Advanced Mediterranean Diet

A Mediterranean-style diet is one of four factors helping to greatly reduce the risk of sudden cardiac death in women, as reported by Reuters on June 5, 2011.  The other factors reducing risk were maintainence of a healthy weight, regular exercise, and not smoking.

The study involved women only, so we don’t know if the research, reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, applies to men.

This study confirms many earlier ones linking the Mediterranean diet with longevity and reduced rates of heart disease.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Remember about a year ago the report that hardening-of-the-arteries was found in Egyptian mummies?  The heart arteries were  also involved.  Princess Ahmose-Meryet-Amon is officially the first person in history diagnosed with coronary heart disease. 

This finding is noteworthy in view of the common view that atherosclerosis is a disease of modern civilization (usually referring to the last one or two hundred years).

You’ll find more details at this May 17 post at CardioBrief. 

We’ll know more if these researchers ever publish their findings in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Steve Parker, M.D.

The very-low-carb Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet cures metabolic syndrome, according to investigators at the University of Córdoba in Spain. 

The metabolic syndrome is a collection of clinical factors that are linked to high risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease.  Individual components of the syndrome include elevated blood sugar, high trigylcerides, low HDL cholesterol, high blood pressure,  and abdominal fat accumulation.

Spanish researchers put 26 people with metabolic syndrome on the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet for twelve weeks and monitored what happened.  At baseline, average age was 41 and average body mass index was 36.6.  Investigators didn’t say how many diabetics or prediabetics were included.  No participant was taking medication.

What’s the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet?

Calories are unlimited, but dieters are encouraged to keep carbohydrate  consumption under 30 grams day.  They eat fish, lean meat, eggs, chicken, cheese, green vegetables and salad, at least 30 ml (2 tbsp) daily of virgin olive oil,  and 200-400 ml of red wine daily ( a cup or 8 fluid ounces  equals 240 ml).  On at least four days of the week, the primary protein food is fish.  On those four days, you don’t eat meat, chicken, eggs, or cheese.  On up to three days a week, you could eat non-fish protein foods but no fish on those days. 

How’s this different from my Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet?  The major differences are that mine includes one ounce (28 g) of nuts daily, less fish overall, and you can mix fish and non-fish protein foods every day.

Regular exercisers were excluded from participation, and my sense is that exercise during the diet trial was discouraged. 

What Were the Results?

Metabolic syndrome resolved in all participants.

Three of the original 26 participants were dropped from analysis because they weren’t compliant with the diet.  Another one was lost to follow-up.  Final analysis was based on the 22 who completed the study.

Eight of the 22 participants had adverse effects.  These were considered slight and mostly appeared and  disappeared during the first week.  Effects included weakness, headache, constipation, “sickness”, diarrhea, and insomnia. 

Average weight dropped from 106 kg (233 lb) to 92 kg (202 lb).

Body mass index fell from 36.6 to 32.

Average fasting blood sugar fell from 119 mg/dl (6.6 mmol/l) to 92 mg/dl (5.1 mmol/l).

Triglycerides fell from 225 mg/dl to 110 mg/dl.

Average systolic blood pressure fell from 142 mmHg to 124.

Average diastolic blood pressure fell from 89 to 76.

So What?

A majority of people labeled with metabolic sydrome continue in metabolic sydrome for years.  That’s because they don’t do anything effective to counteract it.  These researchers show that it can be cured in 12 weeks, at least temporarily, with the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet.

Very-low-carb diets are especially good at lowering trigylcerides, lowering blood sugar, and raising HDL cholesterol.  Overweight dieters tend to lose more weight, and more quickly, than on other diets.  Very-low-carb diets, therefore, should be particularly effective as an approach to metabolic syndrome.  It’s quite possible that other very-low-carb diets, such as Atkins Induction Phase, would have performed just as well as the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet.  In fact, most effective reduced-calorie weight-loss diets would tend to improve metabolic syndrome, even curing some cases, regardless of carb content. 

Most physicians recommend that people with metabolic syndrome either start or intensify an exercise program.  The program at hand worked without exercise.  I recommend regular exercise for postponing death and other reasons.

