Tag: cholesterol

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Is Dietary Cholesterol Really Bad for You?

February is Heart Month. This month brings back memories of my father. It was twenty years ago, on February 4, my father passed away from a massive heart attack due to coronary artery disease.

Heart disease kills people. How can we stop this killer?

Healthy diet and healthy lifestyle are two weapons we can use.

When we talk about healthy diet, we mean diet low in saturated fats and trans-fats. Saturated fat is present in full fat dairy products, animal fats and several types of oil. Trans-fat is most often encountered in margarine and hydrogenated vegetable fat, many fast foods, snack foods and fried or baked goods.

Over the years, studies in humans have not provided convincing evidence for an impact of cholesterol intake on coronary artery disease (CAD). Rather, these studies have consistently established a close association between a certain eating pattern and the risk of CAD.

This eating pattern has usually been characterized by a high intake of total fat, low intake of fiber and polyunsaturated fatty acids found mainly in fish (omega-3), corn, soybean and safflower oil (rich in omega-3).

So, is dietary cholesterol really bad for your heart?

The body produces enough cholesterol for our needs. Cholesterol is essential for all animal life. It’s an important part of a healthy body because it’s used to form cell membranes, some hormones and is needed for other functions. It has to travel to different cells to meet its cholesterol demand. In order to travel in the blood, cholesterol is carried by two kinds of lipoproteins – low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

LDL cholesterol is referred to as “bad cholesterol,” because it contributes to atherosclerosis, which is a build-up of cholesterol in the arteries and it leads to heart disease. If too much LDL cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the walls of the arteries feeding the heart and brain. Together with other substances it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can clog those arteries. This condition is known as atherosclerosis.

HDL cholesterol is often called “good cholesterol,” because it carries cholesterol from other parts of the body back to the liver to be removed from the body.

When you get a fasting blood test for cholesterol profile, which parameter is the most important? As the pundits say, “In politics, it is the economy, stupid.” When it comes to heart disease it is the blood level of LDL which is important……stupid. Did I just say that?

Ok, I said that. Because we worry too much about eating low cholesterol diet but forget that our real enemy is LDL. Experts have proved that total fat intake; especially saturated fat and trans-fats are the major players in the LDL synthesis in blood. Data indicate that dietary cholesterol has little effect on the blood LDL.

Eat right and exercise regularly and get control of your real enemy: LDL. In the next few articles we will continue our discussion on how to defend our blood vessels against this killer.

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Nuts – what about them?

You may ask, “What kind of a nut are you to ask such a question?”

The word nut has many meanings, depending on how you use it. The word can be used to express love, disgust or enthusiasm. It can be a fruit. It can be used as a slang to describe your head, testicles, your boss, your spouse, your foolish, silly or eccentric friend, an insane psychotic person and for tools like nuts and bolts. Well, I can go on and on at the risk of you saying, “You’re off your nut doc, make your point now.”

The point is, we are going to talk about a seed borne within a fruit having a hard shell, as in the peanut or almond.  We know that Mediterranean diet is good for your heart and brain. A Mediterranean diet is described as a diet rich in plant foods (vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts), including fish, some poultry, limited red meat, and primarily unsaturated vegetable oils.

Then there is the Portfolio eating plan. This is a vegetarian/Mediterranean-type diet with less than seven per cent of calories from saturated fat. It consists of 2000 cal/day. Besides other things, Portfolio diet requires you to eat 30 gm of almonds (one handful= 23 almonds = one ounce).

In general, nuts are a rich source of unsaturated fatty acids, plant protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals, plant sterols and flavonoids, all of which have health benefits. Studies have shown that if you eat one ounce of nuts (¼ cup) or more per day then you can reduce the risk of coronary heart disease by 50 per cent. Isn’t that wonderful?

