HealthBeat News

Category: Nutrition and Health

  • Magnesium Stearate – And Other Scary Chemicals

    Are we really being bombarded with toxic chemicals, even in our vitamins?

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    The world is a scary and dangerous place, and we hear every day about new threats to our health and well-being. Bacterial contamination in foods causing illness, industrial toxins finding their way into our water and air, even supposedly safe FDA approved drugs like steroid injections now found to be killing people with fungal meningitis – is there nothing, and nowhere that we can feel safe?

    Marketers know they can use peoples legitimate fears to their advantage. As a consequence, many otherwise innocuous and even healthy substances are made to sound “bad” so that advertisers can promote their products as being free of the supposedly “dangerous” substance.

    The vitamin and supplement industry, like any other industry, is not immune to the siren call of marketing hype. When you are offering a product that is the same as that offered by your competitors you must work hard to find a way to be different, to be better – to give the consumer a reason to buy yours, and not the other guy’s. Sometimes the easiest way to do that is to suggest that there is something wrong – something bad or dangerous – about the other guy’s product but that yours is safe and good because it doesn’t have that bad thing. Entire ad campaigns can and have been built on that premise – theirs is bad, ours is good – and it is one of the oldest marketing techniques around.

    We get a lot of questions about chemicals and additives and the safety of supplements and vitamins – since people are being bombarded daily by advertising from Big Pharma telling them that supplements are dangerous and drugs are safe, and by supplement marketers claiming that their vitamin is somehow better than everyone else’s because everyone else’s is bad.

    Sharon recently wrote to ask:

    I like the multiple vitamin capsules for post menopausal women. The mg and mcg amounts are the amounts I like to take, however I do not like the magnesium stearate that is used in the capsules. I like capsules with no fillers. I have seen other companies make vitamins without magnesium stearate. Can you explain why it’s used.
    Thank you, Sharon

    And here is our reply to Sharon:

    Hi Sharon,

    This is a great question – and questions like this are received often enough here that we have written about “chemical additives” several times and even produced a video dealing specifically with Magnesium Stearate.

    Dr. Myatt recently addressed the Magnesium Stearate issue. A reporter saw Dr. Myatt’s video and interviewed her on the subject for an industry publication. You can see the video and read that interview here.

    Here is a link to our original HealthBeat News article and Magnesium Stearate video – I hope you will take a moment to enjoy it.

    Here are a couple of other articles that I have written regarding chemicals and chemical additives – I hope you will find them entertaining and educational.

    Chemicals That Kill? Or Just Frighten?

    Scary Chemical, Scary Advice

    By the way, while Maxi Multi does contain tiny amounts of magnesium stearate to ensure homogenicity and dose consistency it also contains Arabinogalactan as a “filler.”

    Dr. Myatt takes great care when she designs her formulations, and Arabinogalactan, while technically listed as a “filler” is actually a valuable form of fiber that has been shown in some studies to have antineoplastic and anti-metastatic (anti-cancer) properties – so you see, everything present in Maxi Multi is there for a very, very good reason!

    Learn more about Maxi Multi, including it’s ingredients, here.

    Hope this helps and I hope you’ll subscribe to our free HealthBeat newsletter for more information like this!
    Cheers,
    Nurse Mark

  • Vegetarian And Fertile – Is It Possible?

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Is It Possible To Conceive And Carry To Term And Produce A Healthy Child While Following A Vegetarian Diet?

     

    Vegetarianism means different things to different people, and there are almost as many reasons given for the decision to follow a vegetarian diet as there are vegetarians to give them. Some of the more common reasons are:

    • Health (32%)
    • Because of chemicals and hormones in meat products (15%)
    • Don’t like the taste of meat (13%)
    • Love of animals (11%)
    • Animal rights (10%)
    • Religious reasons (6%)
    • Concern for the planet (4%)
    • To lose weight (3%)
    • To reduce hunger and famine worldwide (1%)

    (From a survey reported in “TIME Magazine: Veggie Tales”. Time. 2002-07-07)

    Before going any further, please let me assure all of the proselytizing, evangelical vegetarians and vegans (who are going to bury my email inbox anyway in letters filled with testimonial tributes to their dietary choices and demands that I read their favorite pro-vegetarian / anti animal protein study or article) – I am not going to tell anyone to not be a vegetarian or a vegan. I am simply going to present some information regarding nutrition as it pertains to vegetarian and vegan diets.

    How widespread and popular is the vegetarian diet?

    A 2008 study, commissioned by Vegetarian Times, claims that 3.2 percent of U.S. adults, or 7.3 million people, follow a vegetarian-based diet and that 1 million of those are vegans, who consume no animal products at all.

