blood pressure, although the results were “moderate.”​

The analysis also found that existing literature about the role of calcium in blood pressure suggests that its benefits are restricted to the prevention of hypertension during pregnancy.

This, they argued, is supported by the fact that low dietary calcium intake has been recognised by most health authorities as a risk factor for the development of hypertension especially for women with a history of gestational hypertension. The World Health Organization, for example, recommends​​ daily calcium supplementation of 1.5–2.0 g oral elemental calcium for pregnant women with low dietary calcium intake to reduce the risk of pre-eclampsia and related complications

Widely available

The results are encouraging for anyone suffering from uncomplicated high blood pressure. Electrolytes are widely available in mineral-rich whole foods such as leafy greens, cruciferous veggies like broccoli or cabbage, starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes or squash, bananas, and avocados as well as high water foods such as milk and yoghurt, coconut water, watermelon, celery and citrus fruits. They can also be taken as supplements and are a generally an inexpensive option for health maintenance.

More research is needed to understand the role of all electrolytes in mediating blood pressure, however. For instance the researchers noted that they could not find any good quality meta-analyses summarizing the effects of key elements such as chloride, phosphorus and sulphur, on blood pressure or hypertension risk.

“In general, few studies are available, which assessed the effect of these electrolytes on blood pressure,”​ they reported. “There are indications from observational studies that there might be some effects, however robust evidence is missing.”​

With better information a supplemental approach to uncomplicated high blood pressure could become a treatment option or some.

That’s the conclusion of Italian scientists after performing a meta-analysis of studies looking at combined consumption of these two herbal remedies.

Berberine occurs naturally in medicinal plants such as goldenseal and Oregon grape, while silymarin is found in the seeds of the milk thistle plant.

The scientists reviewed the findings of five randomised, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled clinical trials (RCTs) – considered the gold-standard of evidence. Results showed that co-consumption of berberine and silymarin was associated with significant improvements in across several cholesterol measurements.

The findings, which showed that the combination was associated with reductions in total cholesterol of 25 mg/dl, of triglycerides of 28 mg/dl, and of LDL cholesterol of 29 mg/dl, while HDL cholesterol levels were increased by 6 mg/dl, were published in the journal Phytotherapy Research​​.

In addition to these benefits, the data also showed the herbal combo produced significant reductions in blood glucose levels were observed, with average decreases of 7.5 mg/dl.

A synergistic effect

The data suggest the two herbal remedies work best together.

“[Berberine] lipid‐lowering efficacy in humans is well‐known and definitely confirmed by a previous meta‐analysis of 27 clinical studies with overall 2,569 participants​,”​ write the scientists from the universities of Bologna, L’Aquila, and Palermo in Italy.

“In comparison with that meta‐analysis, our findings show that the addition of silymarin to [berberine] is able to improve its positive effect on lipid and glucose metabolism in humans, allowing for the administration of lower doses of [berberine] and accordingly reducing the associated risk of gastrointestinal discomfort which is demonstrably dose related. ​

“As a matter of fact, considerations on tolerability of low doses of [berberine] may also have important clinical implications, because it is well known that hypercholesterolemia is an asymptomatic clinical condition in which adherence and persistence on prescribed lipid‐lowering medications are relatively low, and discontinuation rates are even higher in presence of adverse events or drug reactions.

The studies analysed included data from 497 individuals and the length of the studies was between three to 12 months. Doses of berberine were 500 or 1,000 mg/day; doses of silymarin doses were either 105 or 210 mg/day.

In the same way that protein clumps build up in the brain in people with some neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, protein clumps appear to accumulate in the hearts of those who have suffered heart failure.

In recent experiments, involving humans and animals, a team of American and Italian scientists looking at diseased hearts, report identifying a protein that tends to clump. Visualizing it in the heart using a noninvasive positron emission tomography (PET) scan could, they say, lead to advances in monitoring disease progression and testing new therapies.

