#ldl-c

Restringir los carbohidratos, incluso sin perder peso, mejora una gran cantidad de problemas metabólicos | Por: @rigotordoc

Según un trabajo publicado en el «Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight», una dieta baja en carbohidratos, incluso si no pierden peso, puede tener beneficios para las personas con sindrome metabólico y riesgo de desarrollar diabetes tipo 2. (more…)

    CHICAGO, IL – Persons with high cholesterol who received counseling regarding a diet that combined cholesterol-lowering foods such as soy protein, nuts and plant sterols over 6 months experienced a greater reduction in their low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels than individuals who received advice on a low-saturated fat diet, according to a study in the August 24/31 issue of JAMA. Efforts have been made to improve the ability of conventional dietary therapy to reduce serum cholesterol through the inclusion of specific foods or food components with known cholesterol-lowering properties, singly or in combination (dietary portfolio), according to background information in the article. The long-term effect of such diets compared with conventional dietary advice has not previously been assessed. David J. A. Jenkins, M.D., of St. Michael’s Hospital and the University of Toronto, and colleagues conducted a multi-center trial to determine whether advice to eat a dietary portfolio consisting of foods recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as associated with lowering serum cholesterol achieved significantly greater percentage decreases in LDL-C levels compared with a control diet at 6-month follow-up. The control diet emphasized high fiber and whole grains but lacked components of the portfolio diet, which emphasized dietary incorporation of plant sterols, soy protein, viscous fibers, and nuts. The study included 351 participants with hyperlipidemia from 4 participating academic centers acrossCanada(Quebec City,Toronto,Winnipeg, andVancouver) randomized between June 2007 and February 2009 to 1 of 3 treatments. Participants received dietary advice for 6 months on either the low-saturated fat therapeutic diet (control) or a routine or intensive dietary portfolio, for which counseling was delivered at different frequencies. Routine dietary portfolio involved 2 clinic visits over 6 months and intensive dietary portfolio involved 7 clinic visits over 6 months. In the modified intention-to-treat analysis of 345 participants, the overall attrition rate was not significantly different between treatments (18 percent for intensive dietary portfolio, 23 percent for routine dietary portfolio, and 26 percent for control). The researchers found that the change in LDL-C levels from the beginning of the study to week 24 in the control diet were -3.0 percent or -8 mg/dL. In the routine and intensive dietary portfolio interventions, the respective percentage changes were -13.1 percent or -24 mg/dL and -13.8 percent or -26 mg/dL for LDL-C levels. “Percentage LDL-C reductions for each dietary portfolio were significantly more than the control diet. The 2 dietary portfolio interventions did not differ significantly. Among participants randomized to one of the dietary portfolio interventions, percentage reduction in LDL-C on the dietary portfolio was associated with dietary adherence,” the authors write. “In conclusion, this study indicated the potential value of using recognized cholesterol-lowering foods in combination. We believe this approach has clinical application. A meaningful 13 percent LDL-C reduction can be obtained after only 2 clinic visits of approximately 60-and 40-minute sessions. The limited 3 percent LDL-C reduction observed in the conventional diet is likely to reflect the adequacy of the baseline diet and therefore suggests that larger absolute reductions in LDL-C may be observed when the dietary portfolio is prescribed to patients with diets more reflective of the general population,” the authors write.

There are some people out there who really want you to love walnuts. I mean, you should love them regardless – they're buttery and earthy, and so fun to crack open, and if you can get a perfect half out it totally looks like a little brain! And who doesn't love delicious, tiny brains?!

But it would seem that there are darker forces afoot, working tirelessly in labs and (marketing) boardrooms to convince you of the myriad health benefits of walnuts. Let's take a peek at what's being said, and whether it's true or just nuts (zing!)

Walnuts are a good source of alpha-Linolenic acid (or ALA). It's an omega-3 fatty acid that we get from eating plants. You're no doubt familiar with the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, since they came into the spotlight with oily (and delicious) fish like salmon. But when salmon took a PR hit from dangerous concentrations of heavy metals like mercury in farmed stock, we needed to find a new food to give us those healthy omega-3s.

So in came plant oils, like canola, soy, flax – and even hemp – with high concentrations of ALA (and no mercury!) The only caveat is that scientists remain unsure whether the omega-3s from plant sources work as well as those from fish. Either way, getting them from plants is better than not getting any at all. And we do have to get them from somewhere; we humans lack the enzymes needed to put together the pieces on our own.

Scampering around in our blood, ALA helps reduce the amount of LDL-C (that's the "bad" cholesterol) and c-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker). They're also the building blocks for some important molecules in the brain that can impact cognitive function (how well your brain works) and your mood.

Things get a little shady (in my mind) when we look at claims that walnuts improve our reaction to stress, or can actually protect our arteries when we eat high fat meals. They come from two studies that were funded (in part) by the California Walnut Commission. Of course, other reputable bodies were also involved, including the National Institutes of Health and the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada.

Part of being a scientist is being a skeptic, so when there's "big walnut money" funding studies about walnuts, you have to wonder whether they're simply "discovering" an outcome that they set out to find in the first place. That said, another part of being a scientist is needing money to keep your lab open and fund your research, and many do so without compromising their ethics.