Mediterranean diet as effective as statins in terms of reducing heart attack risk, study...

[DCUK NewsBot]

The Mediterranean diet is 'as effective as statins' in reducing heart attack risk, according to a report by leading doctors. The paper, which is to be published on Monday 7 September, stress that heart disease risk should be lowered through a healthy diet and plenty of exercise, rather than automatically relying on drugs to fix the problem. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is singled out for criticism for relying on medication to cut heart disease risk in its guidelines. "For most middle-aged people wishing to avoid heart disease, a healthy diet offers a far more powerful, sustainable and enjoyable plan that lifelong statin tablets," said Professor Simon Capewell, Vice-President of the UK Faculty of Public Health. It is estimated that seven million people in the UK are currently taking statins, with the numbers set to arise as NICE lowers its criteria for statin suitability. Previously, people with a 20 per cent chance of a heart attack in the next 10 years were considered suitable for statins; the new threshold is reduced to 10 per cent. The authors of this paper believe that not enough is done to inform patients about the risks and benefits associated with statins use; neither do doctors fully explore the possibilities of making lifestyle changes to reduce the risk of heart disease. "Patients should be counselled about the nature and value of a healthy diet," the authors write. "A Mediterranean diet in moderation, with as little processed food as possible, is a cardiovascular intervention tested in randomised trials and shown to reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) events." "Patients should know that physical activities, particularly enjoyable ones, can lead to important, lasting health and quality of life benefits." Such measures are often less convenient than simply prescribing drugs, but they "rarely include significant harm risk, can prolong life, and have the added benefit of substantial non-cardiovascular benefits." Statins have become an increasingly controversial subject over the last year or so. They have been repeatedly linked to a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, and their efficacy has come into question. Some research shows that "only...a limited percentage of patients benefit" from statins. The actual number of people who prolong their life through statin use is estimated as being somewhere between one in 50 and one in 200. "We should not make treatment dependent on crude thresholds that handle patients in a cold, statistical manner," said Dr. Chaand Nagpaul, chair of the BMA's GP committee. "Any decision on treatment should look at wider factors, including lifestyle, and empower patients to make informed choices about their own healthcare choices." The paper is published in Prescriber.

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[donnellysdogs]

Perhaps Professor Simon Capewell can also influence NICE or NHS?

 

[SunnyExpat]

Perhaps Professor Simon Capewell can also influence NICE or NHS?

Just NICE and the NHS?

The article links to a definition,

'A Mediterranean diet typically includes a good intake of fat from a diverse set of foods including feta and mozzarella cheeses, yoghurt, olive oil, avocado, oily fish and nuts.

Beans nuts, seeds, eggs, poultry and a moderate amount of red meat provide protein.'

I'm happy anyway.

 

[ButtterflyLady]

This is great news. Good to know there is concern about statins from academics. One day the message will get through.

 

[donnellysdogs]

the majority of GPs are expressing concerns over the targets issud for statins to be given to patients. Why can't these govts and official bodies accept diet change recommendations first.. Is it just based on their links to statin companies??

At least a few GPs, Cardiologists and Professirs have gat the balls to speak out now.

 

[donnellysdogs]

My hubby has now come off statins (40mg in Feb 2015 atoravastain) has been eating a med diet since then. Just got his total down to 5.0 after taking 10mg for last 3 months. Can now come off them.... Yaaaay!!! Can spend the £8.20 on a meditereanean bottle of red wine to celebrate!!!
All breakdown of lipids now in normal target range!!! Yippee.. Solely down to the med diet...

 

[ButtterflyLady]

the majority of GPs are expressing concerns over the targets issud for statins to be given to patients. Why can't these govts and official bodies accept diet change recommendations first.. Is it just based on their links to statin companies??

At least a few GPs, Cardiologists and Professirs have gat the balls to speak out now.

I think the official bodies find it easier to recommend drugs than diet because they don't understand the effectiveness of diet, and the effectiveness of statins looks better on paper because its very hard to research diet. Because research subjects don't always stick the diet they are supposed to. It's much easier to study drugs than diet and the results are clearer and more reliable. But this does not mean diet should be ignored. And there is a lot of reliable info now about the side effects and risks of statins.

 

[SunnyExpat]

I think the official bodies find it easier to recommend drugs than diet because they don't understand the effectiveness of diet, and the effectiveness of statins looks better on paper because its very hard to research diet. Because research subjects don't always stick the diet they are supposed to. It's much easier to study drugs than diet and the results are clearer and more reliable. But this does not mean diet should be ignored. And there is a lot of reliable info now about the side effects and risks of statins.

If the research subjects don't stick to the diet, what chance has the official bodies got of their patients sticking to the diet?

 

[ButtterflyLady]

If the research subjects don't stick to the diet, what chance has the official bodies got of their patients sticking to the diet?

Exactly, that's why they don't usually recommend dietary changes, because it feels too subjective and variable to them.

But I am confident that eventually they will recognise that research is showing that diet should be the first line therapy choice. It just takes a long time for change to happen, and sadly many people will suffer in the meantime.

 

[Oedett]

The research into the Mediterranean diet was done some years ago in predominantly Roman Catholic faith community, which had numerous fast day and
Diet requirements required by their religion. Has this fact been taken into account
In today's interpretation of the diet?

 

[donnellysdogs]

The research into the Mediterranean diet was done some years ago in predominantly Roman Catholic faith community, which had numerous fast day and
Diet requirements required by their religion. Has this fact been taken into account
In today's interpretation of the diet?

Fasting all day for me til teatime...Would love to go for 24 / 48hrs but everybody would think I'm bonkers...hubby left me Salmon to Cook whilst he climbing Ben Nevis this weekend... I ditched the salmon... But still had in my head that I should have one meal of something because this is what is expected.... Would loved to have fasted and not had to think of getting food. Just that people think I'm odd only eating one meal a day....

Will look up how their fasting was done. Didn't realise this...

 

[SunnyExpat]

The research into the Mediterranean diet was done some years ago in predominantly Roman Catholic faith community, which had numerous fast day and
Diet requirements required by their religion. Has this fact been taken into account
In today's interpretation of the diet?

Did it?

I know fish on friday, but then again the diet is still very healthy fats, and low on saturated fat.

When were the fast days?

 

[donnellysdogs]

http://wphna.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2004-BJN-Sarri-Kafatos-Crete-fasting.pdf

Just found this.... Their diets were restricted for 180-200 days per year!!

 

[donnellysdogs]

http://wphna.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2004-BJN-Sarri-Kafatos-Crete-fasting.pdf

Just found this.... Their diets were restricted for 180-200 days per year!!

It turns my thoughts on the med diet upside down!!

 

[phoenix]

The research into the Mediterranean diet was done some years ago in predominantly Roman Catholic faith community, which had numerous fast day and
Diet requirements required by their religion. Has this fact been taken into account
In today's interpretation of the diet?

Actually Greek Orthodox but never mind about that .Here is the original letter that posed the question(not the Big fat surprise interpretation)http://journals.cambridge.org/download.php?file=/PHN/PHN8_06/S1368980005000881a.pdf&code=029f9dcec13cb145d69390f92ddf4fcd
(and see below for Cannon who first drew attention to the question)

In fact the Cretan diet of Ancel Keys period was about 40- 42% fat so by no means low fat, (just not mega high and about the same as the French diet) and far higher than the Japanese diet.
Did they take notice of fasting periods ? This recent maligning of Ancel Keys research spurred a reply from one of his colleagues http://www.startribune.com/in-defense-of-u-research-the-ancel-keys-legacy/267581481/

Who do you believe? Well you could actually get hold of the original papers and book rather than someone else's interpretation or even get hold of Eat Well Stay Well the Mediterranean way which was the book written for ordinary people .Or you could compare Ancel Keys findings with other studies conducted before and after as Marion Nestle did here http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/61/6/1313S.full.pdf

In fact the effect of diet changes during fasting has been studied, during fasting periods .As Donnelly's dogs above has found. From that paper:
Religious fasting ' decreased energy intake, dietary cholesterol and the percentages of dietary protein, total fat, SFA and trans-fatty acids, while, on the other hand, it increased the percentage of total carbohydrates along with the intakes of fibre, folate and Fe.'
The levels of fat intake both during the fasting period and outside it were lower than that given for a Cretan diet by Ancel Keys; If it wasn't taken into account fully then perhaps this would be an argument for a lower fat intake overall?
However, the recent Predimed trial seems to support the idea of a Med diet with a similar fat content (mainly monounsaturated) being cardio protective,

( Geoffrey Canon's work is a whole different spin on the subject . Reading his account of the 'Great British Food Scandal' a book which was under threat of being pulped because of a writ from one of the big food manufacturers, is like looking in a topsy turvey mirror when read in conjunction with recent authors and bloggers accounts of the introduction of present guidelines .Scroll down to part 3, where Canon describes the influence of 'Big Food' back in the 1980s . Canon now lives in Brazil and has had some input into their recent guidelines.http://www.wphna.org/htdocs/2011_oct_col_geoffrey.htm)

 

[donnellysdogs]

Wow... Just read the link given to wphna... Unbelievable....but believable!!

