Archives for October 2016

Oct
29
2016

High Insulin Levels Can Cause Alzheimer’s

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Dementia, Diabetes, Nutrition, Obesity

Research published in April 2016 shows that high insulin levels can cause Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s disease is more common in diabetics. But until recently nobody knew why there would be this association. Finally new research from New York University (NYU) has shed light on this puzzle. It seems like the key is an enzyme that breaks down insulin, called insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE). Melissa Schilling (no relation to me), an innovation professor at NYU has discovered the metabolic pathway between diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. This finding has enormous implications regarding the prevention of Alzheimer’s, as I will discuss below. Here is a link to the original paper.

Background information about Alzheimer’s

Alzheimer’s disease affects about 5.2 million Americans and 44 million people worldwide. Above all, there is a progressive loss of cognitive functioning over a long period of time due to senile plaques in the cerebral cortex and the subcortical areas of the brain. These senile plaques consist of amyloid-beta substance and neurofibrillary tangles. This protein material is like glue, which prevents the neurons from working properly and certainly causes memory loss and the confusion, which is so typical for Alzheimer’s patients. Normally amyloid-beta is in solution and prevents lipoproteins in the brain from oxidizing. But when the insulin-degrading enzyme is busy breaking down high levels of insulin, these processes overload this enzyme system. Amyloid-beta experiences supersaturation, as the body does not eliminate it at a normal speed. Consequently, this leads to the glue-like deposits of amyloid-beta in Alzheimer’s brains.

A 2004 estimate for the direct cost of Alzheimer’s disease to the US amounted to  $214 billion. By 2050 this could go up to $1.5 trillion, if there will be no cure Alzheimer’s.

High insulin levels can cause Alzheimer’s, but other mechanisms too

Professor Schilling found in her research that there are four main malfunctions that can lead to high amyloid-beta in the brain of Alzheimer’s patients.

  1. First, with diabetes type1, when the patient does not receive enough insulin, the insulin-degrading enzyme in the brain is not working hard enough. This results in inadequate removal of amyloid-beta from the brain and neurofibrillary tangles of amyloid-beta accumulate.
  2. Second, IDE requires zinc as a co-factor to work properly in breaking down amyloid-beta. Zinc deficiency is quite common, particularly in older people. In this case insulin levels are normal, but the removal of amyloid-beta from the brain is inadequate, as IDE function has become lower.
  3. Furthermore, in early type 2 diabetes there are high insulin levels and there is a competitive inhibition of the elimination of insulin and amylin-beta. This is probably the most common form of getting Alzheimer’s disease.
  4. Finally, excess production of an amyloidogenic protein can lead to an overabundance of amylin-beta, which overwhelms the insulin-degrading enzyme.

What treatment options are there for Alzheimer’s disease?

These four mechanisms from above have several implications as follows.

  1. If a type 1 diabetic patient is insulin deficient, intranasal insulin would be beneficial.
  2. If the patient has type 2 diabetes, intranasal insulin or insulin by injection would be the wrong approach. As stated earlier, there is the competitive inhibition of the elimination of insulin and amylin-beta. It is the insulin-degrading enzyme, which is the limiting factor. This involves simple dietary changes where the patient cuts out sugar and limits starchy foods in the diet. This normalizes insulin levels and the IDE function returns to normal.
  3. Alzheimer’s patients and patients with mild cognitive dysfunction should be tested with glucose tolerance tests (GTT). It the test is abnormal, a knowledgeable dietician should be consulted.
  4. Obesity is strongly associated with hyperinsulinemia and diabetes. Again frequent GTT should be done followed by dietary intervention when abnormal.
  5. Professor Melissa Schilling stated that 86 million Americans are pre-diabetic, but they have no symptoms. Only glucose tolerance testing can diagnose that condition. This will prevent a lot of cases of diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.
  6. Large parts of the population have no knowledge of the glycemic index of carbohydrates. In order to limit glucose overload and excessive insulin production there is a need for educational nutritional programs. This will be a powerful tool in Alzheimer’s disease prevention.
High Insulin Levels Can Cause Alzheimer’s