Heart failure is a chronic condition in which the heart doesn’t fill or pump blood as well as it should, leading to excessive fatigue. About 5.7 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, and about half of people diagnosed will die within five years, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“From a molecular standpoint there’s not a unified, clear mechanism for why the heart goes into failure,” says Giulio Agnetti, PhD, assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and University of Bologna. “But by figuring out this mechanism, we may be able to devise better treatments and diagnostic tools.”

Current drugs used to treat heart failure – such as those that lower blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels – reduce stress on the heart and symptoms associated with heart failure without necessarily fixing the underlying cause. Once the heart fails to pump, the only treatment in the end is a heart transplant.

Amyloid clumps in the heart

Previous work by this team, published in 2014, showed that the protein desmin accumulates in clumps called amyloid in the hearts of dogs with heart failure. Desmin is a protein found in the cell’s “skeleton,” or supporting structure, and is known as intermediate filaments. Why it clumps in diseased heart cells isn’t known, Agnetti says.

To see if desmin protein clumps are also found in human heart failure, the researchers studied the proteins from heart tissue biopsies from people with or without heart failure. They used a fluorescent antibody commonly used in Alzheimer’s disease research and a new fluorescent stain for amyloid developed by Agnetti to visualize and quantify the desmin protein clumps. They observed twice as many desmin clumps in heart failure patients than those without heart failure.

The team used a common mouse model of heart failure to look for desmin clumps. In this model, the aorta – the main artery coming from the heart – is surgically constricted, which noticeably raises pressure and stress, and causes heart failure. After four weeks of pressure on the aorta, the mice develop symptoms of heart failure such as an enlarged heart and lung congestion. Desmin amyloid was more than doubled in the heart failure mice when using the same antibody and staining techniques used for the human tissue samples.

Green tea antioxidant keeps clumps at bay

Then the researchers treated proteins from the mice hearts with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – a chemical from green tea known to break up amyloid. The treatment cut by half the amount of protein clumps.

“Interestingly, green tea has already been demonstrated to curb the incidence of cardiovascular disease as well as improve cognitive impairment in Alzheimer’s models, though the mechanism for such action is unclear,” says Agnetti. “EGCG’s ability to ‘de-clump’ these sticky proteins could be one of green tea’s healthy effects. Knowing how this chemical works could open new avenues for designing a new class of drugs that target protein clumping.”

“PET imaging of protein clumps may be eventually used in patients to identify structural changes in the heart as the disease progresses, and this information likely holds prognostic value,” says Peter Rainer, M.D., Ph.D., a former postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins who is now at the Medical University of Graz in Austria. “It could be used as a nice measure of the effect of an intervention to halt or reverse disease progression.”

In future experiments, the research team plans to confirm its results in more human tissue samples. The investigators also hope to encourage the use of PET scanning to help identify early structural changes in the heart as well as more therapeutic substances that can prevent desmin from forming clumps.

“There is a lot of emphasis placed on the role of genes in modern times, but we’re born with our genes and at present we can do very little about the ones we have,” says Agnetti. “I think the next step is to follow up with the proteins that are dynamically modified in response to environment, which places a larger emphasis on lifestyle intervention to help prevent diseases. Natural compounds like EGCG in green tea and modified dietary interventions could play a role in keeping us healthy.”

EGCG is found in abundance in  green tea and can also be taken as a supplement.

New research by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found no significant link between dairy fats and cause of death or, more specifically, heart disease and stroke – two health problems often associated with a diet high in saturated fat. In fact, certain types of dairy fat may help guard against having a severe stroke, the researchers reported.

“Our findings not only support, but also significantly strengthen, the growing body of evidence which suggests that dairy fat, contrary to popular belief, does not increase risk of heart disease or overall mortality in older adults. In addition to not contributing to death, the results suggest that one fatty acid present in dairy may lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, particularly from stroke,” said Marcia Otto, Ph.D., the study’s first and corresponding author and assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics and Environmental Sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health.

Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, was senior author of the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Taking a long-term view

Nearly 3,000 adults age 65 years and older were included in the study, which measured plasma levels of three different fatty acids found in dairy products at the beginning in 1992 and again at six and 13 years later.

The study evaluated how multiple biomarkers of fatty acids present in dairy fat (specifically phospholipid pentadecanoic, heptadecanoic, or trans-palmitoleic acids) related to heart disease and all-cause mortality over a 22-year period. This measurement methodology, as opposed to the more commonly used self-reported consumption, gave greater and more objective insight into the impact of long-term exposure to these fatty acids, according to the report.

None of the fatty acid types were significantly associated with total mortality. In fact one type was linked to lower cardiovascular disease deaths. People with higher fatty acid levels, suggesting higher consumption of whole-fat dairy products, had a 42 percent lower risk of dying from stroke.

Dietary advice needs revising

Dietary Guidelines for the US, the UK and elsewhere recommend serving fat-free or low-fat dairy, including milk, cheese, yogurt, and/or fortified soy beverages. But Otto pointed out that low-fat dairy foods such as low-fat yogurt and chocolate milk often include high amounts of added sugars, which may lead to poor cardiovascular and metabolic health.

“Consistent with previous findings, our results highlight the need to revisit current dietary guidance on whole fat dairy foods, which are rich sources of nutrients such as calcium and potassium. These are essential for health not only during childhood but throughout life, particularly also in later years when undernourishment and conditions like osteoporosis are more common,” Otto said.

While not everyone may choose to eat dairy products, those who do can do so with more confidence.

Evidence-based research is key to educating people about nutrition, Otto said.

“Consumers have been exposed to so much different and conflicting information about diet, particularly in relation to fats,” she said. “It’s therefore important to have robust studies, so people can make more balanced and informed choices based on scientific fact rather than hearsay,” she added.

Once again we see evidence that not all fats are created equal; and, of course, the link between fat consumption and heart disease has taken repeated knocks in recent years. In addition it’s important to note that dairy products are only one part of a healthy, varied diet. If your diet is very high in fat from all sources it may be time for a review and to opt for a more balanced way of eating.  If your diet is relatively low in total saturated fat and you enjoy full fat dairy products you can consume them knowing that they are not going to be a health risk.

To make your dairy product choices healthier still don’t forget to choose organic!

Hardening of the arteries happens at different rates in different people as we age. It is known to be a factor in cardiovascular risk but there are no straightforward answers to what causes the arteries to harden in the first place.

A number of diseases – and, in particular, inflammation-related conditions – are linked to low microbiome diversity. While a link with gut diseases, such as the inflammatory bowel disease may seem obvious, low microbiome diversity has also been found to be connected to conditions such as arthritis, psoriasis, asthma, eczema and allergies.

Type-2 diabetes, obesity and weight gain – which are also linked to inflammation – also appear to be linked to a lower numbers of gut bugs. Because these conditions are known risk factors for heart disease the research team wanted to determine whether low microbiome diversity was directly linked to poor heart health, or if it instead was linked to type-2 diabetes, obesity and weight, which, in turn, are tied to poor heart health.

Diversity is the key

The researchers took measurements of arterial stiffening alongside data on the composition of the gut microbiomes in 617 middle-aged female twins.

Results showed that arterial stiffness was significantly higher in women with lower diversity of healthy bacteria in the gut. The scientists were also able to identify specific microbes which were linked to a lower risk of arterial stiffening; including species from Ruminococcaceae, Rikenellaceae, Clostridiaceae, and Barnesiellaceae families. These microbes have also previously been associated with a lower risk of obesity.

Lead author Dr Ana Valdes, from the University of Nottingham’s School of Medicine and NIHR Nottingham Biomedical Research Centre, said: “We know that a substantial proportion of serious cardiovascular events like heart attacks are not explained by traditional risk factors such as obesity and smoking, particularly in younger people and in women and that arterial stiffness is related to risk in those groups. So our results reveal the first observation in humans linking the gut microbes and their products to lower arterial stiffness.”

