Diet Advices and Fitness Tips

Archive for the ‘Vitamin’ Category

The consumption of fruits and vegetables reduces weight gain long term

There are many benefits to include fruits and vegetables in the regular diet. However, not known in particular the effects of consumption on body weight.

A study by a group of Epidemiology of Nutrition at the University Miguel Hernandez de Elche, Alicante, showed that high intakes of fruits and vegetables reduces the risk of gaining weight and suffering from obesity in adult Mediterranean populations over a period of 10 years .

The study looked at weight gain and its relation to fruit and vegetable intake in 206 adults between 15 and 80 years of age. After 10 years the volunteers were contacted and they were weighed and measured again. We also assessed their diet and current lifestyle of each individual.

The results show that participants had an average weight gain of 3.41 kilos over 10 years. The total population assessed was divided, to initiate an investigation into four groups according to their intake of fruits and vegetables.

The group that ate less fruit and vegetables did not exceed 362 grams per day (less than 3 units) and the group that took daily ingested 698 grams of fruit and vegetables (6 servings or more units). In addition to the characteristics of the diet, the researchers considered other factors as the risk of gaining weight, physical exercise, body mass index, use of snuff and alcohol, and sex of the participants.

In conclusion, we observed a low weight gain in the group that more fruits and vegetables included in your daily diet, compared with the group of lower consumption.

It is important to have a varied and balanced diet, but include large amounts of fruits and vegetables to food does not cause any harm to health as opposed to other food groups, but, quite the contrary, very positive effects on our physical health .

Relationship between vitamin C levels in blood and risk of stroke

Recent research suggests that having higher levels of vitamin C in blood may help reduce the risk of stroke.

According to the study, people who had the highest concentrations of vitamin C had a stroke risk 42% lower than those with lower levels. However, this finding does not mean that taking large doses of vitamin C supplements can prevent cerebrovascular accident (CVA), experts warned.

The study’s authors noted that despite the results, we can not confirm that vitamin C directly lowers stroke risk. Vitamin C may be an indicator of a healthy lifestyle and probably elevated blood levels of vitamin C means that a person considered to be more health, said Dr. Keith Siller, medical director of the Center’s full attention of the Stroke Center Medical University of New York.

Dr. Levine, head of the section of molecular and clinical nutrition U.S. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, agrees with Siller, and believes that it is only an association. “People who eat fruits and vegetables in large quantities may consume less junk food.”

The current study was to analyze data from more than 20000 people aged 40 to 79 years in the UK. Participants completed a health questionnaire and blood samples to determine levels of vitamin C. Follow up was for about 9.5 years and during that period 448 of the assessed suffered a stroke.

After considering other risk factors such as sex, smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, alcohol consumption, physical activity and family history of heart disease, the researchers found that individuals who had higher levels of vitamin C in blood had a 42% lower risk of suffering a stroke as those with lower levels of the vitamin.

According to the study, the difference in vitamin C levels between the highest group and the lowest result in about a fruit or vegetable a day.

The authors claim that the inverse association between plasma vitamin C and stroke suggests that vitamin C could be a good biomarker of whatever causal factors affect stroke risk, the most feasible, the daily intake of plant foods.