    The study further states that 10 percent of U.S., adults, or 22.8 million people, say they largely follow a vegetarian-inclined diet but fails to define what is meant by “largely follow” or “vegetarian-inclined.” Does this mean that they go meatless one day a week? Eat chicken but not beef? Usually have a salad with their steak dinner? Eat eggs but not ham for breakfast? The report doesn’t say.

    Vegetarian for moral and other reasons?

    In the Time Magazine study, a combined 32% of respondents reported following some degree of vegetarian diet for reasons of conscience: moral (animal rights), religious, or environmental beliefs. Such reasoning, like any firmly-held moral or religious conviction, cannot be argued with.

    Another 13% say they don’t care for the taste of meat. Does this mean that they eat eggs or cheese or whey protein? Is it only beef that they dislike, or pork, or lamb? Is fish or shrimp acceptable? All have very different tastes and textures which can be further modified by cooking technique and healthful spices…

    The concern expressed by some 15% regarding chemicals and hormones in meat products is certainly well-founded, but not impossible to address – certified all-organic, range fed, cage-free, free range, antibiotic and hormone free meats are increasingly available.

    The adoption of a vegetarian diet for weight loss is sometimes given (3% of respondents) and would seem to be an acknowledgement that the vegetarian diet is somehow lacking in nutrient density in order that it could result in weight loss. Since the typical vegetarian diet tends to be a high carbohydrate, limited protein, low fat diet it would need to be carefully restricted in order for weight loss to occur.

    That leaves vegetarian dieting for health reasons…

    32% of those questioned in the Time Magazine study claimed that “health reasons’ were what motivated their decision to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet.

    There are a number of sources that promote vegetarian or vegan diets for health – perhaps some of the best known are “Eat More, Weigh Less” by Dr. Dean Ornish,  the nutritionally similar but not necessarily strictly vegetarian “Pritiken Principle” popularized by Nathan Pritiken, and perhaps the ultimate “indictment” of an animal protein based diet, “The China Study” written by Dr. T. Colin Campbell.

    On the plus side of the health equation, nutritionally well-planned vegetarian diets are usually rich in carbohydrates, omega-6 fatty acids, dietary fiber, carotenoids, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, potassium and magnesium.

    If not carefully planned however, a vegetarian diet can be deficient in vitamin B12, calcium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, iron, zinc, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and iodine. Poorly planned vegan diets can be especially deficient in vitamin B12 and calcium.

    Of greater concern for vegetarians and especially vegans is getting adequate proteins (essential amino acids) in their diet. Though carefully chosen plant sources can supply adequate amounts of essential amino acids, the protein density of these foods is lower and thus more must be consumed.

    Cereals tend to be low in the essential amino acid lysine meaning that this must be made up with increased bean and soy products.

    Another important substance, Carnitine is biosynthesized from the amino acids lysine and methionine and may be lacking. In general, while anywhere from 20 to 200 mg are ingested per day by those on an omnivorous diet, people on a strict vegetarian or vegan diet may ingest as little as 1 mg per day.

    A similar-sounding but different amino acid, Carnosine is important to muscle and brain tissues. Vegetarian diets are thought to be lacking in carnosine though opinions differ as to the effect this deficiency has on vegetarians.

    Yet another organic acid, Taurine is found only in animal foods, and plays an vital role in brain development, blood pressure control, blood glucose regulation, as an antioxidant, and more. Taurine essential for cardiovascular function, and development and function of skeletal muscle, the retina and the central nervous system. Although the body can synthesize taurine from amino acids, many people — including pregnant or breast-feeding women — are unable to produce enough without a source from diet.

    Vegetarians who follow an ovo-lacto (eating eggs and dairy) eating plan are at much lower risk for many of these dietary deficiencies.

    While soy is an important protein source for vegetarians and vegans, increases in the amounts of soy consumed brings risks and problems since soy is a potent allergen for many people and can cause significant food intolerance, gut problems and inflammatory reactions. Soy is also a rich source of isoflavones called genistein and daidzein, which are a source of phytoestrogens that can potentially cause hormone disruptions and imbalances in both men and women.

    Soy is also a rich source of phytic acid.

    Phytic acid is also found within the hulls of nuts, seeds, and grains and has a strong binding affinity to important minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc causing them to become non-absorbable in the intestines and actually chelating them. For this reason vegetarians and vegans who rely heavily on these food sources must be especially careful to supplement these minerals.

    Beans and legumes form an important part of most vegetarian / vegan diets. They can also cause significant digestive and immune distress in many people as they contain a substance called lectin.

