posted
Because a healthier heart should be more resistant to lyme.
SPEECHLESS What has left most commentators speechless is a mega-analysis published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (March 2010 91(3)535-546). Researchers combined the relative risk rates from twenty-one studies representing almost three hundred fifty thousand people whose diets and health outcomes had been followed for five to twenty-three years.
The conclusion: ``There is no significant evidence for concluding that dietary saturated fat is associated with an increased risk of CHD (coronary heart disease) or CVD (cardiovascular disease).''
Not one word about this study appeared in the mainstream press. An accompanying editorial voiced outrage at the findings and repeated the old discredited advice--avoid red meat, whole milk, egg yolks and cheese, and eat more egg whites, grains, fat-free dairy foods and seed oils.
Only James H. Hodges of the American Meat Institute Foundation spoke out: ``This study is critically important because of its size and statistical power. No doubt, it will be viewed with skepticism by some researchers who believe strongly in a link between heart disease and saturated fat.
But when it comes to science, we must view new findings with an open mind and critical thought. Without an open mind, we risk enacting misguided public policies.
While this study may not reflect prevailing nutrition advice, it is a very substantial body of work. It is important to note that the study's authors relied upon twentyone peer-reviewed papers in the scientific literature that represent some of the leading thinkers in nutrition research.
The magnitude of this study and its findings merit both respect and thoughtful consideration.'' Amen.
MORE CONFIRMATION On the heels of the mega-analysis exonerating saturated fat is a prospective study from Australia which looked at adults over a period of fifteen years.
People who ate the most full-fat dairy products had a 69 percent lower risk of cardiovascular death than those who ate the least; or, to put it another way, people who mostly avoided dairy foods or consumed lowfat dairy had more than three times the risk of dying of coronary heart disease or stroke compared to people who ate the most full-fat dairy
(European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 7 April 2010; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.45).
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