CLOGGING PLAQUES THAT MARK ATHEROSCLEROSIS. STARTING AT 6 WEEKS OF AGE, HALF OF THE MICE WENT ON THE VEGGIE-RICH DIET -- WITH 30 PERCENT OF CALORIES COMING FROM FREEZE-DRIED VEGETABLES -- WHILE THE OTHER HALF FOLLOWED A VEGETABLE-FREE REGIMEN. SIXTEEN WEEKS LATER, THE RESEARCHERS FOUND, THE EXTENT OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS WAS 38 PERCENT LESS IN THE VEGETABLE-FED MICE. THE ANIMALS ALSO HAD SOMEWHAT LOWER CHOLESTEROL AND MUCH LOWER LEVELS OF A PROTEIN INVOLVED IN INFLAMMATION -- WHICH MAY HELP EXPLAIN THE CLEARER ARTERIES, ACCORDING TO ADAMS. CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN THE BLOOD VESSELS IS BELIEVED TO CONTRIBUTE TO ATHEROSCLEROSIS, AND RESEARCH SHOWS THAT PLANT COMPOUNDS CALLED POLYPHENOLS HAVE BOTH ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANTIOXIDANT POWERS. VEGETABLES ARE ALSO RICH IN VITAMINS THAT ACT AS ANTIOXIDANTS, WHICH MEANS THEY NEUTRALIZE CELL-DAMAGING MOLECULES CALLED OXYGEN FREE RADICALS. THE STUDY FOCUSED ON BROCCOLI, GREEN BEANS, PEAS, CORN AND CARROTS IN PART BECAUSE THEY ARE AMONG THE MOST COMMONLY CONSUMED VEGETABLES IN THE U.S. IT'S ENTIRELY POSSIBLE, ADAMS SAID, THAT OTHER VEGETABLES HAVE SIMILAR BENEFITS AGAINST ATHEROSCLEROSIS, BUT THEY HAVE YET TO BE STUDIED. GENERAL MILLS CO., MAKER OF THE GREEN GIANT BRAND OF CANNED AND FROZEN VEGETABLES, FUNDED THE STUDY. SOURCE: JOURNAL OF NUTRITION, JULY/AUGUST 2006.
