Kowalski walks down supermarket aisles and explores health food store and online shelves for the tastiest heart-healthy foods and the most effective cholesterol- and blood pressure-lowering supplements. Discover orange juice that lowers cholesterol and a cooking ingredient that slashes blood pressure levels.

• BEANS, BEANS, REALLY GOOD FOR THE HEART

• Phytosterols in the Supermarket
• Grape Seed Extract and Heart Health
• Lowering Blood Pressure with Grape Seed Extract
• Put a Little Wine in the Shopping Cart
• Lyc-O-Mato
• Arginine

BEANS, BEANS, REALLY GOOD FOR THE HEART

We've known for a long time that beans, thanks to their high level of soluble fiber, can reduce cholesterol as well as oat bran. But how does regular consumption affect heart disease risk? Researchers at Tulane University in New Orleans asked that question and came up with a wonderful answer. As they reported in the November 26 Archives of Internal Medicine, those who ate beans four or more times a week dropped their risk of CHD by 22 percent, putting them at significantly less risk than average, when compared with persons who ate beans less than weekly.

It's really easy to increase your bean consumption, thanks to the tremendous variety of those legumes. Virtually all types of beans provide the benefits, with the exception of green beans. Think of the possibilities. Refried beans with Mexican dishes, red beans and rice with Cajun foods, black beans along with Cuban garlic chicken, three-bean salads with picnics and lunches, bean soups of all sorts to start off meals, and hummous dips as convenient snacks. When I make chili, I do so with two, rather than one, cans of chili beans with a pound of lean ground beef, a large can of tomatoes, and a packet of seasonings.

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Phytosterols in the Supermarket

Like cholesterol, which it resembles molecularly, the plant kingdom's equivalent plant sterols, the phytosterols, are not soluble in water. They're concentrated in the oils, typically in seeds such as soybeans. Because of their insolubility, phytosterols have been available only in margarines and as supplements. But thanks to a breakthrough by Cargill Health & Food Technologies, the phytosterols have been made water soluble and are now used to fortify a number of foods in the supermarket.

I've long criticized the concept of phytosterol-laced margarines. They add fat and calories to the diet, and ironically contain the worst of all fats, the trans fatty acids from partially hydrogenated oils. Margarine is not always consumed at every meal. Moreover it's impractical to carry your personal margarine around to restaurants and when traveling.  To make things worse, these margarines are extremely expensive.

Happily, the newly developed food products are sold at no additional cost. Look for Minute Maid Heartwise orange juice, Lifetime Corowise low-fat cheeses, Rice Dream Heartwise dairy alternative, Health Valley Heartwise hot and cold cereals, and Nature Valley Healthy Heart granola bars. I keep a couple of those granola bars in the glove compartment of my car, in my golf bag, my attaché case, and in my travel baggage.  They are a truly heart-healthy snack. A serving of all these foods contains 400 mg (0.4 gram) of plant sterols. Later this year, look for Oroweat Whole Grain & Oat bread with Corowise in western states. For more information visit www.corowise.com.

Regular consumption of phytosterols as supplements or in foods has been proven in clinical trials to significantly reduce cholesterol levels in the blood, thus helping to prevent heart disease.

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Grape Seed Extract and Heart Health

By now virtually everyone has heard about the French Paradox, and how the French might be protected against heart disease by their consumption of red wine despite diets relatively high in fat. Certainly the alcohol in wine plays an important role, as it raises the levels of the protective HDL. But then that can also be said for other alcoholic beverages.

Red wine, however, contains a treasure trove of beneficial plant substances collectively termed flavonoids. They are potent antioxidants, they have anti-inflammatory properties, and they protect the health of the endothelium, the lining of the arteries.

Many authorities believe that the flavonoids are the reason a diet rich in fruits and vegetables has been associated with a lessened risk of heart disease. Getting back to the red wine, flavonoids come from the skins and seeds included during fermentation. Skins and seeds are removed when making white wine, removing the source of flavonoids.

