Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Researching Diet and Saturated Fats Impact on Blood Pressure and Heart Disease

Recently ignored by the media were findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Clinical Endocrinology (AACE) from a study investigating the impact of a diet high in saturated fat on blood pressure. Published in the March/April issue of Endocrine Practice (abstract 201) A High Fat Diet in Obese Patients Induces Weight Loss, Leads to Improved Insulin Resistance, and Lowers Systolic Blood Pressure Despite Marked Increase in Dietary Sodium researchers concluded that their results were consistent with previous studies.

The study included 23 obese, hypertensive patients with documented atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The very type of patient who is counseled to eat a low-fat, low sodium diet to reduce their risks. Instead of the traditional dietary recommendation, researchers had these subjects consume a diet high in saturated fat (50% of their total calories) while restricting starches. Yes, a low-carb diet.

Not surprisingly, the group experienced weight loss even while eating whatever they wanted from the allowed foods (ad libitum consumption). In addition, they also lowered their blood pressure (the primary focus of the study) and improved insulin sensitivity. Oh, and did I mention they did this while consuming more sodium too?

Dr. James Hays and colleagues previously reported in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings that the patients achieved significant improvements in a number of cardiovascular risk factors, including reductions in total triglycerides, triglycerides, very low density lipoprotein (vLDL), and vLDL particle size. Additionally, while LDL and HDL concentrations were unchanged, there were significant increases in HDL and LDL particle size.

So, not only did they improve insulin sensitivity, lower blood pressure, and lose weight, they also reduced their risks because their cholesterol levels improved. Add to that those participating either reduced or eliminated their medications during the trial period.

These findings, along with dozens of other studies, continue to support the use of carbohydrate restriction as a dietary intervention for both weight loss and health risk reduction. Taken as a whole body of evidence, the data suggests we must focus our attention not on dietary sodium and fat but on fasting insulin and insulin sensitivity as part of the process to determine the best dietary intervention to reduce health risks and weight.

Remember next time you hear, see or read how deadly saturated fats are that studies continue to show the exact opposite!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for this! As soon as someone here at work gets the printer working I'm passing this on. So many people here have either had heart attacks or know someone and all the patients are of course put on a low-fat diet that only makes the problem worse.

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  2. maggie.danhakl@healthline.com11:28 AM

    Hi,

    Healthline just published a visualization of your daily value of sodium. In the chart, you can see what half of your DV of salt looks like for 30 foods: http://www.healthline.com/health/high-blood-pressure-hypertension/daily-value-sodium

    This is very valuable content as it puts nutrition information into perspective and helps a person understand how much sodium is actually in their food. I thought this would be of interest to your audience and wanted to see if you would include this as a resource on your page: http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/2006/05/researching-diet-and-saturated-fats.html

    If you do not believe this would be a good fit for a resource on your site, even sharing this on your social communities would be a great alternativeto help get the word out.

    Thanks for your time reviewing. Please let me know your thoughts and if there are any questions I can answer.

    All the best,
    Maggie Danhakl • Assistant Marketing Manager
    p: 415-281-3124 f: 415-281-3199

    Healthline • The Power of Intelligent Health
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