Dietary fat's undeserved bad reputation, and treatment of diabetes

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This is based on the paper:

Lawrence GD. Dietary fats and health: Dietary recommendations in the context of scientific evidence. Adv Nutr 2013; 4:294-302.

Quote from the "blasphemous" abstract:

... Over the years, data revealed that dietary saturated fatty acids (SFAs) are not associated with CAD and other adverse health effects or at worst are weakly associated in some analyses when other contributing factors may be overlooked. Several recent analyses indicate that SFAs, particularly in dairy products and coconut oil, can improve health. ... The replacement of saturated fats in the diet with carbohydrates, especially sugars, has resulted in increased obesity and its associated health complications. Well-established mechanisms have been proposed for the adverse health effects of some alternative or replacement nutrients, such as simple carbohydrates and PUFAs. The focus on dietary manipulation of serum cholesterol may be moot in view of numerous other factors that increase the risk of heart disease. The adverse health effects that have been associated with saturated fats in the past are most likely due to factors other than SFAs, ...

Editorial review in The Heart.Org:

Dietary saturated fat has undeserved bad reputation, says review

Quote:

Dietary saturated fat has undeserved bad reputation, says review
MAY 17, 2013 Steve Stiles

Rockville, MD - "The influence of dietary fats on serum cholesterol has been overstated," concludes a review in an American Society for Nutrition publication that, in its words, "calls for a rational reevaluation of existing dietary recommendations that focus on minimizing dietary [saturated fatty acids] SFAs, for which mechanisms for adverse health effects are lacking" [1].

Indeed, argues the author, Dr Glen D Lawrence (Long Island University, Brooklyn, NY), it is likely other factors, such as oxidized polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) or preservatives in processed meats, that are also present in high-SFA foods that lead to adverse health effects typically associated with high SFA intake.

"The meager effect that saturated fats have on serum cholesterol levels when modest but adequate amounts of polyunsaturated oils are included in the diet, and the lack of any clear evidence that saturated fats are promoting any of the conditions that can be attributed to PUFA, makes one wonder how saturated fats got such a bad reputation in the health literature," Lawrence writes in the review, published May 1, 2013 in Advances in Nutrition.

The article's case is built on interpretations of research from the biochemistry, epidemiologic, and clinical literature but which, nonetheless, does not reference a tremendous body of research supporting alternative views. Still, Lawrence describes:

* The role of lipid peroxidation in promoting atherogenesis, arguing that its effects are more pronounced on PUFA than on SFAs or monosaturated fatty acids.

* An arguably protective effect of omega-3 PUFAs against proinflammatory effects of omega-6 and other PUFAs.

* Evidence that potentially carcinogenic preservatives in processed meats as well as high-heat cooking methods have influenced perceptions that red meat per se has adverse health effects.

* How "the preparation and cooking methods used for foods that are traditionally classified as saturated-fat foods may be producing substances from PUFAs and carbohydrates in those foods that are promoting disease."

* Studies suggesting positive health effects from dairy fat and tropical oils, both high in SFAs.

* The hazards of diets with increased carbohydrates as a result of being lower in fat, in low-fat diets followed to improve health, especially cardiovascular health.

"The adverse health effects that have been associated with saturated fats in the past are most likely due to factors other than SFAs," the article concludes. "Consequently, the dietary recommendations to restrict saturated fats in the diet should be revised to reflect differences in handling before consumption. . . . It is time to reevaluate the dietary recommendations that focus on lowering serum cholesterol and to use a more holistic approach to dietary policy."

Interesting comments under the editorial, quotes:

# 5 of 6
May 20, 2013 01:46 (EDT)
Robert Bramel
Good Calories, Bad Calories Showed This in 2006
Good Calories, Bad Calories, written in 2006, is beyond doubt the most thoroughly and carefully researched diet and nutrition book ever written (3000+ references), and the author, Taubes, makes an extremely compelling argument that "dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not a cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization". Anyone hoping to argue against this position ought to spend the three years I did studying and critiquing many of Taubes' reference works. The evidence is overwhelming. The real culprit is insulin, and not incidentally carbohydrates, especially, but not exclusively, the most easily digestible and refined types because they have the most effect on raising insulin levels. Since that time I have watched carefully for studies in any relevant arena that would argue against the insulin hypothesis -- none found so far.

# 6 of 6
May 20, 2013 02:00 (EDT)
Robert Bramel
Response to D Hackam
"...saturated fat often comes 'bundled' with dietary cholesterol. Second, saturated fat can stimulate hepatic LDLc production."
Although I am a special case with LDL of 520 and TC of 620, switching to a high fat (mostly from meat and dairy) diet in 2006, there was no significant change in serum cholesterol levels. The only change was a predicted shift in the makeup of my LDL. With a high carbohydrate diet I had "mixed AB" particle size, and now my single peak is extraordinarily large (279 Angstrom, with a lab range limit of 285). Whatever the effect, my heart arteries continue to have zero calcification.

I found that link in Peter's post and karl's comments - recommended reading!

See also Treatment of Diabetes and Diabetic Complications With a Ketogenic Diet.