High Insulin Levels Can Cause Alzheimer’s

Conclusion

It has been general knowledge for some time that diabetics have a higher rate of Alzheimer’s disease. People have known Alzheimer’s as “Diabetes of the brain” or “Type 3 Diabetes”. This new research has shed some light on the connection of elevated insulin to Alzheimer’s disease. It was news to me that there is a competitive inhibition of the elimination of insulin and amylin-beta via the insulin-degrading enzyme. It boils down to recognizing that sugar overconsumption causes Alzheimer’s disease. If you want to keep your brain power until a ripe old age, you better eliminate a lot of sugar and adopt a healthy Mediterranean diet.

Oct
22
2016

Arthritis Drugs Can Cause Heart Failure

By | Arthritis, Cardiovascular disease, Heart Disease, Inflammation, osteoarthritis, Prevention

The British Medical Journal has published a research articles in Sept. 2016 showing that arthritis drugs can cause heart failure. This occurs particularly in elderly patients around the age of 77 years and older. This is an age where arthritis is often causing pain, and people regulate the pain with over-the-counter pills. These anti-arthritis drugs belong into the group of anti-inflammatory drugs, called NSAIDs. This stands for “non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs”. The study was entitled “Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of heart failure in four European countries…”

Arthritis drugs can cause heart failure shows study

The researchers followed adult patients above the age of 18 who started 27 different types of NSAIDs between 2000 and 2010. There were 92,163 hospital admissions for heart failure; the controls consisted of 8,246,403 patients not taking NSAIDs. 4 countries shared in this study providing 2.2 million patients from the Netherlands, 7.5 million from Italy, 13.7 million from Germany and 11.1 million from the United Kingdom.

Results of study

NSAID use of up to 2 weeks prior to assessment had a risk of 19% of resulting in a hospital admission for heart failure. A control group of patients who had not taken NSAIDs for at least 6 months or more had no hospital admission risk.

Seven traditional NSAIDs led to hospital admissions for heart failure. They were: diclofenac (brand name Voltaren), ibuprofen (brand name Motrin), indomethacin (brand name Indocin), ketorolac (brand name Toradol), naproxen (brand name Naprosyn or Aleve), nimesulide (brand name Mesulid and many others), and piroxicam (brand name Feldene). In addition two COX 2 inhibitors, etoricoxib (brand name Arcoxia) and rofecoxib (brand name VIOXX) were also having the same side effects.

Different risks of causing heart failure for different NSAID’s

The risk for heart failure was not the same for every NSAID. The risks ranged from 1.16-fold to 1.83-fold. Specifically ketorolac had a risk of 1.83-fold, indomethacin 1.51-fold, piroxicam 1.27-fold, diclofenac 1.19-fold, ibuprofen 1.18-fold, and naproxen 1.16-fold. Translated into common language it means that ketorolac had a risk of 83% of causing a hospital admission due to heart failure. In the case of ibuprofen it was only an 18% risk.

Some NMSAID’s doubled risk for heart failure

The risk for heart failure doubled for diclofenac, etoricoxib, indomethacin, piroxicam, and rofecoxib when used at very high doses. Doubling the risk means a 200% risk. Typically, when an arthritis patient has a flare-up of pain, the patient increases the NSAIDs dose. The patients usually take the higher dose for a longer time. Some NSAIDs had a significant risk for heart failure even at a medium dose. This was the case for indomethacin and etoricoxib. The good news was that celecoxib (brand names Celebrex and Celebra) at usual doses did not lead to an increased risk of heart failure.

Dose-response curves for toxicity of NSAID’s (exception: celecoxib, brand names Celebrex and Celebra)

Dose-response curves were obtained where possible. Here the researchers looked at the effect of low, medium, high and very high doses of NSAIDs in patients. Again heart failure occurrence was studied among those patients. The result clearly showed that low and medium doses of NSAIDs were fairly safe, but high and very high doses of NSAIDs caused heart failure. Etoricoxib, Piroxicam and Rofecoxib were particularly toxic in higher doses. Indomethacin was toxic at medium and high doses. An important exception to the rule was celecoxib (brand names Celebrex and Celebra), which did not cause heart failure, either at low doses or high doses. This is one of the most used NSAIDs, so it is fortunate that it does not cause heart failure.

