November

November 2001: Highlights from the Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Below are summaries of several nutrition research articles published in the November 2001 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. For more information, or to receive a faxed copy of a JADA article, please call Bridget McManamon (800) 877-1600, ext. 4769; or e-mail bmcmana@eatright.org.

Could oats be the key to lowering cholesterol?

Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death among women. Maintaining a healthy cholesterol level is important, especially for postmenopausal women who are at an increased risk for developing heart disease. Researchers from Northwestern University Medical School evaluated 127 postmenopausal women with moderate cholesterol levels to see the effect oats and soy had on reducing total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. After participating in a National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Step I diet for three weeks, participants were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments for an additional six weeks: an oats/milk group, an oats/soy group, a wheat/milk group, and a wheat/soy group. Researchers found that total cholesterol and LDL levels were reduced after the three week Step I diet. In addition, total cholesterol and LDL levels were further reduced for both the oats/milk group and the oats/soy group. Researchers state that following the NCEP Step I diet and including two servings of oats is a low-risk approach to lowering cholesterol levels and reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Adolescent supplement users versus nonusers

Like many adults, adolescents are now popping supplement pills in an effort to get the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for a healthful diet. But researchers from Tufts University are finding that adolescents who take supplements are actually the one's getting more nutrients from food compared to adolescents who don't take supplements. Researchers evaluated 1,532 eighth grade students, who participated in the CATCH tracking study, to determine if adolescent supplement users have higher nutrient intakes from food sources, and if they differ in demographic characteristics, nutrition awareness and health behaviors than adolescent nonusers. Results showed that nearly 18 percent of the students took vitamin-mineral supplements. Users had higher nutrient intakes from food sources, higher nutrition awareness and were different in demographic characteristics from nonusers.