Quote (abstract):

Accumulating evidence suggests that low-carbohydrate, high-fat diets are safe and effective to reduce glycemia in diabetic patients without producing significant cardiovascular risks. Most of these studies have been carried out specifically restricting carbohydrates, which tends to lead to increased protein intake, thus reducing the ketosis. However, diets that limit protein as well as carbohydrates, entailing a composition very high in fat, appear even more effective to reduce glucose and whole-body glucose metabolism in humans. In animal models, low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets do not produce ketosis or reduce glycemia but rather cause obesity. However, limiting both protein and carbohydrates as in a classic ketogenic diet remarkably reduces blood glucose in animal models of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and reverses diabetic nephropathy. ...

Dr.Jan Kwasniewski was right!
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105-year-old woman says eating bacon every day is her key to long life

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Raw Story article

Quote:

Pearl Cantrell’s love of bacon is so strong that the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile made a stop through town last week to wish her a happy birthday, all because she told a local news station her amazing secret.
"I love bacon, I eat it everyday," she told a reporter for Abilene-based Big Country Homepage in April. "I don’t feel as old as I am, that’s all I can say."

Peasants on high animal fat & potato diet - very healthy!

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Pommes De Terre Au Lard or Speckkartoffeln (Bacon Potatoes).
From  http://www.food.com/recipe/pommes-de-terre-au-lard-or-speckkartoffeln-bacon-potatoes-456385

According to this paper (thanks JC):
"The value of whole potato in human nutrition",
by Stanislaw Kazimiarz Kon and Aniela Klein, State School of Hygiene, Warsaw, Poland.
(Received December 29th, 1927.)

Quote:

The potato is a very important constituent of the diet of many civilised nations, and it may be considered to furnish, with bread, the bulk of the food of the rural population of such countries as Poland and Russia. There is little doubt that the Polish or Russian peasant is nevertheless very healthy and able to do extremely hard work under trying conditions. Deficiency diseases such as beriberi, pellagra or scurvy are practically unknown in Poland.
...
The diet consisted of potatoes, supplemented with butter or pork fat with the addition of a few fruits (apples and pears); tea or black coffee and sugar were also occasionally taken. The amount of fat consumed was not accurately estimated, it varied from 120-150 g.

They consumed between 1-1.7kg of potatoes daily, which amount to about 200-300g of carbohydrates, thus given the amount of animal fat they consumed, works out at 50% (roughly) fat diet by calories. It is hard to estimate it more accurately, since the pre-WWII traditional Eastern European breed of potatoes that they probably used contained more protein and less starch than the high yielding post-WWII varieties. They also tasted much better (H).
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More animal fat & less veg oils = longevity!

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1. New study on the topics of mono-unsaturated and saturated versus polyunsaturated fats:

"Lipidomics of Familial Longevity.", by Gonzalez-Covarrubias V, et al.
Aging Cell. 2013 Mar 2. doi: 10.1111/acel.12064. [Epub ahead of print]

Quote:

In addition, the longevity-associated lipid profile was characterized by a higher ratio of monounsaturated (MUFA) over polyunsaturated (PUFA) lipid species suggesting that female offspring have a plasma lipidome less prone to oxidative stress. Ether PC and SM species were identified as novel longevity markers in females, independent of total triglycerides levels. Several longevity-associated lipids correlated with a lower risk of hypertension and diabetes in the Leiden Longevity Study cohort.

2. Longevity marker = MUFA/PUFA ratio in cellullar membranes:

"Fatty acid profile of erythrocyte membranes as possible biomarker of longevity.", Puca AA, et al., Rejuvenation Res. 2008 Feb;11(1):63-72.

Quote:

Erythrocyte membranes from nonagenarian offspring had significantly higher content of C16:1 n-7, trans C18:1 n-9,[mono-unsaturated] and total trans-fatty acids, and reduced content of C18:2 n-6 and C20:4 n-6 [polyunsaturated fats].

(comments in brackets added by me)

3. Vegetable oils strongly impair absorption of vitamin D, no good if you are vegan:

"Type of dietary fat is associated with the 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 increment in response to vitamin D supplementation.",Niramitmahapanya S, Harris SS, Dawson-Hughes B., J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Oct;96(10):3170-4. doi: 10.1210/jc.2011-1518. Epub 2011 Aug 3.

Quote:

The change in plasma 25OHD (nanograms per milliliter) during vitamin D supplementation was positively associated with MUFA, (β = 0.94; P = 0.016), negatively associated with PUFA, (β = -0.93; P = 0.038), and positively associated with the MUFA/PUFA ratio (β = 6.46; P = 0.014).

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Other interesting sources:

forum/sci.med.nutrition

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Comment on the particular vegetable fats that have similar composition to animal fats.

When refering to "vegetable oils" I have to make an exception to olive oil, coconut fat and palm oil.   Those particular fats are much lower in polyunsaturated fats than other vegetable fats and thus resemble animal fats.  Unsurprisingly, their physiological effects are different from those of other seeds and nuts oils, see my previous blog post.  For example, olive oil is mostly monounsaturated fat, thus in the light of the above study using the MUFA/PUFA ratio, olive oil adds to the nominator of the ratio alongside the animal fats.  I would express it as follows: the higher this ratio  (animal fat + olive oil + coconut fat) / (other vegetable oils) the lower the risk.

