A unique Polish study set out to investigate and compare the impact of diet on the blood fats and cholesterol in vegan and omnivorous volunteers. All participants were healthy, between 23 and 38 years old and not overweight. The aim was to discover whether diet influences the blood lipids (fats) to such an extent in healthy people that it can reduce or increase the risk of atherosclerosis – narrowing and hardening of the arteries – that leads to heart disease.
Misleading meat advice
In a refreshingly straight-talking article called ‘On Meat, Butter and Fudge’, a series of papers published last year in the Annals of Internal Medicine, were given a well-deserved roasting. Despite admitting their own findings were “weak and based on low certainty evidence”, the authors were happy to recommend that there is “No need to reduce red or processed meat consumption for good health”.
Type 2 diabetes usually follows obesity, going through several phases – impaired blood sugar control, prediabetes and then the dreaded diagnosis. An original study aimed to investigate the effects of a plant-based diet not just on weight-loss of the participants but also on their blood sugar control.
New review of evidence shows that nut consumption can keep your heart healthy!
We all know nuts are a great source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals but it turns out, they can also help protect our hearts. A new review of all studies conducted in the past 25 years on nut consumption and heart and circulatory health revealed that if you make nuts a regular part of your diet, it can lower your risk of fatal and non-fatal coronary heart disease, heart attack and sudden death.
The Italian Society of Human Nutrition published their position paper and it’s good news
With the rapidly growing popularity of plant-based diets, more and more scientists are looking at their health effects and issuing official statements. The latest in line is the Italian Society of Human Nutrition – they did a thorough probing of scientific studies on vegetarian and vegan diets and published a paper officially endorsing such diets as healthy and nutritionally adequate for everyone and all life stages.
A study shows a plant-based diet offers protection whilst a meat-based one can contribute to damage
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when fat is deposited in the liver due to causes other than excessive alcohol use. It’s considered to be one of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome, which also includes obesity, insulin resistance (pre-diabetic stage), elevated fat levels in the blood and high blood pressure. It comes as no surprise that it’s been linked to unhealthy diets and increasingly younger people develop this condition.
