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

Diet has hardly any effect on your cholesterol level; the drugs that can lower it often have serious or fatal side effects; and there is no evidence at all that lowering your cholesterol level will lengthen your life.   -An article drawn from Thomas J. Moore’s book, Heart Failure, published by Random House, Inc

More to come!  I’m in the middle of The Great Cholesterol Con by Dr. Malcolm Kendrick who presents convincing evidence that supports Moore’s view on cholesterol, heart disease, and saturated fat- NO CONNECTIONS! 

Lose It For Ever cholesterol, heart disease, saturated fat, Thomas J. Moore

Next time you have an extra hour on your hands, watch The Effects of Animal Fats on the Human Body by Dr. Michael Klaper.  This lecture was recorded in 1993, however don’t let that fool you.  Dr. Klaper could change the way you eat forever!

Diets, Health Risks animal fat, diet, heart disease, Michael Klaper

You brat eating Wisconsin Cheeseheads should have your cholesterol checked anyway.

   We’ve spent billions of our tax dollars trying to prove the diet-heart hypothesis. Yet study after study has failed to provide definitive evidence that saturated-fat intake leads to heart disease - from the article  What if Bad Fat Isn’t So Bad?

Cut your saturated fat and reduce your heart attack risk.  This is the advice we’ve been following for a couple of decades.  Now some researchers are giving the saturated fat-heart disease link another look.

This article by Nina Teicholz on msnbc.com is a well-written summary of the questions surrounding evidence that a diet high in saturated fat alone contributes to heart disease.   

If it’s not saturated fat causing all of this heart disease, then what is it?  You have to read the very last paragraph of Nina’s article to find a proposed answer to that question. 

If you consistently consume more calories than you burn, and you gain weight, your risk of heart disease will increase — whether you favor eating saturated fats, carbs, or both.

Finally, check out this latest study published in the respected American J of Clinical Nutrition in Jan of this year.   Researchers pooled the results from 21 studies involving more than 347,000 subjects and found  “that there is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD or CVD. More data are needed to elucidate whether CVD risks are likely to be influenced by the specific nutrients used to replace saturated fat.

^{Holy cow!}

Health Risks heart disease, saturated fat

No study, these critics say, has ever proved a causal relationship between moderate drinking and lower risk of death — only that the two often go together. It may be that moderate drinking is just something healthy people tend to do, not something that makes people healthy. -NY Times

MY COMMENT: This is one health claim that will be very difficult to prove despite mounds of evidence linking moderate alcohol consumption to reduced risk.

Health Risks, Research alcohol, beer, health, heart disease

Total Cholesterol Normal Values: (mg/dl)
< 19 years of age....< 170
> 19 years of age…..<200

Triglycerides (mg/dl
< 150..........normal
150 - 199.....borderline-high
200 - 499.....high
> 500………..very high

HDL (mg/dl) Higher HDL lowers risk of heart disease
< 40 high risk
> 60 low risk

LDL (mg/dl) Higher LDL increases risk of heart disease
< 100...............optimal
100 - 129..........near optimal
130 - 159..........borderline high
160 - 189..........high
> 190………………..very high

Total Cholesterol/HDL Ratio Risk Classification…………Male………. Female
1/2 Average Risk………………………………………………………….. < 3.4........ < 3.3
Average Risk...................................................... 3.4 - 5.0...... 3.3 - 4.4
2 Times Average Risk........................................... 5.1 - 9.6...... 4.5 - 7.1
3 Times Average Risk ...........................................9.7-23.0...... 7.2 - 11.0

Bio Center Lab

Keep in mind that presence of other cardiac risk factors increase risk even further (smoking, high blood pressure, family history, age, diabetes, obesity). See the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute for risk stratification and treatment guidelines.

Health Risks cholesterol, HDL, heart disease, LDL, lipids, risk, triglycerides

“The existing data, by numerous studies, are starting to show that the rates of heart disease and diabetes and obesity are doubled or sometimes even tripled in people who sit a lot,” Dr. Hamilton explains. One reason, he says, is an enzyme called lipase. When it’s on, fat is absorbed into the muscles, but when we sit down, lipase virtually shuts off.

Another benefit to standing — it improves your HDL or good cholesterol levels. People who sat reduced their good cholesterol levels by 22 percent!

-sciencedaily.com

My Comment: Not only should you stand whenever you can throughout the day, but make it a rule to walk extra distance whenever the opportunity presents.

Weight Loss Science, Weight Loss Tips heart disease, obesity, sitting

“Our study have shown that weight loss of as little as 6.5 percent in individuals with the disease results in substantial reductions in blood pressure, glucose, triglycerides and total cholesterol, all factors that lead to heart disease,” (6.5% of 200 lbs. is 13 lbs.) -medicalnewstoday

MY COMMENT: Exercise is good medicine. Too many Americans rely on prescription medications to manage health problems ignoring regular exercise and weight loss.

Health Risks heart disease, risk, weight loss