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Ross Walter Nutritionist & Naturopath
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More LOW FAT GUIDELINES PROVEN WRONG

29/10/2017

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I love looking at how nutrition affects your health, in positive healthy ways as well as the negative effects of some foods or nutrients. Heart disease is, well... close to my heart, as it runs in my family. Despite the "heart health" food guidelines of low fat, and low salt over the past few decades, heart disease is still the largest killer of men and women in Western countries. Have the government food guidelines since the 1970s caused this? I say it has...

A very recent new study was published in The Lancet (one of the world's most prestigious medical journals) on 29th Aug 2017, finding that a higher intake of carbohydrates was associated with a higher risk of earlier death, whereas a higher intake of healthy fats, including saturated fat, actually reduced the risks and incidences of heart disease and other conditions.

The study was admittedly not of a high quality, being based on questionnaires about food intake (carbs vs proteins vs fats), body measurements, lifestyle choices, medicines, and medical history including cardiovascular events (heart attacks, stroke, and other symptoms) and other non-heart related conditions. As such, there is an element of possible inaccuracies about what people may answer in the questionnaires compared to their truth. But the number of people investigated was high - over 135,000 adults from 35-70 years, from low, middle and high income groups in many countries on five continents. Respondents were followed up at 3, 6 and 9 years later, with repeated measurements and questionnaires to assess changes, nutrition, health, deaths and other factors.

People in some countries obtained most of their energy from a very high carbohydrate intake, even up to 70% or more, which is higher than Australia's food guidelines of 45%-65% carbohydrate intake, and certainly higher than what I see in my clients at 50-60% carbohydrate intake. Another issue with the study is that there was no differentiation between "good" carbohydrates of vegetables and fruit, compared to the "bad" carbs of sugar, grain products, alcohol etc. This is a huge flaw in the study, as some people in rural Asian countries eating mostly a plant-based diet with some animal protein and healthy fats (and thus being very healthy) are being seen the same as people in modern Western towns eating a truckload of sugar, bread and alcohol, with massive grain-fed steaks.

Another flaw of the study was the implied assumption that all people from many different countries, cultures, and ethnicities, are somehow all the same and should eat exactly the same foods! Different ethnicities have different genetics, and as such, have different nutritional needs due to different biochemical and metabolic physiologies.

While the attention-grabbing news headlines of the study suggests that eating more carbs and less fats contributes to increased heart disease and death, or that eating more healthy fats leads to less heart disease, the truth (in this study at least) wasn't so exciting.

Some of the findings were:
- Higher carbohydrate intake was linked to increased risk of mortality
- Higher carbohydrate intake was NOT linked to an increased risk of heart disease
- Total fat intake was associated with lower risk of mortality
- Higher saturated fat intake was associated with a lower risk of stroke, but not other heart disease conditions.

Another interesting result from the study was that a higher animal protein intake was associated with a lower risk of mortality, but no association was found with regard to plant protein.

The study concluded with: "Global dietary guidelines should be reconsidered in light of these findings.". No, they shouldn't! As much as I would love to see the dietary guidelines changed, away from their current food industry sponsored/biased advice, to more current scientific evidence as seen in many other better quality published studies, the guidelines shouldn't be changed based on this poor quality and flawed study!

What is my message from this study? Ignore the sensationalist news headlines or articles for this study, as it doesn't tell the full story! There are much better studies showing the association between eating "bad" refined/processed carbs and heart disease, or saturated fat intake not being associated with heart disease.

And for the best nutrition and health advice, see your Nutritionist or Naturopath, who can tailor a nutrition plan specifically for you, taking into account your health history and your health goals!


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the cholesterol and heart disease myth

28/2/2016

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I see too many clients in my clinic who are worried about their cholesterol levels, particularly as they get older. There is much confusion and misinformation about this topic, so here are some facts based on recent research:

