The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics say that cholesterol and saturated fat do not cause heart disease

The 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) recently released the new draft dietary guidelines for Americans.

A press release from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics commented on the draft guidelines. The release contained the following:

(a) The Academy supports the DGAC in its decision to drop dietary cholesterol from the nutrients of concern list and recommends it deemphasize saturated fat from nutrients of concern, given the lack of evidence connecting it with cardiovascular disease.
(b) Low sodium intake levels recommended by the DGAC are actually associated with increased mortality for healthy individuals.
(c) The evidence is strongest that a reduction in the intake of added sugars will improve the health of the American public.

I'm glad the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics are at last coming around to my way of thinking.



Review of the scientific literature finds consistent evidence of an association between sugar intake and cardiovascular disease

This paper was published in the Internal Medicine Journal 2012 Oct;42 Suppl 5:46-58

 

Study title and authors:

Sugar restriction: the evidence for a drug-free intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

Thornley S, Tayler R, Sikaris K.

Section of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. s.thornley@auckland.ac.nz

 

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23035683

This paper reviewed the epidemiological, biochemical and psychological evidence that implicates excess sugar intake as an important cause of ill-health.

The paper found:

(a) There is consistent evidence of an association between sugar intake and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, and of the disease itself.

(b) There is some evidence of a sugar addiction syndrome.

(c) There is evidence that some researchers use debatable methods to prove the hypothesis that saturated fat causes coronary disease despite the unsupportive statistical evidence.

The paper concludes: "This paper suggests a deviation from widely accepted practice for many cardiologists, general physicians and family doctors concerned with reducing the cardiovascular disease risk of the patient that they have before them. Rather than reaching for the prescription pad, we suggest a brief conversation about the perils of a high-sugar diet and practical advice about how to cut down".

 



Sugar and refined carbohydrates are implicated in heart disease - Fat is not

This post includes a summary of a paper published in the British Medical Journal 2 : 1109 21 October 1978 and a recipe for chestnut and bacon stuffing.

Study title and authors:

Books:

Changing social-class distribution of heart disease.

M G Marmot, A M Adelstein, N Robinson, G A Rose

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.bmj.com/content/2/6145/1109.abstract

Professor Marmot analysed mortality trends over 40 years in England and Wales and found that mortality from heart disease had become progressively more common in working-class men and women than in those from the middle and upper classes.

He found that rising heart disease was associated with higher sugar and refined carbohydrate consumption in the lower class. There was no correlation between change in heart disease and change in the social-class pattern of fat consumption.

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Recipe of the day

Chestnut and Bacon Stuffing

Ingredients:

Food Mall: Bacon

400g chestnuts

150g thick cut unsmoked bacon slices, cut into small chunks
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
75g butter
2 tbsp parsley, chopped
Zest and juice of ½ large lemon

Directions:

1.Start by cooking the chestnuts. These can be boiled, baked or roasted but be sure to pierce the skins before cooking to stop them from exploding. I roasted mine by cutting a cross into the shell, roasting on a dry baking sheet at 190C for 15 minutes and then shelling while still warm. Be warned that it takes a while to shell chestnuts so I actually did this the day before I made the stuffing.

2.Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan and gently fry the onion, bacon and garlic over a medium heat, stirring frequently to make sure they don’t burn.

3.While the onion and bacon is cooking, roughly mash the chestnuts in a bowl – not as easy as it sounds!

4.Once the onion and bacon are soft and cooked add the chestnuts, butter, parsley and lemon (zest and juice) to the pan.

5.Stir over a medium-low heat until the butter is melted and the mix is holding together in a single clump.

6.If you want to use as a cavity stuffing then place into the washed out cavity of a turkey or chicken before roasting. Alternatively, put it into a roasting dish and bake in the oven for 45mins to an hour until browned on top.

Chestnut and Bacon Stuffing

Increases in sugar consumption mirrors the rises in modern diseases

Published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 86, No. 4, 899-906, October 2007

Potential role of sugar (fructose) in the epidemic of hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease1,2,3
Richard J Johnson, Mark S Segal, Yuri Sautin, Takahiko Nakagawa, Daniel I Feig, Duk-Hee Kang, Michael S Gersch, Steven Benner and Laura G Sánchez-Lozada
1 From the Division of Nephrology and Department of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (RJJ, MSS, YS, TN, and MSG); the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX (DIF); the Division of Nephrology, Ewha Woman's University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea (D-HK); the Foundation for Applied Molecular Evolution, Gainesville, FL (SB); and the Instituto Nacional de Cardiologia Ignacio Chavez, Mexico City, Mexico (LGS-L)
2 Supported by NIH grants DK-52121, HL-68607, and HL-79352 (to RJJ) and by a grant from the Korea Health 21 R&D Project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (A050626; to D-HK).
3 Address reprint requests to RJ Johnson, CG-98, 1600 Archer Road, Gainesville, FL 32610

