"Study Fails to Link Saturated Fat, Heart Disease"

[Andrikos]

When people will start looking at the big picture? Calories in vs calories out is by far more important than satured fat intake.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Look, I can't even pronounce "heterobinuclear organotransition metal phosphine complexes" without violating anti-harassment rules at work, so just tell me if I should stop taking Lipitor with my double bacon cheddar cheeseburgers, okay?

You should stop taking Lipitor and switch to a more cost effective generic statin with your double bacon cheeseburger. Personally, I'd also eat the bacon separately. Why add the fat and calories of bacon to a burger if you lose half the bacon pleasure mixing it with some other taste clutter?

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

There's no need to argue that lots of saturated fat is good for anybody to see that while Americans have reduced their intake of red meat, eggs, milk, and all saturated fats since 1970, obesity rates have skyrocketed (Schiff, Nutrition for Healthy Living, 2009). Two-thirds of all Americans are now overweight. How did this happen? Well, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, between 1971 and 2000 American women increased the number of calories they consumed by 22 percent (from 1,542 to 1,877 per day), while men increased their intake by 7 percent (from 2,450 to 2,618 calories). The vast majority of this increase came from simple carbohydrates, especially refined sugars and particularly high-fructose corn syrup. Carbonated soft drinks alone are the single biggest source of calories in the American diet, providing about 7 percent of calories; adding in noncarbonated drinks brings the figure to 9 percent. Teenagers get 13 percent of their calories from carbonated and noncarbonated soft drinks. (Learn more here.) Also, less than one-fifth of all Americans get any exercise on an average day (and remember, this figure comes from self-reports, so we're talking about a number that people were willing to admit. How many people do you think were inflating the truth? The actual figure is probably much lower-- my guess is more like 10%, if that. Learn more here.)

In short, if we want to do anything about the epidemic of overweight and obesity in America, everybody needs to stop wasting their time and energy worrying about saturated fat. It is a tiny part of the problem, and we're never going to get anywhere if we keep concentrating on this non-issue. Being overweight and obese is linked to a variety of diseases, including coronary artery disease, and if people eat too many calories and get too little exercise, guess what's going to happen. Cutting out saturated fat, adding lots and lots of carbs and sugars to more than replace the calories, and eliminating exercise is a great way to gain weight. That's exactly what happened to a lot of people in America.

The Omnivore's Dilemma is a bit of a redundant read, but there were a couple interesting eye openers there about the marketing strategy of super-sizing and the market forces that put high fructose corn syrup in so many products.

It's easier to resist that super-sized food bargain once you learn that the marketing scheme was specifically initiated to get you to buy more calories than your physiology required by making it seem like too good a bargain to resist. Or you can buy the super-sizers and split them into two or more portions.

The corn syrup was a product looking for a market. If we'd quit subsidizing farm products against free market forces, it's likely farmers would be growing something other than corn for non-free market manufactured markets.

 

[Ducky]

You should stop taking Lipitor and switch to a more cost effective generic statin with your double bacon cheeseburger. Personally, I'd also eat the bacon separately. Why add the fat and calories of bacon to a burger if you lose half the bacon pleasure mixing it with some other taste clutter?

I prefer my bacon to go with eggs in a basket and a cup of coffee.

Though lately, it's just the toast with a hole and the coffee. My wife seems to be winning the war on taste. This may not sustain well...

 

[ysabella]

(snip)
I'm convinced, it ain't the cholesterol, it's the histamine.
(snip)

Casebro, I don't have hard data here, but I heard something on the radio tonight on People's Pharmacy that might be of interest. The guest was Dr.David Servan-Schreiber, a 15-year brain cancer survivor, who was saying that circumin (something found in the spice turmeric) is turning out to have anti-inflammatory and possibly even anti-cancer effects. Dr.Servan-Schreiber says he averages a teaspoon of turmeric per day, cooked into his food. They mentioned cinnamon having some positive properties, that black pepper eaten with turmeric may increase uptake of circumin by 200 times (if I'm remembering that right, and that was just one new study, so not really confirmed), and that some fat with it also helps (so he sautees vegetables in olive oil with turmeric all the time).

He very sensibly added that his point is not about focusing on individual foods that will do some kind of magic, but eating a good and varied diet. He was in favor of lots of vegetables, and several cups of green tea per day.

Anyway, given your interest in inflammation as a contributor to disease, I thought you'd find this interesting.

 

[!Kaggen]

If we'd quit subsidizing farm products against free market forces, it's likely farmers would be growing something other than corn for non-free market manufactured markets.

Could you please explain this sentence. It makes no sense.

 

[fls]

Ah. I stand educated.

