Nutraceutical: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)

Indication: Coronary heart disease (CHD)

Source: Br J Nutr, March 2006;95(3):525-31.

Research: Whereas there is plenty of evidence that long-chain omega 3 fatty acids exert triglyceride lowering effects, the effects of pure DHA on human blood lipids have not been studied in the past. One hundred and fourteen vegetarians with blood lipids in the normal range, aged 18-43, took part in this double-blind, placebo-controlled study. They supplemented their diet with Lonza DHA for a period of eight weeks.

Results: The supplementation was found to decrease plasma triglyceride levels by 23%. This is good news, according to researchers, since high circulating triglyceride levels in the plasma are associated with the severity and progression of artherosclerosis and are recognized as independent risk factors for CHD.

 

Nutraceutical: Mediterranean diet

Indication: Alzheimer’s disease

Source: Ann Neurol, June 2006;59(6):912-21.

Research: Researchers set out to investigate the association between the Mediterranean diet and the risk for Alzheimer’s disease by examining data from a total of 2258 community-based “non-demented” individuals in New York, who were pro-spectively evaluated every one-and-a-half years. Adherence to the Mediterranean diet (zero- to nine-point scale with higher scores indicating higher adherence) was the main predictor in models that were adjusted for cohort, age, sex, ethnicity, education, apolipoprotein E genotype, caloric intake, smoking, medical comorbidity in-dex and body mass index. The constituents of the Mediterranean diet include olive oil, legumes, fruits, vegetables, cereals, fish, a little alcohol and very little dairy or meat.

Results: Over the course of four years, 262 subjects developed Alzheimer’s disease. Subjects who had the highest adherence to the Mediterranean diet were 40% less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease versus those with the lowest adherence. This led researchers to conclude that the Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduction in risk for Alzheimer’s disease, probably as a result of reducing the underlying inflammation associated with it and many other diseases.

Nutraceutical: Stanol-fortified cheese

Indication: Cholesterol reduction

Source: Eur J Clin Nutr, May 24, 2006 (Epub ahead of print; doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602445).

Research: In this double-blind, randomized, parallel group study, researchers studied the effect of stanol-fortified cheese on 67 subjects with mild hypercholester-olemia. Twenty-four men and 43 women were randomly assigned to either a stanol ester group, consuming cheese enriched with 2 grams of plant stanols per day, or a control group, which ate normal (non-fortified) cheese. The subjects continued their regimens for a period of five weeks.

Results: In the stanol ester group both serum total and LDL cholesterol decreased significantly by nearly 6% and over 10%, respectively. However, there were no changes in HDL cholesterol, triglycerides and apolipoprotein B concentrations between the groups. Researchers believe that cheese fortified with 2 grams of plant stanols in the form of fatty acid esters decreases serum total and LDL cholesterol significantly and could be an adjunct to cholesterol-lowering regimens.

Nutraceutical: Policosanol

Indication: Hypercholesterolemia/hyperlipidemia

Source: JAMA, May 17, 2006;295(19):2262-2269.

Research: Researchers performed a multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial of 143 patients with hypercholesterolemia or combined hyperlipidemia having a baseline LDL cholesterol of 150 mg/dl and either no or one cardiovascular risk factor other than known coronary heart disease, or baseline LDL-C levels of between 150 and 189 mg/dl and two or more risk factors. This open-label six-week study had a diet run-in phase followed by a double-blind 12-week treatment phase after randomization into five groups: 10, 20, 40, or 80 mg/dl of policosanol or placebo.

Results: In none of the five treatment groups did LDL-C levels decrease more than 10% from baseline. Further, re-searchers found no statistically significant difference between policosanol and placebo. In none of the secondary outcome measures, namely total cholesterol, HDL-C, very low LDL, triglycerides, lipoprotein and a ratio of total or LDL-C to HDL C, were there any significant effects of policosanol. Researchers concluded that in patients with hypercholesterolemia or combined hyperlipidemia, the sugar cane-derived policosanol in usual and high doses does not demonstrate a reduction in lipid levels beyond placebo.

Nutraceutical(s): Vitamins C and E

Indication: Preeclampsia

Source: N Engl J Med, April 27, 2006;
354(17):1796-806.

Research: Investigators conducted a multicenter, randomized trial of nulliparous women (those having never birthed a child) between 14 and 22 weeks of gestation. Women were assigned to daily supplementation with 1000 mg of vitamin C and 400 IU of vitamin E or placebo (microcrystalline cellulose) until delivery. Primary outcomes were the risks of maternal preeclampsia, death or serious outcomes in the infants (on the basis of definitions used by the Australian and New Zealand Neonatal Network), and delivering an infant whose birth weight was below the 10th percentile for gestational age. Of the 1877 women enrolled in the study, 935 were randomly assigned to the vitamin group and 942 to the placebo group. Baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar.

Results: There were no significant differences between the vitamin and placebo groups in the risk of preeclampsia, death or serious outcomes in the infant, or having an infant with a birth weight below the 10th percentile for gestational age. Therefore researchers feel supplementation with vitamins C and E during pregnancy does not reduce the risk of preeclampsia in nulliparous women, the risk of intrauterine growth restriction, or the risk of death or other serious outcomes in their infants.