| Men: Do Your Heart a Favor! (Part Two) | |
By the end of the program, none of the seven previously hypertensive men suffered from high blood pressure. Systolic blood pressure was reduced by 14 percent, diastolic blood pressure by 10 percent and oxidative stress by 28 percent, while nitric oxide availability improved by 28 percent. Total cholesterol decreased by 19 percent, insulin levels by 46 percent and blood glucose by 7 percent. Although body weight and BMI decreased slightly (about 4 percent each), the men were still obese at the end of the three-week program.
Dr. Barnard noted that the heart disease risk reduction occurs quickly, even if a person is still obese: "You can lose weight over time, but fortunately, we can ease high blood pressure and the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease while, or even before, you shed excess pounds." Similar positive changes have been seen in non-obese people at risk for heart disease in other studies, he said.
"Within three weeks, we showed normalization of blood pressure and mitigation of other atherosclerotic risk factors, all of which will reduce the risk of chronic disease if kept up as part of a lifestyle change," said Christian Roberts, Ph.D., another of the study's authors.
It appears that the most important part of sustaining heart health -- as with maintaining weight loss -- is to stick with the changes you make. They need to be for good, not just a few weeks: "... If you return to an inappropriate diet and stop exercising, you will no longer benefit, and in fact you will regress," Dr. Roberts warned.
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