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.ajcn.org/content/86/4/899.full#R40

In this review of sugar and it's role in epidemic of hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, kidney disease, and cardiovascular disease Johnson found evidence of many associations including:

(a) There are striking  associations between sugar intake and the epidemic of cardiorenal disease. For example, obesity was initially seen primarily in the wealthy, who would have been the only ones able to afford sugar.
(b) The first documentation of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity occurred in the very countries (England, France, and Germany) where sugar first became available to the public.
(c) The rise in sugar intake in the United Kingdom and the United States also correlates with the rise in obesity rates observed in these countries.
(d) The later introduction of sugar to developing countries also correlates with the later rise in their rates of obesity and heart disease.
(e) A series of studies linked the ingestion of soft drinks to obesity, hypertension, and diabetes.
(f) A series of studies linked the consumption of fruit juice and fruit punch to obesity in children.
(g) Clinical studies have confirmed that sucrose (and particularly fructose) can induce weight gain, features of the metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance.
(h) One unique aspect of fructose is that it is the only sugar that raises uric acid concentrations which may induce gout and heart disease.

AMAZON UK Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- And How You Can Get Back on Track
AMAZON USA Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- and How YouCan Get Back on Track

High blood sugar levels promote heart disease

This post includes a summary of a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine Vol. 165 No. 16, September 12, 2005 and a recipe for island braised short ribs.

Study title and authors:                                                                                                         Books:

Glycemic Control and Coronary Heart Disease Risk in Persons With and Without Diabetes

The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study
Elizabeth Selvin, PhD, MPH; Josef Coresh, MD, PhD; Sherita H. Golden, MD, MHS; Frederick L. Brancati, MD, MHS; Aaron R. Folsom, MD; Michael W. Steffes, MD, PhD

This paper can be accessed at: http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/165/16/1910
 
Selvin concludes that high blood sugar levels are a risk factor for heart disease.

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Recipe of the day

Island Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients:

◦5lb Beef Short Ribs                                                                                           Food Mall: Short Ribs 

◦3 large, fresh leeks; thoroughly washed and finely chopped (light green and white sections only)

◦2 tbsp Chipotle Peppers in Adobo sauce
◦1/2 cup Tequila, plus another few shots for the chef
◦1 cup coconut milk
◦1 cup beef broth
◦2 cups frozen mango chunks (or cut some fresh mango!)\
◦2 tbsp coconut oil

The Procedure:
First, we want to salt and pepper the meat all over with sea or coarse kosher salt, and fresh-ground black pepper. Work the salt and pepper in with your fingers until it’s thoroughly embedded in the meat. Don’t be afraid to get in there! I also like to give a thin coating of olive oil to the meat before I start in with the salt and pepper.

Next, we want a heavy skillet heated up to searing temperatures (medium-high heat should do). You can choose nonstick for easy cleanup, or cast iron for a

A hot grill works wonderfully for the initial sear as well superior sear. After the skillet has heated up, we want to brown each side of the ribs (even the edges). The Maillard reaction here is what gives meat many delicious flavor compounds, as well as the appealing burnt color, so don’t skimp on this step!

Ensure that you brown the ribs in small batches. If the pan is crowded, that is that much less heat being applied to each rib, so the browning won’t be as effective. We are not looking to fully cook the ribs; this is why the hotter the pan, the better. We want a scorched outside, and a raw inside. Got it? As the ribs finish browning, place them lovingly in the dutch oven, or in the crock pot.

You’ll notice that a good amount of the fat from the ribs has rendered and melted into the pan’s loving embrace. This is perfect, just what we wanted! We are going to use this fat, plus a little more in the form of the 2 tbsp of coconut oil to brown or caramelize the leeks. So put the supplementary fat in, and throw in those leeks!

The noble leek is called "poor man's asparagus". I believe asparagus to be the "poor man's leek"

Leeks are a bit more delicate than onions. You will have to watch these closely and toss them about the skillet every minute or so. What we are looking for is that browned color which means the leeks are turning sweet and succulent. This should take between 10-15 minutes. If you have a while, I highly recommend a slow caramelization of the leeks over the lowest possible heat. It can take up to 6-8 hours, but is very much worth it.

While the leeks are browning in the skillet, we want to prepare the rest of the braising fluid. Simply combine the tequila, beef broth, coconut milk, Chipotle peppers and mango chunks in a blender and hit ‘liquify’. You might have to add more beef broth to get the mixture to a thin enough consistency. We then add this mixture to the browned leeks.

Bring the mixture up to a light simmer, and let the flavors combine for a few minutes. Pour the mixture over the short ribs.