Study Finds Several Ways to Control Inflammation in Men

by | Jan 11, 2010 | 2009, Fiber, Men's Health, Vitamin C, Vitamin E

Written by Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS. 1060 adults had a 45% reduced risk of a marker of inflammation for every 100 gram (3.5 oz) increase in fruit and vegetable intake per day. Reduced risks were also seen with vitamin C, vitamin E, and fiber.

Defined as “a crucial protective mechanism” that helps repair tissue and protect the body against infection, inflammation is a normal reaction by our immune system to help keep us healthy. But too much inflammation can have disastrous health consequences and lead to heart disease, dementia, arthritis, and type 2 diabetes (1, 2), which cost our healthcare system $448 billion (3), $156 billion (4), $128 billion (5), and $174 billion per year (6).

Inflammation’s role in disease has been studied for the past three decades, with C-reactive protein being one of the first proteins identified (7). Now a new test for CRP, called high-sensitivity CRP (hs-CRP) is regarded as the best indicator of chronic disease risk, especially for heart disease (8). According to the American Heart Association, hs-CRP levels below 1.0 mg/L indicate a low risk of developing heart disease, hs-CRP levels between 1.0 and 3.0 mg/L indicate “an average risk” of heart disease and hs-CRP levels above 3.0 mg/L indicate a high risk for heart disease (9).

Now a new study (10) has found three different ways to help maintain healthy levels of hs-CRP: high fruits and vegetable intake, antioxidant supplementation, and fiber. In the study,1,060 men and women in Porto, Portugal provided information on diet through an 82-item food frequency questionnaire (11). They also provided blood samples to measure for hs-CRP. The researchers divided the patients into four different groups, according to hs-CRP levels:

  • Group 1: hs-CRP level < 1 milligrams/Liter
  • Group 2: hs-CRP level 1-3 milligrams/Liter
  • Group 3: hs-CRP level > 3 milligrams/Liter
  • Group 4: hs-CRP level > 10 milligrams/Liter

The researchers found that in normal weight men body mass index (BMI) <25.0 kg/m2), every 100 gram increase in fruit intake produced a 27% reduced risk of having a hs-CRP level that was one category higher based on the four groups originally established,.and every 100 gram increase in vegetable intake produced a 45% reduced risk. This reduced risk was also seen with vitamin C and vitamin E intake, with every 100 mg per day of vitamin C intake producing a 66% reduced risk of being in a higher hs-CRP group and every 10 mg per day of vitamin E intake producing a 86% reduced risk. Finally, every 10 grams of fiber intake reduced the risk of being in a higher hs-CRP category by 15%.

These reduced risks, however, weakened with increased body mass index (> 25 kg/m2), with fruit intake reducing risk by 20% and vegetable intake reducing risk by 14%, and vitamin C intake reducing risk by 37% and vitamin E intake reducing risk by 18%. The only category that had more of a reduced risk in the higher body mass group was fiber, with a 53% reduced risk with every 10 grams of increased intake. The authors attempted to describe this result by stating that “the high accumulation of fat could be responsible for higher circulating levels of hs-CRP, but in this case, the effect of fat does not overcome the effect of fiber, probably because fiber, among several other nutrients, has the strongest association with hs-CRP among overweight men.”

For the researchers, “Intake of fruits and vegetables, vitamin C, E and fiber were negatively associated with hs-CRP in men.”

Source: Oliveira, A., F. Rodriguez-Artalejo, and C. Lopes. “The association of fruits, vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and fibre intake with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein: sex and body mass index interactions.” European journal of clinical nutrition 63.11 (2009): 1345-1352.

© 2009 Macmillan Publishers Limited All rights reserved

Posted January 11, 2010.

References:

  1. Gil, Polyunsaturated fatty acids and inflammatory diseases, Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy 56 (2002) (8), pp. 388–396.
  2. I.A. Shiels, S.M. Taylor and D.P. Fairlie, Cell phenotype as a target of drug therapy in chronic inflammatory diseases, Medical Hypotheses 54 (2000) (2), pp. 193–197.
  3. “Cardiovascular Disease at a Glance” posted on The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
  4. “The Cost of Dementia: $156 billion and rising” posted on Web MD.
  5. Arthritis – Data and Statistics” posted on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.
  6. “Direct and Indirect Costs of Diabetes in the United States” posted on American Diabetes Association website.   
  7. Smith SJ.  Acute-phase proteins from the liver and enzymes from myocardial infarction; a quantitative relationship.  Clin Chim Acta. 1977 Nov 15;81(1):75-85.
  8. Pfutzner A.  High-sensitivity C-reactive protein as cardiovascular risk marker in patients with diabetes mellitus.  Diabetes Technol Ther. 2006 Feb;8(1):28-36.
  9. “Inflammation, Stroke and Heart Disease: The Role of C-Reactive Protien” posted on the American Heart Association Website.
  10. Oliveira A. The association of fruits, vegetables, antioxidant vitamins and fibre intake with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein: sex and body mass index interaction European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2009) 63, 1345-1352.
  11. Lopes C (2000). Reproducibility and validity of a semi-quantitative food-frequency questionnaire. In: Diet and acute myocardial infarction: a population-based case-control study [PhD thesis in Portuguese]. University of Porto: Porto. pp 79–115.