December 10, 2003

By: Sara Collin
Website: http://www.1st-in-vitamins.com

Oats offer benefit to blood vessel health in insulin-resistant adults

A new study presented at the American Diabetes Association annual meeting in San Francisco suggests that oats provide significant benefits to blood vessel health in insulin-resistant type adults. The study indicates that oats may improve endothelial function in both men and women who have abdominal obesity and high triglycerides, both of which are early features of the insulin resistance syndrome also known as Syndrome-X, a cluster of factors associated with diabetes and cardiovascular risk. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as many as 47 million Americans may suffer from Syndrome-X.

The endothelium is the inner lining of blood vessels and it plays an important role in the dilation and constriction of blood vessels, which in turn helps control blood flow. Endothelial function is a measure of these blood vessel changes. Impaired endothelial function has been associated with blood vessels constriction and reduced blood flow after a high fat meal and it is suggested that this impairment may be an early marker of cardiac risk. Such cardiac risk often is observed in people with diabetes, with impaired glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and in some obese and overweight individuals.

The research, funded by The Quaker Oats Company, is significant because impaired endothelial function is thought to be a possible early and detectable risk factor and therefore may be important in the prevention and management of heart disease and diabetes.

The emerging evidence from a study of 29 males and females indicates that:

Oat ingestion improved endothelial dysfunction in adults with features of insulin resistance, with particularly strong effects in women.

In the total study population, oat treatment was 63% more effective in improving endothelial function than placebo. In women alone, the positive effect of the oat treatment was even more pronounced (100% improvement relative to placebo).

The benefits of oats alone were significantly greater (60%) than oats in combination with the antioxidant vitamins E and C. In women alone, oats were 217% more effective in improving endothelial dysfunction than the combination of oats + vitamin E and C.

Also see: womens heart health.

About The Author:

Sara Collin is a successful author and regular contributor to http://www.1st-in-vitamins.com.  Recommending the best vitamins, minerals, herbs and weight loss products for optimum health.