University of Connecticut researchers have associated broccoli with producing helpful proteins that aid damaged cardiac cells and tissue.

The broccoli diet appears to persuade the body to produce a protein called thioredoxin, which protects against cell damage in the heart. Broccoli contains sulforaphane, which is seen as particularly effective in triggering this process.

Don’t overcook or boil your beautiful green veggie though- lightly steamed broccoli helps to retain all of it’s power and benefits. When it is overcooked it loses its protective qualities.

via BBC.com

Post from: Blisstree

Broccoli Is Heart Healthy!

Depression linked to death following heart attack…Depression nearly triples the risk of death following a heart attack, even when accounting for other heart attack risk factors, according to research presented today at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) annual meeting, which showed that among 360 depressed, post myocardial infarction patients followed for more than six years, those who did not recover from their depression in the first six months were more than twice as likely to die.

Implanting Embryonic cardiac cells prevents arrhythmias-The most dangerous consequence of heart attacks…When researchers at Cornell, the University of Bonn and the University of Pittsburgh transplanted living embryonic heart cells into cardiac tissue of mice that had suffered heart attacks, the mice became resistant to cardiac arrhythmias, thereby avoiding one of the most dangerous and fatal consequences of heart attacks.

Blood transfusions linked to surgery complications in women… Women die and get infections more often than men after heart surgery because they tend to receive more blood transfusions, which boost the risks of bad outcomes, according to a study published in the December Journal of Women’s Health.

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Some Interesting Hearty Links

“Normally, adult human hearts do not regenerate because the heart doesn’t make more cardiomyocytes (heart muscle cells) after injury,” explained lead researcher Dr. Bernhard Kuhn, from the Department of Cardiology at Children’s Hospital Boston. “It would be desirable to induce the heart to make new cardiomyocytes after injury.”

Major advantage to this type of therapy…

The advantage of this technique is that it doesn’t require new cells, such as stem cells, to coax the growth of new heart cells. Stem cells might also migrate to other parts of the body, with unknown consequences, Kuhn said. The patch is “also not gene-based, so it’s not gene therapy,” he said.

I will keep you posted!

via Forbes.com 

Post from: Blisstree

“Patch” Helps The Heart Grow New Cells