The assumption is that poultry, due to its lower levels of saturated fatty acids, would contribute to lower blood cholesterol levels.

Two recent clinical trials, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute have found there’s no measurable difference due to choosing chicken over red meat.

The report was recently published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

In this trial, the researchers compared the effects of red meat, chicken and vegetable proteins in diets containing high or low total saturated fatty acids (SFA). They randomly selected 177 participants and divided them into the high- and low-SFA groups.

Within each group (high versus low SFA), participants spent four weeks eating each of the three diets, with blood tests and a two- to seven-week “washout” period between each study period.

The primary outcomes the researchers measured were LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein B (apoB), small and medium LDL particles, and total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

In this study, LDL cholesterol and apoB were higher with red and white meat than with non-meat, independent of SFA content. The authors note this was due primarily to increases in large LDL particles, whereas small and medium LDL and total/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were unaffected by protein source.

These outcomes did not differ significantly between red and white meat.

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Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor announced Friday that PHOs will be added to Canada’s List of Contaminants and Other Adulterating Substances effective Sept. 15, 2018, giving Canadian food processors and importers “enough time to find suitable alternatives.”

PHOs are formed through hydrogenation, in which hydrogen is added to vegetable oil, allowing the liquid oil to form a solid fat at room temperature. Their shelf life has made them a preferred source of fats in preparing certain commercial baked goods, snack foods, fried foods, refrigerated doughs and shortenings.

PHOs, which Health Canada described as the main source of industrially produced trans fats, will be banned from use in all food sold in Canada, including domestically produced and imported products and foods and those prepared and served in restaurants and food service establishments.

Trans fats, Health Canada said, raise “bad” (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol and lower “good” (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol levels in the blood. Outside of PHOs, trans fats also occur naturally at low levels in other oils and some meat and dairy products.

“By banning PHOs, Health Canada will reduce trans fats in the Canadian food supply to the lowest level possible, which will help reduce Canadians’ risk of heart disease,” the department said, noting heart disease led to about 50,000 deaths in 2012.

“Eliminating the main source of industrially produced trans fat from the food supply is a major accomplishment and a strong new measure that will help to protect the health of Canadians,” Petitpas Taylor said in Friday’s release.

“Trans fats are still high in baked goods and other foods often consumed by children and other vulnerable populations,” Yves Savoie, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, said in the same release. “This will reduce the number of heart attacks in Canada and save lives.”

The government’s PHO ban follows consultations on the proposal, launched in November last year.

“Data published over the last decade suggest that initiatives to decrease the trans fat consumption of Canadians have been highly effective,” the government said at the time, noting a 2011 survey of about 10,000 prepackaged and restaurant foods on the Canadian market which found 97 per cent met the voluntary targets for trans fat.

Food processing firms have in many cases already moved away from PHOs to alternatives such as high-oleic canola oil, fully hydrogenated oils and naturally solid fats such as palm oil.

However, Health Canada said last November, “as of 2011 there were still certain food categories that continued to have large proportions of foods not meeting the trans fat targets.”

Among those, the department said, were dairy-free cheeses, frosting, coffee whiteners, lard and shortening, shortbread cookies and refrigerated dough, as well as restaurant biscuits, scones and cookies.

The department’s 2011 risk assessment also showed “some subpopulations” at risk for higher trans fat intakes including children and teens, Canadians living in remote areas, “price-sensitive” consumers and those who regularly consumed foods remaining high in trans fat.

Canada’s move also follows similar action in the U.S., where the Food and Drug Administration in 2015 ruled PHOs are not GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) and can no longer be added to food effective June 18, 2018.

“In this case, it has become clear that what’s good for extending shelf life is not equally good for extending human life,” Susan Mayne, director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said at the time. –– AGCanada.com Network

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The paper, written by researchers at Toronto’s St. Michael’s Hospital, was published recently in The European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. It included 14 studies on clinical trials conducted in seven countries, including Canada.

Barley reduced both low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, and non-high-density lipoprotein, or non-HDL, by seven per cent, it said.

The review also indicated that barley had similar cholesterol-lowering effects as oats, which is often the go-to grain for health benefits.

