Watching What You Eat

Saturated fat is in the news. It’s no news when the beef, dairy and egg industries tout studies saying saturated fat is good for you. But an article in Scientific American this month says saturated fat is not as bad for you as processed carbohydrate.

For decades we’ve been warned away from saturated fat - the solid fat in butter and meats - but during that time the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and heart disease has stubbornly increased. A recent meta-analysis (a study of studies) found no relation between saturated fat and heart disease. Older studies showed that saturated fat raised cholesterol, and cholesterol is contained in arterial plaque, but now we know that not all cholesterol is the same, and total cholesterol is not a predictor of heart disease.

The American Heart Association recommends substituting unsaturated (liquid) fats for saturated fats. We’ve been substituting carbohydrate instead, because we’re told that fats are fattening, while meat has saturated fat. But processed carbohydrates - sugar and white flour products - now look worse than saturated fats at increasing the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Alcohol in moderation is good for you. A recent study of data from the US National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) found that heart disease mortality was lower for drinkers than for abstainers. Stroke mortality was lower for light and moderate drinkers (up to 7 drinks a week for women, 14 for men) but somewhat higher for those who drank more. The pattern of drinking (daily vs. binge drinking) didn’t matter; what mattered was the average, and there was little difference between people who never drank, rarely drank, or used to drink.

Another research group, in Italy, noted that while it was clear that alcohol in moderation was good for healthy people, it wasn’t clear yet whether it helped people who already had vascular disease such as heart disease or stroke. They analyzed eight previous studies, looking specifically at subjects who already had vascular disease. They confirmed that moderate drinking, one or two glasses of wine a day or the equivalent, lowered the risk. But unlike the US group cited above, they found that drinking had to be regular to be beneficial; binge drinking was definitely harmful.

Chocolate lowers your blood pressure and your risk of vascular disease (heart disease and stroke). A research group in Germany looked at data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer (EPIC) and found that those who said they ate the most chocolate (about 7.5 grams) had 39 percent lower risk of MI and stroke than those who ate the least (about 1.7 grams). This is the largest observational study so far of the association between chocolate and cardiovascular disease.

The researchers cautioned that they’re dealing with very small amounts of chocolate, at most about the equivalent of one and a half Hershey’s kisses. Chocolate contains about 5 calories per gram in fat and sugar. The outcome could be quite different if you eat chocolate by the bar.

Sugar added to your food is bad for you, as measured by levels of HDL (good cholesterol) and triglycerides (bad stuff), according to a study at Emory University in Atlanta using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). On average the participants got nearly 16 percent of calories from added sugar, but it varied from less than 5 percent to over 25 percent. As added sugar increased, there was a consistent trend of lower HDL and higher triglycerides - as well as a trend toward being younger, poorer, and non-Hispanic black.

Salt we know is bad for you if consumed in excess - and most of us get it in excess. A study in New York City looked at one of the sources of that excess. A team from the New York City Health Department took receipts from people leaving outlets of 11 different fast-food chains, in exchange for $2 Metrocards, to see what people actually ate there, and got the sodium content from the chains’ websites.

The average meal had 1751 grams of sodium. The recommended limit for adults in general is 2500 grams, and 20 percent of meals had more than that. For blacks, middle-aged and older people, and people with hypertension - 69 percent of the population - the limit is 1500 grams. For most people, one fast-food meal gives you your salt for the day.

Ten nutrition myths are “debunked” in the April Cooking Light magazine. Most of them say foods that are bad for you in excess are OK in moderation - no surprise. Myth 3 is that all saturated fats are bad; but stearic acid, a saturated fatty acid, is good - it raises HDL. Myth 9, that organic foods are more nutritious, is not true; they’re just less toxic.

One more thought, reported last month in The Washington Post: food author and columnist Mark Bittman (“The Minimalist” in The New York Times each Wednesday) says “vegan before 6” (no animal products before 6:00 pm) solved his nutrition problems, for a net loss of 30 pounds, lower cholesterol and blood sugar, and less knee pain.