Discussion of study

The authors of this study discussed why they believe heart failure is developing in patients who take NSAIDs. They argued that NSAIDs inhibit prostaglandin synthesis and the enzymes COX1 and COX2. This is how inflammation and pain gets inhibited, which is a good thing. But at the same time blood supply to the kidneys is reduced, kidney function is impaired, and sodium is retained. This is a bad thing as it leads to fluid retention and fluid overload of the heart resulting in heart failure. As the prostaglandin inhibition is dose-dependent, the authors said this is the reason that the heart failure rate is also dose-dependent when measured in large populations, as was done in this study. A noted exception, as already mentioned, is the popular celecoxib, which does not cause heart failure, even at high and very high doses.

Arthritis Drugs Can Cause Heart Failure

Arthritis Drugs Can Cause Heart Failure

Conclusion

This publication has a lot of statistical power as it was based on research in 4 European countries. It also involved almost 10 million subjects. The researchers compared them to an equally large control population. Because of the size of the study population it was possible to calculate risk ratios for NSAIDs causing heart failure for 27 different types of NSAIDs. Furthermore, the authors succeeded in quite a few cases to calculate risk factors for different concentrations of NSAIDs used. This statistical method is called a dose-response curve. It is a powerful pointer to toxicity when high doses cause heart failure, but low doses don’t.

The physician can use the information from this publication to select one of the NSAIDs that is least harmful. This would be a drug like celecoxib (brand names Celebrex and Celebra). The physician would tell the patient to use the least amount possible to minimize side-effects. Many aging arthritis sufferers will benefit from this. Hopefully the FDA will review this material and shut down the use of some of the more dangerous NSAIDs or force the manufacturer to attach a black box warning about the drugs that belong into this category. You should review what your favorite NSAID is and discuss this with your physician. Perhaps print a copy of this review and take it with you to your health provider. He may not have heard yet about the study.

Oct
15
2016

Commuting Affects Your Health

By | Fitness, Health, Nutrition, Obesity

A research report from Great Britain was recently reviewed by CNN; it revealed that commuting affects your health.

The longer we commute to work and back the more downtime we have where we do not move our muscles. But we also are exposed to more unhealthy snacks and sugary drinks that make us deposit more fat. The original research report was published here. What were the elements of this study?

Commuting affects your health, study design

Three consecutive annual waves of the British Household Panel Survey were utilized. These are longitudinal surveys of nationally representative households in Great Britain. The sample years were 2004/2005, 2005/2006 and 2006/2007. There were 15,791 participants in the study; of these 4,056 entered the study. The main mode of travel to work was determined at each time point. The self-reported height and weight was taken to calculate the body mass index (BMI) at baseline and at 2 years. Attention was paid to switches of transportation mode (that is from active to sedentary and vice versa).

Commuting affects your health, results of study

  1. Switching from car commute privately to active travel (walking, bicycling) or public transport resulted in a significant loss in BMI. There were even larger reductions of BMI’s in those who enrolled in the first year in active transportation, because of the longer exposure. Those with the longest journeys who used active transportation had significant weight losses.
  2. A group of 787 people switched from active travel or public transport to the use of their private cars as transportation. This resulted in a significant BMI increase.
  3. The study concluded that any interventions that would allow private car commuters to switch to an active mode of transportation could contribute to the population’s BMI being reduced significantly.

Commuting affects your health, Cambridge experiment

In a 2016 study from Cambridge (Great Britain) a similar experiment was done. They studied traffic patterns in the county of Cambridgeshire. The city compared 1143 adults working in the city with 1710 people who used the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway. The public had access to a new bus network that has connections with pedestrian pathways and cyclists since 2011. Longer commuting journeys incorporated walking and cycling, for which otherwise people used a private car and public commute. When officials explained the benefit of active travel to people, there was a 1.8-fold increase of active travel. There was also a 2-fold decrease of commuting solely by car. The weekly cycling commuting time had increased to 1.34-fold compared to the previous level.

