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Overweight people may have impaired blood flow that can increase their risk of heart disease. Partly to blame is an abundance of free radicals–naturally occurring compounds that damage cells and lead to disease.
Dr. Francesco Perticone, from the University of Catanzaro Magna Graecia in Catanzaro, Italy, and colleagues tested blood vessel response in 76 healthy people.
The investigators found that obese people, individuals who tended to gain weight around their abdomen, and those who did not respond normally to insulin had impaired blood flow compared with normal-weight people. When the obese participants were given vitamin C, their blood vessels widened, improving blood flow.
Previous research has found that antioxidant vitamins such as C and E may help arteries dilate and keep blood flowing smoothly. Antioxidants blunt the effects of free radicals.
The new study "reinforces the hypothesis" that damage caused by free radicals may be considered an important mechanism behind blood vessel problems in obesity, Perticone and colleagues explain.
The authors note, however, that there is no evidence that vitamin C actually lowers heart disease risk.
They write that weight loss and exercise may help improve blood flow and lower the risk of heart disease.
Diabetes, Jan. 2006
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DID YOU KNOW: Beer or Wine Drinkers: Who’s Healthier? Wine Fans Win, wine drinkers have long been known to have lower rates of heart disease. But an analysis of more than 3.5 million grocery store transactions suggests that it may be less about the wine itself and more about the daily diet of wine drinkers in general that helps them stay healthy. According to a study in last week’s issue of the British Medical Journal, wine drinkers tend to buy more olives, fruit, vegetables, poultry, cooking oil, low-fat cheese, milk and meat than beer buyers. Beer drinkers purchased more premade meals, sugar, cold cuts, pork, butter, sausages and soft drinks. The purchases, made at 98 different supermarkets in Denmark, "support findings from the United States, Denmark and France showing that wine drinkers tend to eat fruit, vegetables and fish, and use cooking oil more often and saturated fat less often than those who prefer other alcoholic drinks," the authors state in the report.