Blow to low carb diet as landmark study finds high fibre cuts heart disease risk

The Guardian ^ | Sarah Boseley

[Joshua]

1 cup Raspberries = 8 grams fiber

1 cup broccoli = 5 grams fiber

1 cup whole wheat pasta = 6 grams fiber
Raspberries ad broccolli are part of a low- carb diet. What idiot would choose the pasta?

[pepsi_junkie]

This study is baloney. Read the synopsis. They didn’t do a real study, instead studied a bunch of other studies of other things and concluded what they did, and that any linkage to reduced heart disease coupled with high fiber intake “could be causal”, which is to say they don’t have actual evidence that it is.

[GailA]

Turn the Food Pyramid upside down, do all things in moderation. LOCK AND LOAD, and use protection if you have multiple partners. Stay off FDA drugs. IDIOTS are now recommending a Alzheimer drug for PAIN. CARDIO, GASTRO PATIENTS WARNING.

[pepsi_junkie]

I read "The Big Fat Surprise" and it was eye opening about how much of the American Heart Association directives came from almost religious like fervor of one man's opinion, not backed up with hard data. One doctor, Ansel Keyes, single handedly made dietary fat public enemy number one starting in the 50s and up through the 70s. He used rigged studies to do it, rigged by cherry picking the populations he used to emphaisize those that fit his theory and leave out those that contradicted it (for example he explicitly cut the data from France and Switzerland, both of whom have very low heart disease rates but eat tons of saturate fats). In short, he lied and then used his influence to crush and bury the findings of anyone who challenged him.

And America followed his direction, issued via the AHA, AMA, and the USDA. The result. Americans got fatter, much much fatter in response. But heart disease didn't drop at all.

[Wuli]

There is an adverse affect many of these studies have. They tout something as being “good” or even “better” than it used to be considered, and people start to consume more of it, and sometimes more of it to the exclusion of other good things.

Nothing beats a balanced diet, and yes it includes whole grains, but its also includes meats, eggs, real butter, fruits & vegetables of all kinds, legumes, nuts and even carbs from things like breads, noodles and rice & potatoes. BALANCE, not concentration of one thing is the key.

[goodnesswins]

Whoa...glad you are here! Everyone is different...and genetics seem to be a “wild card”

[ImpBill]

Good news indeed. Now I can go back an gorge myself with carbs and die from complications of Diabetes.

[RoosterRedux]

Er, fats are not carbs.

[Myrddin]

Grains are often full of lectins that cause bad reactions in the gut. The stupid "food pyramid" was invented to spur sales of grains for the farming industry, not for the purpose of promoting a healthy diet. Wheat fattens people just as it fattens livestock.

[Myrddin]

Running is the only guaranteed insurance for your heart.

My co-worker (two years younger than me) was the fittest person I have ever known. His daily running diary fell 13 days short of 17,000 consecutive days running 5 miles or more. Most days included bicycling 15 miles to work, after work "wallyball". He was on the corporate running team and often ran marathons. The break in consecutive days was a consequence of a sprained ankle playing "wallyball".

My co-worker died of massive heart attack at age 44 on April 16, 2003 at 2 AM. The ambulance arrived promptly at his home, but he was dead before he could be placed in the ambulance for transport.

[WASCWatch]

Quite a few vegetables have lots of fiber. One is broccoli, which is actually good when stir fried with meat, brown rice, onions and a few other lower-carb veggies. Add some soy or other stir-fry sauce, it doesn’t take much, and it is a great meal.

[RoosterRedux]

Right. Like Jim Fixx, some people have a predisposition for heart problems.

There are no guarantees anyway.

[TheNext]

If you were well read, from your story, then you would know on the spot, why your friend killed himself early.

But ignorance kills.

Running works best. Better than weights, lounging, bicycling and beer drinking.

It amazes that people see situations and cannot find what is missing.

[Yaelle]

Bull shiiiiiiite on the headline! Untrue!

Your gut bugs (part of your immune system) need fiber.

Guess what, kids? You can eat a low carb diet (and you should), even probably a keto diet, which I don’t do, but use your 50-75 g carbs a day WISELY. Feed your gut biome and they will keep your brain fired and moods good, and help keep you healthy. The fiber they want is resistant starch, found in starchy root vegetables, even cooked, and in whole grains like oats, rice, etc. superfoods like seeds (flax etc) give you omega 3s and fiber.

It is perfectly possible to do both low carb and get enough fiber. I do it every day.

[mlo]

Findings

Just under 135 million person-years of data from 185 prospective studies and 58 clinicaltrials with 4635 adult participants were included in the analyses. Observational datasuggest a 15–30% decrease in all-cause and cardiovascular related mortality, and incidenceof coronary heart disease, stroke incidence and mortality, type 2 diabetes, and colorectalcancer when comparing the highest dietary fibre consumers with the lowest consumersClinical trials show significantly lower bodyweight, systolic blood pressure, andtotal cholesterol when comparing higher with lower intakes of dietary fibre. Riskreduction associated with a range of critical outcomes was greatest when daily intakeof dietary fibre was between 25 g and 29 g. Dose-response curves suggested that higherintakes of dietary fibre could confer even greater benefit to protect against cardiovasculardiseases, type 2 diabetes, and colorectal and breast cancer. Similar findings forwhole grain intake were observed. Smaller or no risk reductions were found with theobservational data when comparing the effects of diets characterised by low ratherthan higher glycaemic index or load. The certainty of evidence for relationships betweencarbohydrate quality and critical outcomes was graded as moderate for dietary fibre,low to moderate for whole grains, and low to very low for dietary glycaemic indexand glycaemic load. Data relating to other dietary exposures are scarce.

[mlo]

Even just the headline is stupid. Low carb does not equal low fiber. In fact one of the things people do on low carb is replace refined carbs with fiber. Many of the “low carb” products do the same.

Beyond that, what the study appears to show is an association between fiber and better health. Which is fine. But remember kids, correlation is not causation. It could be, and is likely so, that fiber intake also correlates with something else and that something else is having the positive effect.

People eating low fiber diets also tend to eat worse diets in other ways, including more refined carbs and sugar. The positive effect seen could be from that, and not the fiber. This isn’t a medical study showing the effect of fiber on the body.

[Maranatha7757]

The wisdom of God’s word. Psalm 104 verse 15... And bread which strengtheneth the heart of man.

[RoosterRedux]

I don't think that was the kind of highly processed white bread we eat today. Some in fact was made from the flour of lentils and pulses IIRC.

I made some Ezekiel bread about a year ago. It was delicious...but it sure wasn't white bread.;-)

[Gene Eric]

Idiotic title.

Fiber does nothing to curb the affects of carb intake — except for one’s appetite.

[Gene Eric]

>> Even just the headline is stupid

Well, it’s the Guardian...