Diets high in total antioxidant capacity improve risk biomarkers of cardiovascular disease: a 9-month observational study among overweight/obese postmenopausal women.

Background: Previous studies have shown that total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of typical diets is associated with higher plasma TAC and antioxidant enzyme activities. At present, however, little is known for the association between dietary TAC and inflammatory biomarkers.
Aim: The present study was designed to examine the association between dietary TAC and inflammatory biomarkers in a group of overweight/obese postmenopausal women, a population with high cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, during a 9-month period.
Methods: Thirty-five postmenopausal, overweight or obese, but apparently healthy women aged 40-70 years were recruited for a 9-month observational study. Seven-day food records and 12-h fasting blood samples were collected at baseline and at the end of the study for dietary and plasma biomarker assessments. Dietary TAC was calculated theoretically for taking account of both diet and dietary supplements, and energy-adjusted values were obtained using residual method.
Results: At baseline, subjects consuming diets with high dietary TAC had lower levels of plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (p < 0.05) compared with those with low dietary TAC. Over the 9-month period, change in dietary TAC had a negative partial correlation with plasma CRP levels (p < 0.01) when age, ethnicity, and changes in BMI, blood total cholesterol and triglyceride were adjusted.
Conclusions: Findings suggest that consumption of diets high in TAC are inversely associated with plasma CRP levels cross-sectionally and dynamically and may contribute to CVD protection.