    Foods containing lectin, such as beans, cereal grains, seeds, nuts, and potatoes, can be harmful when eaten in uncooked or improperly cooked form. Adverse effects may include nutritional deficiencies, and immune (allergic) reactions and associated inflammatory response. Lectins are thought to cause gastrointestinal distress through their interaction with (and damage to) the gut epithelial cells.

    Lectin may also cause leptin resistance which could be responsible for obesity in people who have high levels of leptin.

    Vegetarian / vegan diets are usually rich in Omega-6 fatty acids but can be deficient in Omega-3 fatty acids. This imbalance, if not carefully addressed, can lead to subtle inflammation. Omega-6 fatty acids are considered to be inflammatory, while Omega-3 fatty acids, as are found in fish oil, are considered to be anti-inflammatory.

    One possible source of anti-inflammatory Omega-3 essential fatty acids for vegetarians and vegans is walnuts. Another is flax seed and flax oil though the a-linoleic acid in flax requires additional conversion by the body to provide EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) and DHA (Docosahexanoic Acid) – a conversion that many people find difficult to achieve. Fish oil is a far more reliable source of pre-formed EPA and DHA essential fatty acids.

    Since most vegetarian and vegan diets tend to be low fat diets as well deficiencies of fat soluble vitamins are a significant concern.

    Vitamin D,  acting as a hormone, increases the absorption of dietary calcium and phosphorus and works with a number of other vitamins, minerals, and hormones to promote bone mineralization.

    Research further suggests that vitamin D helps to maintain immune system health and helps regulate cell growth and differentiation.

    Obviously, vitamin D deficiencies can cause serious health problems, and those choosing vegetarian or vegan diets would do well to perform a Vitamin D test and to supplement with this important vitamin.

    Vitamin B12 deficiency is potentially very serious and can lead to megaloblastic anemia, nerve degeneration and irreversible neurological damage. Since vegetarians and especially vegans can be at high risk for B12 deficiency, most authorities recommend supplementation with this vitamin.

    Many cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, turnips, rutabaga, cassava and cabbage, as well as soy products, pine nuts and peanuts, and millet are goitrogenic – meaning that when eaten in large quantities they can interfere with the normal functioning of the thyroid gland. Thyroid function testing may be well-advised for those who have been eating a lot of these foods or who suspect they may be experiencing decreased thyroid function.

    This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of the potential problems that can be encountered by those electing to follow a vegetarian / vegan diet – but rather a summary of the problems that we see most often here at the Wellness Club and amongst vegans and vegetarians who come to Dr. Myatt seeking dietary advice.

    Since dietary needs are increased in women who are pregnant, these problems and potential dietary deficiencies become that much more important – since a dietary deficiency in the mother will obviously be a dietary deficiency in the child growing in the womb.

    For those who are struggling to conceive, the subtle inflammations, dietary deficiencies and hormonal disruptions that can be caused by vegetarian and vegan diets can effectively sabotage all efforts to implant and maintain an embryo. Should a couple be successful in conceiving and carrying to term, they may find that maternal nutritional deficiencies have resulted in developmental problems or congenital flaws in the newborn.

    For this reason, Dr. Myatt is adamant that strict vegan diets are not appropriate for pre-conception or pregnant women, and that strict vegetarian diets are ill-advised unless very carefully monitored and supplemented.

    For women who wish to maintain some degree of vegetarian diet while improving health during pre-conception and maintaining maternal and fetal health during pregnancy, Dr. Myatt is available for consultation.

    Junk Food Vegetarians

    Another problem that we often see is with people who have adopted what they think is a vegetarian diet but who have actually only succeeded in removing essential nutrition from their diet. These are the people who have decided to eliminate animal-source protein and fats from their diet without replacing them with appropriate plant-based sources of these nutrients.

    We call these people “junk food vegetarians” because they substitute nutritionally empty junk foods for the previously healthy meats, eggs, and dairy that they have given up.

    There are many foods, especially convenience foods that qualify as “vegetarian” and potato chips, donuts, Kellogg’s “Pop Tarts”, any number of other nutritionally empty “foods” creep into the diet. Even those who manage to avoid the processed junk food trap often find themselves eating a diet of almost pure carbohydrates: a breakfast of oatmeal and bananas or cereal and fruit, a lunch of bread and peanut butter or a muffin, and then beans or corn or rice for supper’ Ensuring a varied and nutritionally complete vegetarian or vegan diet can be difficult with the hectic and harried schedules of most people.

    Yes, high fructose corn syrup is vegan – NO, it is not healthy! Peanut butter is not a complete protein, provides no Omega-3 fatty acids, and can harbor aflatoxin – a potent carcinogen. While there are plenty of chocolate and granola and fruit bars all marketed to vegetarians and vegans and claiming to be “healthy” they are often no better than a standard candy bar, containing the same high fructose corn syrups, cane sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oils and other ingredients.