I do have a question, then:

Why do you think Eckel would not expect a change in medical attitude about saturated fat:

There are a number of reasons why conclusions drawn from this study will be unreliable. It may not be sensitive enough to detect differences in risk when you start with a population with a low incidence of disease. Observational studies are likely to be confounded. And the choice of diet may depend upon the presence of risk factors, given that the advice to reduce dietary saturated fat was initially directed at those at risk of cardiovascular disease. It is generally unwise to discard what we've learned under more controlled conditions in favour of uncontrolled conditions.

Linda

 

[casebro]

Casebro, I don't have hard data here, but I heard something on the radio tonight on People's Pharmacy that might be of interest. The guest was Dr.David Servan-Schreiber, a 15-year brain cancer survivor, who was saying that circumin (something found in the spice turmeric) is turning out to have anti-inflammatory and possibly even anti-cancer effects. Dr.Servan-Schreiber says he averages a teaspoon of turmeric per day, cooked into his food. They mentioned cinnamon having some positive properties, that black pepper eaten with turmeric may increase uptake of circumin by 200 times (if I'm remembering that right, and that was just one new study, so not really confirmed), and that some fat with it also helps (so he sautees vegetables in olive oil with turmeric all the time).

He very sensibly added that his point is not about focusing on individual foods that will do some kind of magic, but eating a good and varied diet. He was in favor of lots of vegetables, and several cups of green tea per day.

Anyway, given your interest in inflammation as a contributor to disease, I thought you'd find this interesting.

I had already noticed that Curry was good for my angina. Curry is a mix of spices, Tumeric being the major ingredient.My major use was in home made pork & beans, Curry instead of Chili powder. But it does have to be cooked to release the good stuff, and how much Curry can you eat in a day?

Plus, I got curious about the exact blend, so read the bulk bag at the store. Big sticker on the bag "Processed in a factory that also processes wheat containing items". Good likelyhood that the curry has wheat flour in it to act as a cheap filler.

So, pills it is.

 

[The Fallen Serpent]

Could you please explain this sentence. It makes no sense.

In US the government offers rather huge subsidies to corn farmers. This keeps corn extremely profitable even though it is cheap cheap cheap in the US. This even further cheapens the cost of corn as the market is completely saturated with supply. This makes high fructose corn syrup and other corn products among the cheapest additives for US foods. The government ends up giving so much corn away to other countries that there is a secondary market of US corn. The corn the US gives away costs so little on the secondary market that US agricultural business interests cannot sell corn in these regions as well without taking a loss.

The corn is also grown to be as cheap and sugary as possible. I have heard it proposed that without the huge subsidies not only would the US have more overall crop diversity, but the corn growers themselves would sell a more diverse variety of corn itself.

 

[blutoski]

There are a number of reasons why conclusions drawn from this study will be unreliable. It may not be sensitive enough to detect differences in risk when you start with a population with a low incidence of disease. Observational studies are likely to be confounded. And the choice of diet may depend upon the presence of risk factors, given that the advice to reduce dietary saturated fat was initially directed at those at risk of cardiovascular disease. It is generally unwise to discard what we've learned under more controlled conditions in favour of uncontrolled conditions.

Linda

I haven't read their inclusion criteria. Were they ignoring these factors when collecting studies?

 

[fls]

I haven't read their inclusion criteria. Were they ignoring these factors when collecting studies?

Not ignoring. These are factors that you can't do much about in an observational study.

Linda

 

[WildCat]

Could you please explain this sentence. It makes no sense.

My guess is that price supports on corn cause farmers to grow far more corn than we need. This creates a corn glut, which means lots of cheap corn by-products like corn syrup. Especially since we have high tariffs on imported sugar.

 

[Ixion]

Casebro, I don't have hard data here, but I heard something on the radio tonight on People's Pharmacy that might be of interest. The guest was Dr.David Servan-Schreiber, a 15-year brain cancer survivor, who was saying that circumin (something found in the spice turmeric) is turning out to have anti-inflammatory and possibly even anti-cancer effects. Dr.Servan-Schreiber says he averages a teaspoon of turmeric per day, cooked into his food. They mentioned cinnamon having some positive properties, that black pepper eaten with turmeric may increase uptake of circumin by 200 times (if I'm remembering that right, and that was just one new study, so not really confirmed), and that some fat with it also helps (so he sautees vegetables in olive oil with turmeric all the time).

He very sensibly added that his point is not about focusing on individual foods that will do some kind of magic, but eating a good and varied diet. He was in favor of lots of vegetables, and several cups of green tea per day.

Anyway, given your interest in inflammation as a contributor to disease, I thought you'd find this interesting.

I had already noticed that Curry was good for my angina. Curry is a mix of spices, Tumeric being the major ingredient.My major use was in home made pork & beans, Curry instead of Chili powder. But it does have to be cooked to release the good stuff, and how much Curry can you eat in a day?

