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2003/07/20, 09:42 AM
Myth #6: Saturated fats and dietary cholesterol cause heart disease, atherosclerosis, and/or cancer, and low-fat, low-cholesterol diets are healthier for people.
This, too, is not a specific vegetarian myth. Nevertheless, people are often urged to take up a vegetarian or vegan diet because it is believed that such diets offer protection against heart disease and cancer since they are lower or lacking in animal foods and fats.
Although it is commonly believed that saturated fats and dietary cholesterol "clog arteries" and cause heart disease, such ideas have been shown to be false by such scientists as Linus Pauling, Russell Smith, George Mann, John Yudkin, Abram Hoffer, Mary Enig, Uffe Ravnskov and other prominent researchers (49). On the contrary, studies have shown that arterial plaque is primarily composed of unsaturated fats, particularly polyunsaturated ones, and not the saturated fat of animals, palm or coconut (50).
Trans-fatty acids, as opposed to saturated fats, have been shown by researchers such as Enig, Mann and Fred Kummerow to be causative factors in accelerated atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, cancer and other ailments (51).
Trans-fatty acids are found in such modern foods as margarine and vegetable shortening and foods made with them. Enig and her colleagues have also shown that excessive omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid intake from refined vegetable oils is also a major culprit behind cancer and heart disease, not animal fats.
A recent study of thousands of Swedish women supported Enig's conclusions and data, and showed no correlation between saturated fat consumption and increased risk for breast cancer. However, the study did show,as did Enig's work, a strong link between vegetable oil intake and higher breast cancer rates (52).
The major population studies that supposedly prove the theory that animal fats and cholesterol cause heart disease actually do not upon closer inspection. The Framingham Heart Study is often cited as proof that dietary cholesterol and saturated fat intake cause heart disease and ill health. Involving about 6,000 people, the study compared two groups over several years at five-year intervals. One group consumed little cholesterol and saturated fat, while the other consumed high amounts. Surprisingly, Dr William Castelli, the study's director, said:
In Framingham, Mass., the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person's serum cholesterol ... we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least and were the most physically active. (53)
The Framingham data did show that subjects who had higher cholesterol levels and weighed more ran a slightly higher chance for coronary heart disease. But weight gain and serum cholesterol levels had an inverse correlation with dietary fat and cholesterol intake. In other words, there was no correlation at all (54).
In a similar vein, the US Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT), sponsored by the National Heart and Lung Institute, compared mortality rates and eating habits of 12,000+ men. Those who ate less saturated fat and cholesterol showed a slightly reduced rate of heart disease, but had an overall mortality rate much higher than the other men in the study (55).
Low-fat/cholesterol diets, therefore, are not healthier for people. Studies have shown repeatedly that such diets are associated with depression, cancer, psychological problems, fatigue, violence and suicide (56). Women with lower serum cholesterol live shorter lives than women with higher levels (57). Similar things have been found in men (58).
Children on low-fat and/or vegan diets can suffer from growth problems, failure to thrive, and learning disabilities (59). Despite this, sources from DR Benjamin Spock to the American Heart Association recommend low-fat diets for children! One can only lament the fate of those unfortunate youngsters who will be raised by unknowing parents taken in by such genocidal misinformation.
There are many health benefits to saturated fats, depending on the fat in question. Coconut oil, for example, is rich in lauric acid, a potent antifungal and antimicrobial substance. Coconut also contains appreciable amounts of caprylic acid, also an effective antifungal (60). Butter from free-range cows is rich in trace minerals, especially selenium, as well as all of the fat-soluble vitamins and beneficial fatty acids that protect against cancer and fungal infections (61).
In fact, the body needs saturated fats in order to properly utilize essential fatty acids (62). Saturated fats also lower the blood levels of the artery-damaging lipoprotein a (63); are needed for proper calcium utilization in the bones (64); stimulate the immune system (65); are the preferred food for the heart and other vital organs (66); and, along with cholesterol, add structural stability to the cell and intestinal wall (67).
They are excellent for cooking, as they are chemically stable and do not break down under heat, unlike polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Omitting them from one's diet, then, is ill-advised.
With respect to atherosclerosis, it is always claimed that vegetarians have much lower rates of this condition than meat eaters. The International Atherosclerosis Project of 1968, however, which examined over 20,000 corpses from several countries, concluded that vegetarians had just as much atherosclerosis as meat eaters (68). Other population studies have revealed similar data. (69)
This is because atherosclerosis is largely unrelated to diet; it is a consequence of aging. There are things which can accelerate the atherosclerotic process such as excessive free radical damage to the arteries from antioxidant depletion (caused by such things as smoking, poor diet, excess polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diet, various nutritional deficiencies, drugs, etc), but this is to be distinguished from the fatty-streaking and hardening of arteries that occurs in all peoples over time.
