Supplementation of Conventional Therapy With the Novel Grain Salba (Salvia hispanica L.) Improves Major and Emerging Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE -To determine whether addition of Salba (Salvia hispanica L.), a novel whole grain that is rich in fiber, ␣-linolenic acid (ALA), and minerals to conventional treatment is associated with improvement in major and emerging cardiovascular risk factors in individuals with type 2 diabetes.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS -Using a single-blind cross-over design, subjects were randomly assigned to receive either 37 Ϯ 4 g/day of Salba or wheat bran for 12 weeks while maintaining their conventional diabetes therapies. Twenty well-controlled subjects with type 2 diabetes (11 men and 9 women, aged 64 Ϯ 8 years, BMI 28 Ϯ 4 kg/m 2 , and A1C 6.8 Ϯ 0.9%) completed the study. This study was set in the outpatient clinic of the Risk Factor Modification Center, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Canada.RESULTS -Compared with the control treatment, Salba reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 6.3 Ϯ 4 mmHg (P Ͻ 0.001), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) (mg/l) by 40 Ϯ 1.6% (P ϭ 0.04), and vonWillebrand factor (vWF) by 21 Ϯ 0.3% (P ϭ 0.03), with significant decreases in A1C and fibrinogen in relation to the Salba baseline but not with the control treatment. There were no changes in safety parameters including liver, kidney and hemostatic function, or body weight. Both plasma ALA and eicosapentaenoic polyunsaturated fatty acid levels were increased twofold (P Ͻ 0.05) while consuming Salba.CONCLUSIONS -Long-term supplementation with Salba attenuated a major cardiovascular risk factor (SBP) and emerging factors (hs-CRP and vWF) safely beyond conventional therapy, while maintaining good glycemic and lipid control in people with well-controlled type 2 diabetes.

Formulation, physicochemical, nutritional and sensorial evaluation of corn tortillas supplemented with chía seed (Salvia hispanica L.)

“…Due to this increase in TDF, chia seed-added tortilla might be considered a nutraceutical food. The high fiber content of chia seed may improve satiety, decrease energy intake, and promote weight loss (Vuksan et al 2007). Dietary guidelines recommend a minimum daily intake of DF of 25 g (equivalent to 12.5 g DF per 1000 calories consumed), which is considerably higher than the estimated intakes in Western countries (Marlett et al 2002).…”

“…The maize variety used may also influence the final product moisture, since blue corn tortillas exhibit a lower moisture content (34.7%) than white tortillas (38.3%) prepared under identical nixtamalisation conditions (Hernández-Uribe et al 2007). The addition of chia flour to NCF was expected to increase the protein content of the final product, since chia seed generally contains more proteins than cereals (Vuksan et al 2007), and these might be important to increase the essential amino acid level that is deficient in corn. In fact, even at the lowest concentration chia tortillas were on average 9.41% richer in protein than the control.…”

“…Whole grains are important sources of many nutrients such as dietary fibre, resistant starch, trace minerals, vitamins, folic acid, selenium, zinc, phenolic compounds, and other compounds including phytoestrogens and antioxidants, which may contribute to the apparent cardioprotective effects of whole grains (Djoussé et al 2007). Not only that, it is touted as having the highest fiber content out of any food, being beneficial for type 2 diabetics (Vuksan et al 2007), reduction of cholesterolaemia, modification of the glycemic and insulinaemic responses, changes in intestinal function and antioxidant activity (Borderías et al 2005;Esposito et al 2005). Previous research has shown that sugars are progressively liberated from tortilla mixed with whole seed during digestion, leading to a standard increase in postprandial blood glucose and insulin response (glycemic index; Islas-Hernández et al 2007;Rendón-Villalobos et al 2009).…”

Watch it grow: Esophageal impaction with chia seeds

“…[13] Now with recent peer-reviewed evidence, chia seeds have been associated with possible effectiveness for allergies, angina, athletic performance enhancement, diabetes, cancer, coronary artery disease, myocardial infarctions, hormonal and endocrine disorders, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, stroke, vasodilatation, anticoagulant, and antiviral effects. [7,8,[13][14][15][16] Up until now, there have been no studies or analyses documenting adverse harms from chia seeds, specifically with obstruction as described above. [17][18][19] When added to liquid at room temperature (see Figure 3), dry chia seeds immediately begin to form a hydrogel gum capsule absorbing up to 27 times their weight in water, [6] which exhibits a non-Newtonian fluid behavior.…”

Clinical efficacy of ‘Spleen-kidney-care’ Yiqi Huayu and Jiangzhuo traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of patients with diabetic nephropathy

“…A previous study indicated that replenishing the kidney to regulate the peripheral tissue insulin response and glucose tolerance in the treatment of DN may reduce the blood sugar level caused by glomerular filtration, and reduce proteinuria (12). A number of studies have found that the levels of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids are generally lower in patients with kidney deficiency compared with healthy individuals, with half of the patients exhibiting a delayed reaction for the adrenocorticotropic hormone on the second infusion test (ACTH test), indicating that patients with kidney deficiency have an altered pituitary-adrenal system (16)(17)(18)(19) Currently, clinical use of TCM in spleen-kidney-care has achieved a certain therapeutic effect for diabetes (20). Spleen-kidney-care Yiqi Huayu and Jiangzhuo decoction (SKC-YJ) is a TCM compound that has been previously applied in DN treatment (21).…”