Why almost everything you've been told about unhealthy foods is wrong
Eggs and red meat have both been on the nutritional hit list – but after a major study last week dismissed a link between fats and heart disease, is it time for a complete rethink?Could eating too much margarine be bad for your critical faculties? The "experts" who so confidently advised us to replace saturated fats, such as butter, with polyunsaturated spreads, people who presumably practise what they preach, have suddenly come over all uncertain and seem to be struggling through a mental fog to reformulate their script.Last week it fell to a floundering professor, Jeremy Pearson, from the British Heart Foundation to ex...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - March 23, 2014 Category: Science Authors: Joanna Blythman Tags: Nutrition Food & drink Health wellbeing Life and style drink industry Business Food safety World news Diets and dieting Science Obesity Society The Observer Features Source Type: news

Saturated fats and heart disease link 'unproven'
ConclusionIn contrast to current recommendations, this systematic review found no evidence that saturated fat increases the risk of coronary disease, or that polyunsaturated fats have a cardioprotective effect.Similarly, there was no significant association between the levels of total omega-3 or omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and coronary disease. This lack of association was seen in both cohort studies, which looked at dietary intake or circulating levels the in blood, and in randomised controlled trials that had looked at the effect of supplementation. There was also no significant association between total saturate...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 18, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Eating Low-Fat Yogurt Cuts Risk of Type 2 DiabetesEating Low-Fat Yogurt Cuts Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
A new observational study finds a 28% reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes among people who consumed the highest amount of low-fat yogurt, compared with those who ate little or none. Medscape Medical News (Source: Medscape Diabetes Headlines)
Source: Medscape Diabetes Headlines - February 7, 2014 Category: Endocrinology Tags: Diabetes & Endocrinology News Source Type: news

Diabetes claim for low-fat yoghurt not proven
Conclusion This study has several limitations. People’s reported dairy intake was only collected once, at baseline, over a seven day period. It is quite possible that people’s diets did not stay the same during the 11 year follow-up period. People’s dietary intake was self reported, which could affect reliability. In their analysis, the researchers did not take account of dairy products included in cooking composite dishes. In addition, although the researchers tried to take account of factors (confounders) which might affect the results, it is always possible that measured and unmeasured confounder...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 6, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Diabetes Source Type: news

Could Low-Fat Yogurt Help Ward Off Diabetes?
Title: Could Low-Fat Yogurt Help Ward Off Diabetes?Category: Health NewsCreated: 2/5/2014 7:36:00 PMLast Editorial Review: 2/6/2014 12:00:00 AM (Source: MedicineNet Diabetes General)
Source: MedicineNet Diabetes General - February 6, 2014 Category: Endocrinology Source Type: news

Sugar intake linked to heart disease deaths
Conclusion This study used dietary information from a large group of US adults to show that greater added sugar intake was linked to a higher risk of death from CVD. The study has many strengths including recruiting a large number of people and obtaining information spanning a relatively long time – average 15 years. The cohort in question was representative of US adults. Despite some ethnicity differences between the US and UK population that may influence the results, the main link between sugar and CVD death is likely to apply to UK adults. It wasn’t possible to estimate the absolute risk differences of dying from ...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 4, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Heart/lungs Source Type: news

Lingonberries claimed to prevent weight gain
Conclusion This animal research explored how different berries might moderate the harmful effects of a high fat diet in an attempt to mimic the high fat diet now common in Western societies. Of the berries tested, lingonberries came out top. Blackcurrants and bilberries weren’t that far behind, whereas acai berries fared worse than not eating any berries on some measures. It is important to note that all the groups (those eating berries and those not) gained a lot of weight and body fat due to the high fat diet, but those eating berries gained less in some cases. Overall, the researchers suggest that lingonberries have ...
Source: NHS News Feed - January 24, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Obesity Source Type: news

