SUBJECT: AJCN June 2015
Saturated fat increases death from heart disease, but LDL and total cholesterol levels did not matter [ed. note from reading – beware risk of taking statins]– In this study of elderly women, LDL cholesterol was not associated with death from heart disease. In this study population, for every ∼11 g/d higher intake of SFAs, there was a 77% greater risk of atherosclerotic vascular disease (ASVD) mortality. The positive association between SFA intake and risk of ASVD mortality in this cohort of elderly women supports epidemiologic studies in younger female cohorts. A decrease in total and LDL cholesterol is thought to lower the risk of ASVD mortality, but the importance of total and LDL cholesterol as a cardiovascular disease risk factor in older people is uncertain. Neither total nor LDL cholesterol concentrations were related to ASVD mortality.
Red meat consumption is consistently related to higher diabetes risk…A different flawed study states red meat diet may control insulin sensitivity
Cardiovascular death is associated with added sugars in the diet like high fructose corn syrup – Consuming beverages containing 10%, 17.5%, or 25% Ereq from HFCS produced dose-dependent increases in circulating lipid/lipoprotein risk factors for CVD and uric acid within 2 wk. These results provide mechanistic support for the epidemiologic evidence that the risk of cardiovascular mortality is positively associated with consumption of increasing amounts of added sugars.
US is consuming more processed foods with more sat’d fat, sugar, and sodium
High vitamin C intake reduces risk of heart disease and all-cause mortality – In conclusion, we observed an association between high intake of fruit and vegetables and low risk of ischemic heart disease and all-cause mortality. A genetic variant leading to lifelong high plasma vitamin C concentrations gave comparable effect sizes. [ed note-highest plasma level comes from taking of 500mg vitamin C twice a day]
Magnesium and potassium, but not calcium, intake reduces risk of stroke [ed. note from reading – In the US, most get enough calcium, but most lack enough vitamin D to maintain bone strength]
UK women were mildly iodine deficient during pregnancy – This group of UK pregnant women was mildly-to-moderately iodine deficient at all trimesters, which is of public health concern.
Daily yogurt reduces duration of upper respiratory symptoms – Daily consumption of L. casei 431 resulted in no observable effect on the components of the immune response to influenza vaccination but reduced the duration of upper respiratory symptoms.
High protein diet requires reduced carbohydrate intake to help weight loss – for example, increased cheese intake was associated with weight gain when glycemic load (GL) increased, with weight stability when GL did not change, and with weight loss when exchanged for GL (i.e., decrease in GL).
Gains in income during early childhood may promote healthy weight in girls – because healthful foods become more affordable.
SUPPLEMENT – Protein for public health Please see longer summary for notes on dieting, body building, and sarcopenia (elderly muscle wasting).
Topics: 1) dietary protein’s role in weight management, including satiety and healthful diet adherence; 2) metabolic activity, as well as its impact on renal function and bone health; 3 healthy aging, including prevention of muscle loss and management of sarcopenia; and 4) establishing a foundation to build healthier diets within energy (calorie) goals.
1) Weight-loss diets containing higher protein (i.e., 1.2–1.6 g/kg body weight per day or 90–150 g) lead to modest, but relevant, improvements in body weight over the short term (≤12 wk) compared with standard-protein (higher-carbohydrate) diets. Several meta-analyses of shorter-term, tightly controlled feeding studies showed greater weight loss, fat mass loss, and preservation of lean mass after higher-protein energy-restriction diets than after lower-protein energy-restriction diets. Reductions in triglycerides, blood pressure, and waist circumference were also reported.
2) Emerging science supports a protein intake for adults of 25–30 g/meal and ≥2.2 g of the essential amino acid leucine to achieve maximal muscle protein synthetic rates. Because physical activity enhances muscle protein synthesis, the researchers suggest that protein recommendations be linked to physical activity. Recent research has focused on amino acids as metabolic signals that influence the rate of protein synthesis, inflammation responses, mitochondrial activity, and satiety, exerting their influence through signaling systems.
3) The progression of sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) may be slowed or prevented in older healthy adults who consume adequate amounts of high-quality protein at each meal in combination with physical activity or exercise. Consuming an adequate amount of high-quality protein at each meal, in combination with physical activity, may delay the onset of sarcopenia, slow its progression, reduce the magnitude of its functional consequences, or all of these. The potential benefits of young and middle-aged adults adopting a diet pattern whereby adequate protein is consumed at each meal as a countermeasure to sarcopenia are presented. (∼25–30 g/meal). Leucine plays a key role in stimulating translation initiation and muscle protein anabolism and is the focus of ongoing research. Protein requirements should be assessed in the light of habitual physical activity.
– Roc, Nutrition Investigator
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“We can live a shorter life with more years of disability, or we can live the longest possible life with the fewest bad years. As my centenarian friends showed me, the choice is largely up to us.” Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones, 2008