Olive oil composition:

 The average fatty acid composition of olive oil is 78-83% in mono-unsaturated oleic acid, 6-9% in essential polyunsaturated linoleic acid, 8-15% in saturated palmitic acid and 1.5-3% in stearic acid.
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It's the olive oil not veggies!

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"Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet" NEJM, February 25, 2013

A total of 7447 persons were enrolled in this Spanish study (age range, 55 to 80 years). Three groups: (1) control diet, (2) Meditteranean Diet with Nuts, and (3) Meditteranean Diet with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Significantly less cardiovascular events and death in group (2) and (3) (P=0.009 and 0.02) but only group (3) showed a noticeable (P=0.11) reduction of death from all causes.

Fig.1 from the Spanish study.

Please notice no reduction of death from all causes in the nuts group!

To me this study is a clear endorsement of the type of fatty acids characteristic of olives, as being unequivocally healthy, while nuts may lower one risk while increase some other.

Why were nuts as good as extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for cardio but not as good in terms of total death?  Was there some other  cause of death that was positively correlated with nuts (but not with EVOO), which neutralized the benefit of eating nuts for cardio-vascular health?   I am guessing here but it is quite possible that polyunsaturated fat from nuts may have contributed to cancer risk whereas the mono-unsaturated and saturated fats from the olive oil did not!  

See also NYT article.

Cold environment, ketogenic diet and longevity

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A new lead:
Feeling Cold May Add Years to Your Life

Living in cold and frigid temperatures may be worth while as new research shows possible benefits of cold air for humans. A research study done at the University of Michigan observed the effects of cold air on the gene receptor, TRPA-1. The TRPA-1 receptor channel can be found in the nerve and fat cells of nematodes, also known as roundworms. It was discovered that roundworms live significantly longer under colder environments because the cold air seems to start a domino effect beginning with the receptor that eventually leads to the activation of the DAF-16/FOXO, the gene linked to longevity.
...
Due to this new research, the human body's receptors should ideally trigger the longevity gene when it comes into contact with cold air. The research also concluded that mice, which are also warm blooded mammals, can live longer when their body temperatures are lowered by 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit. It was measured that their lifespan can be lengthened by 20%. Warm blooded mammals can reduce their core body temperature by careful calories restrictions. However, these methods have not been practiced or studied with the human body. In addition to cold air, research shows that other factors, such as wasabi and mustard oil also act as triggers to this chain reaction.

Does ketogenic diet come in only as the pretext to consume wasabi and mustard? Not only, ketogenic diet stimulates production of methylglyoxal ["Methylglyoxal on Atkins... Uh oh!" , "Ketosis leads to increased methylglyoxal production on the Atkins diet."] which activates TRPA-1 [see "METHYLGLYOXAL ACTIVATES NOCICEPTORS THROUGH TRPA1..."]. Incidentally methylglyoxal also disrupts cancerous cells ["A brief critical overview of the biological effects of methylglyoxal..."]

More reading on the subject, and on Dr. Jack Kruse's Cold Thermogenesis ideas can be found in his blog.
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Study: double mortality after replacing animal fats with vegetable fats

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Also a mystery of some "missing data" etc. I am reposting this quote from Barry Groves' blog:

Quote:

...
The new research, published online in the British Medical Journal, was carried out by experts from the US Government’s National Institutes of Health in Maryland. They recovered missing data from a study in the 1960s involving 458 men aged 30-59 who had suffered a heart attack or angina. Using modern statistical methods to compare death rates, they found there was no evidence of the benefit of replacing saturated fats with omega-6 linoleic acid, found in vegetable fats. In fact, they said replacing the animal fats with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) from vegetable fats increased risk of death in those patients with cardiovascular disease. Those who increased their intake of the “healthy” fats over three years were almost twice as likely to die. The omega-6 linoleic acid group in the study had a higher risk of death from all causes (62 per cent), as well as from cardiovascular disease (70 per cent) and coronary heart disease (74 per cent), compared to others. Linoleic acid is present in high amounts in some commonly used vegetable oils such as corn, sunflower, safflower and soya bean.
...

The study was published in BMJ on the 5-Februsary 2013: "Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis" (pdf)

More quotes (from the study, the highlights and the capitalized comments in [] brackets are mine):

Advice to substitute vegetable oils rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) for animal fats rich in saturated fatty acids (SFAs) has been a cornerstone of worldwide dietary guidelines for the past half century.1 When this advice originated in the 1960s, PUFAs were regarded as a uniform molecular category with one relevant biological mechanism—the reduction in blood cholesterol.1 2 Omega 6 (n-6) linoleic acid (LA) was the best known dietary PUFA at the time.

...