It is the first study to look at the effects of barley and barley products on both LDL and non-HDL cholesterol in addition to apolipoprotein B, or apoB, a lipoprotein that carries bad cholesterol through the blood. Measuring non-HDL and apoB provides a more accurate assessment for cardiovascular risk, as they account for the total ‘bad cholesterol’ found in the blood.

“The findings are most important for populations at high risk for cardiovascular disease, such as Type 2 diabetics, who have normal levels of LDL cholesterol, but elevated levels of non-HDL or apoB,” said Dr. Vladimir Vuksan, research scientist and associate director of the Risk Factor Modification Centre of St. Michael’s. “Barley has a lowering effect on the total bad cholesterol in these high-risk individuals, but can also benefit people without high cholesterol.”

High cholesterol and diabetes are major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and stroke, historically treated with medications. However, Dr. Vuksan’s research and work focuses on how dietary and lifestyle changes can reduce these risk factors.

“Barley’s positive effect on lowering cholesterol is well documented and has been included in the Canadian strategy for reducing cardiovascular risk,” said Dr. Vuksan. “Health Canada, the FDA and several health authorities worldwide have already approved health claims that barley lowers LDL cholesterol, but this is the first review showing the effects on other harmful lipids.”

Despite its benefits Dr. Vuksan said barley is not as well established as some other health-recommended foods — such as oats. Barley consumption by humans has fallen by 35 per cent in the last 10 years. Canada is one of the top five world producers of barley but human consumption accounts for only two per cent of the crop yield, with livestock making up the other 98 per cent.

“After looking at the evidence, we can also say that barley is comparably effective as oats in reducing overall risk of cardiovascular disease,” said Dr. Vuksan.

Barley is higher in fibre, has twice the protein and almost half the calories of oats, which are important considerations for those with weight or dietary concerns.

Dr. Vuksan said barley can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. He recommends trying to incorporate barley into existing recipes, using it as a substitute for rice or even on its own — just like oatmeal.

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Since the 1960s, consumers have been told to swap butter and other saturated fats with “heart healthy” options like vegetable oils high in linoleic acid.

Now a re-examination of previously unpublished data from the study that first made that claim is casting doubt.

Researchers at the Univer­sity of North Carolina School of Medicine and the U.S. National Institute for Health recently reviewed the Minnesota Coronary Experiment, conducted between 1968 and 1973.

It shows high-linoleic acid oils do reduce cholesterol levels, but fail to deliver on other promised health benefits.

In fact greater cholesterol reduction had higher not lower risk of death.

“Incomplete publication of important data has contributed to the overestimation of benefits and the underestimation of potential risks,” said Daisy Zamora, a researcher at UNC and one of the authors of the paper, published Apr. 12 in the British Medical Journal.

The original researchers found replacing saturated fats with vegetable oils lowers blood cholesterol and later studies linked this to reduced heart attack risk.

In 2009, the American Heart Association reaffirmed its view that a diet low in saturated fat and moderately high amounts of linoleic acid and other omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids probably benefits the heart.

However, randomized controlled trials — considered the gold standard for medical research — have never shown the link.

Why linoleic acid-containing oils would lower cholesterol but worsen or fail to reduce heart attack risk is the subject of debate. Some studies suggest that these oils can sometimes cause inflammation, a risk factor for heart disease. There is also some evidence they can promote atherosclerosis.

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At a December meeting, the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee discussed its decision to no longer deem cholesterol a “nutrient of concern,” according to the Post.

The last set of guidelines, in 2010, said to consume less than 300 milligrams per day of dietary cholesterol, about the amount in one egg.

The committee will soon release a report — expected in the coming weeks — for the federal government to use as the basis of its dietary guidelines, and is withholding comment until the publication, said a spokeswoman from the Department of Health and Human Services.

“The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee is currently finalizing its report to the federal government detailing its scientific recommendations,” HHS said in a statement.

The committee did not reverse warnings on high levels of what is commonly considered “bad cholesterol,” which has been linked to heart disease and possibly other health problems.

For decades, the government has warned against diets high in cholesterol. But now many nutritionists believe that cholesterol intake may not significantly impact cholesterol blood levels or increase the risk of heart disease in healthy adults, according to the Post.