1) Cholesterol is a compound found in animal products - eggs, meats, and dairy. Our bodies naturally make cholesterol - so even being a vegetarian or vegan, you will make more cholesterol than a meat-eater because your body needs it for many purposes!
2) Cholesterol is NOT linked to a diet high in saturated fats as was once believed! Nor is a diet high in cholesterol responsible for your high blood cholesterol! This is because the body makes enough cholesterol for what it needs. If you eat less cholesterol, your body makes more & vice versa.
3) The reason why cholesterol is perceived as unhealthy is because it is found in plaques in blood vessels, which restrict the blood flow and over time can block the flow, causing pain, cell death, stroke or heart attacks. In truth, the analogy of cholesterol is that it is like a fireman at the scene of a fire. Yes cholesterol is found in arterial plaques, but it is NOT the cause of them! (read what does cause them below...)
4) There is no such thing as "good" cholesterol and "bad" cholesterol. Cholesterol is cholesterol and it's all good! Also, over 50% of people who have had heart attacks or heart disease do not have high cholesterol levels! So there is something else other than cholesterol that causes heart disease in most people.
5) Heart disease risk has been shown in research to not be increased by saturated fat intake! Saturated fat, despite popular belief, actually protects the heart! Reducing fat in the diet in research studies did not reduce the risk of heart disease.
6) The US Department of Agriculture and Health and Human Services changed the US dietary guidelines on the intake of cholesterol in foods in 2015, stating that "cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern", based on recent research.
7) Cholesterol is an essential substance without which we would not be alive! We actually need cholesterol in our bodies for making our hormones, making the walls of hundreds of millions of new cells each day, carrying fat-soluble nutrients around in the blood to all cells, making bile which helps us digest fats in the diet. With low cholesterol, many health problems occur.
8) If that's not enough evidence against cholesterol being a baddy, a 2011 study on over 52,000 people with a followup period of 10 years, found that the higher your cholesterol was, the longer you lived! What?!

So if it's not dietary sources of cholesterol which causes high blood cholesterol and plaques, then what does?! This might shock you...

High cholesterol and arterial plaques are more caused by a combination of factors:
1) A diet high in sugar, fruit juice, whole grains and bakery products (because they are highly processed carbohydrates)
2) A diet high in trans fat, from processed foods, margarine and fried foods
3) A diet high in oxidised vegetable oils (when vegetable oils are heated)
4) A diet low in vegetables, fibre and antioxidants
5) And having a sedentary lifestyle (ie, not much exercise or movement).

Eating a "low fat" diet because you are worried about saturated fats and cholesterol is unfounded and is not based on quality or recent scientific research. It doesn't help to improve your health because "low fat" diets or foods cause insulin resistance, or effectively, diabetes, and unhealthy blood cholesterol levels, which is what you are wanting to avoid.

Unfortunately if your total cholesterol over about 7 then your GP will probably recommend or prescribe a statin medication to stop or prevent your body from making cholesterol. Because we actually make cholesterol naturally every day for many purposes, having less cholesterol results in a LOT of unhealthy side-effects, including low energy, poor memory and concentration, muscle and joint pains, headaches, nausea, liver damage, increased blood sugar (ie diabetes).

In a recent study in the prestigious British Medical Journal, it was found that simply adopting a Mediterranean diet is 3 times more powerful at reducing your risk of death from heart disease than taking a statin! Imagine just changing your diet to improve your health, and it being more effective than a prescription medication! The Mediterranean diet includes a moderate amount of animal products, healthy fats (olive oil, non-lean meats), and this was found to be 30% better in reducing cardiovascular issues than a low-fat diet, as well as preventing plaques and high blood pressure!
I am not suggesting that you should stop taking your statin medication, but by working with your GP, and myself to improve your diet and lifestyle, you may find that you need to take less medications and have a greater quality of life!

The best medicine for heart health as well as for your whole body is to prevent or reduce the causes of cardiovascular issues, with a holistic (whole body) treatment plan - which is what I do!

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How times have changed on fat and cholesterol research

18/1/2016

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I have written previously about how low fat diets actually cause more negative health issues  than they are supposed to prevent (see other articles below) and even more recent scientific research backs this up.

Unfortunately the old paradigm of low fat and low cholesterol foods are healthy and reduce the risk of heart disease was based on shonky observational studies (by reviewing peoples' diet diaries) done in the 1950s to come up with their conclusions, and not by any clinical studies done in the laboratory to prove that dietary fat actually causes the issues in peoples' bodies. Hence we have had 50 or more years of misinformation and conflicting advice by those who want to stick to the old low fat paradigm (Doctors, Dietitians and many personal trainers), and those (like me) who look at more current clinical research studies which shows that low fat and low cholesterol diets are not recommended because of the health risks they cause.

So what does actually cause heart disease, high cholesterol and atherosclerosis (thickening and hardening of arterial walls that lead to blockages, clots and strokes)?

