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
Showing posts with label Vegetarianism and Heart Disease. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarianism and Heart Disease. Show all posts
This post includes a synopsis of a study published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology 2005; 46:1957-1958
Study title and authors: Vascular Dysfunction in Chinese Vegetarians: An Apparent Paradox?
Timothy Kwok, MD, Ping Chook, MD, Lucia Tam, MPh, Mu Qiao, PhD, Jean L.F. Woo, MD, David S. Celermajer, PhD and Kam S. Woo, MD, FACC*
* Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR (Email: ramsangwoo@cuhk.edu.hk).
The study investigated the following heart disease risk factors in 49 vegetarians and 49 omnivores:
(i) Carotid intima-media thickness (a measurment of the combined thicknesses of the intimal and medial layers of the carotid artery walls - so the greater the carotid intima-media thickness, the greater the risk of heart disease).
(ii) Flow-mediateddilation of brachial artery (a measurement of blood flow in the brachial artery - the less the flow the greater the risk of heart disease).
(iii) Vitamin B12 levels.
(iv) Homocysteine levels.
(v) Blood pressure.
The study found:
(a) Vegetarians had significantly greater carotidintima-media thickness than omnivores.
(b) Vegetarians had less flow-mediateddilation of the brachial artery than omnivores.
(c) Vegetarians had lower vitamin B12 levels than omnivores.
(d) Vegetarians had higher homocysteine levels than omnivores.
(e) Vegetarians had higher blood pressure than omnivores.
(f) Vegetarians ate less protein, less saturated fat and less cholesterol than omnivores.
To conclude: Vegetarians have a higher risk of heart disease compared to omnivores.
This post includes a summary of a study published in Thrombosis and Haemostasis 1999 Jun;81(6):913-7 and a recipe for simple roast duck.
Study title and authors: Vegetarians and cardiovascular risk factors: hemostasis, inflammatory markers and plasma homocysteine. Mezzano D, Muñoz X, Martínez C, Cuevas A, Panes O, Aranda E, Guasch V, Strobel P, Muñoz B, Rodríguez S, Pereira J, Leighton F. Department of Hematology-Oncology and Nutrition, School of Medicine, Catholic University of Chile, Santiago de Chile. dmezzano@med.puc.cl
Vegetarians were found to have increased platelet function and increased homocysteine levels.
Increased platelet function is where the number of platelets is too high, blood clots can form (thrombosis), which may obstruct blood vessels and result in such events as a stroke, myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism or the blockage of blood vessels to other parts of the body, such as the extremities of the arms or legs.
Increased homocysteine can cause kidney disease and macroangiopathy which is where fat and blood clots build up in the large blood vessels, stick to the vessel walls, and block the flow of blood. There are 3 types of macroangiopathy: coronary artery disease (in the heart), cerebrovascular disease (in the brain), and peripheral vascular disease (affecting, for example, vessels in the legs).
1.You want the skin of the duck to be dry when you start, so the day before roasting the duck, remove it from any packaging so that the skin can air-dry.
2.You also need to remove the innards from the duck if it still has them – often whole ducks are sold with the duck offal bagged up and pushed back into the cavity. Remove the offal and rinse out the cavity.
3.Preheat the oven to 150C (300F).
4.To prepare your duck start by pulling out any quills that have been left behind.
5.Next, score the skin of the breast with a diamond pattern, using a sharp knife and cutting through the skin and fat but not the meat. See the Hungry Mouse website for images of this.
6.The next step is to pierce the skin in between the slits with the point of a sharp knife, piercing through the skin but not hitting the meat. This is not easy and I took a fairly wild approach in the end, randomly stabbing several times in each little diamond of skin. Focus particular effort in the join round the legs where the skin is fattier and the fat will collect and also over the drumstick which has had very little attention at this point.
7.Stand a rack into a deep roasting tray and stand the duck on top. Using a piece of kitchen paper wipe any excess moisture off the skin and rub some salt over the skin.
8.Place the duck into the oven and leave for an hour.
9.After 1 hour remove the duck from the oven briefly. Take a sharp knife and re-pierce the skin round the leg join and also anywhere else where you can see that liquid fat is building up under the skin. If in doubt, give the duck a good gentle piercing all over the skin again – it will be easier to do now that the skin surface has had some hot air on it for a while. If the skin looks particularly soft anywhere this will also be a sign that there is some fat collecting under the skin.
10.If you are roasting a whole duck, flip it over onto its breast/back (whichever it wasn’t resting on before) so that the meat juices keep the meat moist under the skin by moving around. If you are only roasting a half duck then there’s no need to flip the duck and expose the centre of the carcass.
11.Return the duck to the oven for another hour.
12.After the second hour, remove the duck from the oven and repeat steps 9-11.
