“Anticancer: a new way of life” is the title of a book written by Dr David Servan-Schreiber, who was clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine(1). At the age of 31 years the author was diagnosed with brain cancer. This stimulated him to investigate various methods and approaches to overcome …
The Lyon Heart Study is one of the most successful investigations which demonstrate that a change in diet results in a significant improvement in the survival rates of men and women aged <70 years old who have experienced a heart attack. Volunteers who had survived a heart attack were allocated to either a control group …
Northern Ireland has one of the highest death rates due to heart disease in the world while France has one of the lowest. A comparison between the diets of middle-aged men in Belfast and in Toulouse which was published as long ago as 1995 provides some fascinating insights which are highly relevant to anyone …
In BLOG 15, I explained that there are serious doubts about the rationale which underpins the recommendation to increase the intake of polyunsaturates (PUFAs) which are the omega-6 fatty acids(omega 6s). Nevertheless foods which are high in PUFAs continue to be promoted as healthy. As recently as 2009 the American Heart Association (AHA) reviewed its …
A recent study conducted in Spain has been hailed by many commentators in the media as further evidence of the benefits of a Mediterranean-type diet (1). This is the PREDIMED trial in which the effects of 3 different diets were compared with respect to the incident rates of various diseases and al-cause-mortality. The participants …
Stearic acid is a long chain saturated fatty acid which contains 18 carbon atoms. According to an article in the Daily Mail: “emerging evidence suggests not all saturated fat should be tarred with the same brush — one type of saturated fat, known as stearic acid, may actually protect the heart against disease.” (1) However …
It is virtually impossible to avoid the incessant advertising which proclaims the virtues of various food products which are high in PUFAs(polyunsaturated fatty acids). Invariably the message is that these are “healthy” because they will lower blood cholesterol(TC). In Blog 8 I have explained that the rationale used to support the case for reducing …