Could a Diet Rich in Amino Acids Improve Cardiovascular Health?

Eating foods rich in amino acids—found in plant- and meat-based protein—could decrease arterial stiffness and benefit overall cardiovascular health, according to a recent study.

“Increasing intake from protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, dairy produce, beans, lentils, broccoli and spinach could be an important and readily achievable way to reduce people’s risk of cardiovascular disease,” said the study’s researchers.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Is a Plant-Based Diet Right for Your Patient?
Could Adding Eggs to Your Salad Improve Nutrient Absorption?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

For the study, researchers evaluated the impact of 7 amino acids—cysteine, glutamic acid, histidine, glycine, arginine, leucine, and tyrosine—on the cardiovascular health of nearly 2,000 women with a healthy BMI from the TwinsUK database.

After analyzing the participants’ diet and comparing it to blood vessel thickness and stiffness and blood pressure, researchers observed lower levels of blood pressure and arterial stiffness among patients who consumed the highest amounts of amino acids.

Specifically, researchers found that a higher intake from animal sources was linked to lower levels of arterial stiffness, while a higher intake of amino acids from plant-based sources associated with lower blood pressure.

“The really surprising thing that we found is that amino acid intake has as much of an effect on blood pressure as established lifestyle risk factors such as salt intake, physical activity and alcohol consumption. For arterial stiffness, the association was similar to the magnitude of change previously associated with not smoking,” they explained.

The complete study was published in the September issue of Journal of Nutrition.

-Michelle Canales Butcher

Reference:

University of East Anglia. UAE research shows high protein foods boost cardiovascular health. September 2015. www.uea.ac.uk/about/-/uea-research-shows-high-protein-foods-boost-cardiovascular-health. Accessed August 28, 2015.