Diet intervention
The intervention group received instructions to increase their PUFA intake to about 15% of food energy, and to reduce their intake of SFA and dietary cholesterol to less than 10% of food energy and 300 mg per day, respectively.10 To achieve these targets, intervention participants were provided with liquid safflower oil and safflower oil polyunsaturated margarine (“Miracle” brand, Marrickville Margarine). Liquid safflower oil was substituted for animal fats, common margarines and shortenings in cooking oils, salad dressings, baked goods, and other products, and was also taken as a supplement. Safflower oil polyunsaturated margarine was used in place of butter and common margarines.

Control
The control group received no specific dietary instruction. However, some participants began substituting polyunsaturated margarine for butter after their coronary event.33 Because the research team made no effort to alter the PUFA or SFA content of control diets, such dietary changes were allowed to continue.
...
In this cohort, substituting dietary linoleic acid in place of saturated fats increased the rates of death from all causes, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular disease. An updated meta-analysis of linoleic acid intervention trials showed no evidence of cardiovascular benefit. These findings could have important implications for worldwide dietary advice to substitute omega 6 linoleic acid, or polyunsaturated fats in general, for saturated fats.[IF THEY HAD BEEN PUBLISHED RATHER THAN GONE MISSING, AT THE TIME, FOURTY YEARS AGO!]
...
Increased all cause mortality in the safflower oil group was reported in 1978,10 although deaths due to cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease were not reported by group.[BECAUSE THE DATA WENT MISSING!] Clinical outcomes for cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease have been considered to be more relevant than all cause mortality when evaluating the evidence base25 and formulating dietary guidelines.26 Therefore, previous meta-analyses of PUFA intervention trials and risk of cardiovascular disease25 27 28 have been incomplete because they were not able to include these missing data from the SDHS. [SDHS=SYDNEY DIET HEART STUDY. CONCIDENTALLY, THE MISSING HEART MORTALITY DATA HAPPENED TO CONTRADICT, BY A LARGE FACTOR, THE EXPECTED OUTCOME! HAD THE HEART MORTALITY DATA NOT GONE "MISSING" FOURTY YEARS AGO, THE ENTIRE VEGETABLE OIL INDUSTRY WOULD PROBABLY NOT EXIST BY NOW!]

Interestingly, since the control group was found also shifting towards substituting all animal fats with vegetable oils and spreads, the degree of dietary change between the study group and the control group was most likely smaller than the nominal goal for PUFA intake increase to 15%. Yet, such a small difference of probably much less than 15% in PUFA (in absolute calories) have created a huge increase in cardiovascular disease, by about 70%. It indicates that the relative risk of cardiovascular disease rises proportionally to the absolute PUFA caloric intake, with a proportionality factor of about 5 or higher! (If the linear interpolation model holds true). Furthermore, an increase due to PUFA was even higher than an increase in cardiovascular mortality due to smoking (see Table 6)!

This high multiple factor seems to be confirm by the data from Table 5 indicating that for every 5% PUFA increase (in absolute energy%) the All cause mortality, the Cardiovascular disease mortality and the Coronary heart disease mortality increased by 31%, 35% and 26% respectively (relative risk factor).  This implies a proportionality factor of about 5-7.

 That is, for every 1% added Poly-Unsaturated Fatty Acids ( PUFA) in absolute calories % of the total, cardiovascular mortality INCREASED  by 5 to 7%. This is big news!

There is an even bigger news: Saturated fat is good for us! Table 5 exonerates the much maligned saturated fats from being implicated in heart disease (Dr. Ornish, please listen). For every 5% added saturated fat (in % of absolute total calories) the risk of mortality defined in the same categories as above DECREASED  by 30%, 28% and 28% respectively!  With the proportionality factor being also about 6, that is for every +1% of absolute saturated fat intake, mortality decreased by 6%!

This study has also neatly killed the second "bird" - the infamous cholesterol-heart disease hypothesis, quote:

As expected, increasing n-6 LA from safflower oil in the SDHS significantly reduced total cholesterol; however, these reductions were not associated with mortality outcomes (results not shown). Moreover, the increased risk of death in the intervention group presented fairly rapidly and persisted throughout the trial. These observations, combined with recent progress in the field of fatty acid metabolism, point to a mechanism of cardiovascular disease pathogenesis independent of our traditional understanding of cholesterol lowering.

It is interesting to observe the exact moment, around year 3.5 into the study on the graph Fig.2c below. I am speculating here, but a dramatic fall of mortality rates in both the intervention and in the control group coincidental with a sudden increase in quitting the study, may indicate a point when the participants and doctors realized that something is wrong and begun reverting to their previous diet. Butter, anyone?

Fig.2 (bottom) from the study.  

Notice how the number of deaths dropped to zero after year 3.5, and a dramatically higher rate of study-quitting by the patients. About 30 people used to leave the intervention group per year (out of which 5-16 were due to death) until year 3.5. Subsequently 49 and 36 patients quit but none died! There is probably more to be told that wasn't discussed in the paper, but the numbers reveal enough...

