食用花生有助于心脏健康 ——花生蛋白、生物活性物质能软化动脉
导读：
根据最近发表在《Journal of Nutrition》上的一个研究：每顿饭中吃些花生能够预防心血管疾病，从而防止心脏病和中风的发作。
论文作者美国宾夕法尼亚州立大学的著名营养学教授Penny Kris-Etherton说超重或肥胖的健康成年男性在摄入高脂肪饮食的同时吃3盎司(85克)的花生能够钝化脂质，从而使血液中的脂肪增加减缓。她说，过去的研究表明，餐后血脂的飙升，会增加患心血管疾病的风险，而心血管疾病是目前人类健康的头号杀手。
Kris-Etherton说：“通常，当我们吃完饭后，由于血液中的的脂类物质增加会导致动脉在一段时间硬化。但是我们发现，如果在吃饭的时候吃花生，就能够防止这种硬化的反应。当动脉血管的细胞中发生硬化反应时，就会降低动脉的弹性，从而限制一氧化氮的可用性，当一氧化氮变少，动脉的扩张程度就会变低。我们需要动脉能够正常扩张并且具有弹性。”日积月累，动脉硬化反应就会限制血液流过身体，并使心脏工作更加困难，增加心血管疾病的风险。Kris-Etherton 说：“随着心脏的工作越来越艰难，长此以往，会最终导致心脏衰竭。”
Kris-Etherton说：“餐后，血液中甘油三脂会增加，而这会降低血管的扩张，但是花生可以防止饭后血液中甘油三脂快速增加。其背后机制可能是这样的，因为血液中甘油三脂不会变得过高，所以动脉弹性不会下降。”
研究人员招募了15名健康但是肥胖或超重的男性参加研究。受测者食用受控饮食，并吃三盎司碾碎的无盐花生。对照组的饮食营养质量和数量类似，但是没有花生。研究人员采集他们的血液样本并分别在30，60，120和240分钟之后测量血脂和胰岛素水平。研究人员还使用一种超声仪器测量他们的血液流动。研究人员称，试验组中的受测者相比于对照组在饭后血液中的甘油三酯水平低32%。3盎司花生大约是平均食用分量的三倍。尽管研究中使用的花生被碾碎了，但是研究人员称只食用花生也会有同样的效果。研究人员说，在未来的研究中会招募更多的受测者，既包括男性也包括女性。
这项研究十分新颖，揭示了花生降低心脏病风险的新方式。
花生在2003年获得了FDA对心脏健康的合格健康声明，主要是基于花生中优良的单不饱和、多不饱和脂肪。最近，这项研究首次证明花生蛋白和花生中其他生物活性物质能够保持动脉健康，并有助于降低心脏病的风险。
当你坐下来吃饭时，为了您心脏健康：请吃花生！
Peanut Protein, Bioactives Keep Arteries Open Study Shows New Way Peanuts Promote Heart Health
Alexandria, VA - March 30th, 2017, - Research from The Pennsylvania State University shows a new way in which peanuts may reduce the risk of heart disease. This study, published in The Journal of Nutrition, is the first to show that peanuts, especially peanut protein and bioactives, help keep your arteries flexible.
Levels of fat in the blood rise rapidly after a high fat meal, causing blood vessels to become stiff.
This makes your heart work harder to pump blood through the 100 thousand miles of blood vessels in your body, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In this study, participants who ate peanuts as part of a meal containing 50% fat reduced the rise in blood triglycerides by 32%. In addition, peanuts also caused the participants’ arteries to remain open and flexible.
The researchers think the peanut protein, along with bioactives, vitamins and minerals play a major role in preventing this stiffening response. “Since the macronutrients were matched between the two shakes, we don’t think that it was the mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the peanuts that affected the response,” according to lead researcher Dr. Penny Kris-Etherton. “The plant protein in peanuts, and specifically the amino acid arginine, along with the many other nutrients in peanuts likely played a role.”
Peanuts contain more protein than any other nut and, more arginine than most other foods. This is important because arginine is used to make nitric oxide, a vasodilator that helps keep blood vessels open and elastic.
Peanuts contain a rich assortment of bioactives, including resveratrol, plant sterols, flavonoids and antioxidants. Peanuts are also a source of dozens of vitamins and minerals, including niacin, folate, biotin, vitamin E, copper, manganese, molybdenum, and phosphorus.
Dr. Kris-Etherton states “the many nutrients and bioactives in peanuts have multiple health benefits, including the ability to blunt postprandial triglyceride response and prevent arteries from getting stiff after a high fat meal.”
To isolate the effects of peanut protein and bioactives, researchers prepared two shakes: a “control” shake containing a mixture of healthy oils, fiber, and protein from egg whites, and a shake containing peanuts. The fat content in the control shake was an exact match to that of the peanut shake, allowing researchers to test the effects of peanut protein and bioactives specifically.
Overweight and obese- but otherwise healthy- men had blood vessel flexibility measured using an ultrasound technique called flow-mediated dilation (FMD), and took blood samples to measure blood triglycerides.
This study is novel because it shows a new way in which peanuts reduce the risk of heart disease.
Peanuts received a FDA Qualified Health Claim for Heart Health in 2003. It was based primarily on studies showing benefits of the good mono- and polyunsaturated fats in peanuts. However, this study is the first to demonstrate that peanut protein and bioactives keep your arteries healthy and also contribute to reducing the risk of heart disease.
When you sit down to have a meal, give your heart a break: eat peanuts!
来源：
1.http://www.peanut-institute.org
2.Xiaoran Liu, Alison M Hill, Sheila G West, Rachel M Gabauer, Cindy E McCrea, Jennifer A Fleming, Penny M Kris-Etherton. Acute Peanut Consumption Alters Postprandial Lipids and Vascular Responses in Healthy Overweight or Obese Men. The Journal of Nutrition. First published ahead of print March 29, 2017 as doi: 10.3945/jn.116.246785
