Year after year, average life expectancy in Japan continues to be the highest in the world.  Some speculate that the Japanese diet, which is abundant in antioxidant-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, seaweed and green tea, may play a protective role in safeguarding against conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers.

Regular consumption of antioxidant-rich foods provides a variety of compounds that can act in different ways. Whereas some antioxidants prevent cellular oxidative damage by stabilizing free radicals, others halt further cellular damage and thereby alleviate oxidative stress. Using methods to measure the antioxidant capacity of bioactive compounds acquired largely through dietary intake, epidemiological studies have estimated the associations of overall dietary antioxidant capacity and risks of various diseases.

Photo by Mgg Vitchakorn on Unsplash

A recent study by Ikuko Kashino (National Center for Global Health and Medicine) and colleagues, published in The Journal of Nutrition, examined prospective associations between dietary antioxidant capacity and all-cause or cause-specific mortality including cancer, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and heart disease.

This large-scale population-based, prospective cohort study consisting of 92,727 participants aged 44-76 y was conducted in Japan.  A food frequency questionnaire, which included foods with known measures of antioxidant capacity, was used to assess dietary information.  To identify death and cause of death, researchers utilized residential registries and death certificates.

Read the full article from Journal of Nutrition

With an average of 16.9 y of follow-up, the authors concluded that there were inverse associations between dietary antioxidant capacity and both all-cause mortality and mortality from cardiovascular disease, but not cancer. This new evidence provides useful information for the design of health promotion strategies that can be implemented with minimal cost.

A corresponding editorial by Wen-Hsing Cheng suggests that personalized diets should have increased consumption and variety of certain plant whole foods, including green tea and colorful fruits and vegetables rich in antioxidants.

Join ASN!

And get access to immersive learning experiences, collaboration, and networking with the greatest minds in nutrition.

Apply for Membership

Reference. Kashino I, Mizoue T, Serafini M, Akter S, Sawada N, Ishihara J, Kotemori A, Inoue M, Yamaji T, Goto A, Iwasaki M, Noda M, Tsugane S for the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study Group. Higher dietary non-enzymatic antioxidant capacity is associated with decreased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality in Japanese Adults. The Journal of Nutrition. 2019. https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz145

Cover Image by Andre Benz on Unsplash

Kathy Beerman, PhD

Dr. Kathy Beerman teaches in the School of Biological Sciences at Washington State University. The author of several published articles, she is interested in research that focuses on the efficacy of a novel approach to treating iron deficiency anemia in rural regions of Guatemala and Ecuador. Dr. Beerman teaches an undergraduate nutrition course for health majors, as well as a course that prepares students to participate in a 10-day medical mission to Guatemala. Since joining the faculty at Washington State University in 1990, she has been the recipient of several teaching awards (the Burlington Northern Faculty Meritorious Achievement in Teaching Award, the R.M. Wade Foundation Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction). More recently, she received the CAS Outstanding Achievement Award in International Activities (2017) and the President’s Award for Leadership (2018). Other scholarly activities include co-author of two introductory nutrition textbooks (Nutritional Sciences: From Fundamentals to Food and NUTR).