Diet as prevention

The issue of heart health and disease has been shown, by recent research to be much more nuanced than traditional advice to eat less fat and/or cholesterol. Indeed, getting enough healthy fats can actually help improve microbiome diversity.

Co-author Dr Cristina Menni, from the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King’s College London, suggests that dietary approaches could be a useful first line for prevention. “There is considerable interest in finding ways to increase the diversity of gut microbes for other conditions such as obesity and diabetes. Our findings now suggest that finding dietary interventions to improve the healthy bacteria in the gut could also be used to reduce the risk of heart disease.”

The research, published in the European Heart Journal, concludes that cardiovascular risk that is not explained by the usual risk factors could, in the future, be enhanced by paying attention to the health of the gut microbiome. Their results, also suggest that targeting the microbiome through diet that includes healthy fibre and probiotics may be a way to reduce inflammation and therefore the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In addition to protection from premature death, omega-6 fatty acids were also found to keep cardiovascular disease at bay.

“Linoleic acid is the most common polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. We discovered that the higher the blood linoleic acid level, the smaller the risk of premature death,” says Adjunct Professor Jyrki Virtanen from the University of Eastern Finland, reporting the findings in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

It’s a controversial finding because while omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids are known for their beneficial effect on blood cholesterol levels, there is some data to show that high levels, in relation to low omega-3 intake, may increase the risk of several chronic diseases by promoting low-grade inflammation, among other things.

The reasoning behind this speculation is that in the human body, linoleic acid is converted into arachidonic acid (also an omega-6 fatty acid) which, in turn, is converted into various inflammation-promoting compounds. However, omega-6 fatty acids also increase the production of anti-inflammatory compounds, and this is why it is challenging to determine the associations of dietary factors with the risk of developing disease merely by focusing on their effects on disease risk factors.

22 years of data

Ongoing at the University of Eastern Finland, the study, known as that Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study, of KIHD, determined the blood fatty acid levels of 2,480 men between 42 and 60 years of age at the onset of the study, in 1984-1989. During an average follow-up of 22 years, 1,143 men died of disease-related causes, and deaths due to an accident or other reasons were excluded from the study.

When the researchers divided the study participants into five different groups based on their blood linoleic acid level, they discovered that the risk of premature death was 43% lower in the group with the highest level, when compared to the group with the lowest level.

A more detailed analysis of the causes of death showed that a similar association exists for death due to cardiovascular diseases, as well as for some other reasons. However, no association was observed for death due to cancer.

Similar, although slightly weaker, associations were also observed for the blood arachidonic acid level. Another significant finding of the study is that the outcome is very similar regardless of whether the men suffered from cardiovascular diseases, cancer or diabetes at the onset of the study.

Get your fat balance right

Blood linoleic acid level is related to a person’s diet, with the main sources of linoleic acid being vegetable oils, plant-based spreads, nuts and seeds.

The study backs up findings from earlier studies which have linked a higher dietary intake of linoleic acid and a higher blood linoleic acid level to a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and type-2 diabetes, without increasing the risk of cancer, for example. The observed association of arachidonic acid with a reduced risk of death is a new finding.

There is a great deal of study to show that many of us don’t get enough omega-3 fatty acids in our diets – in some quarters this has been interpreted as a need to drastically reduce our omega-6 intake. Likewise, there is ongoing debate about the health benefits of replacing saturated fat with omega-6.  The take home of the study would seem to support the notion that we need a balance of the full spectrum of fats to stay healthy and that drastically cutting any of these can have unintended health consequences.

• For advice on getting a healthy balance of omega3 to omega-6 see our article Let’s hear it for healthy fats! See also Time to stop blaming saturated fat for heart disease?

• See also Diet as effective as drugs for hypertension