underwriting

Mediterranean Diet Cuts Risk of Diabetes

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Compared with a control diet and a Mediterranean diet supplemented with mixed nuts, the olive oil-supplemented Mediterranean diet was associated with a 40% lower likelihood for new-onset diabetes (HR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43-0.85) , according to Jordi Salas-Salvado, MD, PhD, of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Reus, Spain, and colleagues.

Dieters who consumed a nut-supplemented Mediterranean diet did not see such protective benefits (HR 0.82, 95% CI 0.61-1.10), they wrote online in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

via Mediterranean Diet Cuts Risk of Diabetes.

Read the article and then the readers’ comments.  The following are some excerpts:

The findings of this study identify inherent weaknesses in methodology. The low fat control group did not adhere to a low fat diet and the improbable risks of CVD were notably higher.

 

I wonder if the researchers would consider the benefits of asking their subjects to spread their food intake more evenly throughout the day rather than the the usual Spanish pattern of negligible breakfast, snack about 11, then large lunch mid-afternoon and a big, late evening meal. Also in my experience travelling in various parts of Spain, the diet includes plenty of pork.’Every bit of the pig but the eyes.’.

 

The olive oil group was probably using that in place of other vegetable oils for cooking and salad. Vegetable oils like soy and corn oil are high in pro-inflammatory omega-6, and are often partially hydrogenated (ie trans fats.) Avoidance of these in the olive group could have made a difference.

 

Be cautious in coming to conclusions based upon this study.  The sample size was small.  Perhaps too little attention was paid to what the participants did not consume.  We all know less red meat is better for health.  The Mediterranean style diet is clearly a healthy diet but I’m not quite ready to attribute all the wonderful benefits to the diet alone.

Think lifestyle.  Despite the increase in US style fast food restaurants in Spain, the overall dietary preference continues to be a Mediterranean diet.  So how much of the study’s effect come from fast food avoidance?

BTW, yesterday was a totally Mediterranean day for me.  Veggie pizza for lunch and a Greek salad with grilled chicken for dinner.

 

 

Dairy Consumption, Type 2 Diabetes, and Changes in Cardiometabolic Traits: A Prospective Cohort Study of Middle-Aged and Older Chinese in Beijing and Shanghai

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CONCLUSIONS: Dairy consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes and favorable changes of cardiometabolic traits in Chinese.

via Dairy Consumption, Type 2 Diabetes, and Changes in Cardiometabolic Traits: A Prospective Cohort Study of Middle-Aged and Older Chinese in Beijing and Shanghai.

What about non-Chinese?  Good news for me though.

Ice cream.

Mass Destruction

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ISSUE: The FDA is advising consumers to immediately stop using a product called Mass Destruction, marketed as a dietary supplement for muscle growth. The product is labeled to contain at least one synthetic anabolic steroid and has been linked to at least one reported serious illness.

BACKGROUND: The FDA was alerted by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services of a serious injury associated with use of Mass Destruction. The report described a previously healthy 28-year-old male with liver failure requiring transplant after several weeks of product use. Mass Destruction is manufactured for Blunt Force Nutrition in Sims, N.C. and sold in retail stores, fitness gyms, and on the Internet. An investigation is underway to identify the product’s manufacturer.

via Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products > Muscle Growth Product Called Mass Destruction: FDA Health Risk Warning – Undeclared Ingredients.

Finally a product that lives up to its name.

MI Admissions on Upswing in Younger Women

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Bucking the trend in other groups, younger women in that province experienced an increase in the hospitalization rate of 1.7% per year from 2000 through 2009 (P=0.04), according to Karin Humphries, MBA, DSc, of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, and colleagues.

In addition, in that younger group, women had a greater risk of dying within 30 days of hospital discharge compared with men, a difference that persisted through the end of the study period (OR 1.61, 95% CI 1.25-2.08), the researchers reported online in the Journal of Women\’s Health.

via MI Admissions on Upswing in Younger Women.

Nipple Aspirate Test Is Not An Alternative To Mammography

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BACKGROUND: A nipple aspirate device is a type of pump used to collect fluid from a woman\’s breast. A nipple aspirate test can determine whether the fluid collected from the breast contains any abnormal cells.

RECOMMENDATION: Do not use a nipple aspirate test as a substitute for mammography or by itself for breast cancer screening or diagnosis.

via Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products > Nipple Aspirate Test: Safety Communication – Breast Cancer Screening Test Is Not An Alternative To Mammography.

Vitamin D Dosing: Too Low to Matter?

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Autier and colleagues found that vitamin D deficiency, in the observational studies, was associated with cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, glucose metabolism disorders, infectious diseases, mood disorders, declines in cognitive function, and even all-cause mortality.

With the exception of colorectal cancer, being vitamin D sufficient did not appear to reduce the risk of developing various types of cancer.

Vitamin D sufficiency was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events (up to 58%), diabetes (up to 38%), colorectal cancer (up to 33%), and all-cause mortality (29%).

via Vitamin D Dosing: Too Low to Matter?.