According to recent research, it's trans-fat (from processed and fried foods and margarine), SUGAR and WHOLE GRAINS which are the main culprits in heart disease and arterial damage, and not healthy fats, especially not saturated fats, which appeared to have a protective effect on the heart! Saturated fats (such as in butter and coconut oil) increase your "good" HDL cholesterol, but trans-fat, sugars and grains do the reverse - they increase your bad "LDL" cholesterol and lower your "good" HDL cholesterol.

In addition, fructose (the sugar found in fruit) has also been implicated in obesity and heart disease - in the concentrated and processed forms of fructose such as sugary foods, soft drinks, and fruit juices. However fresh whole fruit is fine as it doesn't have the same effect.

A diet high in sugars and grains leads to obesity, which causes insulin resistance and diabetes, which in turn causes high blood pressure, and in turn this causes heart disease, kidney problems, eye diseases and lowered eyesight, poor circulation and further heart damage in a vicious cycle - and leading to death.

There are many other negative issues with sugars and grains too, such as causing cancer, gastrointestinal issues, depression and mood swings, liver issues and causing or exacerbating many other health conditions.

So if you are wanting to improve your health, please come and see me for a personalised nutrition plan and treatment plan to reverse any health conditions you may have, and to improve your health and make you feel a lot better!
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healthy fats do not make you fat!

28/11/2015

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For decades we have been informed from health advocates, governments, doctors, dietitians and the like, that low fat diets are healthy. It may seem to make sense on some level that if we don't eat foods with fat, then we won't actually get fat! Unfortunately more recent scientific research does not agree with this idea.

Firstly, our bodies break down our food into the smallest particles in order to be absorbed through our digestive system, and into our body. Then those particles are rearranged, packaged and delivered to cells to be used for many purposes. Fats and oils from our foods will get used in many ways:
  1. To absorb the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, & K
  2. To make hormones and neurotransmitters
  3. To make the cell walls for every new cell - we make 100's of millions each day!
  4. For fuel for cellular activities and functions
  5. To produce energy and enable us to do things during the day
  6. For weight loss!
  7. For proper functioning of nerves and the brain
  8. To maintain healthy skin and membranes
  9. And many other uses!
Fat storage from fats we eat is the last option, if it gets there at all! Coconut oil, for example, will get used for energy, and will not contribute to body fat at all!

Secondly, there are some fats we MUST eat regularly, as they are called "essential fatty acids", or just "essential fats". These are omega-3 and omega-6 fats - and they are essential because our bodies cannot make them! We need to eat these fats in our diet! Good sources of omega-3 fats include fish (salmon, tuna, mackerel, trout, sardines etc, with the skin on!), raw nuts and seeds, eggs, avocados and grass-fed meats (not grain-fed!). Good sources of omega-6 fats include some vegetable oils, raw nuts and seeds, butter, eggs, and dairy products.

Thirdly, the other issue with fats is which ones are safe and healthy to cook with. Without getting into too much chemistry, plant-based oils should never be used for cooking with! The only exception is coconut oil, which is a healthy saturated fat oil. The reason is that all other plant-based oils contain mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated oil, but when these are heated, they change their fragile structure and become oxidised, full of health-damaging free-radicals and other toxic breakdown products such as aldehydes.

A recent experiment was performed in the UK where various cooking oils were heated to normal cooking temperatures to see what effect this had on the oils. The allegedly "healthy" sunflower and other vegetable oils produced aldehydes at levels more than 20 times the World Health Organisation's safe levels! Olive oil fared better, but it still isn't recommended for heating and cooking with. Butter and other animal fats were stable and the safest for cooking! Coconut oil is also stable when heated and is also recommended. The plant-based oils are ok as a dressing on foods only, or for massage! I recommend olive oil as being the healthiest for dressings on foods - mix it with various herbs and spices, and Balsamic or other vinegars for a tasty and healthy dressing!

While most fats can be healthy, the exception is trans-fat, which is found in fried foods, processed and packaged foods, and margarine. It is trans-fat, and oxidised vegetable oil (from heating and cooking), which causes inflammation in the body and this is a leading cause of all chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, weight gain and obesity, diabetes, infertility, and even cancer.

For your overall health, you need to eat the right fats and oils, and avoid the wrong ones!


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    All articles here are Copyright (c) to Ross Walter Nutritionist & Naturopath (2015-2022). You are welcome to share these articles in your personal or business marketing, in full and referencing this website.
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