The advisory panel’s report will be sent to HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the agencies that decide which recommendations to incorporate in the final set of dietary guidelines, due at the end of this year.

“We need to wait and see what the committee actually says before saying too much about this,” said New York University nutrition professor Marion Nestle.

— Reporting for Reuters by Lisa Lambert and Yasmeen Abutaleb.

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While consumers concerned about their cholesterol have been advised to limit their consumption of eggs to just the whites, a study involving middle-aged men and women with metabolic syndrome (a combination of several symptoms including large waistline, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar) shows that may not be advisable, a release says. Individuals with any combination of three of those factors is considered at higher risk of developing diabetes or cardiovascular disease.

The results of the study published in the publication Metabolism suggests that including whole eggs as part of a weight loss diet may have positive effects on lipoprotein profiles for such individuals.

Research subjects consumed either three whole eggs or an equivalent amount of egg substitute daily as part of a carbohydrate-restricted weight loss diet.

“Although participants eating the whole eggs were consuming twice as much cholesterol as they had at the beginning of the study, the researchers observed no effects on total blood cholesterol or LDL cholesterol levels after 12 weeks on the diet. All participants, including those consuming whole eggs, had improved lipid profiles with decreases in plasma triglycerides and increases in HDL cholesterol.”

“Eating egg yolks was actually associated with enhanced health benefits in these high-risk individuals,” said Dr. Maria Luz Fernandez, lead study author and professor at the University of Connecticut. “Subjects consuming whole eggs had greater increases in HDL cholesterol and more significant reductions in the LDL/HDL cholesterol ratio than those who ate the cholesterol-free egg substitute.”

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service has reported that eggs now have 14 per cent less cholesterol (down from 215 mg to 185 mg) and 64 per cent more vitamin D than previously thought.

The release also points out eggs are sources of 13 essential vitamins and minerals, including vitamin D. “Many of these nutrients reside in the yolk, such as lutein and zeaxanthin, which are antioxidants that may prevent macular degeneration and consequent age-related blindness.”

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Yet familiar as we’ve become with growing it, it’s a relative rarity in our diet. We may drink soy beverages more often, or sprinkle a little soy sauce on our stir-fries, or consume soy in margarines and processed foods. But many of us seldom eat soy in other ways.

That’s too bad considering research keeps telling us how good the soybean is for us. Soybeans contain a high-quality protein free of cholesterol and full of nutrients. Studies have also shown soy can have impressive health benefits. A recent study by University of Guelph researchers showed that soy protein can reduce LDL or “bad” cholesterol in adults with Type 2 diabetes trying to manage their disease by controlling their diet, rather than with medication. There’s a very interesting study into soy’s health effects underway right now in Manitoba. It’s being led by Heather Blewett, an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada human nutrition research scientist at the Asper Clinical Research Institute in Winnipeg. Working out of the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research in Health and Medicine, she’s conducting human clinical trials to learn more about how consuming whole soy may help lower blood cholesterol.

Her 81 recruited volunteers — all persons with a slightly elevated level of cholesterol — have been paying regular visits to the institute where they’ve picked up specially prepared muffins containing either whole soy flour or whole wheat flour (for a control group). They’ve then been eating two per day for six weeks, with their blood cholesterol levels tested at the beginning, and at week three and week six of their participation.

What Blewett is investigating is whether daily consumption of the baked goods’ key ingredient can lower serum LDL (bad) cholesterol and how the effect depends on dose.

If this study shows this cholesterol-lowering effect, that not only further demonstrates soy’s healthy benefits, it will build evidence to support a health claim for soy down the road. Canada currently does not have an approved health claim for soy, but other countries, including the U.S., Japan and Brazil do.

Blewett said these trials will tell us more about how whole soy — not just its component parts — positively impact human health and it’s also a way of introducing new ways to eat soy so we can fit it into our current diets.

She told me she’s asked volunteers if they eat soy regularly and invariably most say no. But they also tell her they’d far rather be eating a food, than taking medicine, to reduce their elevated cholesterol levels.