Prosocialites vs neurotics

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In my previous articles I wrote about a theory postulating that our human ancestors broke away from a "herd of apes" collectivistic lifestyle.  Escaping out of a jungle "paradise" where no work was necessary for acquiring food but social interplay and obedience to herd hierarchy and the group authority was paramount for survival  [Sapolsky 1 and 2 ], meant a change over from the collectivistic towards an individualistic nomadic lifestyle.  The lifestyle where one's survival depended more on the individual foraging, hunting and toolmaking skills, as well as one's ability to construct shelters and make warm clothing.    Human development meant shift from social herd animal to industrious self-reliant individual.  It does not mean shift from social life to a complete absence of social life but it does mean interacting with smaller and more mobile groups that is characterized by less rigidity, less formal hierarchy and exhibits flexible social interactions.

The following recent study has illustrated this surprisingly well:

Study Of Indigenous Peoples Shows Big Five Personality Traits May Not Be Universal

According to a report summarizing years of research, the Big Five – which include openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness,   and   neuroticism – may be a culturally driven model that only really holds true for people in developed, western countries.

...

In his paper, UCSB anthropology professor Michael Gurven details how he and his team were unable to apply the Big Five model to the indigenous hunter-gatherer Tsimane people. Instead, they report, the personalities of the Tsimane appear to be characterized by a “Big Two” pair of traits – prosociality  and  industriousness. And while they report that these Big Two appear to combine certain elements of the Big Five that are used to describe Americans and Europeans, these two core personality traits seem to be a reflection of features that are specific to highly social, subsistence-based societies.

(Note: color highlights are mine)

The fact is, modern academic social science has blown up the pro-social (collectivistic) trait into multiple sub-categories, such as "openess", "consentiousness", "extrovertion" and "agreeableness".  Unsurprizingly, given who they are, the social scientists have shoved the entire multiverse of individualistic traits and skills into just one bin called "neuroticism"!  Why didn't they just call them "nerds" instead?

This study tells us that the social scientists and probably a majority of the society (4 out of 5 perhaps?) has devolved a "stuck in the past" mindset that considers collectivistic prosocial traits of more relevance than the "industriousnes" - pardon "neuroticism".   This is in stark contrast to the stone age people like the Tsimane tribe, whose "industrious" members are described with relevant word, while their pro-social members are bunched into one category rather than splitting them into different party-going monkey categories.

Stan (Heretic) aka Nerd

Anti-oxidants may promote rather than fight cancer!

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Hold off those berries and vitamins, suggests DNA discoverer James Watson, in today's article titled "DNA pioneer James Watson takes aim at 'cancer establishments'" article.

From wiki

Quotes:

On the $100 million U.S. project to determine the DNA changes that drive nine forms of cancer: It is "not likely to produce the truly breakthrough drugs that we now so desperately need," Watson argued. On the idea that antioxidants such as those in colorful berries fight cancer: "The time has come to seriously ask whether antioxidant use much more likely causes than prevents cancer."

...

That is why Watson advocates a different approach: targeting features that all cancer cells, especially those in metastatic cancers, have in common.

One such commonality is oxygen radicals. Those forms of oxygen rip apart other components of cells, such as DNA. That is why antioxidants, which have become near-ubiquitous additives in grocery foods from snack bars to soda, are thought to be healthful: they mop up damaging oxygen radicals.

That simple picture becomes more complicated, however, once cancer is present. Radiation therapy and many chemotherapies kill cancer cells by generating oxygen radicals, which trigger cell suicide. If a cancer patient is binging on berries and other antioxidants, it can actually keep therapies from working, Watson proposed.

"Everyone thought antioxidants were great," he said. "But I'm saying they can prevent us from killing cancer cells."

Refined Grains & Desserts diet 50% worse than Fast Food diet!

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50% more T2 diabetes in a group following the "Refined Grains and Desserts" dietary pattern (the highest carbohydrate consumption group) than in the followers of Fast Food dietary pattern (the highest fat consumption group) as showed in a new study on Lebanese. The latter group had in turn worse risk (four times as much) as the Traditional Lebanese dietary pattern, which had the lowest carbohydrate intake and medium fat intake (but the highest monounsaturated fat - olive oil, of all).

"Dietary patterns and odds of Type 2 diabetes in Beirut, Lebanon: a case-control study", Farah Naja et al., Nutrition & Metabolism 2012, 9:111

[added 6-Jan-2013]

Interestingly, when their correlation coefficients from Table 3 are plotted against the T2 diabetes odds ratio, it turns out that the only food related factor that has a positive strong linear trend with diabetes risk, is the dietary energy intake! See a blue line in the chart below. None of the macronutrients trended as strongly (if at all), with the T2 diabetes risk. There are only some weak non-significant trends with carbohydrates (positive, that is more carbs = more risk) and protein intake (negative, that is more protein = less risk). One can of course ask the question why exactly did the group with refined grains and desserts pattern tended also to overeat and whether that is caused by the diet itself, or is the propensity towards overeating the primary factor (caused by what?) while some particular dietary choice may be a response to that? I am not sure. I have to say, this results is somewhat surprising.

Another interesting conclusion one can draw, is that the study seems to support the mitochondrial damage hypothesis of T2 diabetes, since the energy overload is the primary trigger!

Click on this to view the spreadsheet.