     

    References and resources:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism_by_country

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarian_nutrition

    Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/yjada/article/S0002-8223(03)00294-3/fulltext#section45

    The China Study: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9860369

    Dr. Mercola critiques The China Study; http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/08/china-study.aspx

    Another well researched  critique of The China Study: http://rawfoodsos.com/the-china-study/

    A look at some of the pitfalls of vegetarian dieting by a former vegan: http://rawfoodsos.com/for-vegans/

    A maternal vegetarian diet in pregnancy is associated with hypospadias: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1464-410x.2000.00436.x/full

    A comprehensive list of goitrogens: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goitrogen

  • The Mediterranean Diet – Is It All It Claims To Be?

    By Nurse Mark

     

    The Mediterranean diet has been touted as being heart healthy and promoting longevity. But is it really all it’s cracked up to be? The answer, both yes and no, is more complicated than you might think.

     

    Though it was first publicized in 1945 by Dr. Ancel Keys the Mediterranean diet failed to gain widespread recognition until the 1990s when it’s concepts were popularized in a book titled “Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating” by by Dr Walter Willett of Harvard University’s School of Public Health.

    The diet (with the word diet used in the classical sense – meaning “way of life“) was based on the eating and activity patterns of the people of Crete, Greece, and Southern Italy in the late 1950’s and early 1960’s.

    The basics of The Mediterranean diet are generally accepted to be:

    • regular vigorous physical activity
    • abundant plant foods – locally grown and minimally processed
    • fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert
    • olive oil as the principal source of fat
    • dairy products such as cheese and yogurt in moderation
    • fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts
    • up to four eggs a week
    • red meat consumed in low amounts
    • red wine consumed in low to moderate amounts

    Total fat in the Mediterranean diet is 25% to 35% of calories, with saturated fat at 8% or less of calories. The primary source of fats is olive oil.

    The Yes and the No of it

    The first thing to remember about the Mediterranean diet it that it is NOT intended to be a weight-loss diet. It is a healthy way of life and yes, with modifications and restricted food intake and increased physical exercise it could be used as a reasonably healthy weight loss diet. But no, it is not primarily a “weight loss diet.”

    So, is it an anti-inflammatory diet as it has been claimed by some to be? Maybe.

    The Mediterranean diet relies heavily on olive oil as a source of fat. Olive oil is said to have facilitated the consumption of large amounts of vegetables and legumes (relatively “low density” foods, nutritionally) by enhancing both their taste and energy density (adding calories to otherwise low-calorie foods).

    Olive oil is high in oleic acid which is considered to be an anti-inflammatory fatty acid. It is also a source of the important antioxidant Vitamin E.

    On the other hand, the Mediterranean diet also made use of a variety of carbohydrates, and depending on the region these could include couscous in North Africa, pasta, polenta, potatoes, and rice in southern Europe, bulgur, rice, chickpeas and other beans in the eastern Mediterranean regions. Dr. Willett, in his paper “Mediterranean diet pyramid: A cultural model for healthy eating” stresses that while bread “was a fundamental component of virtually all meals” it was “eaten without butter or margarine.” He goes on to state that “Butter was rare in the Mediterranean region in 1960, and margarine unknown until quite recently. [as of 1993]”

    Carbohydrates (such as bread, pasta, potatoes, rice, etc.) have been shown to cause increased inflammatory markers (cytokines).

    Well then, is the Mediterranean diet really “heart healthy”? Once again, the answer is a qualified “Maybe.”

    Dr. Willett writes that “In adult Greek men in 1960, for example, premature mortality from coronary heart disease was 90% lower than that for men in the United States, and the life expectancy of Greek men was the highest in the world reported at that time.”

    He also reported however that “Mediterranean populations in the early 1960’s were highly [physically] active, and the groups observed in Crete and other areas of Greece were leaner than their western counterparts.”

    In an apparent paradox for cardiovascular health (at least by conventional western standards) the Mediterranean diet is high in salt with foods such as olives, salt-cured cheeses, anchovies, capers, salted fish roe, and salads dressed with olive oil all containing significant amounts of salt. Western medicine today would consider such salt intake would virtually guarantee the development of hypertension (high blood pressure).

    The Mediterranean diet features lots of fresh fruit, right? Not really…

    Dr. Willett writes that “fresh fruit [was] the typical daily dessert” – not that it was consumed in large amounts or with each meal. Further, he reports that “sweets, containing concentrated sugars or honey were consumed [only] a few times per week.”

    Grapes, olives, figs, almonds, dates, and carobs have been cultivated in the Mediterranean region since early times, while other fruits and nuts such as mandarins, loquats, persimmons, pomegranates, pistachios, and cactus pear are historically more recent.

