CHICAGO -
Replacing a few carbohydrates with a little protein, such as
scrambled egg substitute or with beneficial fats such as olive oil
margarine, helps reduce heart disease risks, a study has found.
At dinner, this might mean instead of pasta, trying black bean tacos
and multigrain pilaf with olive oil, researchers said.
Scientists had volunteers try three variations of the same diet, all
of them low in saturated fats and including plenty of fruits and
vegetables.
All three improved blood pressure and cholesterol readings after
just six weeks, and adopting any of them would be beneficial, said
lead researcher Dr. Lawrence Appel of Johns Hopkins School of
Medicine.
"Most people aren't following anything close to any of these," he
said, adding that the bottom line is: "You can eat healthy in three
different ways, and two of them [those lower in carbs] are a bit
better than the other." Appel presented results yesterday at an
American Heart Association conference in Dallas . The study appears
today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
All participants tried each of the diets, eating meals prepared in a
research kitchen.
The volunteers' average blood pressure started out borderline high -
131 over 77. Systolic pressure - the top number in blood pressure
readings - fell by an average of about 8 points while they were on
the carbohydrate diet, 9.5 points on the protein diet and 9.3 points
on the healthy fats diet.
LDL cholesterol, the bad kind, measured 129 on average at the start;
100 is considered optimal. LDL fell an average of almost 12 points
on the carb diet, about 14 points on the protein diet, and about 13
points on the healthy fats diet.
Those reductions likely would translate into less heart disease if
the diets were widely adopted, the researchers said.
They estimated that for every 100 people with mild high blood
pressure, there would be one less heart attack over 10 years for
those on the protein or healthy fats diet, compared with the more
carb-friendly diet. Appel said the high-protein diet also seemed to
produce feelings of fullness and reduced appetite.
"These symptoms raise the intriguing possibility that if individuals
were to follow these diets long-term, there may be some weight loss
on the protein diet," he said.
Dr. Timothy Gardner, a Delaware cardiologist, said the study was "a
tricky, difficult type of study to conduct, controlling all the
factors, with very interesting results." A JAMA editorial about
Appel's research, funded by the National Institutes of Health,
questioned whether people in the real world would stick to the
diets.
A trio of breakfasts
Three diets studied for their effects on heart disease lowered blood
pressure and cholesterol, but the best results occurred when some
carbs were replaced by a bit more protein or unsaturated fats,
including olive, canola and safflower oils.
Carbohydrate Breakfast
Grapefruit juice, multi-bran cereal,
s kim milk, banana.
Protein Breakfast
Tomato juice, scrambled egg substitute with low-fat shredded cheese,
hot bulgur wheat cereal with soy, olive oil margarine, raisins and
sugar, s kim milk.
Unsaturated Fat Breakfast
Orange juice, cereal with raisins and skim milk, white bread toast
with olive oil margarine and jelly.
A More Detailed Low Cholesterol Diet Plan can be found at
www.menshealthtech.com/cholesterol_diet_plan.htm
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