Diet and Disease

Diet Until Proven Otherwise

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Plant foods, high in fiber, can reduce the contact of potential carcinogens with cells lining the digestive tract. The fiber causes food to travel faster through a person’s digestive system. This also reduces intestinal cells’ contact with bile acids, which can promote cancer growth. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes also provide phytonutrients and antioxidants, which can help repair damaged cells and reduce cancer risk.

Why poor diets are contributing to a surge in colorectal cancer cases among young people — https://www.kevinmd.com/2023/04/why-poor-diets-are-contributing-to-a-surge-in-colorectal-cancer-cases-among-young-people.html

Life is short and science takes too long.

Change your diet. If you have any changes in your bowel habits, talk to your physician.

Popular keto diet may be linked to higher risk of heart disease, cardiac events

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The study, presented over the weekend at the American College of Cardiology’s annual scientific session together with the World Congress of Cardiology, found that a keto-like diet may be associated with higher levels of “bad” cholesterol and twice the risk of cardiovascular events such as chest pain, blocked arteries requiring stenting, heart attacks and strokes.

The research team analyzed data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale database with health information from over half a million people living in the United Kingdom who were followed for at least 10 years. Upon enrollment in the biobank, participants completed a self-reported diet questionnaire and had blood drawn to check their cholesterol levels.

“Among the participants on an LCHF diet, we found that those with the highest levels of LDL cholesterol were at the highest risk for a cardiovascular event,” Dr. Iatan said. “Our findings suggest that people who are considering going on an LCHF diet should be aware that doing so could lead to an increase in their levels of LDL cholesterol. Before starting this dietary pattern, they should consult a health care provider. While on the diet, it is recommended they have their cholesterol levels monitored and should try to address other risk factors for heart disease or stroke, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, physical inactivity and smoking.”

Popular keto diet may be linked to higher risk of heart disease, cardiac events — https://www.med.ubc.ca/news/popular-keto-diet-may-be-linked-to-higher-risk-of-heart-disease-cardiac-events/

2/3 Diet and Lifestyle, 1/3 Genetics

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What can Okinawans tell us? Why does Ogimi and elsewhere on the island have a history of long life? That comes down to three main factors—diet, social practices, and genetics—explains Craig Willcox, a professor of public health and gerontology at Okinawa International University and a co-principal investigator of the Okinawa Centenarian Study, which has been investigating Okinawan longevity since 1975.“

About two-thirds of longevity is related to diet and way of life, the rest is genetics. Generally speaking, you need the genetic rocket booster if you want to get into the hundreds, not just a good diet,” Willcox says. “We haven’t looked into whether or not Okinawa has a genetic advantage over other parts of Japan, but longevity does run in families here.”

This island unlocked the secret to long life—and knows how to get through tough times — https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/uncover-the-secrets-of-longevity-in-this-japanese-village

Older Okinawans clinging to the islands’ traditionally healthful diet still boast the longest life expectancy in Japan, the country with the world’s longest-living people. But younger islanders, who grew up coveting the America they peeked at inside the bases here, began gobbling up hamburgers, fried chicken and pizzas as soon as their incomes permitted them to do so.

Urasoe Journal; On U.S. Fast Food, More Okinawans Grow Super-Sized — https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/30/world/urasoe-journal-on-us-fast-food-more-okinawans-grow-super-sized.html

I need to go to the grocery store today.

  • Sweet potatoes
  • Bitter melon
  • Seaweed
  • Fish

What is the Optimal Diet for the Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease? — The Skeptical Cardiologist

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The skeptical cardiologist was asked to give a lecture in July on diet to the cardiology fellows in our training program at Saint Louis University. Needless to say, I didn’t hew to current recommendations from the American Heart Association or the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. For example, these recommendations are still promoting the narrative that…

What is the Optimal Diet for the Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease? — The Skeptical Cardiologist

Great lecture. Thank you Dr. Pearson.

Brussels Chicory Stabilizes Unstable Atherosclerotic Plaques and Reshapes the Gut Microbiota (in Mice)

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Brussels chicory might help stabilize atherosclerotic plaques in mice by reducing intestinal permeability and gut microbial LPS production. This study provides a promising approach to slow the progression of atherosclerosis.

