Thursday, August 14, 2008

Spices blood sugar and the formation of AGE compounds


Spices May Protect Against Consequences Of High Blood Sugar:

"She added that controlling blood sugar and the formation of AGE compounds can also decrease the risk of cardiovascular damage associated with diabetes and aging. She explained that high blood sugar accelerates heart disease partly because AGE compounds form in the blood and in the walls of blood vessels. The AGE compounds aggravate atherosclerosis, which produces cholesterol plaques."

Monday, July 14, 2008

High carb diet increases risk of cataract development in elder women


High carb diet increases risk of cataract development in elder women:

"They found that women in the study whose average carbohydrate intake was between 200 and 268 grammes per day were 2.5 times more likely to get cortical cataracts than the women whose intake was between 101 and 185 grams per day."

Friday, April 18, 2008

A ketogenic diet reduces amyloid beta 40 and 42 in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease


A ketogenic diet reduces amyloid beta 40 and 42 in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease:

"Previous studies have suggested that diets rich in cholesterol and saturated fats increased the deposition of Aβ and the risk of developing AD. Here we demonstrate that a diet rich in saturated fats and low in carbohydrates can actually reduce levels of Aβ. Therefore, dietary strategies aimed at reducing Aβ levels should take into account interactions of dietary components and the metabolic outcomes, in particular, levels of carbohydrates, total calories, and presence of ketone bodies should be considered."

Comparison of very low carbohydrate/high saturated fat and high carbohydrate/low saturated fat diets on body composition and cardiovascular risk



Comparison of isocaloric very low carbohydrate/high saturated fat and high carbohydrate/low saturated fat diets on body composition and cardiovascular risk:

"Isocaloric VLCARB results in similar fat loss than diets low in saturated fat, but are more effective in improving triacylglycerols, HDL-C, fasting and post prandial glucose and insulin concentrations. VLCARB may be useful in the short-term management of subjects with insulin resistance and hypertriacylglycerolemia."

A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet to treat type 2 diabetes


Nutrition & Metabolism | Abstract | A low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet to treat type 2 diabetes:

"The LCKD improved glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes such that diabetes medications were discontinued or reduced in most participants. Because the LCKD can be very effective at lowering blood glucose, patients on diabetes medication who use this diet should be under close medical supervision or capable of adjusting their medication."

Effects of a carbohydrate-restricted diet on markers for cardiovascular disease



Effects of a carbohydrate-restricted diet on emerging plasma markers for cardiovascular disease:

"A diet based on restricting carbohydrates leads to spontaneous caloric reduction and subsequent improvement in emerging markers of CVD in overweight/obese men who are otherwise healthy."

Eggs modulate the inflammatory response to carbohydrate restricted diets


Eggs modulate the inflammatory response to carbohydrate restricted diets in overweight men:

"A CRD with daily intake of eggs decreased plasma CRP and increased plasma adiponectin compared to a CRD without eggs. These findings indicate that eggs make a significant contribution to the anti-inflammatory effects of CRD, possibly due to the presence of cholesterol, which increases HDL-C and to the antioxidant lutein which modulates certain inflammatory responses."

Monday, April 14, 2008

Natural Trans Fats Have Health Benefits


New Study Shows: Natural Trans Fats Have Health Benefits
ScienceDaily

Contrary to popular opinion, not all trans fats are bad for you.

University of Alberta researcher Flora Wang found that a diet with enriched levels of trans vaccenic acid (VA) -- a natural animal fat found in dairy and beef products -- can reduce risk factors associated with heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Vegetarians AGE faster

Michael R. Eades, M.D.: "Vegetarians AGE faster"

While reading a scientific paper on the benefits of a carnivorous diet I noticed a paper in the list of references at the end that I had never seen cited. I tracked the paper down, read it, and learned that vegetarians have significantly higher rates of advanced glycation end products (AGE) than do omnivores."

Sunday, March 30, 2008

The F-Word


"All you ever wanted to know about fats
by John M Berardi"


Despite years of anti-fat sentiment, it's becoming clear that the right kinds of fats can make you healthier, smarter, more muscular, and leaner.

Back in the 80's, the US Surgeon General's office, the American Heart Association, and the US Department of Agriculture joined forces and took up arms against what they considered to be the great nutritional scourge — dietary fat. That's right, they attempted to eradicate dietary fat from our nutritional lexicon with extreme prejudice.

If you're too young to remember this phenomenon, it might seem downright foolhardy to attack an entire macronutrient category. In fact, waging war against one-third of the macronutrient triumvirate may even seem unthinkable. But to those nutrition conscious individuals living through the war on fat, it's hard to forget the sensationalistic demonization of dietary fat and the faddish low fat diets that followed.

So how did this all come about? Well, back in the 80s, doctors and researchers, alarmed by the rising incidence of heart disease and obesity, needed a strategic target. As lipid researcher Lonnie Lowery has put it, they needed a perfect enemy. So after finding out that the plaques building up in our arteries (arteriosclerotic plaques) were made up of fats and then discovering that certain countries with diets high in animal fat also had a higher incidence of heart disease, 20 subsequent years of scientific investigation were spent attempting to prove that dietary fat (specifically saturated fat and cholesterol) was leading the heart disease brigade. read more