Plus, I got curious about the exact blend, so read the bulk bag at the store. Big sticker on the bag "Processed in a factory that also processes wheat containing items". Good likelyhood that the curry has wheat flour in it to act as a cheap filler.

So, pills it is.

Curcumin is known to have some anti-inflammatory properties. One of the professors here at the University of Arizona has quite a bit of research done on curcumin and the role of inflammation in ulcerative colitis and Chron's Disease. It does seem to be somewhat of an anti-inflammatory, but it has a much greater effect in colitis than Chron's. It seems though that the major role of curcumin is to prevent trafficking of neutrophils, which cause inflammation. If that is the case, you wouldn't expect curcumin to aid in inflammation caused by other sources, such as mast cells. Also, you cannot control the amount of curcumin in tumeric, so you don't know what dose you are getting. Furthermore, there is an active form and an inactive form of curcumin, and the active form only makes up a small percentage of the total in tumeric. I know other studies are being done as a cancer treatment, but my understanding is that there are no definitive results on those studies yet.

A link to a press release: Curcumin May be Viable Supplement to Treat Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

 

[casebro]

But isn't there a big overlap in inflammation?

Mast cells beget histamine, which cause inflammation, which traps neutrophils, which cause more inflammation, OR the neutrophils cause inflammation that attracts the mast cells, which bring the histamines......

So my guess is the root cause of the initial inflammation may vary. Is the injury physical trauma or chemical in nature? There by, the action of different anti-inflammatories may be needed?

Another 'organic' anti-inflammatory is Hops, as in beer. It has a better cox-1 vs cox-2 profile than even the best NSAIDs. But I'm not familiar with NSAIDs vis-a-vis Anti-Histamine action. Aspirin is an NSAID, and is very good at preventing CAD, but I've never heard of any other NSAID being linked to coronary disease. Theory is that aspirin works via anti-clotting activity in the platelets, and surgeons want patients to stop using it 10 days prior to surgery, and other nsaids too, due to their being anti-clotting too. But, like I said, I've never heard of any other NSAID being linked to coronary disease prevention.

 

[Maia]

There is certainly no evidence that eating bacon cheeseburgers all day is good for anybody, but there is much more evidence than this one metastudy that simply labeling all saturated fat as "bad fat" and attempting to eliminate it from the diet completely is totally unnecessary. A lot of the confusion has arisen because older studies generally did not separate out different types of fats, and never differentiated between trans fats and other types of fats. Even so, total fat intake for women isn't associated with a higher rate of cardiovascular disease. Also, one key fact is that the "substitution of saturated fat with carbohydrate was associated with only a small and not statistically significant lower risk" and "the limited data from randomized trials suggest little if any benefit on risk of coronary heart disease from replacing saturated fat with carbohydrate." While we don't understand everything about the relationship between different types of fats and heart disease, there is now a great deal of evidence that attempting to cut fat intake to the lowest level possible is extremely unhealthy.

I highly suspect that large, well-controlled studies which truly separated natural fat from trans fat intake 100% would find out where the real problem lies. These simply haven't been done (the Framingham study never had these restrictions, and for that matter, it found no correlation between high overall cholesterol and heart disease over the age of 50.) In fact, in a controlled feeding study, Mensink and Katan found that, compared with monounsaturated fat, trans fatty acids and saturated fat had similar effects on LDL cholesterol, but trans fat uniquely lowered HDL cholesterol. The adverse effect of trans fat on the total cholesterol to HDL ratio was approximately twice as detrimental as that of saturated fat. Also, "an important benefit of dietary fat reduction on body weight has not been supported in longer-term, randomized trials", which just emphasizes the same point-- replacing, and more than replacing, the calories consumed from fat with simple carbohydrates and sugars will just continue to cause weight gain and all the health problems associated with it.

Basically, the results of this metastudy are nothing new. They only confirm information that was available before. Saturated fat can be a valuable and healthy part of the diet in reasonable amounts, and it does not deserve the bad press it's received. The USDA dietary guidelines are due to be revised again this year, and I really hope that somebody is paying attention.

Jeppesen J, Schaaf P, Jones G, Zhou MY, Chen YD, Reaven GM. Effects of low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets on risk factors for ischemic heart disease in postmenopausal women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 65:1027–1033, 1997

Mensink RP, Katan MB. Effect of dietary fatty acids on serum lipids and lipoproteins: A meta-analysis of 27 trials. Arterioscler Thromb 12:911–919, 1992

Willett, W. (2000). Will High-Carbohydrate/Low-Fat Diets Reduce the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease? Experimental Biology and Medicine, 225:3, 187-190.

 

[fuelair]

Wait a minute.
Does this mean it's OK to eat bacon and cheese sandwiches, or not?

Bacon is always a good idea - otherwise it would not taste that good!! As for cheese, it gets a little melty with the hot bacon and smooths the slide down the throat - that is clearly not the sign of a dangerous food!!