The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 152, Issue 10, October 2022, Pages 2209–2217, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxac103

Does not look like mice food.

(Image borrowed from the internet. If you own the copyright on this photo let me know and I’ll delete immediately. If copyright infringement has occurred I assure you it was unintentional.)

Brussels chicory aka Belgian endive aka Witloof. We don’t eat much of this vegetable in the US. Maybe because virtually no one grows it.

Demand has grown such that California Endive Farms, who are the only commercial endive producer in the country, has had to expand their operations in order to keep up.

Belgian endive consumption in the US on the rise — https://www.infiniteherbs.com/belgian-endive-consumption-in-the-us-on-the-rise/

Incidence and Characteristics of Remission of Type 2 Diabetes in England: A Cohort Study Using the National Diabetes Audit

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Remission of type 2 diabetes was generally infrequent in routine care settings but may be a reasonable goal for a subset of people who lose a significant amount of weight shortly after diagnosis.

Incidence and Characteristics of Remission of Type 2 Diabetes in England: A Cohort Study Using the National Diabetes Audit – Diabetes Care 2022;45(5):1151–1161
https://doi.org/10.2337/dc21-2136

Just Another Hump Day…Sweet

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Scientists have demonstrated that normal brain aging is accelerated by approximately 26% in people with progressive type 2 diabetes compared with individuals without the disease.

eLife. “Type 2 diabetes accelerates brain aging and cognitive decline.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220525080527.htm (accessed May 25, 2022)

Makes you wonder if improving your diet will help.

Many adults can achieve remission of type 2 diabetes with a primary intervention consisting of a diet that emphasizes whole, plant-based foods, according to a new publication from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM).

Experts Endorse Plant-Based Diet for Type 2 Diabetes Remission — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/974591?src=rss#vp_1

But we all know how hard lifestyle changes can be. Maybe best to just listen to some music.

Diet-induced Alteration of Intestinal Stem Cell Function (in mice)

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“The first thing we noticed was that the small intestine increases greatly in size on the high-calorie diet,” says study leader Anika Böttcher. “Together with Fabian Theis’ team of computational biologists at Helmholtz Munich, we then profiled 27,000 intestinal cells from control diet and high fat/high sugar diet-fed mice. Using new machine learning techniques, we thus found that intestinal stem cells divide and differentiate significantly faster in the mice on an unhealthy diet.” The researchers hypothesize that this is due to an upregulation of the relevant signaling pathways, which is associated with an acceleration of tumor growth in many cancers. “This could be an important link: Diet influences metabolic signaling, which leads to excessive growth of intestinal stem cells and ultimately to an increased risk of gastrointestinal cancer,” says Böttcher.

Helmholtz Zentrum München – German Research Center for Environmental Health. “New link between diet, intestinal stem cells and disease discovered.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/11/211119155604.htm (accessed November 27, 2021).

I wonder what Dr. Lustig would say about this study?

Dr. Robert Lustig – The Sugar Pandemic – 2012 Presentation at Yale University and Dr. Robert Lustig on Sugar.

Trends in Consumption of Ultraprocessed Foods (not good news)

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The calories that children and adolescents consumed from ultraprocessed foods jumped from 61% to 67% of total caloric intake from 1999 to 2018, according to a new study from researchers at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University. Published August 10, 2021, in JAMA, the study analyzed dietary intake from 33,795 children and adolescents nationwide.

Tufts University. “Ultraprocessed foods now comprise 2/3 of calories in children and teen diets.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210810110955.htm (accessed August 10, 2021).

The largest spike in calories came from such ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat dishes as takeout and frozen pizza and burgers: from 2.2% to 11.2% of calories. The second largest spike in calories came from packaged sweet snacks and desserts, the consumption of which grew from 10.6% to 12.9%.

Frozen pizza and burgers? Is this a problem?

Findings  In this serial cross-sectional study of nationally representative data from 33 795 US youths aged 2-19 years, the estimated percentage of total energy consumed from ultraprocessed foods increased from 61.4% to 67.0%, whereas the percentage of total energy consumed from unprocessed or minimally processed foods decreased from 28.8% to 23.5%.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2782866

We are doomed.