Flavonoids are also concentrated in grape seeds and grape seed extracts are widely available as dietary supplements, as are grape skin extracts. But should these products be a part of your heart-healthy regimen? Research has been building to indicate that these supplements are, indeed, beneficial.

The May 2005 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, for example, contained a report showing how grape seed extract, rich in particular flavonoids called proantho-cyanidins, can protect the heart after periods of oxygen deprivation. The investigators worked with rabbits, simulating the effect of such oxygen deprivation and subsequent flow of blood. That scenario occurs when a person might have angina pains or, more dramatically, a heart attack or bypass surgery. Rabbits given grape seed extract were protected against the damage done by free radicals during that experimental period.

Coincidentally, that same issue of AJCN published a study showing how flavonoid intakes associated with regular tea drinking reduce the risk of heart attack. There's no question that we can all benefit from increasing our intakes of flavonoids on a daily basis.

But not everyone drinks tea; most Americans prefer coffee. Many consume no alcohol at all, or prefer other beverages than red wine. Four tablets of grape seed extract (200 mg) provide the equivalent of one four-ounce glass of red wine.

You may remember the ORAC method of measuring antioxidant potency of various foods I reported on previously. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. Foods high on the list include raisins and blueberries. And grape seed extract levels absolutely soar.

Moreover, the proanthocyanidins of grape seed extract work with vitamins C and E to maintain a higher level of those antioxidants in the blood over time.

Certainly the foundation of a heart-healthy diet and life-style rests on a high consumption of fruits and vegetables. Red wine, grape juice, and tea provide additional protective flavonoids. Grape seed extract tablets can substantially supplement total intake.

I've gotten a number of letters asking about grape seed extracts. The bottom line is that I believe they can play an important role in protecting our hearts.

Needless to say, I could fill this entire web site with a complete investigation of the research studies in this field and other details regarding both grfape seed and grape skin extracts. There just isn't enough room. If you'd like additional information, I'd suggest visiting Polyphenolics a major producer of these products at polyphenolics.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Lowering Blood Pressure with Grape Seed Extract

For many years I’ve extolled the virtues of grape seed extract as a powerful antioxidant in the category of plant substances known as polyphenols and flavonols. Rodent studies a few years ago showed that when grape seed comprised a large percentage of animals’ diets, blood pressures came down. But it would be impractical, nutritionally illogical to consume that much grape seed on a daily basis. So the research chemists went to work to determine the particular part of grape seed that had the desired effect.

Working at Polyphenolics, a division of Constellation Wines in California, chemists isolated that component and concentrated the isolate into a special formulation of grape seed extract the company calls MegaNatural-BP. Next came successful animal studies. But they didn’t stop there. Instead, the company supported two human clinical trials at the University of California, Davis, with leading cardiologist C. Tissa Kappagoda, M.D.

The first trial included 24 men and women diagnosed with “metabolic syndrome,” a condition that combines insulin resistance, elevated triglycerides and lowered levels of the protective HDL cholesterol, and high blood pressure. Average improvements were 12 points systolic (top number) BP and 8 points diastolic (bottom number).

In a second investigation, Dr. Kappagoda and his colleagues worked with 30 participants with average blood pressures of 134.1/79.1. Half got 300 mg of MegaNatural-BP and half got a sugar-pill placebo. While placebo recipients exhibited no changes at all, those getting MegaNatural-BP achieved reductions of 8 points systolic and 6 points diastolic.

A number of companies sell MegaNatural-BP grape seed extract either alone or in combination with other ingredients. For a listing of companies whose products are sold in health food stores or online, go to www.polyphenolics.com. You’ll find one of the most reasonably priced products, a pure MegaNatural-BP with no additional ingredients, comes from www.healthyorigins.com. Also visit www.swansonvitamins.com to check out their well-priced offerings.

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Put a Little Wine in the Shopping Cart

Doctors in Denmark think that wine drinkers have a lower CHD rate not because of anything special in wine beyond the alcohol that raises HDL but because they, as a class, are more affluent and better educated and tend to have healthier lifestyles.

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