How eating eggs can boost heart health
The findings from a recent study suggest that eating up to one egg per day may help lower the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Eggs are a rich source of dietary cholesterol, but they also contain a variety of essential nutrients. There is conflicting evidence as to whether egg consumption is beneficial or harmful to heart health. A 2018 study published in the journal Heart, which included approximately half a million adults in China, found that those who ate eggs daily (about one egg per day) had a substantially lower risk of heart disease and stroke than those who ate eggs less frequently.
The work highlights the need for more strategies to encourage moderate egg consumption among the population, to help lower the overall risk of cardiovascular disease. Learn more
Is Running Really Good for the Heart?
Running, or any kind high-intensity exercise, puts a strain on the heart muscle, as it does on lung tissue, and leg and arm muscles,” said Neel Chokshi, MD, an assistant professor of Clinical Cardiovascular Medicine, and medical director of the Penn Sports Cardiology and Fitness Program. “While evidence suggests an increased risk of cardiac events during high intensity exercise, the overall likelihood of such events is ultimately very, very low. There is more far research to support running and exercise as a benefit to heart health, rather than a detriment.
As a paper from the American College of Cardiology’s (ACC’s) Sports and Exercise Cardiology Leadership Council points out, “the public media has embraced the idea that exercise may harm the heart and disseminated this message, thereby diverting attention away from the benefits of exercise as a potent intervention for the primary and secondary prevention of heart disease.” Read more
How caffeine consumption protects the heart
Caffeine consumption has been associated with lower risks for multiple diseases, including type II diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and stroke, but the mechanism underlying these protective effects has been unclear. A new study now shows that caffeine promotes the movement of a regulatory protein into mitochondria, enhancing their function and protecting cardiovascular cells from damage. The work, published in the open access journal PLOS Biology, by Judith Haendeler and Joachim Altschmied of the Medical Faculty, Heinrich-Heine-University and the IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Duesseldorf, Germany, and colleagues, found that the protective effect was reached at a concentration equivalent to consumption of four cups of coffee, suggesting the effect may be physiologically relevant.