    All would be expected to provide important anti inflammatory bioflavonoids to the diet.

    And about that wine…

    Yes, the Mediterranean diet does feature the regular, daily, moderate consumption of wine. Specifically, red wine, taken with meals. Moderate is defines as one glass daily for women and two glasses daily for men. This level of intake resulted in decreased coronary risk but Dr. Willett goes on to caution that such alcohol intake for women may result in an increase in the risk of breast cancer.

    Red wine is well-known to contain a number of significant and important antioxidants and resveratrol and may also have served as a digestive aid to promote more complete digestion and assimilation of nutrients. We could assume that the red wine consumed was locally made from locally grown grapes, without preservatives and sulfites.

    So, what’s the bottom line?

    I cringe whenever I hear someone tell me that they are “on the Mediterranean diet” because it allows them to eat “lots of pasta and couscous and hummus on pita and bread dipped in olive oil” and drink lots of wine – though they often qualify that by saying they’ll choose white wine “because it has fewer calories.”

    Feeling pious because they are eating copious salads and fruits and low-fat foods, these people invariably have simply modified their traditional western diet to include parts of what they believe might be Mediterranean cuisine (the parts that appeal to them, like pasta, bread, hummus, rice..) and they end up with a “diet” that is neither particularly healthy nor very nutritious.

    Here is what the Mediterranean diet really means:

    • Mediterranean people in 1960 were highly physically active. As Willett writes: “Work in the field or kitchen resulted in a lifestyle that included regular physical activity and was associated with low rates of obesity.” These were not people for whom “exercise” meant 18 holes of golf once a week or a pilates gym membership or walking the dog twice a day – “exercise” was simply how they lived and they had little option but to be physically active.
    • Mediterranean food portions in 1960 were described repeatedly in Dr. Willetts paper as “moderate.” We might surmise that these portion sizes are what we would now describe as “small” since our western tendency is to “supersize” our food portions.
    • Processed foods, convenience foods, concentrated sugars, additives, preservatives, soft drinks and “snack foods” were virtually unheard of  by the Mediterranean people of 1960 and their healthy status and longevity reflected that.
    • Dietary intakes of pro-inflammatory carbohydrates (breads, pastas, starches) were in minimally processed “moderate” portions and were balanced with the consumption of a relatively anti-inflammatory fat, olive oil.
    • The Mediterranean diet is in no way a vegetarian diet – red meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs and other foods from animal sources formed a significant part if the diet.
    • Meals were taken with family and friends and were a social gathering where the enjoyment of the company of others and of the flavors, textures, and aromas of the foods were more important than the serving sizes. Conversation, laughter, and storytelling at the meal table would have provided considerable distraction from the process of eating, slowing the meal and promoting early satiety with smaller portions.

    So, the bottom line. Is the Mediterranean diet really all it’s cracked up to be?

    For someone willing to adopt the Mediterranean diet as the lifestyle that it really is – that is, a highly physically active lifestyle of daily labor, meals of predominantly locally-grown and minimally processed foods, avoidance of processed foods, convenience foods, concentrated sugars, additives, preservatives, soft drinks and “snack foods”, and replacement of butter and processed oils and fats with minimally processed olive oil the answer is a resounding “yes” – the Mediterranean diet  as a “lifestyle” is indeed healthy.

    For someone who simply wants to “cherry pick” the attractive parts of Mediterranean cuisine such as pasta, rice, hummus, baklava, and sweet breads and then add them to a junk food filled western diet of sodas, processed foods, concentrated carbohydrates, and trans-fatty fast food while continuing to live a sedentary lifestyle the answer is “no” – it is simply a self-deluding recipe for health disaster.

    Do you need some help deciding which diet plan is best for you? Consider a Brief Phone Consultation with Dr. Myatt.

     

    References

    Mediterranean diet pyramid: A cultural model for healthy eating http://www.ajcn.org/content/61/6/1402S.full.pdf+html

    Comparison of Low Fat and Low Carbohydrate Diets on Circulating Fatty Acid Composition and Markers of Inflammation http://www.springerlink.com/content/r1x1143pl42737u8/

    C. Leclercq and A. Ferro-Luzzi (Mar 1991). “Total and domestic consumption of salt and their determinants in three regions of Italy”.European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 45 (3): 151–9.

    Fruit and nut cultivation of the Mediterranean region: http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/proceedings1996/v3-416.html

  • 4 Diet Shootout – And The Winner Is…

    Another round in the ongoing “Diet Wars” goes to Atkins and the Low Carb diet.

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    It seems the “Diet Wars” might just never end.

