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Cooling inflammation for healthier arteries

Date:
February 19, 2010
Source:
USDA/Agricultural Research Service
Summary:
Scientists have reported new reasons for choosing "heart healthy" oats at the grocery store.
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Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have reported new reasons for choosing "heart-healthy" oats at the grocery store.

Nutritionist Mohsen Meydani, director of the Vascular Biology Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston, Mass., led the research on the oat compounds, called avenanthramides. Meydani previously has shown that phenolic antioxidants in oats obstruct the ability of blood cells to stick to artery walls.

Chronic inflammation inside the arterial wall is part of the process that eventually leads to a disorder known as atherosclerosis. Meydani and colleagues have reported findings that suggest the avenanthramides of oats decrease the expression of inflammatory molecules. The study showed that forms of avenanthramides possess potential anti-inflammatory properties through inhibiting factors that are linked with activating proinflammatory cytokines.

Cytokines are small proteins released by cells while seeking to protect and repair tissue. Some trigger inflammation, for example, while responding to infection. Inhibiting inflammation through diet, drugs, or key nutrients is considered to be of great benefit in preventing atherosclerosis. Details of this study can be found in the scientific journal Free Radical Biology & Medicine.

The study provides additional indications of the potential health benefit of oat consumption in the prevention of coronary heart disease beyond its known effect through lowering blood cholesterol.


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Materials provided by USDA/Agricultural Research Service. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

USDA/Agricultural Research Service. "Cooling inflammation for healthier arteries." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 19 February 2010. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216142326.htm>.
USDA/Agricultural Research Service. (2010, February 19). Cooling inflammation for healthier arteries. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 19, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216142326.htm
USDA/Agricultural Research Service. "Cooling inflammation for healthier arteries." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100216142326.htm (accessed March 19, 2024).

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