Increasing dietary polyunsaturated fats and decreasing saturated fats is associated with an increase in both overall death rates and heart disease death rates

This study was published in the British Medical Journal 2013 Feb 4;346:e8707

Study title and authors:
Use of dietary linoleic acid for secondary prevention of coronary heart disease and death: evaluation of recovered data from the Sydney Diet Heart Study and updated meta-analysis.

Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Leelarthaepin B, Majchrzak-Hong SF, Faurot KR, Suchindran CM, Ringel A, Davis JM, Hibbeln JR.
Laboratory of Membrane Biophysics and Biochemistry, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23386268

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of replacing dietary saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat, for the prevention of coronary heart disease and death in men with heart disease. The study lasted for 39 months and included 458 men, aged 30-59 years, who had had a heart attack or angina.

The men were allocated into two groups and instructed to either:
(i) Increase their polyunsaturated fat intake to about 15%, reduce their intake of saturated fat and to less than 10% and reduce their dietary cholesterol to 300 mg per day. To achieve these targets these men were provided with liquid safflower oil and safflower oil polyunsaturated margarine (high polyunsaturated fat group).
(ii) Carry on with their normal diet (saturated fat group).

The study found:
(a) After 12 months the cholesterol levels of the men on the high polyunsaturated fat diet were 8.5% lower than the men on the high saturated fat diet.
(b) Men who consumed the high polyunsaturated fat diet had a 62% increased risk of death compared to the men who consumed the high saturated fat diet.
(c) Men who consumed the high polyunsaturated fat diet had a 70% increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease compared to the men who consumed the high saturated fat diet.
(d) Men who consumed the high polyunsaturated fat diet had a 62% increased risk of death from heart disease compared to the men who consumed the high saturated fat diet.

The study shows that increasing dietary polyunsaturated fats and decreasing saturated fats is associated with an increase in both overall death rates and heart disease death rates.



Men who eat the most saturated fat have a 27% DECREASE in heart disease deaths

This post contains a synopsis of a study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology (1997) 145 (10): 876-887 and a recipe for marinated grilled ranch steak.

Study title and authors:
Intake of Fatty Acids and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in a Cohort of Finnish Men: The Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention Study
Pirjo Pietinen1, Alberto Ascherio2, Pasi Korhonen1, Anne M. Hartman3, Walter C. Willett2, Demetrius Albanes3 and Jarmo Virtamo1
1Department of Nutrition, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland
2Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
3Division of Cancer Prevention and Control, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD

This study can be accessed at: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/145/10/876.abstract

Books:

The study, which lasted 6 years, investigated the relationship between intakes of various fats and the risk of coronary heart disease in 21,930 smoking men aged 50–69 years who were initially free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease.

 
The study revealed:
(a) Those men which consumed the most polyunsaturated fats (vegetable oils, margarine etc) had a 27% increase in coronary death and an 11% increase in major coronary events compared to those men that consumed the least.
(b) Those men which consumed the most saturared fats had a 27% decrease in coronary death and an 13% decrease in major coronary events compared to those men that consumed the least.
(c) Those men which consumed the most cholesterol had a 8% decrease in coronary death and an 7% decrease in major coronary events compared to those men that consumed the least.
 
To conclude: The results of this study indicate that polyunsaturated fats increase heart disease and that cholesterol and especially saturated fat consumption lower the incidence of heart disease.
 
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Recipe of the day

Marinated Grilled Ranch Steak

Ingredients:

4 ranch, thick flank, skirt or sirloin steaks

Food Mall: Skirt Steak

Salt and freshly milled black pepper

75ml/5tbsp fresh pineapple juice
10ml/2tsp allspice berries, crushed
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
15ml/1tbsp olive oil
30ml/2tbsp sherry
150ml/¼pint good, hot beef stock

Method:
1.Place the steaks in a shallow, non-metallic dish and season on both sides.

2.In a small bowl; mix together the pineapple juice and crushed berries. Pour over the steaks and add the onions. Cover and refrigerate for 40 minutes, or overnight, if time allows, turning once.

