Not All Diets Pass The Heart-Healthy Test

Study Shows Mediterranean Diet Lowers Heart Disease Risk; Western Diet Gets Poor Marks

(WebMD)  Despite claims that many foods and diets are heart healthy, a new review shows only some show strong evidence of lowering heart disease risk.

Researchers evaluated more than 50 years of research on diet and heart disease and found diets rich in vegetables, nuts, and those that follow a Mediterranean pattern with lots of fruits, vegetables, and fish have "strong evidence" of lowering the risk of heart disease.

In contrast, eating a Western-style diet, foods high in trans-fatty acids, or foods with a high glycemic index were shown to raise the risk of heart disease. Foods high in trans-fatty acids include processed baked goods and snacks and fried foods. Foods with a high glycemic index cause blood sugar levels to spike and include simple or refined carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and rice.

Several other dietary factors -- including omega-3 fatty acids found in fish, whole grains, alcohol, vitamins E and C, beta carotene, folate, fruit, and fiber -- were shown to have moderate evidence to support a heart-healthy claim. But more research is needed to conclusively prove the relationship between these dietary factors and heart disease risk.

Heart-Healthy Claims Put to the Test

The review of diet and heart disease was conducted by Andrew Mente, PhD, of the Population Health Research Institute and colleagues; it was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The researchers analyzed 146 studies that looked back at the dietary habits of a particular group of individuals in relation to their risk of heart disease as well as 43 studies in which people were assigned to a diet or a comparison group to measure the effect on heart disease risk.

Researchers pooled the results of the studies and then rated the strength of evidence behind the various heart-healthy diet claims.

The final results showed only three specific dietary factors had strong evidence behind them as proven heart disease fighters:

Vegetable-rich diet

Eating nuts rich in monounsaturated fatty acids like walnuts and other nuts

Following a Mediterranean-style diet high in vegetables, legumes, fruits, nuts, whole grains, cheese or yogurt, and fish

Of these, only a Mediterranean-style diet has been shown in randomized controlled studies to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Researchers also found strong evidence behind the negative effects of the following dietary factors on heart disease risk:

Following a Western-style diet high in processed meats, red meat, butter, refined grains, and high-fat dairy products

High-glycemic index foods

Trans-fatty acids

The evidence behind all other dietary factors was "too modest to be conclusive" according to researchers.

[puzzler125]

The Eat This, Not That books are very helpful for making better choices if you are going to eat processed foods. The supermarket version also has a lot of nutritional information that is very helpful.

[paperwhite]

So why do Asian live well eating mostly refined rice? The real culprit in our health problems is physical activity. Get moving! Being healthy can not be achieve without physical activity.

[DrDavidRobinson]

Those of us in the "alternative"/"complimentary" health care professions and the fitness profession (D.C. & Cert. Personal Trainer) have been espousing the healthy ways of the New Food Guide Pyramid (Harvard SChool of Public Health) for years now. Being a published author on the subject of healthy living (http://www.StrategicBookPublsihing.com/TransformingBodyMindAndSpirit.html), it never ceased to amaze me how expeerts in their field can make statements, yet little attention is paid to them for years, until the medical establishiment "endorses" it. Perhaps this unilateral manner of acceptance is costing us dearly, as we have had an explosion in the number of cases of chronic disease. Thank you, Dr. David Robinson

[whitemale08]

Corporations are making a killing from us killing ourselves with their edible plastic synthetics.

Go organic or die.