Will the dieters of this study still be cured of metabolic syndrome a year later?  Unlikely.  Most will go back to their old ways of eating, regaining the weight, and moving their blood sugars, triglycerides, and HDL cholesterols in the wrong direction.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Pérez-Guisado J, & Muñoz-Serrano A (2011). A Pilot Study of the Spanish Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet: An Effective Therapy for the Metabolic Syndrome. Journal of medicinal food PMID: 21612461

I recently read Carbohydrates Can Kill, by Robert K. Su, M.D., written in 2009.  Per Amazon.com’s rating system, I give it four stars ( I like it).

♦   ♦   ♦

Many developed Western societies have a love affair with carbohydrates, particularly concentrated sugars and highly processed grains and starches.  The U.S. is a good example.  Our skyrocketing rates of overweight and obesity (68% of adults) are testament to that.  Obesity is strongly linked to cancer, high blood pressure, heart attacks, diabetes, strokes, and premature death.  It’s not too much of a stretch to blame carbohydrates for at least a portion of these diseases and others.  Dr. Robert Su thoroughly reviews these connections in Carbohydrates Can Kill.

Blissfully unaware of his prediabetes

Blocked heart arteries are the No.1 cause of death in developed countries.  A growing trend among the experts is to abandon the theory that total and saturated fats cause heart disease, pointing instead to excessive consumption of sugars and processed grains and other starches.  Dr. Su makes a fairly convincing case for the carbohydrate theory of heart disease.  He’s also convinced that carbs cause high blood pressure, dementia, many cancers, diabetes, overweight, perhaps even most diseases. 

This book addresses overweight, adverse health effects of obesity, nutrition and digestion in detail, and numerous scientific studies supporting his ideas.

One of the most interesting things to me was Dr. Su’s personal medical story.  At age 62, he found himself 40 pounds (18 kg) overweight, blood pressure 205/63, and having apparent reversible heart pains (angina) when stressed or exercising.  The combination of salt restriction and exercise didn’t help.  Reducing carbs to 60-70 g/day and continued exercise (walking and stair-climbing) did the trick, helping him lose 30 pounds and controlling angina and high blood pressure.  I expected him at any time to reveal he had a heart attack, stroke, or heart bypass surgery, but he dodged those bullets.  His problems at 62 were a wake-up call.  He didn’t want to end up prematurely dead or disabled, a burden to his family and unable to spend quality time with them.  So he undertook major lifestyle changes.  Very inspirational. 

In addition to a medical degree, Dr. Su has a degree in pharmacy.  He knew he’d be put on multiple drugs if he went to a doctor for treatment of his symptoms.  Like me, he’s wary of drug side effects and wanted to avoid them, opting for diet and exercise instead.  He gambled and won.  I’m sure at least a few others would not be so lucky.

Dr. Su cites evidence that high blood sugars cause inflammation, which can predispose to cancer.  Diabetics do indeed have a higher risk of certain cancers, yet he didn’t mention that diabetics have a lower risk of prostate cancer. 

Dr. Su is anti-alcohol.  The studies are mixed on the overall health effects of alcohol, but the bulk of the studies link low-to-moderate consumption of alcohol with less cardiovascular disease and longer lifespan.  Clearly, heavy drinking can be lethal.

Like all books, CCK isn’t perfect.  First, it could have used better editing to eliminate grammatical errors and wordiness.  Next, I suspect Dr. Su is getting a little ahead of the science when he states that “….most diseases, if not all, are directly or indirectly caused by too much blood sugar.”  If carbohydrates are so deadly (mediated via high blood sugar), why do the Kitavan’s of Melanesia have such low rates of heart attack, stroke, overweight, and diabetes, despite a diet deriving 69% of total calories from carbohydrates?  (Calories from carbohydrates in the U.S. are about 50% of the total.)  Granted, Kitavan’s carbs are mostly unrefined.  Could the Kitavans be genetically protected from carb toxicity? 

So, what do we do if carboydrates are so dangerous?  Dr. Su recommends limiting carb consumption to a maximum of 100 grams a day.  (By way of reference, average U.S. carb consumption is 250 grams a day.)  Simple sugars and highly processed grains and starches should be avoided.  Additionally, he recommends a yearly glucose tolerance test to determine fasting blood sugar, then blood sugar readings every 15-20 minutes after an unspecified meal for two or three hours.  I wonder if a single hemoglobin A1c blood test would suffice.  I agree with Dr. Su that fasting blood sugars should be under 110 mg/dl (6.1 mmol/l)—if not lower—and all blood sugars after meals under 150 mg/dl (8.3 mmol/l).