3.Remove the steaks from the marinade (reserving the marinade) and cook under a preheated moderate grill according to your preference. Transfer the steaks to a warm plate to rest.

4.To make the sauce from the marinade, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and cook the onions for 2-3 minutes. Add the reserved marinade mixture, sherry and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add any meat juices from the steak plate to the sauce.

Marinated Grilled Ranch Steak

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.

Margarine damages the lining of blood vessels

This post includes a summary of a paper published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health 2002 Mar;205(1-2):95-102 and a recipe for stuffed pumpkin.

Study title and authors:
PCB-induced oxidative stress in endothelial cells: modulation by nutrients.

Books:

Hennig B, Hammock BD, Slim R, Toborek M, Saraswathi V, Robertson LW.

Cell Nutrition Group, Department of Animal Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA. bhennig@uky.edu

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12018021
 
Hennig finds that polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can damage the lining of blood vessels (endothelial dysfunction) which can lead to heart disease, and that polyunsaturated omega-6 oils can increase this damage.

Foods rich in polyunsaturated omega-6 oils include safflower oil (78%), sunflower oil (68%) and soybean oil (51%), all of which are main constituents of margarine. 
 
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Recipe of the day

Stuffed Pumpkin

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Sausage

1 lb sausage removed from casings

1 tbs fresh sage, chopped OR 1 1/2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 small sugar pumpkin or 1 kabocha squash

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil

2. In a large skillet, brown sausage, breaking it into chunks with the spatula. Add in sage, allspice, salt and pepper. Cool.

3. Cut the top of the squash or pumpkin like you are preparing it to be a jack-o-lantern (angle the knife, so that it creates a little shelf for the top to sit on).

4. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard or toast later for munching.

5. Sit pumpkin or squash on the baking sheet and fill with contents of the skillet. Replace the top.

6. Bake at 400 for about an hour or until the squash is soft and caramelizes.

7. Allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Stuffed Pumpkin



Sunflower oil implicated in heart disease

Published in Metabolism. 2010 Mar;59(3):446-53.

Ingestion of native and thermally oxidized polyunsaturated fats acutely increases circulating numbers of endothelial microparticles.
Sutherland WH, de Jong SA, Hessian PA, Williams MJ.
Medicine Section, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand. wayne.sutherland@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19846183

Sutherland notes that circulating numbers of endothelial microparticles (EMP) are associated with endothelial dysfunction (narrowing of the ateries) which inhibits blood flow.

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of different meals on circulating numbers of EMP positive to CD144 antibody, a more specific marker of EMP.

The meals were:
(1) saturated fat (cream)
(2) undamaged polyunsaturated vegetable oil (unheated sunflower oil)
(3) damaged polyunsaturated vegetable oil (heated sunflower oil)

The study found that CD144-EMP increased significantly (20%) after the unheated sunflower oil and heated sunflower oil meals and did not increase significantly after the cream meal.

Sutherland concluded the study suggested that ingestion of meals rich in omega-6 polyunsaturated vegetable oil (sunflower oil) irrespective of whether it had been mildly thermally damaged may adversely alter the state of the lining of the blood vessels, with increased endothelial microparticles.  

Higher levels of endothelial microparticles are associated with heart disease, diabetes and kidney failure. See here and here.

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Recipe of the day

Chicken A La Greque

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 chicken (3 pounds), cut up
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Combine oregano and pepper in a small dish.

Rub seasonings into chicken. Arrange in a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish.

Blend together olive oil and lemon juice. Pour over chicken pieces. Bake 40 minutes, until tender.

Polyunsaturated fat may contribute to cancer

Published in The FASEB Journal, Vol 1, 441-445

Free radical tissue damage: protective role of antioxidant nutrients
LJ Machlin and A Bendich
Clinical Nutrition, Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., Nutley, New Jersey 07110.

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.fasebj.org/content/1/6/441.abstract
 
Free radicals are molecules responsible for aging, tissue damage, and some diseases.
 
In this review Machlin finds that, free radicals can cause tissue damage by reacting with polyunsaturated fat in cellular membranes and may contribute to the development of many chronic health problems such as emphysema, cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, cataracts, and cancer.

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