While mothers have uttered "eat your vegetables" for eons, the refrain's heart-healthy connection is now backed up by hard science.
Dr. Michael Adams, a pathologist at Wake Forest University School of Medicine, and colleagues found that mice fed a vegetable-rich diet had a marked reduction in atherosclerosis and "bad" cholesterol compared with controls (J Nutr 2006;136:1-4).
The mice were specially bred to rapidly develop atherosclerosis. In those fed a mixture of freeze-dried broccoli, green beans, corn, peas, and carrots, researchers found arterial plaques were 38% smaller than in those fed vegetable-free diets. The veggie-fed mice also had a 32% reduction in LDL cholesterol, while HDL cholesterol was unaffected.
The underlying mechanism remains unclear, but a 37% reduction in a mouse marker of inflammation suggests that vegetables inhibit atherosclerosis progression through antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pathways.
FDA Clears Virtually Helium-Free 1.5T MRI System from Siemens Healthineers
June 26th 2025Offering a cost- and resource-saving DryCool magnet technology, the Magnetom Flow.Ace MRI system reportedly requires 0.7 liters of liquid helium for cooling over the lifetime of the device in contrast to over 1,000 liters commonly utilized with conventional MRI platforms.
What New Lung MRI Research Reveals About Post-COVID-19 Conditions in Children and Adolescents
February 25th 2025Adolescents with post-COVID-19 conditions had 37 percent lower quantified lung perfusion than healthy control participants on phase-resolved functional lung MRI, according to findings from a recent prospective study.