Dr. Su is a tireless advocate for carbohydrate-restricted eating.  Visit his website: carbohydratescankill.com.  If his diet and exercise ideas were widely adopted in the U.S., we’d be a healthier country.  This book is a worthy read for anyone with overweight, obesity, diabetes, prediabetes, or otherwise enamored of concentrated sugars and highly processed grains and other starches.  Note that one of every three U.S. adults has prediabetes, including half of all those over 65, and most of them are unaware.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Canadian and U.S. researchers report that moderate alcohol consumption seems to reduce 1) the incidence of coronary heart disease, 2) deaths from coronary heart disease, and 3) deaths from all causes.  Reduction of death from all causes is a good counter-argument to those who say alcohol is too dangerous because of deaths from drunk driving, alcoholic cirrhosis, and alcohol-related cancers such as many in the esophagus. 

Remember, we’re talking here about low to moderate consumption: one drink a day or less for women, two drinks or less a day for men.  That’s a max of 12.5 alcohol for women, 25 g for men.  No doubt, alcohol can be extremely dangerous, even lethal.  I deal with that in my patients almost every day.  Some people should never drink alcohol.

The recent meta-analysis in the British Medical Journal, which the authors say is the most comprehensive ever done, reviewed all pertinent studies done between 1950 and 2009, finally including 84 of the best studies on this issue.  Thirty-one of these looked at deaths from all causes.

Compared with non-drinkers, drinkers had a 25% lower risk of developing coronary heart disease (CHD) and death from CHD.  CHD is the leading cause of death in develop societies.

Stroke is also considered a cardiovascular disease.  Overall, alcohol is not linked to stroke incidence or death from stroke.  The researchers did see strong trends toward fewer ischemic strokes and more hemorrhagic strokes (bleeding in the brain) in the drinkers.  So the net effect was zero. 

Compared with non-drinkers, the lowest risk of death from any cause was seen in those consuming 2.5 to 14.9 g per day (one drink or less per day), whose risk was 17% lower.  On the other hand, heavy drinkers (>60 g/day) had 30% higher risk of death. 

In case you’re wondering, the authors didn’t try to compare the effects of beer versus wine versus distilled spirits. 

On a related note, scientists at the Medical University of South Carolina found that middle-aged people who took up the alcohol habit had a lower risk of stroke and heart attack.  Wine seemed to be more effective than other alcohol types.  They found no differences in overall death rates between new drinkers persistent non-drinkers, perhaps because the study lasted only four years and they were following only 442 new drinkers.  

This doesn’t prove that judicious alcohol consumption prevents heart attacks, cardiac deaths, and overall deaths.  But it’s kinda lookin’ that way.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Ronksley PE, Brien SE, Turner BJ, Mukamal KJ, & Ghali WA (2011). Association of alcohol consumption with selected cardiovascular disease outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 342 PMID: 21343207

The Mediterranean diet reduces the risk of strokes seen on brain MRI scans, according to a study earlier this year in Annals of Neurology. 

Brain researchers at various U.S. institutions studied a multi-ethnic population in upper Manhattan (the WHICAP cohort).  Average age of the  707 study participants was 80.  Baseline diet was determined by a questionairre.  A Mediterranean diet score was calculated to quantify adherence—or lack thereof—to the Mediterranean diet.  Participants without dementia at baseline underwent MRI scanning initially, then again an average of six years later.

What Did They Find?

One third of participants had MRI evidence for a stroke.  Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was linked to significantly lower odds of stroke.  Compared to those eating least like the Mediterranean diet, those with the highest adherence had 37% lower odds of an stroke being found on MRI scan.  Those with medium adherence had 20% lower odds.

So What?

This is the first study to show such an association between strokes on an MRI scan and the Mediterranean diet.  Be aware that you can find a stroke on an MRI scan in someone who thought they were perfectly healthy; in other words a clinically silent stroke.  The authors note only one previous report finding lower risk of clinically obvious stroke with the Mediterranean diet, in women—I thought there were more. 

This same group of researchers had previously demonstrated that higher compliance with the Mediterranean diet is linked to lower risk of Alzheimers disease and mild cognitive impairment. 