The relatively low diabetes risk associated with the high meat (and eggs) and alcohol diet is also very revealing.  The Meat and Alcohol result does not really tell us what causes diabetes but it does tell us what does not cause it!

[7/01/2013]

Wheat seems to be a toxic plant!  

I think this study (alongside many others, for example China Study ) implicates wheat as the primary cause of diabetes, stronger than all the other dietary factors!  It probably acts through appetite enhancing or satiety suppressing, leading to overeating.  If true, this is a very important conclusion!   Worth probably a trillion dollars of American GDP!

Heretic

9 times less atherosclerosis now than 60y ago!

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http://www.forbes.com/sites/larryhusten/2012/12/25/autopsy-studies-find-large-and-dramatic-drop-in-early-atherosclerosis-over-60-years/

Bryant Webber and colleagues analyzed autopsy reports and available health data from 3,832 service members who died of combat or unintentional injuries in Afghanistan and Iraq and compared their findings to similar studies performed during the Korean and Vietnam wars. 8.5% of the newest group had evidence of coronary atherosclerosis, compared with 77% in the Korean War group and 45% in the Vietnam War group.

Any idea why? Less crisco/margarine?
And this is strange:

...
Surprisingly, cigarette smoking was not significantly associated with atherosclerosis in this study.

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Mass murderer was vegan

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http://www.salon.com/2012/12/17/adam_lanza_was_a_vegan/

Another small detail emerged in the course of the interview, this time about Adam Lanza. Lanza was vegan, according to Hanoman, because he "didn’t want to hurt animals."

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Milk and butter are good for you!

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"India's poster boy for vegetarianism – he's just fathered a child at 96" (2012)

Quote:

He has been a strict vegetarian and has never drank alcohol. Instead, his diet is made up of fresh milk, clarified butter, vegetables and chapattis.

The Independent TUESDAY 27 NOVEMBER 2012

More details from another article (John, thanks!) :

"At 94, Indian Ramjit Raghav Is World’s Oldest Father" (2010)

My daily diet comprises three litres of milk, half a kilo of almonds and half a kilo of ghee [clarified butter].

Note: ~800g of pure fat or 7200kCal seems too much fat for 1 person. I suspect this amount must be for the entire family! For instance, my fat intake is only about 100-200g a day.

More longevity surprize (different man, Nanu Ram Jogi):

"World's oldest father has 21st child at 90" (2007)

Quote:

Mr Jogi, who attributes his remarkable virility to daily walks and plenty of meat, said: "I eat all kinds of meat - rabbits, lamb, chicken and wild animals."

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Ketogenic diet slows progression of cancer...

...in 5 out of 9 patients who exhibited the highest degree of ketosis measured by a level of beta hydroxy butyrate.

The degree of cancer progression slow down or remission correlated with the degree of ketosis and degree of ketosis correlated inversely with the level of insulin.

The study lasted 26-28 days and involved only nine patients who completed the study, all of whom begun with rapidly progressing advanced and incurable cancers.

Fig 2 (part, 1 out of 4 graphs) from the study. β-OH butyrate
(beta hydroxy butyrate) represent a degree of ketosis.

"Targeting insulin inhibition as a metabolic therapy in advanced cancer: A pilot safety and feasibility dietary trial in 10 patients", Eugene J. Fine et al., Nutrition, 1028-1035,2012

Comments:

It is interesting to note that, contrary to a myth about keto diets being supposedly harmful for kidneys,  not only it did not worsen the markers, but improved kidney filtration of one of the patients!

It is important to keep in mind that stopping of a disease progression is not the same as curing it. Ketogenic diet seems to help but I do not consider it to be a universal cure for cancer (it does however cure t2 diabetes!).

Heretic

Higher stroke risk for vegetarians who exercise vigorously!

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This is part of a conclusion obtained from a recent Taiwanese research (thanks Dav0). The following Taipei Times article discusses the results:

Local researcher provides formula to predict strokes

Quotes:

After analyzing the medical records of 500,000 people, National Health Research Institute researcher Wen Chi-pang (溫啟邦) found that there are five main factors that affect the probability of a stroke: if a person is a smoker, a vegetarian, or overweight, and if they exercise to either extreme or drink alcohol.
...
For example, a 60-year-old male vegetarian with normal body weight, who smokes, drinks and does not exercise, would have an 11.1 percent chance of suffering a stroke in the next 10 years, Wen said. The probability would soar to 84.7 percent if the man is also overweight and exercises vigorously.
...
While the ideal cholesterol level for people is between 200mg per deciliter and 300mg per deciliter, studies in Taiwan and abroad show that vegetarians usually have a level of below 130mg per deciliter — which makes them twice as likely as those with an ideal level to suffer a hemorrhagic stroke, he said.
A reading of 160mg per deciliter means a person will have a 50 percent higher chance of suffering a hemorrhagic stroke than those who do not, the researcher said. Vegetarians tend to have lower cholesterol levels because they lack certain nutrients obtained from meat, he said. This does not just increase their chances of stroke, but also of developing cancer, he added.

Lower LDL cholesterol = more heart failure death!