 

[SunnyExpat]

I always find the internet a great source of whatever you would like to find.
I have a simple philosophy.

I look at all the information, and ultimately find whatever works for me as the best option.

(I also don't bother reading all the articles as to why my diet is correct, I read the ones that tell me why it's wrong.)

 

[ButtterflyLady]

Fasting all day for me til teatime...Would love to go for 24 / 48hrs but everybody would think I'm bonkers...hubby left me Salmon to Cook whilst he climbing Ben Nevis this weekend... I ditched the salmon... But still had in my head that I should have one meal of something because this is what is expected.... Would loved to have fasted and not had to think of getting food. Just that people think I'm odd only eating one meal a day....

Will look up how their fasting was done. Didn't realise this...

I don't think it's odd; it obviously works for you and that's all that matters. You have SCT and I know what that's like - at times the thought of adding food into a GI tract that is at a stand still is the last thing you would want to do. But I wonder if small amounts of liquid food would work? Like 100ml of something with a few calories in it? It might keep your body ticking over, without being a strain on your GI tract?

 

[phoenix]

it isn't fasting as in absence of food

The Orthodox Church specifies dietary restrictions and a fasting for a total of 180– 200 d annually. The faithful are
advised to avoid olive oil, meat, fish, milk, eggs and cheese every Wednesday and Friday, with the exception
of the week after Christmas, Easter and the Pentecost. There are three principal fasting periods annually. The
first of these is a total of 40 d preceding Christmas when meat, dairy products and eggs are not allowed, while fish
and olive oil are allowed except on Wednesdays and Fridays. The second is a period of 48 d preceding Easter
(Lent). During Lent fish is allowed only on 2 d (25 March and Palm Sunday) whereas meat, dairy products and eggs are not allowed. Olive oil consumption is allowed only during weekends. Third, there is a total of 15 d in August (the Assumption) when the same dietary rules apply as for Lent with the exception of fish consumption, which is allowed only on 6 August (Metamorphosis).
Seafood such as shrimps, squid, cuttlefish, octopus, lobsters, crabs as well as snails are allowed on all fasting days throughout the year.

Health wise, strict adherents have lowered LDL cholesterol at the end of the fasting periods and lose a bit of weight which they then regain in the non fasting period. ( For that study, they were able to recruit 60 Cretans who were Greek orthodox but didn't follow the fast, the 60 that did contained only 20 lay people; the rest was nuns and priests. It would be interesting to know whether this was because there weren't that many of them or because it was just a way of ensuring true adherents.

Fasting as in not eating, don't you find that your glucose level rises, especially now you are on MDI and can't adjust the basal. That would certainly happen to me unless I was being active in which case the opposite would take place.

 

[donnellysdogs]

I do adjust the basal according to my workloads and activity. Its brilliant because I can match up knowing that its just my basal that needs tweaking. Its absolutely perfect now. Especially with the 1/2 unit pens. I know on gardening days I do 6.5 in morning and 6.5 for the night. On less active days doing paperwork etc I will do 7.5 in mirning and 7 at night.
On days when at the gym in afternoon depending if working in morning I can do either 6.5 or 7.0.

I realise that they only fasted from certain foods but for my own self I wish I could do a full fast 24hr once in a while without people saying to eat. Even this weekend without hubby I still had it in back of brain to force myself to eat something..i would just really like to see if after 24hr without food whether my body would get hunger pangs.. As it just doesn't now..its just for this purpose not to not eat if you see what I mean. I just would like to see if something could start hunger pangs being recognised... I know carb cravings cause people to eat more rtc but I have to be especially watchful on the type of food my digestive system manages.. Although thanks to other posting here I may be able to eat other foods if I look at SIBO and see if oregano oil capsules will help the digestive tract to keep balanced...