If I wanted to protect my brain from stroke, I’d be sure follow a Mediterranean-style diet, keep my blood pressure under 140/90 mmHg, stay physically active, keep my weight under control, and not smoke.  The Advanced Mediterranean Diet combines weight management, exercise, and the Mediterranean diet.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference:  Scarmeas, N., Luchsinger, J., Stern, Y., Gu, Y., He, J., DeCarli, C., Brown, T., & Brickman, A. (2011). Mediterranean diet and magnetic resonance imaging-assessed cerebrovascular disease Annals of Neurology, 69 (2), 257-268 DOI: 10.1002/ana.22317

Swedish researchers reported recently that a Paleolithic diet was more satiating than a Mediterranean-style diet, when compared on a calorie-for-calorie basis in heart patients.  Both groups of study subjects reported equal degrees of satiety, but the paleo dieters ended up eating 24% fewer calories over the 12-week study.

The main differences in the diets were that the paleo dieters had much lower consumption of cereals (grains) and dairy products, and more fruit and nuts.  The paleos derived 40% of total calories from carbohydrate compared to 52% among the Mediterraneans.

Even though it wasn’t a weight-loss study, both groups lost weight.  The paleo dieters lost a bit more than the Mediterraneans: 5 kg vs 3.8 kg (11 lb vs 8.4 lb).  That’s fantastic weight loss for people not even trying.  Average starting weight of these 29 ischemic heart patients was 93 kg (205 lb).  Each intervention group had only 13 or 14 patients (I’ll let you figure out what happened to to the other two patients).

I blogged about this study population before.  Participants supposedly had diabetes or prediabetes, although certainly very mild cases (average hemoglobin A1c of 4.7% and none were taking diabetic drugs)

As I slogged through the research report, I had to keep reminding myself that this is a very small, pilot study.  So I’ll not bore you with all the details.

Bottom Line

This study suggests that the paleo diet may be particularly helpful for weight loss in heart patients.  No one knows how results would compare a year or two after starting the diet.  The typical weight-loss pattern is to start gaining the weight back at six months, with return to baseline at one or two years out.

Greek investigators found a link between the Mediterranean diet and better clinical outcomes in known ischemic heart disease patients.  On the other hand, researchers at the Heart Institute of Spokane found the Mediterranean diet equivalent to a low-fat diet in heart patients, again in terms of clinical outcomes.  U.S. investigators in 2007 found a positive link between the Mediterranean diet and lower rates of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. 

We don’t yet have these kinds of studies looking at the potential benefits of the paleo diet.  I’m talking about hard clinical endpoints such as heart attacks, heart failure, cardiac deaths, and overall deaths.  The paleo diet definitely shows some promise.

I also note the Swedish investigators didn’t point out that weight loss in overweight heart patients may be detrimental.  This is the “obesity paradox,” called “reverse epidemiology” at Wikipedia.  That’s a whole ‘nother can o’ worms.

Keep your eye on the paleo diet.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Jönsson T, Granfeldt Y, Erlanson-Albertsson C, Ahrén B, & Lindeberg S (2010). A paleolithic diet is more satiating per calorie than a mediterranean-like diet in individuals with ischemic heart disease. Nutrition & metabolism, 7 PMID: 21118562

Women double their risk of developing coronary heart disease if they have high consumption of carbohydrates, according to research recently published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. 

Men’s hearts, however, didn’t seem to be affected by carb consumption. I mention this crucial sex difference because many experts believe that replacing saturated fat with carbohydrates is a major cause of heart disease.  If true, it seems to apply only to women.

[Another nutrition science trend to keep an eye on is the thought that excessive consumption of omega-6 fats contributes to hardening of the arteries, including coronary heart disease.  I’m talking about soy oil, safflower oil, corn oil, among others.  No doubt, we’re eating a lot more omega-6 now than at the start of the 20th century.]

We’ve known for a while that high-glycemic-index eating was linked to heart disease in women but not men.  Glycemic index is a measure of how much effect a carbohydrate-containing food has on blood glucose levels.  High-glycemic-index foods raise blood sugar higher and for longer duration in the bloodstream.

High-glycemic-index foods include potatoes and white bread, for example.

The study at hand included over 47,000 Italians who were interrogated via questionnaire as to their food intake, then onset of coronary heart disease—the cause of heart attacks—was measured over the next eight years. 

Among the 32,500 women, 158 new cases of coronary heart disease were found.

Researchers doing this sort of study typically compare the people eating the least carbs with those eating the most. The highest quartile of carb consumers and glycemic load had twice the rate of heart disease compared to the lowest     quartile. 