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Another fascinating paper caught by my friends from a vegan forum - and another chunk of the mainstream medical belief system imploding!  

Note (*)

68% more death in the group with LDL < 71mg/dL (1.8 mmol/L) compared with those > 130mg/dL!

New study "Low-Density Lipoprotein Levels in Patients With Acute Heart Failure" by 
Mark R. Kahn et al., 16 Oct 2012,  found strong rising trend towards higher and higher mortality with lower and lower LDL, in every subcategory of the heart disease etiology or statin/lack of statin treatment. For example, for the total mortality (multivariate statistical analysis), relative mortality risk increased monotonically with lowering of the LDL such as illustrated in the following table:

LDL (mg/dL)	Relative Mortality
> 130	1.0
101-130	1.16
71-100	1.25
< 71	1.68

(based on table III in the study)

The study showed a similarly increasing mortality risk with lower LDL, over time, illustrated by the following figures from the paper:

*)  Harvard Medical School building

High carb and low caloric intake from fat and proteins may increase the risk of dementia in elderly!

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The title is a short version of the concluding sentence from a new Mayo Clinic study. The study tracked 937 initially healthy people aged 70-89 for 3.7 years. During this period 200 developed mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia.

Those patients who were in the highest quartile (i.e. a group) of carbohydrate consumption (as percentage of total calories), have had approximately twice the risk of MCI or dementia (1.89 times, confidence interval P for trend =0.004(*)). Those who belonged to the highest quartile of fat consumption had about one-half the risk of developing MCI or dementia (0.56, P for trend = 0.03(**)). Those with the highest protein intake had 21% lower risk.

The fact that fat, especially saturated seems to be beneficial in dementia and other neurological degenerative diseases, has been known for some time, see for example the references in my past posts: this or this

This study however, is probably one of the first, if not the first, to concentrate on all three macronutrients' intake rather than some partial aspects of the diet.

Quote:

A dietary pattern with relatively high caloric intake from carbohydrates and low caloric intake from fat and proteins may increase the risk of MCI or dementia in elderly persons.

Although the full text is pay-walled, a short writeup is posted on the Mayo Clinic website.

Interestingly, a comparison between the highest quartile of total carbohydrates with the highest sugar (see the quote below), shows that the sugar impact was negative but not to the same extent as the total carbohydrate. This may be indicating that some other form of cabohydrate than the sugar alone, may be the most detrimental to the neurological health. Perhaps the total starch [ *** WHEAT?! ***] or just the total glycemic load?

Those who reported the highest carbohydrate intake at the beginning of the study were 1.9 times likelier to develop mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest intake of carbohydrates. Participants with the highest sugar intake were 1.5 times likelier to experience mild cognitive impairment than those with the lowest levels.

But those whose diets were highest in fat - compared to the lowest - were 42 percent less likely to face cognitive impairment, and those who had the highest intake of protein had a reduced risk of 21 percent.

When total fat and protein intake were taken into account, people with the highest carbohydrate intake were 3.6 times likelier to develop mild cognitive impairment.

"A high carbohydrate intake could be bad for you because carbohydrates impact your glucose and insulin metabolism," Dr. Roberts says. "Sugar fuels the brain - so moderate intake is good. However, high levels of sugar may actually prevent the brain from using the sugar - similar to what we see with type 2 diabetes."

Wiki 

----------------------
Notes:
(*) It means that the probability of the result being by chance is 1/250.
(**) Probability of the result being by chance is 1/33.
(***) Added 13/01/2013, inspired by this .

(I am grateful and indebted to the best source of alerts about new interesting nutrition studies - vegan discussion groups!  Oh my oh my...  Thank you drmcdougall.com )
.

Diabetes - low caloric diet and exercise did nothing for heart!

.
A new report from an 11 years long just cancelled study "Look AHEAD", conducted by Dr. David Nathan (principal investigator) is going to be published.

Five thousand diabetes type 2 patients split in two groups, one (treatment group) underwent a rigorous diet (1200-1800kcal - about one half of general average!) and about three hours a week of exercise regimen, the other (control group) were only offered some general health information.

Results: in spite of 5% weight reduction in the treatment group - no difference in cardiovascular death!

See a write-up in NYT:

"Diabetes Study Ends Early With a Surprising Result" by Gina Kolata, October 19, 2012

Quote:

The study randomly assigned 5,145 overweight or obese people with Type 2 diabetes to either a rigorous diet and exercise regimen or to sessions in which they got general health information. The diet involved 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day for those weighing less than 250 pounds and 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day for those weighing more. The exercise program was at least 175 minutes a week of moderate exercise.

But 11 years after the study began, researchers concluded it was futile to continue — the two groups had nearly identical rates of heart attacks, strokes and cardiovascular deaths.

My take on it?

I find it absolutely pathetic but also surprising! Only 5% weight reduction! Same rate of heart disease and stroke after after 11 years of consuming about half the calories of average American adult?!  How is that possible, unless...


