Background:
It has been previously established that ingestion of a high-fat meal impairs flow-mediated vasodilation of the brachial artery for at least four hours.
Aim:
The goal of this study was to determine whether the administration of two different formulations of an encapsulated juice powder concentrate rich in a range of phytochemicals could ameliorate the deleterious effect of a high-fat meal on vasodilation.
Methods:
In this randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial, healthy volunteers were assigned to take either: 1. A fruit and vegetable juice powder concentrate (FV; Juice Plus+®) 2. A fruit, vegetable and berry juice powder concentrate (FVB; Juice Plus®), or 3. Placebo for 28 days.
Vasoconstriction was measured using the flow-mediated brachial artery reactivity test (BART) at baseline, day 21, and day 28, both before and after a high-fat (50 grams) meal. Serum nitrate/nitrite concentrations were measured at baseline and at 4 weeks.
Results:
On both day 21 and day 28, the detrimental effect of a high-fat meal on vasodilation was significantly decreased in both intervention groups compared to the placebo group. For example, on day 28, those taking placebo suffered a 38% decrease in vasodilation after the high-fat meal, while those taking FV experienced a 17% decrease. Adding Berry Blend to the regimen further improved results: these volunteers had less than a 2% drop in vasodilation. There was a trend for serum nitrate/nitrite levels to increase in both supplementation groups.
Conclusion:
In healthy volunteers, four weeks of daily supplementation with a fruit-and-vegetable concentrate, with or without an adjunctive complex phytochemical supplement, blunts the detrimental effect of a high-fat meal on flow-mediated brachial artery vasodilation—even when the supplement is not administered with the meal—and increases the combined serum nitrite/nitrate concentration.
PubMed link:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12767658/s