Adolescent polyphenol intake has been linked to better cardiovascular health

According to a collaborative study involving the University of Barcelona, the hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS, the Biomedical Research Center of the Network on Obesity Physiology, Pathology and Nutrition (CIBEROBN), the Spanish Network for Cardiovascular Research (CIBERCV) and the SHE Foundation, adolescent polyphenol intake is associated
with better cardiovascular health.

The study, funded by the La Caixa Foundation and La Marató de TV3, has been published in
the journal Scientific Reports.
As part of the study, researchers analyzed polyphenol levels in the urine of 1326 adolescents who took the SI test! Programme (General Health)
for 24 secondary schools in Madrid and Barcelona.

Protective effect of polyphenols in young people

Polyphenols are bioactive compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that are mainly found in
plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil.
To date, there have been few
studies on polyphenol intake in children and adolescents.
Because this life stage is critical and can harm cardiovascular health in adulthood, the findings are important to encourage similar studies in other European countries and worldwide, as well as clinical trials to confirm the effects and dose-response relationships of polyphenols on cardiovascular health in childhood
.

"Based on the results of this study, we observed that higher urinary polyphenol excretion was linearly associated with a higher cardiovascular health index in adolescents aged 11-14 years, especially in
children 。 This cardiovascular health index is defined by criteria developed by the American Heart Association (AHA), which takes into account seven variables: body mass index, physical activity, smoking, diet, blood pressure, total cholesterol and blood sugar," noted
Professor Rosa M Lamuela, Head of the Natural Antioxidants Research Group at the University of Barcelona, Principal Investigator of CIBEROBN and Director of the Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA-UB).

"Although this is a cross-sectional study and we do not see a causal relationship between this relationship, previous studies in the scientific literature and by our research group have shown that polyphenols have a protective effect on the incidence of cardiovascular health in adults," concludes the
professor.

If! The project was designed by the SHE Foundation, which is supported by the La Caixa Foundation and led
by cardiologist Valentín Fuster.
This initiative, which targets children aged 3-16, aims to show that adopting healthy habits from an early age can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve quality of life
in adulthood.

As part of the program, the research was carried out under the supervision of a research group led by Rosa M Lamuela (professor at the University at Buffalo and the School of Pharmacy and Food Science at INSA-UB) and Ramon Estruch (lecturer in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University and Hospital at Buffalo Clínic-IDIBAPS), both members of CIBEROBN, together with a team of experts Rodrigo Fernández and Juan Fernández cooperated
.
From the Spanish National Centre for Cardiovascular Research (CNIC) at CIBERCV, and Gloria Santos and Valentín Fuster
from the SHE Foundation.