     - half of the calories they threw out were in things like animal and dairy fat, fish, yolks and meat, leaving mostly carbs. Carbs - like perhaps those on the picture?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NCI_Visuals_Food_Meal_Breakfast.jpg

More, here are study materials and guidelines for this study ("Look AHEAD" trial):

Look AHEAD Materials

This is hillarious (and oh yes, I was right, breakfast cereals, bread, low fat etc., super "healthy"!):

Healthy Eating

More hillarious:

More About Healthy Eating

Quote from the chapter demolishing the low carb diets:

The Claim [of low carb diets]
You’ll lose weight on the diets because they are low in carbohydrate.

The Truth
You may lose weight on the diets because they contain fewer total calories than most people consume. Most of the diets range from 1000-1800 calories. Also, many cause ketosis. In ketosis, the body breaks down fat stores, producing toxic wastes called ketones. To flush out the ketones, the kidneys pull water from the body. It’s the loss of water, not fat, that results in quick weight loss.

I can't help it, it so so so scientific, it is cracking me up! I need some vegan comments to straighten me up, please please ...
Stan (Heretic)

Diet high in fat and sugar - neural damage in mice

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A recent PhD project  of Aberdeen University, using insulin insensitivity and obesity inducing diet diet high in fat and sugar, is finding neurological problems in mice.

Note: see at the end, how it was reported in the media!

Deep-fried Mars bars (wiki)

Quote:

A Targeted Brain Proteomic Study Linking Diet, Ageing and Cognition

Supervisors: Dr Lynda Williams, Dr Rosamund Langston (University of Dundee) and Dr Fiona Campbell

We have recently identified that the gene serpinA3n encoding the acute phase protein alpha-1 antichymotrypsin (aACT) is up-regulated by a diet   high in saturated fat and sugar   in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of the brain in a widely used mouse model of diet induced obesity and insulin insensitivity (1). Insulin insensitivity and neuronal inflammation are related to cognitive decline. SerpinA3n gene expression also increases with age in mice (Williams et al unpublished results). The function of the protein aACT in the brain has not been completely elucidated but aACT is known to form complexes with apolipoprotein E (ApoE) and protein amyloid β and is an integral component of the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease (2). 

The present project seeks to investigate the role of aACT in the rodent brain. The fate and function of aACT in the brain will be identified using a targeted proteomic approach including co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectroscopy. Hippocampus-dependent memory function will be correlated with brain inflammation and aACT levels using behavioural measures of episodic memory in rodents to investigate the relationship between age, diet, inflammation and cognition.

...

References:

1. Winzell, MS, Ahren, B: The High-Fat Diet-Fed Mouse: a Model of Studying Mechanisms and Treatment of Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Type 2 Diabetes. Diabetes 53 Suppl 3: 5215-5219, 2004.

2. Potter, H, Wefes, IM, Nilsson, LN: The Inflammation-Induced Pathological Chaperones ACT and apo-E are Necessary Catalysts of Alzheimer Amyloid Formation. Neurobiol Aging 22: 923-930, 2001.

This is how that was reported in the media (I hope you have have fun reading it!):

High-fat diet can damage brain

Fatty Food Might Cause Brain Damage, Suggests Research

Fatty food can lead to brain damage new research shows

Calorie restriction theory - disproved!

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I knew there must have been something dodgy about Calorie Restriction theory!  It turns out they badly messed up the original  2009 Wisconsin study by overloading monkeys with sugar!  Not surprizingly - the less of that feed the monkeys ate the better they did!  Gross incompetence! Too bad for those who believed in that theory! Too late for Dr. Roy Walford and probably for many many others like him!

Rhesus macaque (wiki)

In contrast to that, the new just published study in "Nature" used a healthier diet over 25 years. The result was that the calorie restricted monkeys had more disease, by about 40% more (see the graph below)  than the control group!

Calorie restriction falters in the long run.
Genetics and healthy diets matter more for longevity.

Quotes [green comments inserted by me]:

The verdict, from a 25-year study [NIA study] in rhesus monkeys fed 30% less than control animals, represents another setback for the notion that a simple, diet-triggered switch can slow ageing. Instead, the findings, published this week in Nature[1], suggest that genetics and dietary composition matter more for longevity than a simple calorie count.
...
One reason for that difference could be that the WNPRC [an older study that supposedly  "proved" less calories = live longer] monkeys were fed an unhealthy diet, which made the calorie-restricted monkeys seem healthier by comparison simply because they ate less of it. The WNPRC monkeys’ diets contained 28.5% sucrose, compared with 3.9% sucrose at the NIA. Meanwhile, the NIA meals included fish oil and antioxidants, whereas the WNPRC meals did not. Rick Weindruch, a gerontologist at the WNPRC who led the study, admits: "Overall, our diet was probably not as healthy."
...
Observational studies have found that people of average weight tend to live longest[3]. Nir Barzilai, a gerontologist at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says that the centenarians he studies have led him to believe that genetics is more important than diet and lifestyle. "They’re a chubby bunch," he says.

Fig 3. Incidence and estimated proportions of three major age-related diseases.
 Red=Caloric Restriction Group [more disease], Blue=Control Group[less disease]

Another article:

Severe Diet Doesn’t Prolong Life, at Least in Monkeys, by Gina Kolata