FatGirl,
also look up metanlyses of clinical trials including this more recent Cochrane
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21735388
Concerning the video,I think if Docs Grenfell and Sullivan had been given more time they might have been able to explain what they actually thought, as Sullivan does on the blog I cited
http://theconversation.com/its-not-even ... -you-19386
But TBH I think that there are a lot of Aunt Sallies in this with a lot of forcing people into sides... In the red corner so and so and in the blue corner....
The point I think concerns defining healthy eating. I think that putting up one nutrient against another is in many ways stupid because we actually eat food not macronutrients.
I personally don't think that a diet high in lots of meat, dairy and other fats would be a healthy alternative unless you are comparing it to a diet high in fast foods and sodas , biscuits, cakes, and pies.
I don't think anyone is arguing for that type of diet.
It's not an either eat one thing or another.
I think it's better to look at the the patterns of diet and behaviour that are associated with long lived and healthy populations (by definition low CVD ). I think that you will find that they tend to major on plant foods with some meat or fish rather than the other way round.
see
http://www.bluezones.com/live-longer/power-9/
Time after time the Med diet does well in trials, not just looking at heart disease but other conditions. It is open to different interpretations but it is generally agreed to be high in fresh unprocessed foods, to be mainly plants with some meat/fish and olive oil so therefore not high in saturated fat.
For light relief how about this rather florid and certainly unscientific description of the 'ideal' diet of a Cretan from the maligned Seven Countries study researchers. This is how the low heart risk subject lived and ate.
He is a shepherd or small farmer, a beekeeper or fisherman, or a tender of olives or vines. He walks to work daily and labors in the soft light of his Greek isle, midst the droning of crickets and the bray of distant donkeys, in the peace of his land. … His midday, main meal is of eggplant, with large livery mushrooms, crisp vegetables, and country bread dipped in the nectar that is golden Cretan olive oil. Once a week there is a bit of lamb, naturally spiced from grazing in thyme-filled pastures. Once a week there is chicken. Twice a week there is fish fresh from the sea. Other meals are hot dishes of legumes seasoned with meats and condiments. The main dish is followed by a tangy salad, then by dates, Turkish sweets, nuts, or succulent fresh fruits. A sharp local wine completes this varied and savory cuisine. This living pattern, repeated six days a week, is climaxed by a happy Saturday evening. The ritual family dinner is followed by relaxing fellowship with peers. Festivity builds to a passionate midnight dance under the brilliant moon in the field circle where the grain of the region is winnowed. … He is handsome, rugged, kindly—and virile. His is the lowest heart-attack risk, the lowest death rate, and the greatest life expectancy in the Western world.
From this article
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchi ... 2p30.shtml
We can't replicate his working life, our lamb might not have grazed on thyme,(but in Europe is likely to be grass fed), our fish may come from a distance and as people with diabetes, the dates and Turkish sweets might now need to be given a miss but I wonder what the stats would be like if this was really the low sat fat diet that people emulated.