Saturated fats are to be avoided. For many years that has been the recommendation from many governments, medical associations and professional health groups. That advice has always had its detractors but with recent findings, that advice has come under renewed attack.
The realization that refined carbohydrates may be the driving cause behind the rise of obesity and diabetes cases has caused researchers to go back and take another look at saturated fats. The scrutiny has failed to show a significant link to adverse effects from saturated fats.
Meta-Analyses and Studies
Chowdhury R et al. (March 18, 2014). "Association of Dietary, Circulating, and Supplement Fatty Acids With Coronary Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis". Annals of Internal Medicine 160 (6): 398-406.
Danaei G et al. (April 2009). "The
Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk
Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors". In Hales, Simon. PLoS Medicine 6 (4): e1000058.
Hooper L, Summerbell CD, Thompson R, Sills D, Roberts FG, Moore H, Smith GD. (July
2011). "Reduced or modified dietary fat for preventing cardiovascular disease". The Cochrane Library. Earlier version.
Jakobsen MU, O'Reilly EJ, Heitmann, BL, Pereira MA, Bälter K, Fraser GE,
Goldbourt U, Hallmans G et al. (2009). "Major types of dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: a pooled analysis of 11 cohort studies". The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89 (5): 1425–32.
Mente A, de Koning L, Shannon HS, Anand SS. (April 2009). "A systematic review of the evidence supporting a causal link between dietary factors and coronary heart disease". Archives of Internal Medicine 169 (7): 659–69.
Mozaffarian D, Micha R, Wallace S. (March 2010). "Effects on Coronary Heart Disease of Increasing Polyunsaturated Fat in Place of Saturated Fat: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials". In
Katan, Martijn B. PLoS Medicine 7 (3): e1000252.
Skeaff M and Miller J. (September 15, 2009). "Dietary fat and coronary heart disease: Summary of evidence from prospective cohort and randomised controlled trials". Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism 55 (1–3): 173–201.
USDA Nutrition Evidence Library. (2010). "What is the effect of saturated fat intake on increased risk of cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes?"
Dairy
Kratz M, Baars T, Guyenet S. (February 2013). "The relationship between high-fat dairy consumption and obesity, cardiovascular, and metabolic disease". European Journal of Nutrition 52 (1):1-24
Reviews, Editorials and Comments
DiNicolantonio JJ. (March 5, 2014). "The cardiometabolic consequences of replacing saturated fats with carbohydrates or Ω-6 polyunsaturated fats: Do the dietary guidelines have it wrong?". Open Heart 1 (1). The British Medical Journal.
Hite et al. (October 2010). "In the face of contradictory evidence: Report of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans Committee". Nutrition 26 (10): 915-924.
Hoenselaar R. (February 2012). "Saturated fat and cardiovascular disease: the discrepancy between the scientific literature and dietary advice". Nutrition 28 (2): 118-123.
Knopp RH and Retzlaff BM. (November 2004). "Saturated fat prevents coronary artery disease? An American paradox". American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 80 (5): 1102-1103.
Kuipers RS et al. (September 2011) "Saturated fat, carbohydrates and cardiovascular disease". The Journal of Medicine (Netherlands) 69 (9): 372-378.
Lawrence GD. (May 2013). "Dietary Fats and Health: Dietary Recommendations in the Context of Scientific Evidence". Advances in Nutrition 4: 294-302.
Malhotra A. (October 22, 2013). "Saturated fat is not the major issue". British Medical Journal 347: f6340.
Mann GV. (September 22, 1977). "Diet-heart: End of an era". New England Journal of Medicine 297: 644-49.
Weinberg SL. (March 2004). "The diet–heart hypothesis: a critique". Journal of the American College of Cardiology 43 (5): 731-733.
Articles
Teicholtz, Nina. (May 6, 2014). The Questionable Link Between Saturated Fat and Heart Disease. The Wall Street Journal.
Walsh, Bryan. (June 12, 2014). Ending the War on Fat. Time.
