According to a new study, vitamin D supplements may not reduce heart risks in older women as previously suggested. At total of 305 healthy postmenopausal women aged 60-70 yr were recruited and received a daily capsule of 400 or 1000 IU vitamin D3 or placebo. Investigators found that the supplements did not have much of an impact on cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar.
Source: Wood et.al. J of Cl Endo & Metabolism, Aug 3, 2012.
The women in the study group also lost an average of 3.3 pounds even though the apples added another 240 calories to the usual daily diet. Dr. Bahram Arjmandi who led the study, suggested that weight loss may be due to the pectin in apples which satisfies hunger. Early animal studies had already suggested that apple and its components, e.g. apple pectin and polyphenols, improve lipid metabolism and lower the production of proinflammatory molecules. The authors believed that this study was the first to look at the cardioprotective effects of daily consumption of apple for one year in postmenopausal women.
Of course, more studies will need to be done to reconfirm these results and look at the cellular interactions but we already know that apples are a good source of fiber, so why not have "an apple a day!"
Women's cholesterol levels vary with phase of menstrual cycle
NIH findings suggest a need to consider phase of cycle when measuring cholesterol
National Institutes of Health researchers have shown that women's cholesterol levels correspond with monthly changes in estrogen levels. This natural variation, they suggest, might indicate a need to take into account the phases of a woman's monthly cycle before evaluating her cholesterol measures. On average, the total cholesterol level of the women in the study varied 19 percent over the course of the menstrual cycle.
In a typical cycle, estrogen levels steadily increase as the egg cell matures, peaking just before ovulation. Previous studies have shown that taking formulations which contain estrogen — oral contraceptives or menopausal hormone therapy — can affect cholesterol levels. However, the results of studies examining the effects of naturally occurring hormone levels on cholesterol have not been conclusive. According to the NIH’s National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, high blood cholesterol levels raise the risk for heart disease.
The researchers found that as the level of estrogen rises, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol also rises, peaking at the time of ovulation. HDL cholesterol is believed to be protective against heart disease.
In contrast, total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels — as well as another form of blood fat known as triglycerides — declined as estrogen levels rose. The decline was not immediate, beginning a couple of days after the estrogen peak at ovulation. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels reached their lowest just before menstruation began.
The findings were published online in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. To read the full NIH Press Release click here.
Health.com published an article today that summarizes the findings of a recent study on menopause and cholesterol that shows women's cholesterol levels increase at the time of menopause. The study's abstract can be found here, at the Journal of the American College of Cardiology site.
Image: heart-valve-surgery.com
It isn't news that cholesterol and other risks of heart disease increase as women age, but the study wanted to determine if the cholesterol increase was due to simple aging, or more specifically related to menopause. They found that within two years of a woman's last period, her LDL cholesterol (so-called bad cholesterol) jumps about 10 points. This increase may be small, but if a woman already has elevated cholesterol, it could be problematic. Additionally, since other risk factors for heart disease increase with age, this increase in cholesterol could team with other cardio-related age affects to create an increased risk of heart problems. The study authors suggest that peri-menopausal women take this news under advisement and become even more vigilant about their diet and exercise routines.
This study is not only interesting because of the findings, but also because of the methodology they employed; the researchers used self-reported data from a national health registry to conduct their study. The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) is very akin to our state based registry, the Illinois Women's Health Registry (if you live in Illinois, go join!). Analysis of these surveys and normal everyday women who participated pulled out this very interesting finding. It's quite clear that this is a great example of why gender-based research is so necessary, study of cholesterol rates in an all-male study group would never have discovered this connection! Finally, the study concluded that the link between increased cholesterol and menopause was true for most ethnicities...because they included women from many ethnicities! It's amazing how much more we learn when diverse participants are used for clinical research studies!
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