Blood Pressure Is Reduced and Insulin Sensitivity Increased in Glucose-Intolerant, Hypertensive Subjects after 15 Days of Consuming High-Polyphenol Dark Chocolate

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 4-week low-carbohydrate diet (LC) with or without exercise training on cardiometabolic health-related profiles in overweight/obese women. Methods: Fifty overweight/obese Chinese women (age: 22.2 ± 3.3 years, body mass index (BMI): 25.1 ± 3.1 kg·m−2) were randomized to either a LC control group (LC-CON, n = 16), a LC and high-intensity interval training group (LC-HIIT, n = 17), or a LC and moderate-intensity continuous training group (LC-MICT, n = 17). All groups consumed LC for 4 weeks, while the LC-HIIT and LC-MICT groups followed an additional five sessions of HIIT (10 × 6 s cycling sprints and 9 s rest intervals, 2.5 min in total) or MICT (cycling continuously at 50–60% of peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) for 30 min) weekly. Blood pressure, fasting glucose, insulin sensitivity, and several metabolic or appetite regulating hormones were measured before and after intervention. Results: Significant reductions in body weight (− ~2.5 kg, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.772) and BMI (− ~1 unit, p < 0.001, η2 = 0.782) were found in all groups. Systolic blood pressure was reduced by 5–6 mmHg (p < 0.001, η2 = 0.370); fasting insulin, leptin, and ghrelin levels were also significantly decreased (p < 0.05), while insulin sensitivity was improved. However, there were no significant changes in fasting glucose, glucagon, and gastric inhibitory peptide levels. Furthermore, no group differences were found among the three groups, suggesting that extra training (i.e., LC-HIIT and LC-MICT) failed to trigger additional effects on these cardiometabolic profiles. Conclusions: The short-term carbohydrate restriction diet caused significant weight loss and improved blood pressure and insulin sensitivity in the overweight/obese women, although the combination with exercise training had no additional benefits on the examined cardiometabolic profiles. Moreover, the long-term safety and effectiveness of LC needs further study.

Download Full-text

Differential regulation of insulin resistance and hypertension by sex hormones in fructose-fed male rats

AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology ◽

10.1152/ajpheart.00399.2005 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 289 (4) ◽

pp. H1335-H1342 ◽

Cited By ~ 47

Author(s):

Harish Vasudevan ◽

Hong Xiang ◽

John H. McNeill

Keyword(s):

Insulin Resistance ◽

Blood Pressure ◽

Insulin Sensitivity ◽

Sex Hormones ◽

Threshold Value ◽

Relative Increase ◽

Estrogen Treatment ◽

Male Rats ◽

Normal Chow

Differences in gender are in part responsible for the development of insulin resistance (IR) and associated hypertension. Currently, it is unclear whether these differences are dictated by gender itself or by the relative changes in plasma estrogen and/or testosterone. We investigated the interrelationships between testosterone and estrogen in the progression of IR and hypertension in vivo in intact and gonadectomized fructose-fed male rats. Treatment with estrogen significantly reduced the testosterone levels in both normal chow-fed and fructose-fed rats. Interestingly, fructose feeding induced a relative increase in estradiol levels, which did not affect IR in both intact and gonadectomized fructose-fed rats. However, increasing the estrogen levels improved insulin sensitivity in both intact and gonadectomized fructose-fed rats. In intact males, fructose feeding increased the blood pressure (140 ± 2 mmHg), which was prevented by estrogen treatment. However, the blood pressure in the fructose-fed estrogen rats (125 ± 1 mmHg) was significantly higher than that of normal chow-fed (113 ± 1 mmHg) and fructose-fed gonadectomized rats. Estrogen treatment did not affect the blood pressure in gonadectomized fructose-fed rats (105 ± 2 mmHg). These data suggest the existence of a threshold value for estrogen below which insulin sensitivity is unaffected. The development of hypertension in this model is dictated solely by the presence or absence of testosterone. In summary, the development of IR and hypertension is governed not by gender per se but by the interactions of specific sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone.

Download Full-text