Sunday, November 3, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Dr. Peter Attia
Peter Attia is a co-founder along with Gary Taubes of the Nutritional Science Initiative (NuSI) that seeks to improve the quality of science in nutritional and obesity research. He was previously with McKinsey & Company where he worked on corporate risk and healthcare issues. Prior to that he was a general surgery resident at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a surgical oncology fellow at the National Cancer Institute of National Institutes of Health. He attained his medical degree from Stanford University after having earlier graduated from Queens University with a degree in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics.
Attia's shift to medical research from medical surgery is a result of growing disenchantment with what he saw as the poor state of preventative medicine and the observation that doctors seemed mainly effective as a last line of defense against death. As an avid swimming enthusiast who has crossed the San Pedro Channel off Santa Catalina Island, Peter Attia was also dissatisfied with his weight gain despite following all the standard medical advice related to diet and exercise. Through self-experimentation he found he was able to lose weight by dramatically lowering carbohydrate intake while increasing fat intake despite an overall increase in calories which goes against the standard medical advice.
More Information
Attia's shift to medical research from medical surgery is a result of growing disenchantment with what he saw as the poor state of preventative medicine and the observation that doctors seemed mainly effective as a last line of defense against death. As an avid swimming enthusiast who has crossed the San Pedro Channel off Santa Catalina Island, Peter Attia was also dissatisfied with his weight gain despite following all the standard medical advice related to diet and exercise. Through self-experimentation he found he was able to lose weight by dramatically lowering carbohydrate intake while increasing fat intake despite an overall increase in calories which goes against the standard medical advice.
More Information
- Peter Attia: Is the obesity crisis hiding a bigger problem? (2013). TED.
- Rainey, James. (October 18 2005). 30,000 strokes to go. Los Angeles Times.
- Speakers – Peter Attia: Surgeon. (2013). TED.
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
Omega 3s are polyunsaturated fats characterized by a double bond in the 3 position. Along with omega 6s, omega 3s are often referred to as essential fatty acids since they are critical to certain body functions yet not readily created in the human body and must be derived from dietary sources.
The parent omega 3 fatty acid is alpha linoleic acid (ALA, sometimes given the acronym LNA). ALA breaks down to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA with their strong anti-inflammatory effects and role in body functions are probably the most beneficial forms of omega 3s in the body. Unfortunately in some circumstances ALA does not readily break down to EPA and DHA. Exacerbating the situation is that ALA is usually not that common in most Western diets.
The most common sources of omega 3s are marine products such as fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies. Marine sources are more likely to contain the downstream forms EPA and DHA. Flaxseed, walnuts, and rapeseed also contain omega 3 but principally in the form of ALA.
It is now pretty clearly established that omega 3s can be effective in lowering triglycerides, but some doubts remain over their therapeutic use in combating other health conditions and diseases. With more readily available EPA and DHA, fish oil is thought to be more protective against cardiovascular disease than flaxseed oil. However, recent findings seem to indicate that fish oil but not flaxseed oil may also increase the risk of prostate cancer.
The parent omega 3 fatty acid is alpha linoleic acid (ALA, sometimes given the acronym LNA). ALA breaks down to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA with their strong anti-inflammatory effects and role in body functions are probably the most beneficial forms of omega 3s in the body. Unfortunately in some circumstances ALA does not readily break down to EPA and DHA. Exacerbating the situation is that ALA is usually not that common in most Western diets.
The most common sources of omega 3s are marine products such as fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and anchovies. Marine sources are more likely to contain the downstream forms EPA and DHA. Flaxseed, walnuts, and rapeseed also contain omega 3 but principally in the form of ALA.
It is now pretty clearly established that omega 3s can be effective in lowering triglycerides, but some doubts remain over their therapeutic use in combating other health conditions and diseases. With more readily available EPA and DHA, fish oil is thought to be more protective against cardiovascular disease than flaxseed oil. However, recent findings seem to indicate that fish oil but not flaxseed oil may also increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)