The Cleave-Yudkin theory of the mid-20th century proposed that excessive amounts of refined carbohydrates cause heart disease and certain other chronic systemic diseases.  Gary Taubes has also written extensively about this.  The research results at hand support that theory in women, but not in men. 

Practical Applications

Do these research results apply to non-Italian women and men?  Probably to some, but not all.  More research is needed.

Women with a family history coronary heart disease—or other CHD risk factors—might be well-advised to put a limit on total carbs, high-glycemic-index foods, and glycemic load.  I’d stay out of that “highest quartile.”  Don’t forget: heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women.

See NutritionData’s Glycemic Index page for information you can apply today.

FYI, the Low-Carb Mediterranean Diet  and Ketogenic Mediterranean Diet are also low in glycemic index.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Disclaimer:  All matters regarding your health require supervision by a personal physician or other appropriate health professional familiar with your current health status.  Always consult your personal physician before making any dietary or exercise changes.

 Update May 28, 2011: Alert reader Nadia Hassan brought to my attention that I had originally written that pasta has a high glycemic index.  Citing appropriate references, Nadia convinced me that pasta has a low-to-moderate glycemic index, from around 30 to 60.  Its GI also is higher if over-cooked.  Today I corrected my original post. 

References: 

Sieri, Sabina, et al. Dietary glycemic load and index and risk of coronary heart disease in a large Italian cohort.  The EPICOR study.  Archives of Internal Medicine, 170 (2010): 640-647.

Barclay, Alan, et al.  Glycemic index, glycemic load, and chronic disease risk - a meta-analysis of observational studies [of mostly women].  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 87 (2008): 627-637.

A Paleolithic diet lowered blood sugar levels better than a control diet in coronary heart disease patients with elevated blood sugars, according to Swedish researchers reporting in 2007.

About half of patients with coronary heart disease have abnormal glucose (blood sugar) metabolism.  Lindeberg and associates wondered if a Paleolithic diet (aka “Old Stone Age,” “caveman,” or ancestral human diet) would lead to improved blood sugar levels in heart patients, compared to healthy, Mediterranean-style, Western diet.

Methodology

Investigators at the University of Lund found enrolled 38 male heart—average age 61—patients and randomized them to either a paleo diet or a “consensus” (Mediterranean-like) diet to be followed for 12 weeks.  Average weight was 94 kg.  Nine participants dropped out before completing the study, so results are based on 29 participants.  All subjects had either prediabetes or type 2 diabetes (the majority) but none were taking medications to lower blood sugar.  Baseline hemoglobin A1c’s were around 4.8%.  Average fasting blood sugar was 125 mg/dl (6.9 mmol/l); average sugar two hours after 75 g of oral glucose was 160 mg/dl (8.9 mmol/l).

The paleo diet was based on lean meat, fish, fruits, leafy and cruciferous vegetables, root vegetables (potatoes limited to two or fewer medium-sized per day), eggs, and nuts (no grains, rice, dairy products, salt, or refined fats and sugar). 

The Mediterranean-like diet focused on low-fat dairy, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, potatoes, fatty fish, oils and margarines rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and alpha-linolenic acid. 

Both groups were allowed up to one glass of wine daily.

No effort was made to restrict total caloric intake with a goal of weight loss.

Results

Absolute carbohydrate consumption was 43% lower in the paleo group (134 g versus 231 g), and 23% lower in terms of total calorie consumption (40% versus 52%).  Glycemic load was 47% lower in the paleo group (65 versus 122), mostly reflecting lack of cereal grains.

The paleo group ate significantly more nuts, fruit, and vegetables.  The Mediterranean group ate significantly more cereal grains,oil, margarine, and dairy products.

Glucose control improved by 26% in the paleo group compared to 7% in the consensus group.  The improvement was statisically significant only in the paleo group.  The researchers believe the improvement was independent of energy consumption, glycemic load, and dietary carb/protein/fat percentages.

High fruit consumption inthe paleo group (493 g versus 252 g daily) didn’t seem to impair glucose tolerance. 

Hemoglobin A1c’s did not change or differ significantly between the groups.

Neither group showed a change in insulin sensitivity (HOMA-IR method).

