High flavanol diet may lead to lower blood pressure
First study to use objective measure to look at 25,000 people's diet


Date:
October 21, 2020
Source:
University of Reading
Summary:
People who consume a diet including flavanol-rich foods and drinks,
including tea, apples and berries, could lead to lower blood
pressure, according to the first study using objective measures
of thousands of UK residents' diet.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== People who consume a diet including flavanol-rich foods and drinks,
including tea, apples and berries, could lead to lower blood pressure, according to the first study using objective measures of thousands of
UK residents' diet.


==========================================================================
The findings, published in Scientific Reports, studied the diet of more
than 25,000 people in Norfolk, UK and compared what they ate with their
blood pressure. In contrast to most other studies investigating links
between nutrition and health, the researchers did not rely on study participants reporting their diet, but instead measured flavanol intake objectively using nutritional biomarkers -- indicators of dietary intake, metabolism or nutritional status that are present in our blood.

The difference in blood pressure between those with the lowest 10% of
flavanol intake and those with the highest 10% of intake was between 2
and 4 mmHg. This is comparable to meaningful changes in blood pressure
observed in those following a Mediterranean diet or Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. Notably, the effect was more pronounced
in participants with hypertension.

Professor Gunter Kuhnle, a nutritionist at the University of Reading
who led the study said: "Previous studies of large populations have
always relied on self-reported data to draw conclusions, but this is the
first epidemiological study of this scale to objectively investigate
the association between a specific bioactive compound and health. We
are delighted to see that in our study, there was also a meaningful
and significant association between flavanol consumption and lower
blood pressure.

"What this study gives us is an objective finding about the association
between flavanols -- found in tea and some fruits -- and blood
pressure. This research confirms the results from previous dietary
intervention studies and shows that the same results can be achieved
with a habitual diet rich in flavanols. In the British diet, the main
sources are tea, cocoa, apples and berries.

"The methodology of the study is of equal importance. This is one of
the largest ever studies to use nutritional biomarkers to investigate
bioactive compounds. Using nutritional biomarkers to estimate intake
of bioactive food compounds has long been seen as the gold standard for research, as it allows intake to be measured objectively. The development, validation and application of the biomarker was only possible because
of the long-term commitment of all collaborators. In contrast to
self-reported dietary data, nutritional biomarkers can address the huge variability in food composition. We can therefore confidently attribute
the associations we observed to flavanol intake." An international team
from the University of Reading, Cambridge University, the University
of California Davis, and Mars, Incorporated studied 25,618 participants
from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) Norfolk
study and found that the biggest difference was observed in participants
with the highest blood pressure. This suggests if the general public
increased its flavanol intake, there could be an overall reduction in cardiovascular disease incidence.

Hagen Schroeter, Chief Science Officer at Mars Edge, said: "This study
adds key insights to a growing body of evidence supporting the benefits
of dietary flavanols in health and nutrition. But, perhaps even more
exciting was the opportunity to apply objective biomarkers of flavanol
intake at a large scale. This enabled the team to avoid the significant limitations that come with past approaches which rely on estimating
intake based on self- reported food consumption data and the shortcomings
of current food composition databases." The study was supported with
an unrestricted grant from Mars, Incorporated, and two co-authors are
employees of Mars. The study worked with the EPIC Norfolk population
cohort, which acknowledges funding from the Medical Research Council
and Cancer Research UK.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Reading. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Javier I. Ottaviani, Abigail Britten, Debora Lucarelli, Robert
Luben,
Angela A. Mulligan, Marleen A. Lentjes, Reedmond Fong, Nicola Gray,
Philip B. Grace, Deborah H. Mawson, Amy Tym, Antonia Wierzbicki,
Nita G.

Forouhi, Kay-Tee Khaw, Hagen Schroeter, Gunter
G. C. Kuhnle. Biomarker- estimated flavan-3-ol intake is
associated with lower blood pressure in cross-sectional
analysis in EPIC Norfolk. Scientific Reports, 2020; 10 (1) DOI:
10.1038/s41598-020-74863-7 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201021085109.htm

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