Active commute most beneficial

People who at baseline were the vast majority in being inactive in their commute, were the ones who appreciated an active commute most. There was an association of active commuting, greater overall physical activity with an improvement of health and weight loss.

Commuting affects your health, US study

A multi-city study involved the largest 3,914 municipal jurisdictions, which were located in 473 of the most populous U.S. counties. This involved 48 states and the District of Columbia. In order to encourage more active commuting (walking, cycling) many municipalities developed pedestrian zones or pedestrian-friendly zones with adjacent bus transportation. A new concept of transit-oriented developments or districts (TODs) was adopted. TODs are higher density areas that are compact. They are mixed use areas, which you find around transit stops. This encourages walking. The study was completed in 2016. It showed that the TOD zones had higher occupancy rates. Many house owners had no car as they commuted using public transportation only.

Summary about transit-oriented developments or districts (TODs)

TOD zones were more populous, people in it had higher income, and they were more racially diverse and younger. The occupants of TOD zones had a 2.1-fold higher rate of using public transportation and they also had a 2.48-fold higher rate of using active transportation to work.

Commuting affects your health, general comments

The majority of commuters in England and Wales spent 56 minutes in their cars going to and from work in 2013. In London this daily commuting time is 79 minutes. The US data are similar.

With a well-developed public transportation system the authorities developed various programs designed to replace at least some part of the commute by active commuting. This is good for your metabolism, it is good for your cardiovascular status and it gets you away from snacking junk foods driving in your car.

Commuting leads to stress

A survey from London, England polled more than 1500 commuters. 55% reported increased stress levels, 33% reported increased snacking, 29% admitted to fast food consumption, 36% complained about sleeping problems, 41% said that they reduced physical activity and 44% reported that they had less quality time with their friends and family. 58% felt that flexible work hours would improve their health and wellbeing. Remember that how you are commuting affects your health.

My own experience watching commuting in various cities

Over the years I have traveled extensively in Germany, Austria and the US. In Europe it is interesting how many years ago the pedestrian zones in the old town centers have reshaped the commuting. The U-Bahn (subway) and commuter trains have intermingling networks that shoot you out to pedestrian zones. There is no escaping from it, you have to walk before you can catch a connecting bus or tram.

Vienna (Austria)

Vienna (Austria) for instance allows you to get out at the U-Bahn station of Stephansplatz, which is a pedestrian zone around the Stephan’s Church (Stephanskirche). There is an amazing array of shops and in a side alley you can even find a Starbucks, if this is what you are looking for. When you walked enough, you hop onto any of the U-Bahn connections. This brings you where you need to be. If you are too far from your goal, hop onto a tram and enjoy the sightseeing. There are also buses that can get you there. It is all covered under the same Vienna card, which I appreciated as a visitor. It is best to park your car in the periphery and use the commuting network to get you to where you want to go.

Munich (Germany)

Munich (Germany) has a lot of cycle paths, which run parallel to the pedestrian paths. I was interesting to see business people in black suits cycle to work. Otherwise there are the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, trams and buses that all interconnect.

Münster (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)

Münster (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) has an extensive network of cycle paths and pedestrian walks. Buses and trams are also constantly running. The old historic town is a pedestrian zone, but anybody can commute to anywhere between walking or using the bus/tram. I found it astonishing this spring when I visited; there were hundreds of people, young and old cycling to and from work. The employers are providing huge metal racks where people can attach their bikes to with a lock.

Berlin

Berlin is another multi level commuting city in Germany. You can use the U-Bahn, S-Bahn (commuter train), bus or tram to get to work. Here is an informative video that explains.  I did not see many cyclists there. But hundreds of people are walking. Yes, there are many pedestrian zones and they interconnect with all of the commuter options. Berlin spreads over a vast area, so the S-Bahn, which is a local commuter train is particularly important. For the shorter connecting trips people commute by the U-Bahn (subway). Buses and trams plus walking do the fine-tuning to get to your destination.

