Phytochemicals

Phytochemicals 

These are chemicals from plants (phyto is Greek for plant)  Polyphenols, phytochemicals, flavanols, bioflavonoids etc are names which cause a lot of confusion.

Polyphenols:
The most studied class of phytochemicals are polyphenols because of their potential health benefits. There are numerous polyphenols (poly means many, phenols means benzene rings) which come from different plants and have different actions. 

• Phenolic acids – blueberries, tea, cereal grains.

• Stilbenes – the best known of these as resveratrol found in red wine, it is quite poorly absorbed.

• Lignans are found in flaxseed which may have some oestrogenic properties.

• Flavonoids (also called bioflavonoids) are named for the yellow colour and are found in flowering plants and fruit and vegetables. Flavonoids cause the colour and taste of foods, and have an antioxidant effect on fat, vitamins and enzymes.
  Flavonoids are divided into 6 subclasses many of which have confusingly similar names:
• Flavonols – found in onions, curly kale, leeks, broccoli blueberries, red wine and tea. Its production stimulated by sunlight and so its highest concentration is in the outer parts of the plants.
• Flavones - are found in parsley and celery
• Flavanones - are found in citrus fruits, tomatoes, and plants such as mint.
• Isoflavones - these have a structure similar to oestrogen, and are often called phytoestrogens. Most are made from soy and soy products.
• Flavanols - these are found in green tea, chocolate, red wine, apricots and other fruit. Also in fruits such as grapes, peaches and berries, and also cause the bitterness of chocolate.
• Anthocyanins - . These are pigments creating the blue purple red and pink colours of 4 hours fruits and vegetables.

Many variables affect the amount of polyphenols found in food, including the degree or ripeness at harvest, the rainfall, the sun exposure, how they are stored and how they are cooked.The polyphenols are designed to protect plants from oxidation, toxins and damage, and by consuming them, we can achieve some of these benefits.
The still is quite a lot of scepticism in conventional medicine on their value when taken the supplements, although there is no debate that we should all be eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables on a regular basis. The difficulty is to obtain polyphenols that have been growing correctly, picked at the right time, not over processed or over cooked and are available all year round. For this reason a quality supplement which is well absorbed containing these products should also be beneficial, but does not replace the need for fresh fruit and vegetables as well.

STATIN DRUGS

One of the most frequent questions I am asked as a Cardiologist and physician is – do I really need to take Statin drugs?  On one side doctors are suggesting they be incorporated in a polypill which everyone should take, to other more ‘naturally based’ experts saying they do not work and people should not take them (click here)

This article is my assessment from the current medical literature, and the advice I give to my patients.  Because the article is quite long, I will put my conclusion first as well as at the end, but I would recommend that you read the reasons for my conclusions as well.

My Conclusion – sifting through all of the data below, my recommendations are relatively simple:

1. If you have proven cardiovascular disease (heart attack, angina, stroke, angioplasty, high levels of calcium in cardiac CT scan) then you should take a statin drug preferably at a low dose. This would reduce your risk of a heart attack, stroke or death by about 20%.

2. If you get any side-effects – muscle pain, abnormal liver function tests, or you feel that your mental function has deteriorated, stop the drug for a couple of months, and then restart. Possibly consider restarting with a water-soluble statin such as pravastatin. If the symptoms recur then don't take the statins anymore.If you feel fine, then continue the statin. There is little evidence showing that any other cholesterol-lowering agent provides any benefit.

3. If you don't have cardiovascular disease (primary prevention) unless you have a very high cholesterol, diabetes or an extremely strong family history then I would not recommend that you take a statin drug. My advice would be to have a CT scan for calcium**  which will show early coronary artery disease, if this is strongly positive then maybe you should consider taking a statin drug. If it is negative or normal for age, then I would not take a statin.

4. For elderly people the benefits of statins do continue, but if there is any suggestion of impaired mental function, then stop taking the statin.

5. If you are taking a statin, you must be taking the supplement coenzyme Q 10, at least 100 mg daily.