It also does not appear that vegetarian diets protect against heart disease. A study on vegans in 1970 showed that female vegans had higher rates of death from heart disease than non-vegan females (70). A recent study showed that Indians, despite being vegetarians, have very high rates of coronary artery disease (71). High-carbohydrate/low-fat diets (which is what vegetarian diets are) can also place one at a greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, and cancer due to their hyperinsulemic effects on the body (72). Recent studies have also shown that vegetarians have higher homocysteine levels in their blood (73). Homocysteine is a known cause of heart disease. Lastly, low-fat/cholesterol diets, generally favored to either prevent or treat heart disease, do neither (74).
Studies which conclude that vegetarians are at a lower risk for heart disease are typically based on the phony markers of lower saturated fat intake, lower serum cholesterol levels and HDL/LDL ratios. Since vegetarians tend to eat less saturated fat and usually have lower serum cholesterol levels, it is concluded that they are at less risk for heart disease. Once one realizes that these measurements are not accurate predictors of proneness to heart disease, however, the supposed protection of vegetarianism melts away (75).
It should always be remembered that a number of things factor into a person getting heart disease or cancer. Instead of focusing on the phony issues of saturated fat, dietary cholesterol, and meat-eating, people should pay more attention to other more likely factors.
These would be trans-fatty acids, excessive polyunsaturated fat intake, excessive sugar intake, excessive carbohydrate intake, smoking, certain vitamin and mineral deficiencies, and obesity. These things were all conspicuously absent in the healthy traditional peoples that Dr. Price studied.
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Great people never want it easier, they just want to be better!
Ron
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2003/07/20, 07:16 PM
bb1 thank you for sharing that. Do you possibly have a link for the source of this article? Not only would I like to see the rest of the research but I would love to share this with my fellow trainers, however I would like to be able to give the credit to the author that they so deserve. Thanks!
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\"Knowledge & persistence is all one needs to succeed"
---Patrick L.
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2003/07/20, 08:37 PM
OK, I found the source on this one & it turns out it was an artical by a Dr Byrnes & one part of a good debate on vegatarianism. Personally I feel that there is alot of benifit in a healthy diet consisting of both meat & vegan foods. However for all the vegetarians hope is not lost for you. However compelling the information in Dr. Byrnes research is there are many healthy alternatives for those who have chosen to leave meat from their diet. For those of you I offer the rebuttle to the above article, not to argue the validity just to give both sides of the story.
Dr. Janson's Response to Vegetarian Myths 5 and 6
These are related in that meat and saturated fat consumption go hand in hand. One only needs to look at the scientific research to show that Dr. Byrnes' position is scientifically untenable. I'll cite some of the research in the body of this article so there is no mistaking it.
Regarding meat consumption and osteoporosis, it is simply a matter of looking at the data from present day studies to show the increased risk from a high animal protein diet. Here are some quotes from the literature.
"Elderly women with a high dietary ratio of animal to vegetable protein intake have more rapid femoral neck bone loss and a greater risk of hip fracture than do those with a low ratio. This suggests that an increase in vegetable protein intake and a decrease in animal protein intake may decrease bone loss and the risk of hip fracture. This possibility should be confirmed in other prospective studies and tested in a randomized trial."
Sellmeyer DE, et al., A high ratio of dietary animal to vegetable protein increases the rate of bone loss and the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women. Study of Osteoporotic Fractures Research Group. Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Jan;73(1):118-22
"…adverse dietary practices for BD included intakes of protein and phosphorus greater than recommended amounts."
Metz JA, et al., Intakes of calcium, phosphorus, and protein, and physical-activity level are related to radial bone mass in young adult women. Am J Clin Nutr 1993 Oct;58(4):537-42.
"When female fracture rates derived from 34 published studies in 16 countries were regressed against estimates of dietary animal protein, a strong, positive association was found."
Abelow BJ, et al., Cross-cultural association between dietary animal protein and hip fracture: a hypothesis. Calcif Tissue Int 1992 Jan;50(1):14-8
On the other hand, high consumption of soy products has the opposite effect.
"High consumption of soy products is associated with increased bone mass in postmenopausal women and might be useful for preventing hypoestrogenic effects."
Somekawa Y, et al., Soy intake related to menopausal symptoms, serum lipids, and bone mineral density in postmenopausal Japanese women. Obstet Gynecol 2001 Jan;97(1):109-15.
While Dr. Byrnes maintains that "The belief that animal protein contributes to heart disease is a popular one that has no foundation in nutritional science," he is ignoring the science. A study by Dudrick using an animal model clearly showed regression of atherosclerosis and reduction of cholesterol levels when intravenous feeding of different amino acids similar to vegetable protein, and progression with amino acids similar to meat protein.
Dudrick SJ. Regression of atherosclerosis by the intravenous infusion of specific biochemical nutrient substrates in animals and humans. Ann Surg 1987 Sep;206(3):296-315.
Dr Byrnes says that heart disease is low in France where meat consumption is high. However, the number one killer in France is heart disease, and the rate of heart disease there is higher than in eastern Mediterranean peoples who have a much lower meat consumption, but high vegetable, fruit, bean, and grain diets. The rate of heart disease in Japan and China is far lower than either of these regions, and their meat consumption is far lower.
A study of Seventh Day Adventists makes the following conclusion: "Multivariate analyses showed significant associations between beef consumption and fatal ischemic heart disease (IHD) in men ." Fraser GE, Associations between diet and cancer, ischemic heart disease, and all-cause mortality in non-hispanic white california seventh-day adventists. Am J Clin Nutr 1999 Sep;70(3 Suppl):532S-8S.
A study from Crete showed "the diet with the greatest life expectancy in the western world is that of Crete, largely vegetarian with a high intake of alpha-linolenic acid." Renaud SC, Dietary management of cardiovascular diseases. Prostaglandins Leukot Essent Fatty Acids 1997 Oct;57(4-5):423-7. But this is still higher than the rates of heart disease in Okinawa with a largely vegetarian diet that is also high in soy products.
Regarding kidney stones, Dr. Byrnes again is ignoring the data in favor of theory. For example, in a study from Texas, an "…animal protein diet, when its electrolyte composition and quantity of protein were kept the same as for the vegetarian diet, conferred an increased risk for uric acid stones…" Breslau NA, et al., Relationship of animal protein-rich diet to kidney stone formation and calcium metabolism. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 1988 Jan;66(1):140-6.
And this quote from another article "High protein intake is an accepted risk factor for renal stone disease," is rather unequivocal, and they conclude that for one third of idiopathic stone formers, meat is clearly a risk factor. Nguyen QV, Sensitivity to meat protein intake and hyperoxaluria in idiopathic calcium stone formers. Kidney Int 2001 Jun;59(6):2273-81.
I have already reported a few of the studies showing higher cancer rates among meat eaters compared to vegetarians, and I see no need to repeat them here. I could list hundreds more.
Recommendation of a high-animal-protein diet with so many clear risks, based on theoretical or historical arguments, is clearly putting millions of people at risk with little scientific justification. This does not mean that the science is absolute on the issue, as science is never so clearly final. We make decisions on the best evidence to date, and never are in the luxurious position of having absolute scientific proof. The risks of a high meat diet are clear in the science. Whether the reader wants to accept those risks and wait for more definitive studies is a personal decision.
Michael Janson, MD
Michael Janson, M.D., is past-president of both the American College for Advancement in Medicine and the American Preventive Medical Association. He founded one of the first complementary/alternative medical practices in New England in 1976. He has lectured widely on the subjects of nutrition, complementary/alternative medicine, vitamin supplements, and chelation therapy. He has been on a mostly vegetarian diet since 1975.
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\"Knowledge & persistence is all one needs to succeed"
---Patrick L.
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2003/07/20, 08:44 PM
http://www.mercola.com/2002/feb/23/vegetarianism_myths_06.htm
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Great people never want it easier, they just want to be better!
Ron
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2003/07/21, 03:02 PM
*sigh*
these sientists keep contradicting themselves don't they? especially all those health magazines!
one month they say you should drink 2.5-3 liters a day, the next month they tell you 1.5-2 liters is better, best not to drink too much. One month they say saturated fats and dietary cholesterol cause heart disease, the next month they write the contrary.
it's best just to eat a balanced diet and not to concentrate too much on such things. thats why i'll never become a professional sportsman lol.
well thanks for that bb1fit.
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2003/07/22, 01:02 AM
OK... no time to read everything, but from what I have read here and elsewhere...
If you have a high protein intake/diet, you would need to increase your calcium intake as well, as studies have shown that high protein diets tend to lower calcium levels... or something like that.
Mediterranean diets have olive oil, supposedly good for health, and their preparation of meat is different - thus lowering excess carcinogens, fats etc...
Japanese and Chinese people eat a lot of veges, soy and fish. By no means their meat intake is low... they go for white meat more than red meat.
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2003/07/22, 03:02 AM
1. "If you have a high protein intake/diet, you would need to increase your calcium intake as well, as studies have shown that high protein diets tend to lower calcium levels... or something like that."
From a previous post:
"This is a misnomer. Many of those studies, which were done in the 70s and earlier, seemed to suggest that as more protein was ingested, the more calcium the kidneys had to release in order to buffer the acidic change in the pH balance of the blood stream, due to excess urea. However, more recent studies, over the last decade or so, have shown that a high protein intake, in and of itself, does not lend to calcium loss; there are many other factors that can, and do, increase this same risk, such as phosphorus levels. In fact, according to a recent Tufts University study, increasing protein intake may actually augment the effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation in regards to a beneficial change in bone mineral density in the elderly, than those who supplemented with those two products alone."
2. "Mediterranean diets have olive oil, supposedly good for health, and their preparation of meat is different - thus lowering excess carcinogens, fats etc..."
And I'm living proof of that! LOL!!
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Michael
"Trample the weak; hurdle the dead!"
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