Vancouver (BC, Canada)

Vancouver (BC, Canada) has some cycle pathways in the West end, close to Stanley Park. Otherwise there is a network of buses, the Skytrain, Sea Bus (between North Vancouver and downtown) and the West Coast Express (a commuter train). For the size of the city I think that Vancouver could benefit from studying some of the transportation modalities in Europe to entice the car travelers to use public transportation. When I travel to Vancouver, I use my own car, as it is so much faster to reach any goal. Public transportation is at this point not effectively connecting all the areas in this city.

Commuting Affects Your Health

Commuting Affects Your Health

Conclusion

In the past we often heard that there was nothing that could be done about traffic jams and commuter stress. Think again. Revitalization of city cores all over Europe, Great Britain and in the US has taken the TOD concept to heart and active commuting has become a reality. Whenever you can, use alternatives like cycling, walking and public transit to get to and from work. Studies have even shown that when you become an active commuter you likely will also become more active after work. Even using public transit makes the commute more active, as you are not sitting for an hour or more in your vehicle.

Use public transit, not your own car to commute

You have to get out and walk in order to catch a connection. This all helps to keep you physically more fit than the commuting style, where you sit in a vehicle and possibly dip into junk food. It is not only about body mass index reduction and decreasing your waistline. Active commuting is also a lot less stressful than the passive modality, where traffic jams add to frustration and stress at the beginning and at the end of a workday.

Oct
08
2016

Vitamin D3 Protects Your Brain

By | Alzheimer’s disease, Cancer, Dementia, Multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Vitamins and supplements

More and more studies are showing that vitamin D3 protects your brain. It protects against MS, but also against Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. In the following I will review what evidence there is to support each of these topics.

Vitamin D3 protects your brain from multiple sclerosis (MS)

It has been known for some time that in the northern hemisphere MS is more common because of the lack of sunshine, which in turn produces less vitamin D3 in the skin.

MS is an autoimmune disease where immune cells attack the lining of nerves. Both nerve cells and immune cells have vitamin D receptors. It appears that immune cells are calmed down by vitamin D3 and remission of an MS relapse is more likely.

There are two forms of MS, the relapsing-remitting MS and the progressive MS. The first one (relapsing-remitting) is more common. After a bout of active MS, the illness calms down and the condition of the patient is stable for some time until the next relapse occurs.

With progressive MS there are two forms, primary progressive MS and secondary progressive MS. The primary form is a case of MS where symptoms steadily worsen, without any remission. The secondary form of progressive MS occurs at the end of fairly stable relapsing-remitting MS. Symptoms become more pronounced and the condition deteriorates steadily from there.

Progression and disability in MS patients with various vitamin D3 levels

Dr. Fitzgerald and colleagues published a study in JAMA Neurology in 2015.

They took 1482 men and women who were on interferon beta-1b treatment. This treatment utilizes the immunomodulator interferon beta-1b and reduces the number of relapses in patients with MS. The study took place between November 2003 and June 2005. Results were analyzed between June 2013 and December 2014. The researchers measured vitamin D levels (as 25-hydroxy vitamin D). The vitamin D levels were obtained at baseline, at 6 months and 12 months.

The number of brain lesions were measured by MRI scans. All of the patients also underwent a functional test, called expanded disability status scale. This measured impairment of ambulation, ability to communicate and activity levels.

Results of this study showed marked differences between patients with high and low vitamin D levels. Those patients who had the highest vitamin D blood levels (more than 40 ng/mL) had the lowest rates of new MS lesions. Previous studies had found that a low blood level of vitamin D (less than 25 ng/mL) in patients was associated with a much higher risk of developing MS. Dr. Fitzgerald’s study showed that a 50.0-nmol/L increase in serum vitamin D levels associated with a 31% lower rate of new MS lesions. Patients with the highest vitamin D level of more than 100 nmol/L had the lowest amount of new MRI lesions (47% less than the patients with the lowest vitamin D levels).

Another study showed that a low-dose vitamin D level accelerated MS. There was a 5.9-fold risk converting the initial relapsing-remitting form of MS into the secondary progressive form of MS.