Results of this study will also help establish guidelines for promoting soy consumption to Canadians.

The Winnipeg research is part of a larger study. Similar trials are underway in Toronto and Guelph with an additional 81 muffin-eating volunteers participating at each of these sites.

The study should be complete by March 2013. It’s funded by the Growing Forward program.

Scalloped Rosemary Potatoes

• 2 tbsp. non-hydrogenated margarine2 tbsp. flour3 baking potatoes (approx. 3 lbs.), peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch slices2 onions, sliced and divided into 3 equal portions1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, divided into 3 equal portions6 cloves garlic, minced1-1/2 tsp. salt and freshly ground pepper3 c. So Good Original Fortified Soy Beverage

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line an 8×8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. This will help prevent that awful mess that you usually have to clean up after the potatoes are cooked. Prepare all your ingredients. This is a layered recipe and you need everything cut, measured and ready to go. When everything is ready begin with a layer of potatoes. Use only one of the thinly sliced potatoes per layer. On top of that, lay out half of the onions. Sprinkle with one tablespoon of flour. Dot one tablespoon of the margarine on top of that. Sprinkle with one-third of the rosemary, three of the minced garlic cloves, one-third of the salt, and some freshly ground pepper. Repeat steps 3-6. Layer with the last of the potato. Sprinkle with the last of the rosemary and salt. Add some freshly ground pepper. Pour So Good Original over the whole thing. Bake for 1 hr. and 20 min. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Serves 6.

Facts on soy

• Soy is the only complete plant protein that is equal to animal protein. Soy foods contain all the essential amino acids we need for human growth and health and they are easy for the body to digest.

• Soy foods are cholesterol free and low in saturated fat. They also have many nutritional benefits that contribute to a heart-healthy diet, including their high content of polyunsaturated fats, dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals.

• Isoflavones are plant hormones in soy that can mimic human estrogen in various parts of the body. The health benefit includes reducing the risk of coronary heart disease, osteoporosis and relieving menstrual symtoms. A recent study at the University of Guelph, investigating the effects of consuming soy protein concluded that regardless of isoflavone content, it had no significant effects on sperm concentration, count, motility or morphology in healthy young men.

Ways to eat soy

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In a study of healthy, middle-aged adults, consumption of one apple a day for four weeks lowered by 40 per cent blood levels of a substance linked to hardening of the arteries, an OSU release says.

Taking capsules containing polyphenols, a type of antioxidant found in apples, had a similar, but not as large, effect.

The study, funded by an apple industry group, found that the apples lowered blood levels of oxidized LDL — low-density lipoprotein, the “bad” cholesterol. When LDL cholesterol interacts with free radicals to become oxidized, the cholesterol is more likely to promote inflammation and can cause tissue damage.

“When LDL becomes oxidized, it takes on a form that begins atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries,” said lead researcher Robert DiSilvestro, professor of human nutrition at Ohio State University and a researcher at the university’s Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center.

“We got a tremendous effect against LDL being oxidized with just one apple a day for four weeks.

DiSilvestro described daily apple consumption as significantly more effective at lowering oxidized LDL than other antioxidants he has studied, including the spice-based compound curcumin, green tea and tomato extract.

The study also found eating apples had some effects on antioxidants in saliva, which has implications for dental health, DiSilvestro said. He hopes to follow up on that finding in a future study.

The study was conducted as a master’s thesis by graduate student Shi Zhao, and was funded by a grant from the U.S. Apple Association/Apple Product Research and Education Council and a donation from Futureceuticals Inc. of Momence, Ill.

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Those words are heard more often nowadays, as products containing them reach the marketplace.

But promises of lowered cholesterol and improved gut health are not merely hype.

At the Richardson Centre staff are engaged in work that involves fractionating and centrifuging, milling and test tasting a vast array of food ingredients looking for proof that foods containing these components really do keep people healthy.

This is a pursuit of food as medicine, not to cure diet-related disease but to prevent it from developing in the first place.

All food is beneficial for our health, says centre director Peter Jones, who oversees its 140 staff.