13.Continue this process up to 4 times. 2 hours was sufficient for my 1kg half duck, 4 hours is OK for a larger duck (say, about 2.5kg). I would suggest that you cook a duck that is over 1kg but less than 1.5kg for 2.5 hours, 1.5-2kg ducks for 3-3.5 hours and 2-2.5kg ducks for 3.5-4 hours. The reality is that you don’t need to be precise here, as long as your duck meat is cooked through. If you want to be certain about that then, when you think you’re near the end of this cooking time, stick a sharp knife through to deeply pierce the meat at a thick point (eg. middle of the breast and/or fattest bit of the drumstick), press the meat beside the cut using the flat side of the knife. If clear fluids come out the bird is cooked. If any blood comes out then you need to cook it a little longer.
14.To finish off, ensure the bird is breast side up again (that’s the usual way up that you expect to see a roast chicken or turkey), place back in the oven, increase the temperature to 225C (450F) and blast the bird for a final 15 mins. This should ensure you get any final non-crispy spots on the skin and achieve some crunch.
15.Place the bird on a plate and leave in a warm place for 10 mins to rest before you carve it. This helps the meat stay more moist.
This post includes a summary of a paper published in the Journal of Nutrition 2002 Feb;132(2):152-8 and a recipe for basil and chillies beef stir-fry.
Study title and authors:
Books:
Plasma homocysteine levels in Taiwanese vegetarians are higher than those of omnivores.
Hung CJ, Huang PC, Lu SC, Li YH, Huang HB, Lin BF, Chang SJ, Chou HF. Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Tzu-Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan.
High homocysteine levels in the blood can damage the lining of the arteries. People who have very high levels of homocysteine are at an increased risk for heart disease.
The author foundvegetarianshave higher blood homocysteine levels than omnivores.
Ingredients:
•Fat for cooking;
•3 finely chopped red chillies
•3 minced garlic cloves;
•2 tbsp fish sauce, optional (use water if you don’t have fish sauce);
•1 lb tender beef, cut in thin slices;
•150 g chopped asparagus;
•1 cup fresh basil leaves;
•Thinly sliced red chilli for garnishing;
Technique:
Mix the chopped chillies, garlic and fish sauce in a bowl and add the beef. Put in the refrigerator to marinate for about 2 hours. Heat some fat in the wok, stir-fry the beef as per the general technique and remove from the wok. Add more fat and stir-fry the asparagus. Add 1/4 cup water or stock when the asparagus is almost cooked. Return the beef to the wok, add the basil and cook for another minute. Garnish the finished dish with slices of chilli.
This post includes a summary of a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Vol. 74, No. 2, 233-241, August 2001 and a recipe for creamy macadamia shrimp.
Study title and authors: Hyperhomocysteinemia and elevated methylmalonic acid indicate a high prevalence of cobalamin deficiency in Asian Indians1,2,3
Books:
Helga Refsum1, Chittaranjan S Yajnik1, Milind Gadkari1, Jörn Schneede1, Stein E Vollset1, Lars Örning1, Anne B Guttormsen1, Anjali Joglekar1, Mehmood G Sayyad1, Arve Ulvik1 and Per M Ueland1
1 From the Department of Pharmacology and the Locus for Homocysteine and Related Vitamins, University of Bergen, Norway; Axis-Shield ASA, Oslo; and the Diabetes Unit, King Edward Memorial Hospital and Research Centre, Pune, India.
2 Supported by the EU Commission Demonstration Project (contract no. BMH4-98-3549) and The Advanced Research Programme and the Programme for Advanced Technical Equipment of the Norwegian Research Council.
3 Address reprint requests to H Refsum, Department of Pharmacology, University of Bergen, Armauer Hansens Hus, 5021 Bergen, Norway. E-mail: helga.refsum@farm.uib.no.
Low cobalamin (vitamin B12) concentrations, or both are related to CVD, cancer, cognitive impairment, delayed mental development in infancy and childhood, and birth defects and pregnancy complications. A possible relation between impaired cobalamin status and childhood infections, tuberculosis, HIV infection, and reduced cellular immunity has also been implicated.
■1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)
■1/2 cup macadamia nuts
■1 tablespoon unsalted butter
■2 tablespoons coconut milk
■Fresh lime juice to taste
Instructions:
Puree shallot, salt and macadamia nuts in a food processor until fairly smooth.
Melt butter in a pan over high heat and add shrimp. Saute one minute then add shallot-macadamia mixture. Stir the shrimp several times while they continue to sauté for three more minutes. Add coconut milk to the shrimp and cook one minute more.
Remove from heat and squeeze a generous amount of lime juice on top to taste.
This post contains a summary of a study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 21, pp. 13–22 2008 and a recipe for baked eggs.