All these studies show that vitamin D3 can decrease the risk of getting MS. In addition vitamin D3 also delays progression in those who have MS.

Vitamin D3 protects your brain from Parkinson’s disease

Vitamin D3 plays a role in preventing Parkinson’s disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that causes tremor in muscles, causes balancing problems and eventually can lead to dementia. A metaanalysis was done in 2014 and 7 studies where identified to be relevant. The authors were looking for correlation of vitamin D levels with Parkinson’s disease. The study included 1008 patients in the metaanalysis with 4,536 controls.

  • Patients with a vitamin D level of less than 75 nmol/L had a 1.5-fold higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease than the controls.
  • Patients with a vitamin D level of less than 50 nmol/L were at a 2.2-fold higher risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.

Another metaanalysis utilized 5,690 Parkinson’s disease patients and 21251 matched controls.

It found that vitamin D levels of less than 20 ng/ml were associated with a risk of 2.08-fold to develop Parkinson’s disease. Interestingly, vitamin D3 supplementation reduced the risk of Parkinson’s disease by 38%. Outdoor work reduced the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 28%.

Vitamin D3 protects your brain from Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease of old age. We know that it is much more common in patients with type 2 diabetes where insulin levels are high. Studies have shown that Alzheimer’s disease can be termed type 3 diabetes.

The resulting neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid-beta deposits damage nerve cells, which are responsible for the memory loss and the profound personality changes in these patients.

What does vitamin D3 have to do with this?

A 2014 study showed that a low vitamin D level was associated with a high risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Specifically, the researchers found the following observations.

  • Vitamin D level of less than 10 ng/ml: 122% increased risk of Alzheimer’s
  • Vitamin D level 10 to 20 ng/ml: 51% increased risk of Alzheimer’s

The same research group found in two trials that vitamin D deficiency leads to visual memory decline, but not to verbal memory decline.

Vitamin D3 combined with metformin suppresses cancer

The newest development with respect to vitamin D3 is the finding that it also has anti-cancer effects. Dr. Li demonstrated that vitamin D reduced prostate cancer cell line growth by 45% while metformin alone reduced it by 28%.

But when both vitamin D and metformin were present in the cell cultures there was growth inhibition of 86%. Dr. Li explained that vitamin D potentiated the growth inhibitory effect of metformin.

Vitamin D3 protects your brain: guidelines to proper vitamin D3 dosing

For years the medical profession stated that 400 IU of vitamin D3 would be enough supplementation. It may be enough to prevent rickets in children. But these low doses will be insufficient in many patients who are deficient for vitamin D to prevent MS, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease or cancer.

A study on medical staff in Northern India showed that 85% of the staff had very low vitamin D levels of less than 10 ng/ml.

It took high doses of vitamin D3 to increase the vitamin D level in the blood.

Generally supplements of vitamin D3 of 5000 IU to 8000 IU are the norm now. But some patients are poor absorbers and they may require 15,000 IU per day. The doctor can determine the patient’s requirement for vitamin D by doing repeat vitamin D blood levels (as 25-hydroxy vitamin D). The goal is to reach a level of 50-80 ng/ml. The optimal level with regard to nmol/L is 80 to 200 (according to Rocky Mountain Analytical, Calgary, AB, Canada).

Vitamin D3 Protects Your Brain

Vitamin D3 Protects Your Brain

Conclusion

Many people are deficient with regard to vitamin D, and they do not know it. The most important thing is to do a vitamin D blood test to assess your vitamin D status.

We know for a long time that vitamin D plays a role in bone metabolism and this is why women approaching menopause often need vitamin D3 supplementation. But it may come to you as news that vitamin D3 also protects from MS, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, as indicated above, we know that vitamin D3 when taken regularly suppresses many cancers.

When you realize that all body cells have vitamin D receptors on their surface, it is no surprise that vitamin D3 is so important to take. The vitamin D3 receptors must be there for a reason. When you deprive your body of this valuable vitamin, the high risk of degenerative diseases will be the consequence.

