Sunday Times 2
How watermelon could prevent heart attacks
View(s):A daily slice of watermelon could help prevent heart disease by halting the build-up of harmful cholesterol, new research shows.
Scientists who carried out studies on mice fed a high-fat diet found the fruit halved the rate at which ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, accumulated.
LDL is a form of cholesterol that leads to clogged arteries and heart disease.Researchers from Purdue University in the US also found eating watermelon regularly helped to control weight gain and resulted in fewer fatty deposits inside blood vessels.
They believe the secret to watermelon’s health-boosting properties lies in citrulline, a chemical found in the juice.
Previous studies have suggested citrulline has a role to play in heart disease prevention by lowering blood pressure. Although the latest investigation showed no significant effects on blood pressure, it did reveal watermelons had a powerful impact on other heart risk factors. Heart disease is Britain’s biggest killer. Around 270,000 people a year suffer a heart attack and nearly one in three die before they reach hospital.
Fatty diets, lack of exercise and smoking are all key risk factors.Cholesterol is a type of fat produced by the liver that is essential to help the body produce hormones, absorb vitamin D and make bile to digest foods. It is transported in the blood by tiny ‘couriers’, called lipoproteins.
LDL carries cholesterol away from the liver and dumps it in major blood vessels, where it can cause a life-threatening blockage.
High-density lipoprotein, or HDL, has the job of transporting cholesterol back to the liver to be safely disposed of.
The latest study, published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, suggests watermelon juice could help. ‘We know that watermelon is good for health because it contains citrulline.
We don’t know yet at what molecular level it’s working and that’s the next step.’ Some studies suggest the chemical is vital for the production of nitric oxide, a gas that widens blood vessels. This research follows another recent study published in the Journal of Functional Foods which suggested eating apples each day could significantly improve the heart health of middle-aged adults in just one month.
Those who ate a daily apple over four weeks lowered ‘bad’ cholesterol in the blood by 40 per cent. Taking capsules containing polyphenols, a type of antioxidant found in apples, had a similar, but not as large, effect. Bad cholesterol can interact with free radicals to become oxidized, which can trigger inflammation and can cause tissue damage.
© Daily Mail, London
Follow @timesonlinelk
Related Posts:
Just two apples a day could cut the risk of heart diseaseJust two apples a day could help protect women against heart disease by cutting their cholesterol levels, according to new ...
Unscrambling the truth about eggsOnce demonised as bad for the heart, eggs have been repositioned as a health food in recent years as researchers ...
Why going to work on an egg is healthier than it used to beIf you enjoy telling younger members of your family that food just isn't as wholesome as it used to be, ...
SnippetsThe redder the better Look out for apples with dark red skin. The redder the apple, the more vital anthocvanins it ...
Recommended: Stress in small dosesStress is bad news — it raises your risk of a host of ailments, including heart disease and cancer. But ...