Abstract
In the World Health Organization (WHO)-coordinated Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison Study, isoflavones (I; biomarker for dietary soy) and taurine (T; biomarker for dietary fish) in 24-hour—urine (24U) were inversely related to coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality. High levels of these biomarkers are found in Japanese people, whose CHD mortality is lowest among developed countries. We analyzed the association of these biomarkers with cardiovascular disease risk in the Japanese to know their health effects within one ethnic population. First, to compare the Japanese intake of I and T with international intakes, the ratios of 24UI and 24UT to creatinine from the WHO Study were divided into quintiles for analysis. The ratio for the Japanese was the highest in the highest quintiles for both I and T, reaching 88.1%, far higher than the average ratio for the Japanese (26.3%) in the total study population. Second, 553 inhabitants of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, aged 30 to 79 years underwent 24-U collection and blood analyses. The 24UT and 24UI were divided into tertiles and adjusted for age and sex. The highest T tertile, compared with the lowest tertile, showed significantly higher levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol, 24U sodium (Na) and potassium (K). The highest I tertile showed significantly higher folate, 24UNa and 24UK compared with the lowest tertile. The highest tertile of both T and I showed significantly higher HDL-C, folate, and 24UNa and 24UK compared with the lowest tertile. Thus, greater consumption of fish and soy were significantly associated with higher HDL-C and folate levels, possibly a contributor to Japan having the lowest CHD mortality and longest life expectancy among developed countries. As these intakes were also associated with a high intake of salt, a low-salt intake of fish and soy should be recommended for healthy life expectancy.
Highlights
Healthy aging is a goal of rapidly aging populations
Blood samples were collected for lipid profile (total cholesterol [TC], high density lipoprotein-cholesterol [high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C)], and low density lipoprotein-cholesterol [LDL-C], triglyceride, and folate levels; 24-hour urine (24U) samples were analyzed for sodium (Na) to calculate salt intake as well as potassium (K), T, and I to estimate the intake of vegetable, seafood, and soy, respectively
The Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison (CARDIAC) study demonstrated that two biomarkers of fish intakes (1 24-hour urinary taurine (24UT) and 2 n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid ratios of total fatty acids in the plasma phospholipids) were inversely related to coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates in worldwide populations [9,10,11]
Summary
Soy and fish intakes and cardiovascular risks in the Japanese. Since nutrition is closely related to the risk of chronic disease, including cardiovascular diseases, it affects healthy aging [3,4,5]. Nuts are not commonly eaten in Japan; soybeans and soy products are popular. These common foods in both diets contain magnesium. Magnesium in 24-hour urine (24U) was proved to be inversely related to cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia in the WHO-coordinated Cardiovascular Disease and Alimentary Comparison (CARDIAC) Study [8] and supported the nutritional merit of both diets for longevity
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