Here's a bit of cheery news, if you like your salt:
Eating less salt will not prevent heart attacks, strokes or early death, according to a major study.
Its findings contradict all recommendations by the Government and medical profession urging the public to reduce the amount of salt they consume.
Research involving nearly 6,500 people concluded that there was ‘no strong evidence’ that lowering levels in the diet reduced the risk of heart disease or premature death.
In fact it found that cutting back on salt actually raises the likelihood of death in some patients with heart problems.
Here's an interesting article in the City Journal.
Steven Malanga writes about The Washington Diet, particularly the political battles surrounding the government's health guidelines issued in the 1970s.
Definitely worth the read if you think the dietary guidelines you grew up with were the results of scientific consensus and solid scientific evidence.
And it's worth the read even if you already know that the guidelines are bogus.
Here's an interesting article about Gary Taubes on SFGate.com (home of the S.F. Chronicle). It is a pretty good overview of the "low fat" vs. "low carb" camps.
More news of an experimental obesity treatment having trouble during the trial phase.
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN) and Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. (4502.TO, TKPYY) have suspended a mid-stage trial of an experimental obesity treatment, citing a potential immune-system reaction from a previous study.
Source: Amylin, Takeda Halt Obesity Drug Study
People keep waiting for a miracle cure. Why not try low-carb?
Gluten sensitivity is on the rise, and it's being recognized as a genuine problem rather than an imaginary one.
Here's an article in the Wall Street Journal describing new research into gluten sensitivity.
A new study in the journal BMC Medicine may shed some light on why. It shows gluten can set off a distinct reaction in the intestines and the immune system, even in people who don't have celiac disease.
~snip~
"People aren't born with this. Something triggers it and with this dramatic rise in all ages, it must be something pervasive in the environment," says Joseph A. Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. One possible culprit: agricultural changes to wheat that have boosted its protein content.
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870489360457620039352245663...
Here's a BusinessWeek blurb about a new study on coffee's possible health effects:
THURSDAY, March 10 (HealthDay News) -- Women who have at least one cup of coffee -- or even five cups -- daily may be reducing their risk of stroke by as much as 25 percent, new Swedish research shows. And women who don't drink coffee at all may actually be increasing their risk for stroke, the researchers noted. Source: Can Coffee Cut a Woman's Stroke Risk?
Here's a study which claims that there is a statistically significant, positive relationship between consumption of caffeinated coffee and increased insulin sensitivity. (Insulin sensitivity is what we are trying to increase or preserve by avoiding unhealthy carbs, or following paleo diets.)
Conclusions/interpretation
In this cross-sectional study, caffeinated coffee was positively related to insulin sensitivity and decaffeinated coffee was favourably related to measures of beta cell function. These results provide pathophysiological insight as to how coffee could impact the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Source: Diabetologia Volume 54, Number 2, 320-328, DOI: 10.1007/s00125-010-1957-8
I'm skeptical about the claims, but I am concerned about the nutritional qualities of genetically modified (GM) foods. Now some scientists are being attacked for their stance against GM food production and sales:
Another news story about America's pet obesity epidemic. Why report it? Because I've noticed that people who eat unhealthy diets or are mostly sedentary have overweight pets -- after all, the pet probably isn't getting much activity or the right kind of foods, either. So America's pet population probably mirrors the human population.
That, and the fact that many processed pet food products are loaded with grains and other nasty fillers. Does that impact pets the same way as humans? Dogs and cats are evolved to be carnivores, after all.
According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, more than half of American pets are overweight or obese.
Source: America’s Portly Pet Problem
Here's more confirmation to feed my confirmation biases :D
By Jenny Hope
Last updated at 3:04 AM on 19th February 2011
After years of worrying that tucking into red meat could lead to a heart attack or cancer, you can relax and enjoy the Sunday roast, say researchers.
A report demolishes the ‘myths and misconceptions’ about the meat, saying that most people eat healthy amounts which are not linked to greater risk of disease.
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