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Pastimes : Heart Attacks, Cancer and strokes. Preventative approaches

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From: LindyBill	8/8/2008 5:45:17 PM
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DHE passed this along. Asked and answered at TYP: I have run across this PDF paper about the consumption of wheat in "The Journal of Clinical Nutrition. " Thought it was worthwhile to post. The summary says: "Diets high in cereal grains, legumes and other vegetables are consistently associated with a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease. This appears to be due primarily to the associated reduction in serum cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Replacement of animal fats and specifically the saturated fat and chobesterol components with complex carbohydrates and with unsaturated fat from vegetable sources appear to be the major reasons for the reduced levels of serum cholesterol. Additional effects of the high carbohydrate diets from vegetable sources may be caused by certain plant fibers including bignin, pectin and gums. Vegetable proteins may also have an intrinsic chobesterol reducing effect as compared to certain animal proteins, such as casein. A habitual increase in vegetable grains in the western diet should produce a sustained reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease without a sacrifice of nutritional adequacy." ****************************************** Hmmm, Lindybill, This is a 1985 article. Some of the research has been taken further or overturned. For instance, the authors say it is a myth that grains, carbs etc. get preferentially turned into fat. I think the "myth" was really an accurate insight that has now been proven a fact. The trends in obesity/etc. from 1985 to present are also very different from the trends ithe article identifies and implies are likely to continue. There are some logic problems too. The article cites consensus as a support for its conclusions. It also relies heavily on observational studies, which by definition don't prove causality and numerous other factors in these populations may be affecting the differences. At the time of the article some issues weren't known or not included (Japan's caloric restriction due to WW2 and after, for example) and there is a selection problem with these comparisons that left out examples that contradicted the conclusions (see Taubes). The problems with high-carbohydrate diets weren't clear, the dogmas were in place that eating fat makes you fat and that eating fat is the primary agent increasing blood lipid levels. The comparisons of the grain-emphasized diet to the "typical" American diet of the time is a straw man argument. The research may have shown improvement, but it does not prove that the grain diet is the best choice--only that the current diet is worse. To assume that one aspect of that current diet can't be part of an even better diet isn't proven. Gary Taubes does a great job in his book looking at the history of shaky support for the assumptions and conclusions in this article and why politically that was the case. A cynical view of the article is that the authors were supporting (sucking up to) the "powers that were" in nutrition politics of the time. But I think while that might have been something in their motivation, the bigger issue is that they didn't use rigorous enough logic in their argument or scrutinize the supporting studies enough or cite their limits and qualifications thoroughly. The article to me belongs in the rather arrogant "Nothing more to figure out on these issues" realm. Sorry to take shots at it. Phil ***************************************************** The reason I posted it was to have somebody shoot it down. Sorry I missed the publishing date. If I had seen that, I would have refrained. But it's just as well to have it covered, in case someone else brings it up. I am on a "no wheat or corn" diet" and the more support for it, the better I feel. Bill

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