Thursday, 15 September 2011

What advice should the American Heart Association be giving regarding saturated fat?

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The following paper was published in Current Atherosclerosis Reports 2011 Sep 8.

Study title and authors:
Effects of Diet on High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol.
Siri-Tarino PW.
Atherosclerosis Research, Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, 5700 Martin Luther King Junior Way, Oakland, CA, 94609, USA, psiri@chori.org.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21901431

The American Heart Association give the advice that high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) is the "good cholesterol" and may help to prevent heart disease.

In this paper Siri-Tarino reviewed the effects of various diets on HDL-C levels.

Siri-Tarino found:
(a) Added sugars were associated with decreased HDL-C levels.
(b) HDL-C levels were increased by 4-5% with weight loss, omega-3 fatty acids, and a Mediterranean diet pattern.
(c) Replacement of dietary carbohydrate with polyunsaturated fats is associated with a 7% increase in HDL-C.
(d) Replacement of dietary carbohydrate with saturated fats is associated with a 12% increase in HDL-C. (Monosaturated fats effects were inbetween the polyunsaturated and saturated values)

On their own website the American Heart Association say that HDL-C is the "good" cholesterol which may help to prevent heart disease, and the scientific evidence says that consuming a high saturated fat diet will lift your HDL-C levels more than any other type of diet - so shouldn't the American Heart Association be telling us all to eat a high saturated fat diet?
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Saturday, 10 September 2011

High cholesterol levels are associated with a 22% DECREASE in stroke incidence

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The following study was published in Atherosclerosis 2011 Aug 22.

Study title and authors:
Comparison of risk factors for fatal stroke and ischemic heart disease: A prospective follow up of the health survey for England.
Hamer M, Batty GD, Stamatakis E, Kivimaki M.
Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21889146

The study compared risk factors for stroke and ischemic heart disease in 82,380 participants over a ten year period (average age 55.4 years) who had no history of cardiovascular diseases.

The study found:
(a) High total cholesterol levels had no bearing on heart disease rates.
(b) High total cholesterol levels were associated with a 22% decrease in stroke incidence.

To conclude: Another study that shows high cholesterol levels may in fact offer protection from cardiovascular diseases.

Links to books that expand on the subject of cholesterol and cardiovascular diseases:
Cholesterol and saturated fat prevent heart disease
Fat and cholesterol are good for you
The great cholesterol con
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