Does Opium Consumption Have Shared Impact on Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease and Cancer?

Although atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and cancer are seemingly different types of disease, they have multiple shared underlying mechanisms and lifestyle-related risk factors like smoking, unhealthy diet, excessive alcohol consumption, and inadequate physical activity. Opium abuse is prevalent in developing countries, especially the Middle East region and many Asian countries. Besides recreational purposes, many people use opium based on a traditional belief that opium consumption may confer protection against heart attack and improve the control of the risk factors of ASCVD such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. However, scientific reports indicate an increased risk of ASCVD and poor control of ASCVD risk factors among opium abusers compared with nonusers. Moreover, there is accumulating evidence that opium consumption exerts potential carcinogenic effects and increases the risk of developing various types of cancer. We conducted a review of the literature to review the current evidence on the relationship between opium consumption and ASCVD as well as various kinds of cancer. In addition, we will discuss the potential shared pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the association between opium abuse and both ASCVD and cancer.

Trace minerals intake: Risks and benefits for cardiovascular health.

Minerals play a major role in regulating cardiovascular function. Imbalances in electrolyte minerals are frequent and potentially hazardous occurrences that may lead to the development of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). Transition metals, such as iron, zinc, copper and selenium, play a major role in cell metabolism. However, there is controversy over the effects of dietary and supplemental intake of these metals on cardiovascular risk factors and events. Since their pro-oxidant or antioxidant functions can have different effects on cardiovascular health. While deficiency of these trace elements can cause cardiovascular dysfunction, several studies have also shown a positive association between metal serum levels and cardiovascular risk factors and events. Thus, a J- or U-shaped relationship between the transition minerals and cardiovascular events has been proposed. Given the existing controversies, large, well-designed, long-term, randomized clinical trials are required to better examine the effects of trace mineral intake on cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in the general population. In this review, we discuss the role of dietary and/or supplemental iron, copper, zinc, and selenium on cardiovascular health. We will also clarify their clinical applications, benefits, and harms in CVDs prevention.

Electrolyte minerals intake and cardiovascular health.

Appropriate intake of micronutrient, such as electrolyte minerals is critical for the well-being of the cardiovascular health system. However, there are some debates regarding the impacts of dietary and/or supplemental intake of these minerals, on the risk of cardiovascular events and associated risk factors. High sodium intake is adversely associated with the risk of hypertension. Although many reports refered to the positive association of Na intake and cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality, however, other studies indicated that low Na intake is related to higher risk of all-cause mortality and HF-related events. By contrast, dietary potassium, magnesium and calcium have an inverse correlation with cardiovascular events and risk factors, especially with blood pressure. There are some controversies about cardiovascular effects and all-cause mortality of high Ca intake, including no effect, preventive or adverse effect with or without vitamin D. Calcium supplementation might be beneficial for prevention of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality only in individuals with low intake. Moreover, calcium intake showed a J- or U-shaped association with the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Due to the controversies of the effect of electrolyte minerals especially sodium and calcium intake on cardiovascular events, large scale, well-designed long-term randomized clinical trials are required to evaluate the effect of minerals intake on cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. In this review, we discuss the role of dietary and or supplemental sodium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, in cardiovascular health, as well as their clinical applications, benefits, and risks for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease, in general population.

The impact of dietary changes and dietary supplements on lipid profile.

With a growing number of dietary interventions that claim to improve lipid profile, it is important to ensure that these claims are evidence based. The objective of this study was to make recommendations for dietary regimens by analyzing their effectiveness and the level of evidence. We searched MEDLINE as well as the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for nutritional studies. Meta-analyses and randomized controlled trials published in English and including data on the effect on blood lipid levels were used. Randomized controlled trials were included if they were at least 4 weeks in duration and had a minimum of 50 participants. We identified 22 different dietary interventions and reviewed 136 studies published between January 1990 and December 2009 that met our inclusion criteria. Our literature review showed that to improve lipid profile, the following regimens can be recommended fully: Mediterranean and Portfolio diets; low-fat diet; diet high in soy protein, fibre, or phytosterols; whole grain foods, and omega-3 fatty acid supplementation. The consumption of nuts, a diet high in carbohydrates and protein, green tea, and red wine, as well as the supplementation with policosanol and red yeast rice extract, can be considered for improvement of the lipid profile, while the supplements of guggulipid, garlic, chromium, vitamin C, magnesium-pyridoxal-phosphate-glutamate, tocotrienols, and absorbitol cannot be recommended.