Controlling the Menopause at Christmas
Controlling the menopause at Christmas is something that all women of a certain age may need to consider. Diet can play a large part in how menopausal women cope with the changes the body goes through during this time. Good nutrition can help reduce certain health conditions that may develop as a result of the menopause, such as osteoporosis and heart disease. With the festive season upon us once again, implementing these dietary changes may seem unrealistic. The good news is that with careful planning and monitoring, it is still possible to enjoy many foods during the Christmas period to enjoy a healthier and happier meno...
Source: The Hysterectomy Association - December 19, 2013 Category: OBGYN Authors: Linda Parkinson-Hardman Tags: menopause Christmas menopause supplements menopause symptoms Source Type: news

A Low-Fat, Plant-Based Lifestyle and Serum HDL LevelsA Low-Fat, Plant-Based Lifestyle and Serum HDL Levels
The findings of this study question the value of using HDL levels as a predictor of cardiovascular risk, especially in those who follow a low-fat, plant based diet. Nutrition and Metabolism (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - December 5, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cardiology Journal Article Source Type: news

You are what you eat: Low-fat diet changes prostate cancer tissue
This study is a follow-up to a 2011 study by Aronson and his team that found that compared to a traditional, high-fat Western diet, a low-fat diet with fish oil supplements eaten for four to six weeks prior to prostate removal slowed the growth of cancer cells in human prostate cancer tissue.   That short-term study also found that the men on the low-fat fish oil diet were able to change the composition of their cell membranes in both the healthy cells and the cancer cells in the prostate. They had increased levels of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil and decreased levels of the more pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty aci...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - November 18, 2013 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Tomato therapy: Engineered veggies target intestinal lipids, improve cholesterol
UCLA researchers report that tiny amounts of a specific type of lipid in the small intestine may play a greater role than previously thought in generating the high cholesterol levels and inflammation that lead to clogged arteries.   The team also found they could reduce the negative effects of these lipids in mice by feeding the animals a new genetically engineered tomato being developed at UCLA that is designed to mimic HDL ("good") cholesterol.   The study, published in the December issue of the Journal of Lipid Research with an accompanying editorial, focused on a group of lipids found in the sma...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - November 13, 2013 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Never Too Early to Learn Low-Fat: Part 2
While the increasing rate of childhood obesity seems to have leveled off, there is a growing consensus that much more needs to be done, and at earlier ages if we hope to have an impact. We need to do our best to get the education right, as teaching children the wrong information will most certainly be worse than doing nothing at all.read more (Source: Psychology Today Food and Diet Center)
Source: Psychology Today Food and Diet Center - November 12, 2013 Category: Nutrition Authors: Pam Schoenfeld, MS, RD Tags: Child Development Diet Education Politics childhood obesity children fat food low fat nutrition policy Source Type: news

Buffet layouts could influence what we eat
Conclusion The main thing this study shows is not surprising – people take what is offered to them. If a hungry person is presented with fruit they will likely take it while they have the chance – perhaps not seeing what will be offered later in the line – similarly if they are presented with fried breakfast options they will likely take them. Especially if you are told you are not going to get the chance to come back and take them again, as the people in this study were. It seems fairly obvious that you will then select other items that will go with what you have already taken. An interesting extension to the resea...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 8, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Food/diet Source Type: news

Saturated fat link with heart disease questioned
This article is one doctor's opinion based on his own knowledge, research and experience. However, it is fair to say there is an ongoing debate about how far cholesterol is a risk factor for heart disease, especially in people who are otherwise healthy. There is also a similar debate about the use of statins in people who have no evidence of cardiovascular disease. This is alongside ongoing research into the components of LDL and the different types of lipoproteins known to increase risk the most. None of this relevant new evidence is covered by the news reporting.   What should you eat? There is no need to change curren...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Food/diet QA articles Source Type: news

NICE says GPs 'should be nicer' to fat people
"Don't be nasty to fat people," is the front page headline in the Daily Mail. The paper reports on new draft guidelines that encourage doctors to be "respectful and non-blaming" when discussing people's weight problems. The headlines stem from new draft guidelines published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for the management of overweight and obese adults, focusing on lifestyle weight management services. Despite the media's focus on the commonsense recommendation that obese people should be treated with respect, the draft guidelines offer a host of other useful recommen...
Source: NHS News Feed - October 17, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Lifestyle/exercise Obesity QA articles Source Type: news