'Avoid fads and stick to diet guidelines,' say US heart experts

Conclusion This review looked into food groups often linked to cardiovascular risk, some of which may be overstated or based on poor evidence. Overall, the researchers reported there being evidence solid fats are harmful. Examples include coconut and palm oil, eggs, fruit and veg juicing with pulp removal, and "[US] Southern diets" that include added fats, fried and processed foods and sugar-sweetened drinks. There's also evidence extra virgin olive oil, blueberries and strawberries, leafy green vegetables and controlled portions of nuts are beneficial for cardiovascular health. Investigating whether the health claims made about certain foods and drinks are based on solid evidence is important. But this study has limitations – the main one being the researchers' methods weren't outlined in the review, so we don't know how they found and selected the studies they included. It's possible not all the available evidence was considered, and this may have influenced the findings. This study should therefore primarily be considered to be an opinion piece following the authors' review of the evidence. Dietary studies often have inherent limitations. Observational studies usually rely on people recalling what they've eaten, which is subject to bias. It's also possible any links found were influenced by other dietary, health and lifestyle factors (confounders). It's particularly difficult to isolate the effect of a single food item with any certainty. Randomised ...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs QA articles Source Type: news