Exploring the “Lore of Nutrition”

For the last few days, my Kindle has been my closest companion. “What are you reading”? my wife asked. “I’m reading Lore of Nutrition.” “Ooh, I was sure it was a thriller or one of your crime stories.” In fact, she was right. Although Lore of Nutrition is a book about nutrition, it reads like … Read more

The Fate of the PURE Study – Fat and Carbohydrate Intake Revisited

Most experts agree that diet is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and many other chronic noncommunicable disorders. Hence, defining and implementing a healthy diet is a matter of great public health interest. However, although there is substantial agreement on many issues, such as the importance of fruits and vegetables, several matters are still … Read more

Carbs, Fats and Heart Disease – Time For a Reappraisal Following the PURE Study

Recently many of us were provided an opportunity to watch a highly interesting video on the internet covering a talk given by Dr. Salim Yusuf at a recent Cardiology Update meeting. Dr. Yusuf is the Marion W. Burke Chair in Cardiovascular Disease at McMaster University Medical School in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and current President of … Read more

High Carbohydrate Intake Worse than High Fat for Blood Lipids

Data presented at the World Heart Federation’s World Congress of Cardiology & Cardiovascular Health 2016 (WCC 2016) in Mexico City may radically change our perspective on how carbohydrates and different types of fats affect blood cholesterol and other lipid biomarkers. The presentation was based on data from the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiological (PURE) study. The data have not been … Read more

Saturated Fat Back in the Gutter; Failing to see the bigger picture

Saturated fat is the bad boy once again according to a paper recently published online in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (1). The authors of the paper, led by Li Yanping from the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, conclude that unsaturated fatty acids, especially polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) … Read more