X-Message-Number: 9822
Date: Sun, 31 May 1998 04:15:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: fruits, vegetables and mortality

Authors
  Singh RB.  Niaz MA.  Ghosh S.  Singh R.  Rastogi SS.
Institution
  Medical Hospital and Research Center, Moradabad, India.
Title
  Effect on mortality and
  reinfarction of adding fruits and vegetables to a prudent
  diet in the Indian experiment of infarct survival (IEIS).
Source
  Journal of the American College of Nutrition.  12(3):255-61, 1993 Jun.
Abstract
  The effects of antioxidant-rich foods as adjuncts to a
  prudent diet were compared for 12 weeks in a randomized, single-blind and
  controlled trial in 204 (group A) and 202 (group B) patients with acute
  myocardial infarction. There was a significant decrease in cardiac end points
  in group A compared to group B (37 vs 58, p < 0.01) after 12 weeks. Within
  intervention group A, those 108 patients with greater adherence to the
  intervention program showed a greater reduction in cardiac end points (14 vs
  58, p < 0.001), and a significant decrease in total
  mortality (6 vs 28, p < 0.001), including cardiac
  mortality (6 vs 25, p < 0.01) compared to group B.
  Underlying these beneficial effects, antioxidant-rich foods
  caused a significantly smaller rise in lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) cardiac
  enzyme in group A than in group B (427.8 vs 561.6 IU/dL), indicating that the
  protective influence of such a diet may be observed within 1 week. The subset
  of group A patients showing reduction in mortality also had
  a lesser rise in LDH and greater reduction in blood lipids, blood glucose and
  blood pressures. Antioxidant-rich foods also caused a significant decrease in
  blood lipids with a lower decrease in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in
  group A than in group B. Assay of serum level of antioxidants and long-term
  follow-up may confirm our observations.

Additional information from tables 2 & 3:

  Total fruit and vegetable intake (grams.day) versus total mortality:

                    High Adherence Low Adherence Controls
Fruit & vegetables   652 grams/day     492         182
Mortality:             5.5%             10.4%       13.8%

____________________________________________________________________
Possibly helpful additional note from poster:

   Typical weight of lycopene rich seedless watermelon is 5000 grams.

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