Food Consumption and CVD

[Badger67]

This is a very interesting study. http://www.foodandnutritionresearch.net/index.php/fnr/article/view/31694

"Conclusion: Our results do not support the association between CVDs and saturated fat, which is still contained in official dietary guidelines. Instead, they agree with data accumulated from recent studies that link CVD risk with the high glycaemic index/load of carbohydrate-based diets. In the absence of any scientific evidence connecting saturated fat with CVDs, these findings show that current dietary recommendations regarding CVDs should be seriously reconsidered."

If you actually read the study in its entirety, it's not anti carb, it's anti high glycemic carb/load, which actually isn't outlandish when you think of it, and they do note that physical activity is a variable that may change whether high Glyc index/load may alter.

 

[j123]

 

[Badger67]

Hey, that officer hurt me that day!

 

[Seriously-Dead]

What's most obvious from this study is that the poorer eastern European countries with worse healthcare infrastructure are all undoubtedly unhealthier than their rich western European counterparts with the best healthcare infrastructure in the world. This seems like more evidence of the negative effects of poverty on health.

I would bet dollars that diet, by comparison, has very little to do with it. Poverty and the stress it brings will squash out any effects of diet, any day.

Poverty TKO round 1.

 

[Beechwood]

That is my thinking also, after reading a few articles about stress and heart disease. The basic idea is that when under stress you tend to be in a fight or flight mode. If going into a fight your body will want blood to clot easier to stop bleeding. A blood clot to the heart can cause heart attacks.

Diet can have a roll too, and other activities also, but stress appears to be a big factor in CVD.

I thought this a nice article discussing the link between stress and CVD. it brings up how eastern Europeans experienced higher rates of heart attacks after the fall of communism.

What causes heart disease part XX

https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2016/08/21/what-causes-heart-disease-part-xx/

 

[j123]

What's most obvious from this study is that the poorer eastern European countries with worse healthcare infrastructure are all undoubtedly unhealthier than their rich western European counterparts with the best healthcare infrastructure in the world. This seems like more evidence of the negative effects of poverty on health.

I would bet dollars that diet, by comparison, has very little to do with it. Poverty and the stress it brings will squash out any effects of diet, any day.

Poverty TKO round 1.

Someone needs to send the original author an obligatory

"You sound poor"

 

[boingyman]

In the past 5-10 years or so we are definitely seeing new links between what we eat, difference types of fats and increase risk for CVD. I'm not an expert on heart health, fats or lipidology, but recent studies have shown that not all saturated fats are bad. Some studies concluded that saturated fats from specific sources are worse then others.

In terms of glycemic index/load, I'm not convinced, especially when it comes to glycemic index alone. I think it's much more complicated then that. I think the combination of chronic excessive energy intake above maintenance needs in combination of a overall poor quality diet, poor quality carbs, poor lifestyle choices, sedentary lifestyle and having multiple comorbidities including obesity/high body fat % is what really causes harm. You throw in poor genetic background and you just become a ticking bomb.

Even the way we interpret lipid panels over the many decades are being questioned and is much more complex then your standard Total Chol, HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, Non-HDL Chol. I was having a discussion with one of the Cardiologist at work and he was mentioned about how not all HDL (good cholesterol) is created equal. Imagine HDL as a dump truck. It's the clean up crew helping with getting rid of the bad stuff, but what happens if yoru dump truck breaksdown? Some recent studies show that if a lot of your HDL (dump truck) stalls, it can actually be detrimental so sometimes a high HDL may not necessary be a good thing. I'm sure more studies need to be done though.

Anyway it's crazy how much we know, yet we don't know. That is why medical nutrition therapy and medical treatment in general is always advancing/changing. I can't imagine how things will be 50 years from now.