Most of you heard about the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), whether or not you realize it. If you are post-menopausal and stopped using your estrogen patches because of the increased risk of breast cancer, this is the group of women that provided the data. More than one study was done in the WHI. Besides the postmenopausal hormone trial, there was the calcium plus Vitamin D trial, and most importantly, there was the low-fat diet trial.

This particular slice of WHI followed 48, 000 women over the age of 50 from 1993 to 2005. Half were asked to follow a low-fat diet, and the other half were asked to follow their usual diet. So, how did the low-fat diet women fare over the long-haul? Read more…

Benefit of Low-Fat Over Low-Carbohydrate Diet on Endothelial Health in Obesity*

Low-carbohydrate diets (Atkins) work. People lose weight. Blood pressure improves. Cholesterol levels, especially triglycerides, come down. Sounds great, but is there any other information to the contrary? Read more…

My article here is a translation, for the layperson, of the medical article, “Soft Drink Consumption and Risk of Developing Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and the Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged Adults in the Community” *

Although it may not make any sense, diet soda may contribute to the development of diabetes. This study did not look at diabetes specifically, but looked at “Metabolic Syndrome.” Some of you may remember Metabolic Syndrome as “Syndrome X”. The name was changed a few years ago.

Read more…

Both soda and diet soda are associated with the development of “Metabolic Syndrome”, which is a constellation of changes in our metabolism. It includes diabetes or pre-diabetes, as well as high blood pressure. The link to “read more” leads you to an analysis of a medical article, translated for the layperson.  Read more…

Calories are  calories, but is high fructose  corn syrup (HFCS) any worse for us than other kinds of sweets? There is the camp that believes calories are calories and it doesn’t make a difference whether the calories are from regular table sugar or HFCS. Then, there is the opposing camp that believes HFCS is of horse of a different color. But are there any data from scientific studies? In a study done in mice, researchers showed that mice given a soft drink sweetened with HFCS gained far more weight than mice given a soft drink sweetened with table sugar. Read more…

What are Advanced Glycation End Products? Are they good or bad for you? Are they found in food? Should we eat them or avoid them? Are they made in our body?

The short answer is Advanced Gycation End Products (AGEs) are found in various foods, such as roasted meats. The tasty brown caramelized edges are especially high in AGEs. We should try to limit the amount of AGEs we eat, because they are not good for our health. AGEs are even formed in our bodies, especially in diabetics.  Read more…

In the diet wars, the benefit of one diet over another is bantered back and forth. In this study, Weight Loss with a Low-Carbohydrate, Mediterranean, or Low-Fat Diet*, 322 people went on one of 3 diets: low-carb, Mediterranean, or low-fat. By looking at the difference in outcomes between the three groups, it might help you decide which diet is right for you.  Read more…