The raison d'etre of this website is to provide you with hard scientific information which may help you make informed decisions in your quest for health (so far I have blogged concise summaries of over 1,500 scientific studies and have had three books published).

My research is mainly focused on the effects of cholesterol, saturated fat and statin drugs on health. If you know anyone who is worried about their cholesterol levels and heart disease, or has been told to take statin drugs you could send them a link to this website, and to my statin or cholesterol or heart disease books.

David Evans

Independent Health Researcher

Tuesday 29 March 2011

Polyunsaturated fats associated with artery plaque formation. Saturated fats are not.

Published in The Lancet Volume 344, Issue 8931, 29 October 1994, Pages 1195-1196

Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and composition of human aortic plaques
C. V. Felton PhDa, , D. Crook PhDa, M. J. Davies MRCP, Profb and M. F. Oliver FRCP, Profc
a Wynn Institute for Metabolic Research, 21 Wellington Road, London NW8 9SQ, UK
b British Heart Foundation Cardiovascular Pathology Unit, St George's Hospital Medical School, London, United Kingdon
c National Heart and Lung Institute, London, United Kingdon

This study can be accessed at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T1B-49NRD7C-1KT&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F29%2F1994&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=gateway&_origin=gateway&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=6118f2f5cdd20ad11450c34bf8705a62&searchtype=a

The study compared the type of fats were in arterial plaque with that of post-mortem blood and fat tissue whereby it reflected dietary intake.

The study found that:
(a) Higher levels of dietary polyunsaturated fats (omega-6 and omega-3) were associated with increased plaque in the arteries.
(b) Saturated fat was NOT associated with increased plaque in the arteries.

Felton concluded that these findings imply a direct influence of dietary polyunsaturated fats on artery plaque formation.

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Recipe of the day

Flat Iron Steak

Ingredients:
2 (1 lb) flat iron steaks
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, mashed
1 teaspoon Italian parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped
sea salt
Generous amount of fresh ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Directions:
Mix all ingredients thoroughly and marinate steak for one hour.

Grill over hot coals 4 minutes per side. Best cooked rare to medium rare.