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Weight loss diets reverse arterial clogging | Healthy, long-term weight loss diets can significantly reverse carotid (main brain artery) atherosclerosis,
a direct risk factor for strokes and heart attacks, a new study has found. The
two-year study led by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU)
has been published in Circulation, the leading journal of the American Heart Association.
In the study researchers used novel technique imaging of three-dimensional ultrasound
at the beginning and after two years, measuring changes in carotid artery vessel
thickening of plaque to determine whether diet can reverse atherosclerosis, a
process that naturally increases with age. The research team compared three diets
among moderately overweight, mostly male, participants. The findings, using ultrasound,
showed that after two years, there was a five percent decrease in average carotid
vessel-wall volume and a one percent decrease in carotid artery thickness. Compared
to participants who experienced an increased carotid wall volume, those with decreases
showed significantly greater weight loss (11.7 pounds vs. 7 pounds); decreased
systolic blood pressure (6.8 mmHg vs. 1.1 mmHg) and an increase in apolipoprotein
A1 (Apo A1), a marker of "good cholesterol" ( HDL). These participants also had
reduced homocysteine levels, an amino acid in the blood that is related to higher
risk of stroke or heart attack. This study was conducted in Israel by researchers
led by Dr. Iris Shai, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, with the Nuclear Research
Center in Dimona and Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva. According
to Dr. Shai, "Even if we experience some partial weight re-gain over time, long-term
adherence to weight loss diets are effective for reversing carotid atherosclerosis
as long as we stick to one of the current options of healthy diet strategy. This
effect is more pronounced among mildly obese persons who lose more than 5.5 kgs.
[12.1 lbs.] of body weight and whose systolic blood pressure decreases by more
than 7 mmHg." |
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