Books:
Study title and authors:
A comparison of some of the cardiovascular risk factors in vegetarian and omnivorous Turkish females E. Karabudak, G. Kiziltan & N. Cigerim Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Health Sciences Faculty, Baskent University, Ankara, Turkey
5 eggs
5 bacon strips
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 sweet potato, grated
4 green onions, diced
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350. Start cooking your bacon! While the bacon is cooking, heat the coconut oil in another pan and add the grated sweet potato. Saute the potato for about 2 minutes. Add the green onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach is just wilted. Add the paprika, sea salt and pepper to the vegetables, mix well, and divide the mixture evenly into the bottom of your 5 ramekins. Carefully crack one egg on top of the veggie mixture into each ramekin. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. While the eggs are cooking, crumble up your cooked bacon. After the 15 minutes in the oven, sprinkle each egg evenly with the crumbled bacon and bake for an additional 3-5 minutes or until the eggs whites are set but the egg is still a little bit “jiggly” so that the yolks are not quite cooked all the way through. Scoop the eggs carefully out of the ramekins and serve in bowls.
This post includes a summary of a paper published in the International Journal of Epidemiology Volume 24, Number 4 Pp. 704-709 and a recipe for mustard and herb rubbed leg of lamb.
Study title and authors: Serum Total Homocysteine and Coronary Heart Disease
Books:
EGIL ARNESEN*, HELGA REFSUM**, KAARE H BØNAA*, PER MAGNE UELAND**, OLAV H FØRDE* and JAN E NORDREHAUG
* Institute of Community Medicine, University of Tromsø MH-building, N-9037 Tromso, Norway
** Clinical Pharmacology Unit, Central Laboratory, Haukeland Hospital, University of Bergen Norway
Department of Heart Disease, Haukeland Hospital, University of Bergen Norway
This paper can be accessed at: http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/24/4/704 The homocysteine levels of 21,826 subjects, aged 12–61 years were measured to investigate the relationship between homocysteine and heart disease.
The study found that for each 4 µmol/l increase in homocysteine levels there was a 32% increased risk of heart disease.
Arnesen concludes that high homocysteine levels are a risk factor for heart disease.
High homocysteine levels may be the result of B vitamin deficiencies caused by avegan diet.Seehere
The best dietary sources of B vitamins are meat and poultry.
3 large, carrots, peeled, halved and cut into four lengthways
2 red peppers, cored, deseeded and chopped
Method:
1.Using a sharp knife make deep incisions all over the lamb joint. Mix together the mustards, garlic and herbs. Rub over the lamb and season. If time allows cover and leave in a refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
2.Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4-5, 180-190°C,350-375°F.
3.Place the joint in a large roasting tray and drizzle with the butter. Roast uncovered for the calculated cooking time. Cover with foil if browning too quickly.
4.40 minutes before the end of the cooking time remove the roasting tray from the oven and add the carrots, peppers and thyme around the lamb joint. Toss gently.
5.Serve the lamb whole or sliced with the roasted vegetables.
The paper found that vegan diets were deficient in Vitamins B12 and B2. This led to elevated homocysteine levels which are an indicator ofheart disease.Seehere
Use two large or up to four small cloves of fresh garlic.
1lb chicken liver
1 small onion (or 1/2 of a large onion), chopped
1/2 cup red wine, or balsamic vinegar
2-4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 sprig fresh rosemary
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
Sea salt
2 tablespoons cracked black pepper (optional)
Preparation:
•Sauté the liver and onions in a couple of tablespoons of the butter until the livers are browned and the onions are tender.
•Add wine, garlic, mustard, herbs and lemon juice and cook uncovered until most of the liquid has gone.
•Transfer the mixture into a food processor and blend to a smooth paste along with the rest of the butter 1Tbsp at a time until it reaches a smooth, creamy consistency – you don’t want it to be crumbly.
•Add salt to taste.
•Put pate in a shallow dish to refrigerate before serving.
•(optional) Press cracked pepper onto the top of it or garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme or rosemary.
•Enjoy spread on celery, carrots, cucumbers, peppers or any other veggies you want to dip!
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are where a sugar molecule bonds to either a protein or fat molecule. Krajcovicová-Kudlácková notes that advanced glycation end productsmay play an important adverse role inprocess of heart disease, diabetes, aging and chronic kidney failure.
In this study, the blood levels of advanced glycation end products were compared in 19 vegetarians and 19 meat eaters.
The study found:
(a) Glucose was associated with rises in the levels of advanced glycation end products.
(b) Fructose was associated with exponential rises in the levels of advanced glycation end products.
(c) Intake of vegetables and fruit with predominance of fructose is significantly higher in vegetarians and vegetarians had significantly higher levels of advanced glycation end products.
This study shows how vegetarians are at more risk of the unhealthy effects of advanced glycation end products because of their higher vegetable and fruit consumption. Additionally meat eaters have less risk from advanced glycation end products because meat contains molecules called carnosine (see here) which offer protection from the adverse effect (such as premature aging and diabetes) of advanced glycation end products .
FØRDE* and JAN E NORDREHAUG 