Oct
01
2016

Sugar Can Cause Heart Attacks

By | Arthritis, Cancer, Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, heart attack, Nutrition, Obesity, Processed food, Stroke, sugar

Recently an online medical journal article from JAMA has revealed that sugar can cause heart attacks. As the Guardian reports, this analysis of influence peddling of the sugar industry going back 60 years has had far-reaching effects by confusing the public and policy makers in the US and around the world. At the same time the interference of the sugar industry was protecting its own interests. It increased sugar sales, but made people sick with obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This story is similar to the tobacco industry that was able for years to cover up that cigarette smoke is causing heart attacks and lung cancer.

Denying that sugar can cause heart attacks

The English physiologist John Yudkin noted in the 1960’s that sugar was elevating cholesterol and triglycerides. The sugar industry panicked. They wanted to do something to stop this new type of research. As we can read online the Sugar Research Foundation (SRF) had 319 correspondences (1551 pages) with Roger Adams. He was a professor serving on the SRF’s scientific advisory board (SAB) from 1959 to 1971. Another piece of evidence of influence peddling came from a review of correspondence between the SRF and D. Mark Hegsted. He was professor of nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health. At the same time he was co director of the SRF’s first coronary heart disease research project. This took place from 1965 to 1966.

Historic falsification of research findings by John Yudkin

There are 27 documents totalling 31 pages in the Harvard medical Library. It is clear from this correspondence that the SRF was looking for a way to undermine the new research findings of negative effects of sugar. The SRF was looking for a way to confirm that fat reduction would be beneficial for patients. This way physicians would put many people on a low fat diet. This in turn would ensure continuing and rising sales of sugar.

New evidence that sugar can cause heart attacks

New research came out by D. Mark Hegsted in the Annals of Internal Medicine in June 1965. It linked sugar consumption to cardiovascular disease. It noted that blood sugar levels were a better predictor of hardening of arteries than cholesterol levels or high blood pressure. Another paper stated that it was sugar rather than starches causing high triglycerides in the blood. He hypothesized that “perhaps fructose, a constituent of sucrose but not of starch, was the agent mainly responsible.” An editorial in the same publication noted that these new findings corroborated Dr. Yudkin’s previous research that sugar could cause heart attacks.

The sugar industry was very concerned about these studies. If publicized widely, it would have the capacity to lower sugar sales.

Sugar can cause heart attacks, but review paper ignores this

On July 1, 1965, the SRF’s Hickson visited D. Mark Hegsted to discuss his publication. He wanted him to be part of an extensive literature review that would show that it was too much saturated fat that was the cause of high cholesterol and triglycerides, not sugar. It also should state that a lowering of fat content from 40% to 20% was necessary and that polyunsaturated fatty acids should be used to replace much of the fat. The fact that the food industry would quietly increase sugar content in processed foods was not mentioned. The review paper was called “Project 226”. It resulted in a 2-part literature review by McGandy, Hegsted, and Stare. It was entitled “Dietary Fats, Carbohydrates and Atherosclerotic Disease,” and was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) in 1967. Industry and non-industry funding of the review authors’ experimental research was disclosed.

Falsified study from 1967 in the New England Journal of Medicine

However, the funding by the Sugar Research Foundation was omitted. The authors of the study received handsome amounts of money from the SRF for their efforts. The story that was told is all too well known, but false. There was the claim that the medical literature would have shown that a reduction of saturated fat intake lowered cholesterol. Triglyceride levels did not matter. Only cholesterol levels counted with respect to coronary artery hardening. There was also the statement that replacement of saturated fat with polyunsaturated fatty acids like corn oil would be beneficial in reducing heart attack rates.

Effect of the literature review on heart attack rates

Sadly the NEJM literature review has resulted in a government policy that lasted for decades. The gospel was that a low fat diet would prevent heart attacks. The food industry prepared foods that were low in fats and high in sugar and supposedly healthy. But the extra sugar made people fat, it did not decrease heart attack rates, but made them more frequent. Strokes were also on the rise and diabetes has become rampant. The reliance on corn oil has introduced another problem: omega-6 fatty acids are now consumed at an alarming rate. Corn oil has a 1:59 ratio for omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids.

