November 16, 2006: A new study reported Tuesday, November 15/06 at the American Heart Association meeting in Dallas, Texas, shows that replacing 10 percent of calories from carbs with a monounsaturated oil such as canola or protein-rich foods increased the effectiveness of the US government’s DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. The study shows the substitution to have a significantly beneficial effect on blood pressure, cholesterol levels and long-term cardiovascular risk.
Dr. Frank Sacks, one of the authors of the study and a professor of medicine and nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard in Boston, says the modified DASH “improved the whole cardiovascular risk spectrum. A lot of patients are tough to control with the medications we have. Patients might not even need drugs if they go on the diet."
Sacks says “we reduced the carbohydrate content in DASH and replaced it with unsaturated fat from canola or olive oil or protein, and it lowered blood pressure more and improved lipids, and overall cardiovascular risk goes down".
According to press reports, he called the new regimens "an improvement over something that's already good".
The original DASH diet was developed by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute and has been considered the gold standard of heart-healthy nutrition since it was pioneered in the mid-1990s. The original diet was carbohydrate-rich, emphasizing fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products. Unfortunately, in addition to lowering "bad" or LDL cholesterol, the regimen also reduced "good" or HDL cholesterol, and had no effect on blood fats called triglycerides.
Compared to the old diet, the enhanced-protein version decreased blood pressure by an extra 1.4 mm Hg overall and by an extra 3.5 mm Hg among those with hypertension; it decreased LDL cholesterol by an additional 3.3 mg/dL and triglycerides by 15.7 mg/dL.
Compared to the original DASH diet, the unsaturated fat-rich version decreased systolic blood pressure by an additional 1.3 mm Hg overall and by 2.9 mm Hg among those with hypertension; it increased HDL cholesterol by an extra 1.1 mg/dL and lowered triglycerides by 9.6 mg/dL.
Both the protein and unsaturated fat diets reduced heart disease risk more than the DASH diet.
Sacks says his team is now working on foods and menus and things that people can use, to give people more specific guidance. He’s aiming to have specific dietary suggestions available in the next few months.
The findings were presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Dallas, and also appear in the Nov. 16 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
For more on the original DASH diet, head to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (www.nhlbi.nih.gov).
SOURCES: Frank Sacks, M.D., professor, medicine and nutrition, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard, Boston; Jay Skyler, M.D., professor, medicine, and associate director, diabetes research institute, University of Miami School of Medicine; Nov. 15, 2005, presentation, American Heart Association annual meeting, Dallas; Nov. 16, 2005, Journal of the American Medical Association
Also check http://www.healthscout.com/news/1/529113/main.html
August 28/05 - This particular study, similar to numerous studies published over the last few years, documents the benefits of soft, trans-free margarine in a heart- healthy diet. The new study is published in the British Medical Journal. The researchers found that reduced risk for coronary heart disease ( CHD ) was more closely associated with an increased consumption of polyunsaturated fats ( e.g., soft, trans fat-free margarines made from soybean and canola oil )( 1 ). In fact, an increase in polyunsaturated fat consumption is found to have a greater reduction in CHD risk than increased fruit intake or reduced smoking.
The research paper, co-authored by Walter Willett, M.D., chair of the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, states, "The experience of Poland [the focus of this study] is consistent with epidemiological and clinical evidence indicating that mortality due to coronary heart disease can be reduced by partly replacing dietary saturated fats with polyunsaturated fats while maintaining a low intake of trans fatty acids." The researchers also note, "Increased intakes of polyunsaturated fat also probably explain most of the major declines in coronary mortality in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia over several decades."
Earlier this year, soft and liquid margarine spreads were included as part of an overall healthful diet when the government's 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid food guidance system were issued. For the first time, liquid oils and soft, trans fat-free soft margarine spreads were elevated in importance in that they "help meet essential fatty acid needs and also contribute toward Vitamin E needs" states the 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee Report.
"In the past, added fats, even those that are the healthier unsaturated fats, had been relegated to 'use as little as possible,'" says Richard Cristol, president of the National Association of Margarine Manufacturers ( NAMM ). He notes that many studies find that reducing the amount of saturated fat by replacing it with unsaturated fat is a key factor in reducing heart disease risk.
The totality of the research on dietary fats is one of the reasons the American Heart Association continues to confirm that lifestyle changes, including changes in diet, can help reduce risk for CHD, the number one killer of American males and females.
"Margarine manufacturers have been leaders in the food industry in removing trans fats from their products and will continue to innovate to meet the health, taste and convenience requirements of consumers," says Cristol.
According to the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ), a serving of margarine or a lower-calorie margarine spread has 2 grams or less of saturated fat per serving, compared to 7 grams in butter ( see cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/transfat.html ). Butter also contains 30 milligrams of cholesterol per serving whereas margarine and margarine spreads have no cholesterol because they are made with vegetable oil, a good source of vitamin E.
( 1 ) Zatonski, W; Willett, W. Changes in dietary fat and declining coronary heart disease in Poland: population based study. British Medical Journal. July 23, 2005. 331:187-188. For a complimentary copy of the article from the British Medical Journal, contact info@canolainfo.org.
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