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SAN ANTONIO, Mar 05 (Reuters Health) - African Americans have lower blood levels of certain antioxidants than whites, a difference that may be due to diet, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's 41st Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention.
Blacks in the US have lower blood levels of beneficial compounds such as vitamin E, alphacarotene and betacarotene, according to Dr. David R. Jacobs of the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
Jacobs said in an interview with Reuters Health, "blacks eat significantly more processed vegetables and processed grains than whites and this explains the difference." Processed food tends to contain lower levels of antioxidants than fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grain products.
The low blood levels of antioxidants in blacks correlate with increased cardiovascular disease risk seen in blacks. But he said that even among whites, blood "antioxidant levels are not optimal."
In the study of 3,477 volunteers aged 18 to 30, blood levels of the antioxidants were uniformly lower for blacks, he said. Jacobs said that primary care physicians could play a crucial role in reversing the dietary differences by "simply advising all people, but especially black patients, to eat brown rice and whole grain bread." Additionally, patients can be advised to substitute fresh fruits for processed foods, he said.
Jacobs also advises steering away from "just the low-fat message. That is really too simple because some fats are good." The emphasis on low fat would be better placed on whole grains, he said.
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