For the first time researchers have found out what effect multiple, rather than just single, foods with anti-inflammatory effects have on healthy individuals.
The results of a diet study show that bad cholesterol was reduced by 33 per cent, blood lipids by 14 per cent, blood pressure by 8 per cent and a risk marker for blood clots by 26 per cent. A marker of inflammation in the body was also greatly reduced, while memory and cognitive function were improved.
"The results have exceeded our expectations! I would like to claim that there has been no previous study with similar effects on healthy subjects", says Inger Björck, professor of food-related nutrition at Lund University and head of the University's Antidiabetic Food Centre.
Forty-four healthy, overweight people between the ages of 50 and 75 took part in the diet study. For four weeks they ate foods which are presumed to reduce low-grade inflammation in the body, a condition which in turn triggers metabolic syndrome and thus obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
The test diet was high in antioxidants, low-GI foods (i.e. slow release carbohydrates), omega fatty acids, wholegrain products, probiotics and viscous dietary fibre. Examples of foods eaten were oily fish, barley, soy protein, blueberries, almonds, cinnamon, vinegar and a certain type of wholegrain bread. Some of the products in the food portfolio are not yet available in the shops, but were developed specifically for the study.
Read a more detailed press release from the Antidiabetic Food Centre's website http://www.ffsc.lu.se/afc.
For more information
Please contact Inger Björck, professor of food-related nutrition at Lund University, +46 (0)46 222 9738, Inger.Bjorck@appliednutrition.lth.se, or Juscelino Tovar (also speaks Spanish), project manager at the Antidiabetic Food Centre, +46 (0)46 222 8627, Juscelino.Tovar@ffsc.lu.se.
High-resolution photographs of Inger Björck and Juscelino Tovar can be found in the Lund University image bank www.lu.se/bildbank