     

    There are the veggie eaters who are disgusted by the cavemen meat eaters,
    the whole food and raw food crowds,
    the low fat folks,
    the high carb and the low carb camps,
    the protein lovers and the protein haters,
    the juicers and the squeezers,
    the junk foodies and super-size me’s, and,
    there’s even a bunch that is working valiantly to figure out how they can get all the sustenance they need from sunlight, fresh air, and pure thoughts – who call themselves Breathairians.

    Just like so many opposing viewpoints in today’s world – political, religious, tribal, ethnic, and so on – the chances of these different dietary believers ever acknowledging the worth of any diet but their own are slim-to-none.

    Still, medical researchers continue to take up the cause and try to figure out if there might really be one dietary regimen that is better than all others – I guess it is just human nature to want to classify things as “Good, Better, and Best” or “winner” and “loser.”

    In a study in  called  “Comparison of the Atkins, Zone, Ornish, and LEARN diets for change in weight and related risk factors among overweight premenopausal women: the A TO Z Weight Loss Study: a randomized trial.” done by Stanford University Medical School and published in JAMA in 2007 the researchers looked at 4 popular and relatively “mainstream” diets:

    • The Atkins diet, a very low carbohydrate but liberal fat and protein diet plan,
    • The Zone diet that advocates a “40:30:30” ratio of calories obtained from carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, respectively,
    • The Ornish diet that excludes cholesterol and saturated fat, including all animal products (except egg whites and nonfat dairy products), nuts, seeds, avocados, chocolate, olives, and coconuts and eliminates all oils, and
    • The LEARN (Lifestyle, Exercise, Attitudes, Relationships, and Nutrition) diet that recommends 55% to 60% energy be obtained from carbohydrate and that less than 10% energy come from from saturated fat.

    Three high carbohydrate, low fat diets, put up against one low carbohydrate, high fat diet.

    Just over 300 overweight/obese, nondiabetic, premenopausal women were divided into 4 groups and each group was directed to follow one of the four diet plans for a full year.

    The main thing that the researchers wanted to see was weight loss – but they also looked at what they called “secondary outcomes” which included lipid profile (aka “cholesterol levels”), percentage of body fat, waist-hip ratio, fasting insulin and glucose levels, and blood pressure.

    So, what did they find? (I thought you would never ask…)

    Weight loss for each of the diets at the end of 12 months was:

    • Zone diet – about 3.5 pounds (1.6 kg)
    • Ornish diet – about 4.8 pounds (2.2 kg)
    • LEARN diet – about 5.7 pounds (2.6 kg)

    And finally; (drum roll please…!)

    • Atkins dieters lost about 10.3 pounds (4.7 kg) with weight losses within that group ranging from as “little” as 6.8 pounds to as much as 13.8 pounds!

    And, those “secondary outcomes” that they thought they might check while they were at it?

    The researchers were forced to admit that “At 12 months, secondary outcomes for the Atkins group were comparable with or more favorable than the other diet groups.”

    And finally, the researchers rather grudgingly conclude that “a low-carbohydrate, high-protein, high-fat diet may be considered a feasible alternative recommendation for weight loss.”

    Folks, this is what Dr. Myatt has been telling us for years now. Check out her Super Fast Diet – which actually builds and improves on the success of the Atkins plan with over two decades of Dr. Myatt’s clinical experience and patient successes.

     

    References:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17341711

  • Do Eggs Really Cause Blocked Arteries?

    Cholesterol: Found At The Scene Of The Crime – But NOT GUILTY!

     

    By Nurse Mark

     

    We have recently seen breathless headlines in the mainstream media proclaiming eggs to be almost as deadly as cigarettes. Dr. Myatt answered an inquiry from one of her patients about this in her recent HealthBeat News article Eggs As Bad As Smoking: Really?.

    This sensational reporting is in response to a recently published research article titled “Egg yolk consumption and carotid plaque” in which the lead researcher goes to great lengths to establish that eating egg yolks can cause some people to have an increase in plaque formation in their arteries. And as we have been told, incessantly and stridently since the 1950’s, cholesterol plaque buildup in our arteries is not a good thing.

    Still, being told that eating egg yolks is “almost as bad as smoking” is pretty serious and I wanted to know more. You see, I was a smoker many, many years ago, and I do enjoy eggs frequently now.

    It turns out that the lead author of this research paper is David Spence – a Canadian researcher, medical doctor, and university professor who teaches neurological science at University of Western Ontario. He is well-known for his work in using ultrasound to measure plaque build-up in carotid arteries (the big arteries of the neck).

