Seems to be almost the same as the one you posted about 2 years ago. Probably dismissible for the same reasons… It does make me wonder about flow-mediated vasodilation since it does seem that high fat meals do temporarily decrease it. My biases make me think that’s not a big deal, but I haven’t been able to find a reason for that.

If high saturated fat meals do lower flow mediated vasodilation, do you know of a reason why that’s not worth worrying about?

Thanks, Dan

I actually haven’t had the time to give this paper a critical read. I’ve got it pulled and printed, but I just haven’t delved into it yet. I suspect that it is similar to the other, but can’t tell until I’ve read it. If it is of interest, I’ll post on it.

I hope I’m not asking you a question that was covered elsewhere. I apologize if I am.

Are you aware of any evidence, be it published or otherwise, that shows a regression of arterial plaque due to low carb dietary influence?

It’s something that I often wonder about, personally, and it often comes up when I tell people that I think a lower-carbohydrate diet can be heart healthy.

I’d appreciate it greatly if you could direct me to such data or share some of your experiences from “the field”.

Thanks for your wonderful blog and your time and consideration.

Kind regards,

John Paul

As far as I know, John Paul, there has not been a human study showing this. There is some work with dogs that I’ve read showing that increasing insulin increases arteriosclerosis, and then reducing the insulin makes the plaque go away. But nothing like that in humans. Dean Ornish was involved in a couple of studies a decade or so ago that purported to show that his extremely low-fat diet ‘reversed’ heart disease, but the studies were kind of bogus. And the two groups studied didn’t just differ in diet, but in a whole host of things. I would love to do such a study, and am working on getting involved with a facility where I can. I’ll keep everyone posted.

Thanks for stopping by. Your comment confirms everything this book explains.

MRE

This is a very late reply, but I just found this post from Adam C’s blog.

First thank you very much for posting about this. I haven’t had time to dig into it like you have, but I’ve been meaning to because it is of important to my current research.

I’m Cassandra Forsythe, one of the et al’s in Jeff’s lab. I was the team leader for this study that Adam has mentioned, and know that the responses are real.

However, I must point out that although our study did show reduced inflammatory markers, and it was truly low-carb versus a healthy low-fat, it was a weight loss study, whereas this abstract is weight-maintaining. So, some of our responses may have been a result of the great weight loss that our low-carb subjects had.

Now, I’m not saying that the same things wouldn’t be seen if it was weight-maintenance and true low-carb, but this is a point to keep in mind.

Currently, I am working on my dissertation to answer this question. I’m conducting a low-carb weight-maintaining feeding study (i.e. I cook and prepare all the food within the exact guidelines of a low-carb ketogenic diet) with a comparison between high SFA vs, high MUFA plus n-3 PUFA. The end points are the same inflammatory markers measured in our previous work, plus insulin sensitivity and blood fatty acid composition. It would have been nice to do BART again (we’ve done it before), but there just wasn’t any room (or money). The overall purpose is to determine if there is an ideal fat composition of a ketogenic low carb diet, or if it doesn’t matter due to the restricted nature of insulin-provoking carbs. The results will be very exciting and hopefully will be available in the next few months. Currently, I still have no idea what to expect, but know that this study will stimulate a lot more work and interest in low-carb research.

Thank you again. Happy Holidays. Best, Cassandra

Hi Cassandra–

Mike

My 48 yo husband started on Crestor about 4 years ago, and I’ve been fighting with him about it ever since. He has no family history of heart disease, no health problems, etc, but his dr. thought his cholesterol was a little too high. I think it’s criminal a guy this young, with no preexisting health problems, would be put on a statin.

He realized a week ago that he’s developed some hearing loss, and I’m worried it’s because of the Crestor, so am back in full attack mode again.

I hope to show him a number of studies linking small LDL particle size to heart disease, plus studies showing that statins (esp rosuvastatin) have no effect on particle size. He only believes what he reads in the media, so this whole ordeal has been incredibly frustrating.

Hi Amanda–

MRE

He quoted from this study without any qualification as proof that Atkins was an unhealthy diet!

He has always been strongly anti-Atkins, but the way he used this study makes me seriously question his motives and qualifications for reporting science.

It’s pretty apparent that he has a substantial bias against low-carb. It’s sad, though, that he would parrot that idiotic study without a little more looking into it.

MRE

I have been a happy and healthy low carber for 5 years this Thanksgiving and I have not looked back despite the “sky is falling” warnings. I have medical training as a medical assistant and IV technician so I trust my brain’s ability to sort things out.Dr. Mike thanks for not dumbing me down.

Thanks,
Mary

It’s my mission to not dumb anyone down.

MRE

Maybe toxins from the fat that I lost so far (30 lb) are now circulating in my blood and causing or furthering my inflammation?

I read that in many of the studies where scientists found meat and animal fats “pro-inflammatory” did not distinguish between industrially raised meat and truly organic, pastured meat. This could account for some negative reports on meat since not only is corn-fed beef actually second-generation sugar but it also contains pesticides, hormones and other harmful stuff. Plus, it contains arachidonic acid which indeed IS inflammatory.

I would have suggested the toxin release from the fat loss, but I didn’t know your actual history, so it would have been speculation on my part.

MRE

She also thought my high CRP was nothing special.

When I mention my high protein diet to any doctor, they go: Aha! But I am sure meat and natural fats are not inflammatory. For the first time in my life my food feels so right. I have no cravings even though I eat only once per day now and that one meal is not excessively big. Most days I hardly eat any carbs. I eat an apple maybe twice a month and if I do eat any carbs, they come from raw vegetables and partly from dairy.

Well, the only thing I can do is muster on and see what happens. My insulin has come down beautifully, so my weight has to as well, doesn’t it? And when the weight comes down, so will blood sugar (I still have some 20 % to go) and my BP.

Hi Xenia–

MRE