Category Archives: Uncategorized

Processed Red Meat Consumption Linked to Shorter Life

Posted on July 30, 2014 | Comments Off on Processed Red Meat Consumption Linked to Shorter Life

…at least in Swedes. Regular non-processed red meat consumption was NOT associated with shorter life. Maybe you should cut back on the bacon and bologna.

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Added Sugars Constitute 14% of Total Calories in Americans

Posted on July 30, 2014 | Comments Off on Added Sugars Constitute 14% of Total Calories in Americans

…according to NHANES data on children and adults. 

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Exercise Once Again Linked to Avoidance of Dementia

Posted on July 11, 2014 | Comments Off on Exercise Once Again Linked to Avoidance of Dementia

The NYT’s Well blog has the details. The brain’s hippocampus is a critical center for memory. Alzheimers disease is associated with a gene called apo-E4. Carriers of that gene who exercise regularly have less shrinkage of the hippocampus than non-exercisers. 

To PROVE that regular exercise prevents dementia-related shrinkage of the hippocampus, you’d have to force some folks to exercise and stop others who wanted to exercise. A couple years later, scan their brains and compare the two groups. That study may never be done. 

The Mediterranean diet also seems to prevent or forestall dementia.

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Riddle Me This: What’s Pure, White, and Deadly?

Posted on July 5, 2014 | Comments Off on Riddle Me This: What’s Pure, White, and Deadly?

The answer is sugar, according to John Yudkin and Robert Lustig, among others. The Age has the details. A quote:

[Robert] Lustig is one of a growing number of scientists who don’t just believe sugar makes you fat and rots teeth. They’re convinced it’s the cause of several chronic and very common illnesses, including heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s and diabetes. It’s also addictive, since it interferes with our appetites and creates an irresistible urge to eat.

This year, Lustig’s message has gone mainstream; many of the New Year diet books focused not on fat or carbohydrates, but on cutting out sugar and the everyday foods (soups, fruit juices, bread) that contain high levels of sucrose. The anti-sugar camp is not celebrating yet, however. They know what happened to Yudkin and what a ruthless and unscrupulous adversary the sugar industry proved to be.

In 1822, we in the U.S. ate 6.2 pounds of sugar per person per year. By 1999, we were up to 108 pounds.

An occasional teaspoon of sugar probably won't hurt you

An occasional teaspoon of sugar probably won’t hurt you, even if you have diabetes

The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that added sugars provide 17% of the total calories in the average American diet.  A typical carbonated soda contain the equivalent of 10 tsp (50 ml) of sugar.  The average U.S. adult eats 30 tsp  (150 ml) daily of added sweeteners and sugars.

On the other hand, Fanatic Cook Bix found a study linking higher sugar consumption with lower body weight, which you might think would protect against type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.

Read the rest at The Age. It’s mostly about John Yudkin.

Steve Parker, M.D.

h/t Jamie Scott

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Dark Chocolate Helps You Walk If You Have Peripheral Arterial Disease

Posted on July 2, 2014 | Comments Off on Dark Chocolate Helps You Walk If You Have Peripheral Arterial Disease

Milk chocolate won’t do it, though. MedPageToday has the details. It’s a small study and may not be reliable.

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Do Fruits, Vegetables, and Fiber Prevent Cancer?

Posted on June 18, 2014 | 2 comments

It’s complicated. Here’s a snippet from a pertinent scientific article:

“The purpose of this article is to summarize the findings published thus far from the EPIC study on the associations between fruit, vegetable, or fiber consumption and the risk of cancer at 14 different sites. The risk of cancers of the upper gastrointestinal tract was inversely associated with fruit intake but was not associated with vegetable intake. The risk of colorectal cancer was inversely associated with intakes of total fruit and vegetables and total fiber, and the risk of liver cancer was also inversely associated with the intake of total fiber. The risk of cancer of the lung was inversely associated with fruit intake but was not associated with vegetable intake; this association with fruit intake was restricted to smokers and might be influenced by residual confounding due to smoking. There was a borderline inverse association of fiber intake with breast cancer risk. For the other 9 cancer sites studied (stomach, biliary tract, pancreas, cervix, endometrium, prostate, kidney, bladder, and lymphoma) there were no reported significant associations of risk with intakes of total fruit, vegetables, or fiber.”

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Maria Menounos Eats a Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet

Posted on June 9, 2014 | Comments Off on Maria Menounos Eats a Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet

…but it’s not mine. 

Menounos is now a petite size four, but was 40 pounds heavier during her twenties, thanks to daily pizza binges and a sedentary lifestyle.

Maria, who’s Greek, has maintained her weight loss for the past 16 years by following the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet, which has consistently been rated one of the top diets for its weight-loss and heart-health benefits.

Read the rest at Examiner.com.

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Nuts Consumption Linked to Less Heart Disease and Longer Life Span

Posted on May 29, 2014 | Comments Off on Nuts Consumption Linked to Less Heart Disease and Longer Life Span

Details are in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. From the abstract:

“Our meta-analysis indicates that nut intake is inversely associated with ischemic heart disease, overall cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality but not significantly associated with diabetes and stroke. The inverse association between the consumption of nuts and diabetes was attenuated after adjustment for body mass index. These findings support recommendations to include nuts as part of a healthy dietary pattern for the prevention of chronic diseases.”

Nuts feature prominently in all my diet plans. Heart disease is still the No.1 killer in Western societies. 

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QOTD: A Peaceful Death

Posted on May 25, 2014 | Comments Off on QOTD: A Peaceful Death

When I die, I want to go peacefully like my grandfather did–in his sleep. Not yelling and screaming like the passengers in his car.        

         – Bob Monkhouse

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Dr. Briffa Versus UK’s NHS: Low-Carb Diets Are Better Than Low-Fat

Posted on May 22, 2014 | Comments Off on Dr. Briffa Versus UK’s NHS: Low-Carb Diets Are Better Than Low-Fat

The United Kingdom’s National Health Service recently published guidelines favoring low-fat diets over low-carb ones. Dr. John Briffa objects: 

“See here http://authoritynutrition.com/23-studies-on-low-carb-and-low-fat-diets/ for a comprehensive review of 23 studies which demonstrates superior results achieved by low-carb diets with regard to weight loss and disease markers. To my mind, dietician Sian Porter and the NHS Choices website have done a bad job of communicating the facts and summarising the evidence. I wish to formally complain about the inaccuracies in this article and its (to me) clear bias and lack of balance.”

Read the whole enchilada.

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