    It also seems that this fellow has been on a vitriolic crusade against cholesterol for many years, publishing paper after paper that essentially tell us that:

    • cholesterol is a poison that must be purged from our bodies by whatever means necessary and,
    • if we would only stop eating cholesterol we would live happily ever after, and,
    • the most evil source of cholesterol known to man is surely the lowly egg yolk.
    • Therefor, we must all stop eating egg yolks or our arteries will fill up with cholesterol and we’ll die.

    (I’m summarizing and paraphrasing a little bit here of course, but that’s the gist of his argument.)

    He has published numerous papers and made several videos to support his argument and his bias against cholesterol and eggs is blatantly obvious.

    In a 2010 interview with TheHeart.org (a division of WebMD) Spence lamented that “The public’s attention is beginning to drift away from the anti-cholesterol message that doctors have been preaching for 40 years” and went on to complain that “A widespread misconception has been developing among the Canadian public and among physicians. It is increasingly believed that consumption of dietary cholesterol and egg yolks is harmless.”

    This interview was in regard to his research paper “Dietary cholesterol and egg yolks: Not for patients at risk of vascular disease” that appeared in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology where he goes on to say that an egg has “even more [cholesterol] than some infamous fast-food items such as KFC’s Double Down or Hardee’s Monster Thickburger.”

    Wow – if this is true and if cholesterol is such a poisonous substance I should be able to close my eyes, listen carefully, and just about hear the plaque building up in my carotid arteries…

    Now, while I have never had an ultrasound exam of my carotid arteries done, I do have my cholesterol levels checked regularly – and they are just fine thank you very much, all those eggs notwithstanding.

    So I wondered, how can this be? After all, those fast food items that we mentioned earlier have been called “heart attack on a plate” and if an egg has more of this bad stuff cholesterol than that…

    It turns out that maybe cholesterol isn’t as bad as we are being told. Sure, having big blobs of cholesterol plugging up one’s arteries is not a good thing, but it looks like simply eating foods that contain cholesterol isn’t what makes that happen, and there is plenty of research to back that up.

    Still, Dr. Spence addresses that small inconvenience, saying:

    Epidemiological studies of egg consumption that failed to show a link between eggs and cardiovascular disease in healthy people were not powered to show an effect in healthy people …

    So, if I’m reading that statement correctly, the good doctor feels that if only the studies had been “powered” differently they might have come up with results that made him happier? Is “powered” another way of saying “massage the numbers” or “cook the books”?

    This particular researcher talks a lot like someone who works for Big Pharma – making research and studies say what he wants or needs them to… surely it couldn’t be… nah…

    But wait – a disclaimer at the bottom of the 2010 heart.org HeartWire article where he complains about the amounts of cholesterol in eggs has the following to say:

    Spence and coauthor Dr Jean Davignon (Institut de recherches cliniques de Montreal, QC) report honoraria and speaking fees from several manufacturers of lipid-lowering drugs. Davignon has received support for an annual symposium from Pfizer Canada, and his research has been funded by Pfizer Canada, AstraZeneca Canada, and Merck Frosst Canada.

    Hmmm… so maybe his intentions aren’t so pure and academic and altruistic after all… maybe being anti-cholesterol, and promoting the notion that cholesterol must be reduced by whatever means necessary (like drugs?) actually pays pretty well…

    All-righty then, what other information is there out there about cholesterol, and eggs, and blocked arteries?

    It turns out there is plenty – and a lot of that is not going to make the good Doctor Spence happy.

    Dr William Castelli (the director of the Framingham study) said:

    “In Framingham, Massachusetts, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower people’s serum cholesterol…we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active.”
    Source: Castelli, William, “Concerning the Possibility of a Nut. . .” Archives of Internal Medicine, Jul 1992, 152:(7):1371-1372

    And Ancel Keys, a famous researcher who spent decades working to vilify animal fats and cholesterol is said to have made the following statement at the University of Minnesota in 1997:

    “There’s no connection whatsoever between cholesterol in food and cholesterol in the blood, and we’ve known that all along. Cholesterol in the diet doesn’t matter at all unless you happen to be a chicken or a rabbit.”

    This, from the man who invented the military K-ration, popularized the Mediterranean Diet, and achieved academic and medical acclaim for his work on the Starvation Studies and the Seven Countries Study.

    In another study, from Kansas State University titled “Egg phosphatidylcholine decreases the lymphatic absorption of cholesterol in rats” and published in 2001 finds that a chemical present in egg yolk actually reduces the absorption of cholesterol.

    The researcher states:

    “If these findings prove to be applicable in humans, they may explain the fact that, although egg yolk contains high levels of cholesterol (260 mg), consuming one or two eggs per day does not increase blood cholesterol levels and CVD risk. Egg yolk contains high levels of phosphatidylcholine (1.3g), which might significantly lower the intestinal uptake of egg cholesterol in humans as well.”

