Lose It For Ever – Dave Elger

The team from Harvard School of Public Health looked at 20 studies involving more than one million participants from 10 countries. On average, each 50g serving of processed meat per day – the equivalent of a sausage or a couple of rashers of bacon – was associated with a 42% higher chance of developing coronary heart disease and a 19% higher risk of diabetes. -Now steak does not increase heart disease risk

Research heart disease, processed meat

But in the new analysis, which combined the results of 21 previous studies, researchers found no clear evidence that higher saturated fat intakes led to higher risks of heart disease or stroke  -Reuters.com

The level of skepticism linking saturated fat intake to heart disease continues to grow.  Check out Why the Cholesterol- Heart Disease Theory is Wrong (I must admit that I never heard of The International Network of Cholesterol Skeptics (THINCS).

On a related issue, the American Heart Association recommends that your optimal level of LDL (bad cholesterol level) be < 100 mg/dl .  Can anyone explain these results published in Jan 2009 that reviewed lipid values on nearly 137,000 heart disease patients- In a large cohort of patients hospitalized with CAD, almost half have admission LDL levels <100 mg/dL.?

How about this one- total cholesterol is not a great predictor of risk?   Although the subjects on the low-carb diet ate the most saturated fat, they ended up with the healthiest ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol and lost twice as much weight as their low-fat-eating counterparts.

Stampfer’s findings do not merely suggest that saturated fats are not so bad; they indicate that carbohydrates could be worse.

What got me started on all of this?  Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes, who provides a historical, comprehensive review of the research relating to diet, heart disease, and obesity.  In the end, Taubes summaries 10 key conclusions based on “existing knowledge”.   Number one is “Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization.”   

 

 

Research cholesterol, heart disease, saturated fat

 

So here’s the Atkins diet: in theory, you’re removing virtually all of the carbohydrates, but you don’t tell people to eat less. You tell them to eat as much as they want. It’s like you’re setting the diet to zero carbohydrates, and as much fat as possible. According to conventional wisdom, you should certainly not lose weight and you might even gain it. But here were five studies saying that, lo and behold, people  really do lose weight when you remove the carbohydrates from the diet, and they lose more weight than they do when you tell them to keep the carbohydrates but eat less calories. What’s more, their cholesterol profiles actually improve, so how can fat or saturated fat be bad for your cholesterol, if these high fat, high saturated fat diets make your cholesterol levels better -science writer Gary Taubes- read the facinating interview here. 

This is a growing controversy- stay tuned!

Diets, Research

foodnavigator.com

Very low intakes of saturated fats may be just as bad for you as very high intakes, and could lead to an increased risk of death from stroke – according to new Japanese research.  -

MY COMMENT:  In the study, the group with the lowest intake of saturated fat (<18 grams daily) had the highest rate of stroke.  The American Heart Association recommends no more than 16 gram per day. 

Wait for more guidance before you start piling on the grease!

Research Japan, saturated fat, stroke

If you eat meat or drink milk, watch this!  Turning cancer on and off by diet. 

Health Risks, Research dariy, prostate cancer, protein

Nutrition Updates

“When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese — every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.”  -

This goes back to earlier speculation that HFCS consumption is somehow is linked to obesity.  Researchers then backpedaled on the idea, so I am curious where this will lead.   Regardless, watch your intake of HFCS!

Research high fructose corn syrup

Results of a 26-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled intervention study with 87 women found that multivitamins and minerals were associated with significantly lower body weight, body mass index, and fat mass  -nutraingredients.com

MY COMMENT:  Wouldn’t it be nice if this turns out to actually be true? Don’t ever forget, however, that a healthy diet and regular exercise will never be replaced.

Research, Weight Loss News, Weight Loss Science multi-vitamins, weigh loss

This study demonstrates that, despite inducing a moderate energy deficit, an acute bout of subjectively paced brisk walking does not elicit compensatory responses in acylated ghrelin, appetite, or energy intake. This finding lends support for a role of brisk walking in weight management.  -Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise

Subjects who walked briskly for an hour, burning just under 500 net calories (total-BMR) did not compensate by eating more.  Appetite was not affected.   This study contradicts the theory proposed in the recent Time magazine feature Why Exercise Won’ t Make You Thin.

Exercise, Research appetite, walking, weight loss

 

Some athletes even sleep in high-altitude simulation tents while at sea level, Kram noted. “It would be interesting to see,’’ he said, if a similar method could be used for reducing appetite — and losing pounds.   -Losing the weight war? Head to the mountains. 

MY COMMENT:  Life is more strenuous at high altitude.  Zugspitze is 9,700 feet, and subjects that spent a week there lost an average of 3.3 pounds- it’s more difficult to move around and they probably ate less. 

It might be something for a company like Colorado Altitude Training to look into.

Research altitude, weight loss

 

in a study published last year that tracked more than 17,000 Canadians for about a dozen years, researchers found people who sat more had a higher death risk, independently of whether or not they exercised.  -msnbc

MY COMMENT:  I am shocked by this finding- I can run 50-60 miles a week and still be at risk because I sit at a desk 8 hours a day?  I’m not so sure about this one.

Research heart disease risk, sitting