Studies of walnuts, almonds, pecans, peanuts, macadamias and pistachios show modest changes in blood lipid levels. Similar to other foods rich in unsaturated fat, nuts help maintain HDL (good cholesterol) levels. To control calorie intake, moderate quantities of nuts should be substituted for other foods, since one ounce of nuts (¼ cup) contains approximately 170 calories (Rakel: Integrative Medicine, 2nd ed.)

According to US Department of Agriculture, 68 per cent of the nuts eaten in the United States are peanuts and peanut butter, about six per cent are almonds, six per cent are coconuts, five per cent are pecans, five per cent are walnuts and 10 per cent are all other nuts combined.

Peanuts are considered to be mother-nature’s complete food. They belong to legume or dried bean family and are a great source of protein, fibre, a variety of vitamins and minerals and beneficial unsaturated fats. Since they are a plant food, they contain no cholesterol.

Harvard School of Public Health researchers report that consuming a half serving (one tablespoon) of peanut butter or a full serving of peanuts or other nuts (an ounce), five or more times a week is associated with a 21 per cent and 27 per cent reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes, respectively (JAMA 2002).

Many studies have examined the eating patterns of both men and women and found that small, frequent servings of peanut butter, nuts and peanuts can reduce the risk of heart disease by 25-50 percent.

Americans consume 2.4 billion pounds of peanuts each year. About 50 per cent is consumed as peanut butter. Research published in Paediatrics shows that high risk overweight adolescents, ages 10-15, can lose weight while substituting an ounce of peanuts or peanut butter for other less healthy snack choices.

A serving of peanuts is simply a handful and is only 160 calories. And a serving of peanut butter (two tablespoons) contains 190 calories – just enough to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. In addition, studies show that peanuts and peanut butter satisfy hunger longer than other foods (www.peanut-institute.org).

So, have you gone nuts yet?

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A Close Look at Mediterraneaan Diet

Here is good news for the healthy and unhealthy hearts.

If you have been reading my columns faithfully and following the advice religiously (so to speak), then I guess you have settled down each evening for a hearty (pun intended) or an un-hearty meal supplemented with one to two ounces of red wine.

Bad news is red wine is not going to wash away all the cholesterol plaques you have collected in your coronaries. Those plaques are plugging your arteries. If your plate is typically filled with red meat and other foods rich in saturated fats (those that are firm at room temperature), then heart disease and cardiac death is awaiting you, my friend.

Good news is you can do something to change that so you can enjoy your favourite red wine for a long time. That magic bullet is Mediterranean diet.

What is a Mediterranean diet?

Dr. Stephen Choi, in an article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, summarizes this quite well. He says, “Although there is no single “Mediterranean diet,” the term has come to represent a food pyramid consisting at the base of bread, pasta, rice and other whole grains, and potatoes, supplemented with fruits, beans, vegetables and nuts to which olive oil is added, along with cheese and yogurt. Fish, chicken, eggs and refined carbohydrates are eaten less frequently (weekly). Red meat is consumed infrequently. The whole pyramid is supplemented with moderate alcohol consumption.”

What is the proof that Mediterranean diet helps reduce heart disease and death?

Researchers from the University of Minnesota conducted a study in seven countries which started in 1958 and was first published in 1970. They found that heart disease was rare in the Mediterranean and Asian regions where vegetables, grains, fruits, beans and fish were the dietary mainstays.

In 1999, the Lyon Diet Heart Study compared the effects of a Mediterranean-style diet with one that the American Heart Association recommended for patients who had survived a first heart attack. The study found that within four years, the Mediterranean approach reduced the rates of heart disease recurrence and cardiac death by 50 to 70 percent when compared with the heart association diet. Isn’t that remarkable?

It is important to know that the heart-healthy Mediterranean diet is not really low in fat, but its main sources of fat – olive oil and oily fish as well as nuts, seeds and certain vegetables – help to prevent heart disease by improving cholesterol ratios, reducing inflammation and prevent the formation of artery-damaging LDL cholesterol.

