| From Nutrition Newsbytes Your link to nutrition discoveries IN THE NEWS SOW OATS FOR HEART HEALTH Begin the morning with oatmeal and you just might reduce the risk of heart attack or stroke. The soluble fiber in oats, beans, and other foods is believed to prevent blood vessel restriction by slowing the absorption of fat and carbohydrates into the blood stream, according to study findings shared at the annual meeting of the American College of Nutrition held Oct. 4. In the study, 50 healthy adults ate a high-fat meal once a week for three weeks. Each meal was accompanied by either a bowl of oatmeal, a bowl of whole-wheat cereal, or 800 IU of vitamin E. Researchers used ultrasound to measure the diameter of each subject's blood vessels within three hours before and after each meal. Compared to pre-meal levels, post-meal blood vessels were constricted 13.4 percent in subjects who ate high-fat meals combined with whole-wheat cereal. However, study subjects who ate high-fat meals in combination with either oatmeal or vitamin E did not experience a change in vessel diameters. Vitamin E's antioxidant properties are believed to prevent the damaging of cells in the blood vessels that affect the arteries' ability to dilate in response to blood-flow changes. Oatmeal's soluble fiber is believed to prevent fewer free radicals from forming. Reprinted with permission; Copyright 2000 Enzymatic Therapy. (Enzymatic Therapy manufactures and distributes more than 200 nutritional |