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!

Diabetic hearts rely almost exclusively on fats for energy while a “normal” heart relies on fats and sugars for food.

Let me break it down for you. Both PPAR-alpha and PPAR-beta/delta are proteins that are found in heart tissue. In the diabetic heart, enhanced activity of PPAR-alpha drives the use of fats as fuel, but the role of PPAR-beta/delta has been unknown, which is unfortunate being that this protein increases cardiac function. In the mice that were engineered to mimic a diabetic heart, increased PRAR-alpha, there was increased fat, decreased sugar for fuel and a higher incidence of cardiac arrest.

Let’s hope that this discovery will aid scientists in further dissecting and discovering a way to increase those good ol’ PPAR-beta/delta proteins among diabetics.

Post from: Blisstree

Diabetic Hearts Burn The Fat But Leave The Sugar Behind

Dr. Ivor Benjamin and colleagues at the University of Utah said the protein alpha B-Crystallin normally helps other proteins fold inside cells. When it works properly, the cell produces the correct amount of reduced glutathione, which is healthy for the body — but if the gene that makes alpha B-Crystallin is mutated, the protein unfolds improperly into aggregates and produces reduced glutathione in such excessive levels that it harms the heart.

I know, I know, what in the world are they talking about? Don’t worry, I am here to de-code this for you. It is a simple case of too much of a good thing. Anti-oxidents have little proof in aiding heart disease. And high levels of reduced glutathione can lead to an increased risk for heart disease. We need to remember that even “natural” or herbal type treatments have to be closely monitored to ensure safety.

via Science Daily

Post from: Blisstree

Too Much Of An Anti-Oxident Linked To Heart Disease