Fruits, vegetables and red wine (or purple grape juice) have antioxidant properties and reduce bad cholesterol. Olive oil is a type of food that can easily replace commonly used animal oils, lard, and butters that are no good for one’s girth and health. One can use canola oil for cooking and use margarine based on canola oil. You can use more expensive and aromatic olive oil for salads.

Is Mediterranean diet good for weight loss?

There is plenty of scientific evidence to show that one diet is no better than the next when it comes to weight loss. It is how much you put in your mouth that affects your girth, hips and thighs. Source of the calories you consume is not important to your weight but it may affect your heart, your blood sugar level and your risk of developing cancer.

So, have a glass of red wine and be smart. The quality and quantity of what you eat is important. Too much alcohol will destroy you, your loved ones and other innocent bystanders. Do some physical activity daily and for heaven’s sake, do not smoke. And embrace Mediterranean diet warmly.

That is a simple recipe. Now start cooking, my friend.

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What are the health benefits of drinking red wine?

“Wine, madam, is God’s next best gift to man,” said Ambrose Bierce, an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer and satirist.

A Bishop of Seville is said to have said, “I have enjoyed great health at a great age because every day since I can remember I have consumed a bottle of wine except when I have not felt well. Then I have consumed two bottles.”

Red wine has been part of human culture, serving dietary and socio-religious functions for more than 6,000 years. In the last few years, more research has been done to study the effect of alcohol on health. Especially, the cardio-vascular protective effect of red wine has been studied extensively. This is nicely summarised in an article I read in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons (JACS March 2005).

In the last 30 years, scientists have found inverse relationship between red wine consumption and death rate from coronary artery disease (CAD) in 18 different European and American countries. This led to the term French Paradox, because in France people eat food containing high amount of saturated fats (causes thickening of arteries) but their death rate from CAD is low.

Research has shown that consumption of red wine at a level comparable to that of France (0.7 to 1.1 ounces of alcohol per day) can indeed reduce the risk of CAD  by preventing arteriosclerosis (thickening of the arteries). It is now widely accepted that regular, moderate intake of any alcoholic beverages (1.1 to 1.8 ounces/day of alcohol) can also decrease the risk of CAD by at least 40 per cent.

You do not have to drink every day. Investigators have found the consumption of alcohol at least three to four days per week reduced the occurrence of heart attack. This was observed even in people with a limited consumption of 0.35 to 0.42 ounces/day of alcohol, which is the equivalent of one drink. But this comes with a warning – high consumption of alcohol can lead to increased sickness and death.

The question the researchers are asking – what is it in red wine which prevents or delays thickening of the arteries?

There are a number of components of red wine that could have beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system. Alcohol, which is present in up to 15 per cent of the volume of red wine, is one of them, says JACS article.

Red wine also contains a wide variety of polyphenols, most of which derive from grape solids (skin and seeds). A number of advantageous properties that help counteract arteriosclerosis have been attributed to polyphenols. Red wine’s “polyphenolic aid” inhibits oxidation of human LDL (bad cholesterol)

The article says red wine has shown to increase HDLs (good cholesterol), reduce clotting of blood and enhance relaxation of blood vessels. Is red wine better than other alcoholic beverages in preventing or delaying thickening of the blood vessels?

The authors say that the exact mechanism of red wine’s cardio-protection is not fully elucidated. The effect of alcohol on the cardiovascular system is varied and complex. Nonetheless, multiple studies have shown that in comparison to other alcoholic beverages such as spirits, beer, and white wine, red wines the most beneficial in reducing the risks of CAD and mortality in general.

It appears that the higher the presence of phenolic compounds in the alcoholic beverage better the effect on preventing or delaying CAD. A typical commercial bottle of red wine contains approximately 1.8 g/L of total polyphenols; a typical bottle of white wine contains only about 0.2 to 0.3 g/L of total polyphenols. So the total amount of polyphenols found in a glass of red wine is about 200 mg in comparison to only 30 mg in a glass of white wine.

Enjoy your red wine, but in moderation. The aim is to have good health and happiness.

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