Corn oil causes inflammation

This means that corn oil contributes to the lack of omega-3 fatty acids in our food. When the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids falls below 1:3 or 1:4 the metabolism changes towards inflammation as the arachidonic acid system switches toward inflammation. Cardiologists have pinpointed inflammation as an important cause of hardening of arteries. Fish oil, a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids helps to prevent hard attacks and strokes.

The end result of the confusion regarding fat, sugar and heart attacks caused by the biased literature review meant misery, suffering and death for many for decades. But recently there has been a renaissance of Dr. John Yadkin’s research: Now it is clear what sugar is doing and how it affects our health.

How sugar can cause heart attacks and more

It is clear that sugary soda has detrimental effects on us: as little as one or two cans of sugary soda drinks per day lead to

  • 26% greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes
  • A 35% greater risk of heart attack or fatal heart disease
  • A 16% increased risk of stroke

Dr. Frank Hu’s study

Dr. Frank Hu has participated in a study that spanned over 24 to 30 years and examined the replacement of saturated fat with polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), monounsaturated fatty acids and whole grain carbohydrates. The study involved 84,628 women (Nurses’ Health Study, 1980 to 2010), and 42,908 men (Health Professionals Follow-up Study, 1986 to 2010). The researchers did detailed diet assessments every 4 years. 7,667 cases of cardiovascular disease (CHD) occurred during the study. Compared to controls that did not change their diet with respect to saturated fatty acid intake, those who replaced with PUFA had 25% less CHD, those who replaced with monounsaturated fatty acids had 15% less CHD and those who replaced saturated fatty acid intake with whole grains had 9% less CHD. In contrast, a subgroup that had replaced saturated fatty acid intake with carbohydrates from refined starches/added sugars ended up with a 10% increase of CHD.

Effect of sugar

We know now that sugar can increase cholesterol and triglycerides as Dr. John Yudkin has said in the 1960’s.

We also know that sugar can cause arthritis when combined with low omega-3 fatty acids and high omega-6 fatty acids. In the 1950’s Dan Dale Alexander wrote a book called “Arthritis and common sense”. The medical establishment did not accept that simple remedy and Dan Dale Alexander was classified as a “quack”. However, Dr. Mirkin describes a study from Berlin that later confirmed that Dan Dale Alexander’s observation was correct: an emulsion made by shaking orange juice with cod liver oil and taken three times per day on an empty stomach would indeed improve osteoarthritis.

High glycemic foods and starchy foods cause cancer

High glycemic foods (sugar, starchy foods) caused breast cancer, colorectal cancer and endometrial cancer. The majority of trials showed this association although not all. The more obese patients were, the more pronounced the insulin resistance was and the more the relationship to these cancers became apparent. A diet that is high in starchy foods like potatoes, rice and bread is causing pancreatic cancer as was shown by researchers at the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard School of Public Health.

Sugar Can Cause Heart Attacks

Sugar Can Cause Heart Attacks

Conclusion

The low fat/ high glycemic diet was a fad-diet based on fictitious science, sponsored by the sugar industry. It became a human experiment and resulted in 60 years of suffering. During that time it became apparent that this diet did not work. It caused the obesity wave, a wave of heart attacks, strokes and cancer. This was all caused by too much sugar in the diet. Associated with this are the consumption of processed foods. There is too much sugar and an abundance of omega-6 fatty acids in processed food. This causes inflammation and hardening of the arteries.

What sugar does

We finally know that sugar raises cholesterol (LDL cholesterol in particular) and triglycerides. This leads to fat deposits and hardening of the arteries resulting in strokes and heart attacks. Remove refined sugar, limit your starchy food intake and eat fish as a source of omega-3 fatty acids. Feast on vegetables, salads and have some nuts as another source of omega-3 fatty acids. You are well on your way to preventing heart attacks, strokes and many cancers. After reading all the facts, there is no need to be a victim of the sugar industry. This also helps you to stay away from sugar’s associated health risks.

Incoming search terms: