Dietary Intake and Coronary Heart Disease

[Guest guest]

Because of the latest research abstract posted below, I do not feel

the need to debate the saturated fat-cholesterol-CVD issue any

further. I'll end my input on the issue by summarizing the current

theory and two competitors:

1. The Lipid Theory, now over 60 years old, which originally claimed

that saturated fat and cholesterol is a causation for plaques

sticking to arterial walls. The initial premises of this theory have

long been superseded by decades of research, but the initial

causation is still assumed to have been proven, despite the lack of

any conclusive evidence. The research is always careful to use words

like " may " or " might be " , et al. when intending to implying causation

about the correlating risk factors. (To be fair, there is a huge gap

in thinking skills between researchers and the typical medical

doctor -- and the media!)

2. The Antioxidant Hypothesis, which is a modern derivative of the

Lipid Theory. Which claims oxidised LDL is a causation as that is

the form of cholesterol found in arterial plaques. And that

preventing the oxidisation via antioxidants will prevent the plaques

from forming in the first place. Currently, it appears the medical

establishment is slowly making the transition towards accepting this

hypothesis and turning it into a theory.

3. The Unified Hypothesis, which states that the plaques sticking to

the arterial walls are in response to a specific defenciency:

ascorbic acid. Which is an essential nutrient we've lost the ability

to synthesize internally due to genetic mutation. And is extremely

critical for maintaining the integrity and repair of arterial walls

(collagen) and preventing inflammation/dysfunction thereof. Note

that unlike a pipe, arterial plaque does not build up gradually in

tiny capillaries all the way up to the major arteries; instead,

plaques first form at the highest blood pressure points where the

arterial walls are the weakest from repeated stress, the coronaries.

So rather than viewing saturated fat-cholesterol-LDL-oxidised-LDL

being causation, the hypothesis views the ascorbic acid defenciency

as causation and the risk factors as correlations. In other words,

the body is using the Lipid Theory correlations you thought were the

problem as substitute band-aids because otherwise you'll bleed to

death from " cracks in the pipe " ! (hemorrhaging can certainly happen

when TC or LDL levels get too dangerously low). The hypothesis also

postulates you need to ingest amounts of ascorbic acid a heck of a

lot higher [PMID: 2147514] than what is generally known to optimize

serum levels [PMID: 10466192].

There is mounting research addressing the Antioxidant Hypothesis, but

very little so far specifically addressing the Unified Hypothesis.

And with that, I'm off to bed.

Logan

Dietary Intake and Coronary Heart Disease: A Variety of Nutrients and

Phytochemicals Are Important.

Tucker KL.

Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging, Tufts

University, 711 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111, USA.

katherine.tucker@...

Curr Treat Options Cardiovasc Med. 2004 Aug;6(4):291-302.

Until quite recently, the dietary focus on prevention of coronary

heart disease (CHD) has been almost exclusively centered on reducing

intake of cholesterol, total fat, and saturated fat. The food

industry responded vigorously with low-fat products, some of which

are helpful, particularly low-fat dairy products, but others that are

less so, due to increases in refined carbohydrate content. Recent

research shows that a variety of foods contribute to protection

against CHD, including certain types of fatty acids, and a variety of

components in fruit and vegetables, whole grains, and nuts. In

particular, there is now an emphasis on reducing not only saturated

fat, but also trans fat, whereas mono and omega-3 fatty acids have

been shown to be protective. Many new studies have shown a link

between intake of fruit and vegetables and whole grains and

protection against CHD. This has been ascribed to their fiber,

vitamin, mineral, and phytochemical content. In particular, there is

accumulating evidence of protective effects for folate, vitamin B(6),

vitamin B(12), vitamin E, vitamin C, flavonoids, and phytoestrogens.

New recommendations to prevent heart disease require a greater focus

on total dietary pattern with a return to the use of a variety of

minimally processed foods.