    Then there is this study: “Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases.” done in 2007 by the Epidemiological and Outcomes Research Division, Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Research Center, Department of Neurology and Neurosciences, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey:

    “Consumption of greater than 6 eggs per week (average of 1 egg or greater per day) does not increase the risk of stroke and ischemic stroke. The increased risk of coronary artery disease associated with higher egg consumption among diabetics warrants further investigations.”

    To be fair, the researchers found that there might be increased risk in diabetics. We’ll look more at why this might be in a little bit.

    Let’s look at just one last rat study – though there are plenty more out there. “An egg-enriched diet attenuates plasma lipids and mediates cholesterolmetabolism of high-cholesterol fed rats” was done by the College of Food Science and Technology at Huazhong Agricultural University in China and concludes:

    “…rats fed an egg-enriched diet had lower plasma triglycerides, total cholesterol, low density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, hepatic triglyceride, and cholesterol concentrations, and greater plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration, …than those fed a plain cholesterol diet”

    And one last human study titled “Effects of eggs on plasma lipoproteins in healthy populations” from the Department of Nutritional Sciences at The University of Connecticut in which the author concludes:

    “…dietary recommendations aimed at restricting egg consumption should be taken with caution and not include all individuals. We need to acknowledge that diverse healthy populations experience no risk in developing coronary heart disease by increasing their intake of cholesterol but in contrast, they may have multiple beneficial effects by the inclusion of eggs in their regular diet.”

    Now, you’ll remember that I said, when I briefly discussed the study “Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases.” that we would look more at why diabetics might be at higher risk. It turns out that carbohydrates – not fats – might be the real villain in all this atherogenic, artery blocking epidemic.

    Consider this research article from Austria: “The atherogenic potential of dietary carbohydrate”

    The author Dr. Wolfgang Kopp concludes:

    “High-carbohydrate diets, particularly in the form of high-glycemic index carbohydrate, have the ability to directly induce atherosclerosis. Based on anthropologic facts, the reason for these dietary-induced, insulin-mediated, atherogenic metabolic perturbations are suggested to be an insufficient adaptation to starch and sugars during human evolution. Restriction of insulinogenic food (starch and sugars) may help to prevent the development of atherosclerosis, one of the most common and costliest human diseases.”

    Dr. Kopp is telling us that we are really not very well equipped to digest carbohydrates – our ancestors were better suited to eat fats and proteins.

    Certainly our distant ancestors must have taken great delight in finding a honeybee tree, or fruits in season, or a starchy tuber that they managed to pull from the ground, but they were far more likely to stay alive foraging for birds eggs or bunnies or fish or lizards or whatever other concentrated fat and protein source they could find. It was not until the historically quite recent advent of organized agriculture that starches, breads and other concentrated carbohydrates began to replace ancient man’s high fat, high protein diet, and it should come as no surprise that many of our “diseases of modern civilization” – obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer – began to appear at about that same time.

    So, my recommendation? Go get yourself your favorite “Heart Attack Burger.” Toss away the bun and the fries and enjoy. Lose the oatmeal and pancakes at breakfast – have yourself some ham and eggs. For supper, a nice, thick, juicy steak – hold the baked potato and dinner rolls though – swap them for broccoli with butter and a crispy green salad.

    At the Wellness Club we believe that fats and proteins are not the problem, they are the solution.

    The true villain in our epidemic of diseases of modern civilization is our excessive reliance on carbohydrates as a food source.

    Carbohydrates cause inflammation – especially within our arteries. Our bodies try to heal that inflammation and damage to the inner surface of the arteries (the endothelium) by producing a fibrin/calcium/cholesterol patch, much the same way your skin responds to damage by producing a protective scab. That scab when it is in your artery is called an atherosclerotic plaque and yes, over time it can build up an cause blockage, or break free and cause stroke. And yes, these plaques contain cholesterol.

    But does cholesterol cause atherosclerosis? NO! It is there because it is trying to protect the artery from inflammation.

    It’s at the scene of the crime – but NOT GUILTY!

    Go eat an egg for heaven’s sake!

     

    References:

    Castelli quote – http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/summary/152/7/1371

    Ancel Keys info – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancel_Keys

    Eggs lower cholesterol absorption – http://www.theheart.org/article/280769.do

    Eggs lower cholesterol absorption – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11533279?dopt=Abstract

    Eggs don’t increase risk – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17179903?dopt=Abstract

    Egg-enriched diet reduces cholesterol – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22234516

    Eggs are beneficial – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21776466

    Atherogenic potential of carbohydrate – http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16540158

    Eggs reduce inflammation caused by carbohydrates – http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/5/1/6/