Comments

The authors’ bottom line:

In conclusion, we found marked improvement of glucose tolerance in ischemic heart disease patients with increased blood glucose or diabetes after advice to follow a Palaeolithic [sic] diet compared with a healthy Western diet.  The larger improvement of glucose tolerance in the Palaeolithic group was independent of energy intake and macronutrient composition, which suggests that avoiding Western foods is more important than counting calories, fat, carbohydrate or protein.  The study adds to the notion that healthy diets based on whole-grain cereals and low-fat dairy products are only the second best choice in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes.

This was a small study; I consider it a promising pilot.  Results apply to men only, and perhaps only to Swedish men.  I have no reason to think they wouldn’t apply to women, too.  Who knows about other ethnic groups?

This study and the one I mention below are the only two studies I’ve seen that look at the paleo diet as applied to human diabetics.  If you know of others, please mention in the Comments section. 

The higher fruit consumption of the paleo group didn’t adversely affect glucose control, which is surprising.  Fruit is supposed to raise blood sugar.  At 493 grams a day, men in the paleo group ate almost seven times the average fruit intake of Swedish men (75 g/day).  Perhaps lack of adverse effect on glucose control here reflects that these diabetics and prediabetics were mild cases early in the course of the condition—diabetes tends to worsen over time.

Present day paleo and low-carb advocates share a degree of simpatico, mostly because of carbohydrate restriction—at least to some degree—by paleo dieters.  Both groups favor natural, relatively unprocessed foods.  Note that the average American eats 250-300 g of carbohydrates a day.  Total carb intake in the paleo group was 134 g (40% of calories) versus 231 g (55% of calories) in the Mediterranean-style diet.  Other versions of the paleo diet will yield different numbers, as will individual choices for various fruits and vegetables.  Forty percent of total energy consumption from carbs barely qualifies as low-carb. 

Study participants were mild, diet-controlled diabetics or prediabetics, not representative of the overall diabetic population, most of whom take drugs for it and have much higher hemoglobin A1c’s.

Lindeberg and associates in 2009 published results of a paleo diet versus standard diabetic diet trial in 13 diabetics.  Although a small trial (13 subjects, crossover design), it suggested advantages to the paleo diet in terms of heart disease risk factors and improved hemoglobin A1c.  Most participants were on glucose lowering drugs; none were on insulin.  Glucose levels were under fairly good control at the outset.  Compared to the standard diabetic diet, the Paleo diet yielded lower hemoglobin A1c’s (0.4% lower—absolute difference), lower trigylcerides, lower diastolic blood pressure, lower weight, lower body mass index, lower waist circumference, lower total energy (caloric) intake, and higher HDL cholesterol.  Glucose tolerance was the same for both diets.  Fasting blood sugars tended to decrease more on the Paleo diet, but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.08).

The paleo diet shows promise as a treatment or preventative for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.  Only time will tell if it’s better than a low-carb Mediterranean diet or other low-carb diets. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference:  Lindeberg, S., et al.  Palaeolithic diet improves glucose tolerance more than a Mediterranean -like diet in individuals with ischemic heart disease.  Diabetologia, 50 (2007): 1,795-1,807.  doi: 10.1007/s00125-007-0716-y

The higher the consumption of saturated fat, the lower the risk of death from stroke, according to Japanese researchers in a recent American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 

Most physicians in the West would have predicted the opposite: saturated fats increase your risk of stroke.  Western physicians tend to think most strokes and heart attacks are caused by the same process, atherosclerosis, and would be aggravated by saturated fat consumption.  We’re learning that ain’t necessarily so.

Most strokes in the Western world are thought to be linked to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) of relatively large arteries. In Japan, most strokes not caused by bleeding in the head are actually lacunar infarctions involving small arteries in the brain, not necessarily involving atherosclerosis. 

Another major difference between East and West is that saturated fat consumption in Japan is far lower than in the West.

Are you confused yet?

It seems to me that comparing strokes in Japan versus the West is comparing apples to oranges.  The take-away point to me is that we have to be quite wary of generalizing the research results applicable to one culture or ethnic group, to others.

Steve Parker, M.D.

Reference: Yamagishi, K., Iso, H., Yatsuya, H., Tanabe, N., Date, C., Kikuchi, S., Yamamoto, A., Inaba, Y., Tamakoshi, A., & , . (2010). Dietary intake of saturated fatty acids and mortality from cardiovascular disease in Japanese: the Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk (JACC) Study American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 92 (4), 759-765 DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.2009.29146