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Does drinking 100% fruit juice reduce risk of heart problems?

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Does drinking 100% fruit juice reduce risk of heart problems?

A recent study published in Frontiers of Nutrition evaluates whether and the way polyphenols in fruit juices mediate effects on cardiometabolic risk aspects.

Study: Are (poly)phenols contained in 100% fruit juices mediating their effects on cardiometabolic risk aspects? A meta-regression evaluation. Image Credit: Lisa A / Shutterstock.com

The health advantages of fruits

Dietary polyphenols have received substantial research attention over the past few a long time resulting from their health advantages.

Observational studies suggest a lower risk of heart problems (CVD) incidence and mortality with the next intake of major flavonoids. Likewise, evidence from epidemiologic studies indicates that higher consumption of flavonoids, mainly from fruits, can reduce the chance of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and CVD incidence and mortality.

Fruit juice consumption is a secondary alternative to whole fruit intake resulting from the lack of fiber with extraction and classification of sugars in fruit juices as free sugars. While sugar-sweetened beverage consumption harms metabolic health, consuming 100% fruit juice doesn’t increase cardiometabolic risks. Nevertheless, there isn’t any information on fruit juice components exerting useful effects.

Concerning the study

In the current study, researchers explore whether polyphenols in fruit juices mediate certain effects on cardiometabolic risk aspects. To this end, the researchers systematically searched databases for dietary intervention studies investigating the impact of polyphenol-containing fruit juices on cardiometabolic risk aspects. Studies with inadequate statistical data were excluded.

Eligible studies included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) analyzing the results of the fruit juice intervention on cardiometabolic risk aspects in adult populations excluding pregnant females and individuals with terminal-stage degenerative diseases. Studies were included in the event that they used non-polyphenolic beverages as controls, reported the polyphenol content of the fruit juice, and assessed long-term effects.

Study quality was assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Separate analyses were performed for studies with different polyphenols and measurements for cardiometabolic risk aspects. The mean differences of pre- and post-intervention changes were estimated between fruit juice and control groups.

A random-effects model was used to harmonize effect sizes. Heterogeneity was evaluated using the I-squared statistic and Cochran Q-test.

Pooled results were presented as mean differences with 95% confidence intervals. Moreover, meta-regression analyses were used to estimate intervention effects, with day by day polyphenol intake amount because the moderator.

Fruit juice doesn’t reduce risk of heart problems

The initial search identified 6,779 records, which was followed by title and abstract screening that excluded 6,616 articles. Full-text reviews further identified 124 ineligible studies, thereby leaving 39 trials for meta-regression analyses.

Twenty-five and 14 RCTs implemented parallel and cross-over designs, respectively. The duration of the intervention ranged between one and 16 weeks. Most studies were related to an unclear risk of bias.

There have been no significant effects of the intervention on biomarkers of cardiometabolic risks. Likewise, no mediating effect of total polyphenol content was observed. Nonetheless, in a number of sub-group analyses, a marginal protective effect of juices in reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels of cholesterol in individuals with an increased CVD risk was observed.

Nevertheless, these effects were unrelated to the overall polyphenol content. Eighteen comparisons illustrated the impact of fruit juice anthocyanins on total levels of cholesterol.

Overall, a major effect of the intervention on lipid measurements was observed, no matter the anthocyanin intake amount. This was a dose-dependent relationship, with more substantial effects for juices high in anthocyanins.

A 100 mg/day increase in anthocyanins was related to a 1.53 mg/dL decline in total levels of cholesterol. There have been no effects of anthocyanin-rich juices on high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels of cholesterol.

In a sensitivity evaluation, increased anthocyanin content was related to decreased blood glucose levels in cross-over trials. No effects of anthocyanin-rich juices on blood pressure were observed.

Conclusions

The researchers didn’t observe a major effect of total polyphenols on any of the studied outcomes. Nonetheless, higher anthocyanin levels in juices supported LDL and total cholesterol reductions, with stronger effects in people at high risk of CVD. There have been no effects on blood pressure, triglycerides, or blood glucose.  

Taken together, the study findings indicate that anthocyanins in fruit juices might mediate useful effects on specific lipids. Nevertheless, future fruit juice trials are needed to correlate any potential advantages with total and specific polyphenol content measurements.

These findings suggest potential health advantages related to increasing polyphenols in fruit juices by targeted plant breeding or through specific fruit varieties if the current findings are corroborated in the long run.

Journal reference:

  • Micek, A., Currenti, W., Mignogna, C., et al. (2023). Are (poly)phenols contained in 100% fruit juices mediating their effects on cardiometabolic risk aspects? A meta-regression evaluation. Frontiers in Nutrition. doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1175022

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