“But where functional foods go is to a different level. They reduce disease risks particularly for targeted individuals. They’ll peel off pounds for people overweight, or add more calcium for folks who are at risk of osteoporosis, or reduce lipid levels for folks who have high plasma cholesterol.

“If you don’t have to fix broken people you can save a lot of taxpayers’ dollars,” he adds. The centre hopes to develop tests that could distinguish the need to use drugs as treatment versus those whose health could improve from switching to a healthier diet.

This is where the buzz around health benefits from consuming Canadian-grown pulses, including their role in controlling insulin and blood sugar and weight loss began.

Scientists here continue to document the health benefits of consuming whole grain crops in high-fibre barley foods, while other disease-intervention studies explore the health benefits of herbs, spices, canola and flax oils.

The centre has helped develop yogurt with probiotics (good bacteria) as well as Canada’s first cholesterol-lowering margarine, Unilever’s Becel Pro-Active. The Richardson Centre leads in the country with its expertise in how plant sterols can reduce blood cholesterol when formulated in food products.

Its mandate goes beyond the discovery and development of new food products for a public health benefit. It ultimately wants to benefit farmers’ bottom lines too.

Mapping out ways to improve Canadians’ diets while tackling dismal returns in agriculture is now an ongoing talking point among farm groups, agribusiness, government and citizen-led food security movements.

“Right in the middle” and “a builder of bridges” is how Jones sees the Richardson Centre positioned, as Canada moves to forge these stronger links between health and agriculture.

The centre is a partner in the Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network (MARHN) that also includes the Food Development Centre at Portage la Prairie and the Canadian Centre for Agri-Food Research Manitoba (CCARM) at St. Boniface Hospital.

MARHN has created equity companies – seven in all to date – to link researchers, farmers, and business owners together so that the results of collaborative work ultimately benefit all stakeholders, explains MARHN executive director Lee Anne Murphy.

They did this to get all players collaborating towards, and mutually benefiting from, product commercialization as it occurs, said Murphy “because without a strong committed supply chain, a lot of this will stay just as interesting research.”

Doug Chorney, president of Keystone Agriculture Producers, said Manitoba farmers see benefits accruing to them over time as Manitoba’s research cluster advances new ideas and technologies. He said he appreciates the work that’s been done to link the players.

“We’ve got everybody working together instead of in silos and that’s crucial to the long-term competitiveness of agriculture in Canada,” said Chorney, adding that farmers know they cannot remain merely raw commodity producers and will need innovative research in areas such as trait characteristics to remain competitive.

Health trait-focused research eventually pays returns to farmers. He cites canola as a key example. “Most research takes decades to come to fruition. Canola is probably the best Manitoba example of research paying off.”

lorraine@fbpublishing.com

———

Ifyoudon’thavetofixbrokenpeopleyoucansavealotoftaxpayers’dollars.”

– PETER JONES, DIRECTOR

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After considering that amount of daily effort, I think we should commend our hard-working hearts.

Consider these questions:

What is your smoking status? If you smoke, make “no smoking” your goal. Smoking damages the heart and blood vessels.

Do you maintain a healthy weight? A body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9 is the goal. For an online BMI calculator, visit the website of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. Using a calculator, determine your BMI by dividing your weight in pounds by your height in inches squared. Then multiply the total by a conversion factor of 703.

Are you physically active? Move toward the current recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity per week (or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity).

Do you eat a healthful diet? Aim for 4.5 cups of fruit/vegetables per day, three ounces or more of whole grains per day, at least two servings of fish per week, less than 450 calories from beverages with added sugars per week and less than 1,500 milligrams of sodium per day.

What is your blood pressure? The goal is for the upper number (systolic) to be less than 120 millimetres of mercury and the lower number (diastolic) to be less than 80.

What is your blood cholesterol? A blood cholesterol level less than 200 milligrams per decilitre (mg/dl) is the current recommendation.

What is your blood sugar value? The goal is for your blood sugar to be less than 100 mg/dl.

Treat your heart well. With a little care you can help it to keep beating for a long time.

– Julie Garden-Robinson, PhD, L.R.D.,

is a North Dakota State University Extension Service food and nutrition

specialist and associate professor in the department of health, nutrition and exercise sciences.

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