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People who eat a diet that includes flavanol-rich foods and drinks, such as tea, apples and berries, may lower blood pressure, according to the first study using objective measures of the diet of thousands of UK residents.
The findings, published in Scientific reports, studied the diets of more than 25,000 people in Norfolk, UK, and compared what they ate with their blood pressure. Unlike most other studies investigating the links between nutrition and health, the researchers did not rely on study participants reporting their diet, but instead measured flavanol intake objectively using nutritional biomarkers, indicators of the dietary intake, metabolism or nutritional status that are present in our blood.
The difference in blood pressure between those with the lowest 10% flavanol intake and those with the highest 10% intake was between 2 and 4 mmHg. This is comparable to the significant changes in blood pressure seen in those following a Mediterranean diet or Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. In particular, the effect was more pronounced in participants with hypertension.
Professor Gunter Kuhnle, a nutritionist at the University of Reading who led the study, said:
“Previous studies of large populations have always relied on self-reported data to draw conclusions, but this is the first epidemiological study of this scale to objectively investigate the association between a specific bioactive compound and health. We are delighted to see that in our study. , there was also a significant and significant association between flavanol consumption and lower blood pressure.
“What this study gives us is an objective finding about the association between flavonoids, found in tea and some fruits, and blood pressure. This research confirms the results of previous dietary intervention studies and shows that they can be achieved. the same results with a regular diet rich in flavonoids. In the British diet, the main sources are tea, cocoa, apples and berries.
“The methodology of the study is of equal importance. This is one of the largest studies ever conducted on the use of nutritional biomarkers to investigate bioactive compounds. The use of nutritional biomarkers to estimate the intake of bioactive food compounds has long been considered as the gold standard for research, it allows to measure intake objectively. The development, validation and application of the biomarker was only possible thanks to the long-term commitment of all collaborators. Unlike self-reported dietary data, the Nutritional biomarkers can address the enormous variability in food composition. Therefore, we can confidently attribute the associations that we observe to flavanol intake. “
An international team from the University of Reading, the University of Cambridge, the University of California Davis and Mars, Incorporated studied 25,618 participants in the Norfolk European Prospective Cancer Research (EPIC) study and found that the largest difference was observed in participants with the highest blood pressure. This suggests that if the general public were to increase their intake of flavanol, there could be an overall reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
This study adds key information to a growing body of evidence supporting the health and nutritional benefits of dietary flavonoids. But perhaps even more exciting was the opportunity to apply objective biomarkers of flavanol intake on a large scale. This allowed the team to avoid the significant limitations that come with previous approaches that are based on intake estimation based on self-reported food consumption data and the shortcomings of current food composition databases. “
Hagen Schroeter, Chief Scientific Officer, Mars Edge
The study was supported by an unrestricted grant from Mars, Incorporated, and two co-authors are Mars employees. The study worked with the EPIC Norfolk population cohort, which acknowledges funding from the Medical Research Council and Cancer Research UK.
Source:
Magazine reference:
Ottaviani, JI, et al. (2020) Biomarker-estimated flavan-3-ol intake is associated with lower blood pressure in cross-sectional analysis at EPIC Norfolk. Scientific reports. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-74863-7.
