Monday, January 7

STOP THE PRESSES: ATKINS RAISES HEART-ATTACK RISK

I know it's beating the proverbial dead horse, but a lot of misguided people continue to try to find nourishment in said dead horse, so it's worth noting that a team of medical scientists found that the Atkins diet raises your heart-attack risk after only one month. The lead researcher asked rhetorically, "Why not start out with a diet that will be healthier for you in the long run after weight loss?" (Hmmmm... maybe because institutions like the New York Times give Atkins cultists like Gary Taubes platforms to spout their pro-meat wishful thinking unfettered by facts about health and nutrition? Just a guess.)

2 comments:

CJ said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
CJ said...

Hey SoyJoy,
here is the actual abstract... not a poorly written newspaper article. If you read it, and the Conclusions, they didn't like Atkins, but the were fine with the South Beach Diet ( a low-carb diet) and the Ornish diet.
So- it's not so black and white....;)

and, just so you know, even though I am no longer a veg or vegan ( i was for many years- even a raw fooder for 5) my interest in writing you is to encourage accuracy and digging deeper. That's why I'm now an investigative documentarian, and have filmed the SF World Veg Expo as part of my current project.
Take care,
CJ Hunt
Producer, "In Search of The Perfect Human Diet (tm)" www.perfecthumandiet.com
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Abstract 3610: Comparative Effects of 3 Popular Diets on Lipids, Endothelial Function and Biomarkers of Atherothrombosis in the Absence of Weight Loss

Michael Miller; Valerie Beach; Charles Mangano; Jeffrey Rhyne; Christina Dobmeier; Danica Novacic; Robert A Vogel
Univ Maryland Hosp, Baltimore, MD

Background: While the effect of popular diets on weight loss has been extensively studied, less is known in the absence of weight loss. We hypothesized that a diet high in total and saturated fat would be associated with adverse effects on LDL-C, endothelial function and biomarkers of atherothrombosis compared to lower fat diets.

Methods: We tested 3 popular diets, including Atkins (50% fat), South Beach (30% fat) and Ornish (10% fat) in a randomized and counterbalanced, crossover study. Subjects completed each of the three 4-week dietary intervention phases followed by a 4-week washout period. They were weighed weekly and caloric adjustments made if weight change exceeded 1 kg. At the completion of each dietary phase, 3-day food records were analyzed, fasting blood was sampled and brachial artery reactivity testing (BART) performed.

Results: Eighteen of 26 adults (mean age: 30.6 ± 9.6 yrs, 50% female) completed all 3 dietary phases. There were no changes in weight at the conclusion of each phase. However, non-significant increases in LDL-C occurred during the Atkins phase (pre: 96.5, post: 112.9 mg/dL; P=0.12), whereas LDL-C was reduced during the Ornish (pre: 110.1, post: 84.6 mg/dL; P=0.006) and South Beach phases (pre: 101.7, post: 91.5 mg/dL; P=0.01). BART testing revealed a significant inverse correlation between flow-mediated vasodilation and intake of total fat (r2=–0.29; P=0.03), saturated fat (r2=–0.31; P=0.02) and monounsaturated fat (r2=–0.35; P=0.01). Microarray analysis demonstrated increased expression of several leukocyte biomarkers including, ICAM2 (37%; P=0.002), SELL (26%; P=0.007) and SOD1 (42%; P=0.04) at the completion of the Atkins diet compared to baseline. In contrast, expression of atherothrombotic biomarkers was not increased after the South Beach or Ornish phase.

Conclusions: In the absence of weight loss, the high fat Atkins diet is associated with increased LDL-C, reduced endothelial vasoreactivity and increased expression of biomarkers of atherothrombosis. As such, these data suggest that isocaloric conversion to the Atkins diet may negatively impact cardiovascular health as compared to the South Beach or Ornish Diet.