Will the stale advice never end?

(KM) #1

This just in from the Washington Post. I know the rest of the article is behind a paywall for most of you so I didn’t provide a link. It’s not like you can’t guess what it says. This is the click line:

“A risk to your heart’s health is getting new attention from doctors.
What is it? High levels of a fatty particle called Lipoprotein(a) may sharply raise the risk of strokes and heart attacks, even among younger people. You might want to get tested.
One way to improve heart health: The Mediterranean diet can help your heart, brain and more. Discover why it’s so healthy and find tips for getting started here.”

Most of the article carries on about the exciting new drugs that are being developed, and I’m a bit nonplussed to note that they don’t even mention a Mediterranean diet in the article itself, apparently it was just the hook, since everyone already knows it’s the cure for everything from arthritis to cancer but won’t help you unless you also take new drugs. :roll_eyes:

(Cathy) #2

Just to be a devil’s advocate, a better diet such as the Mediterranean diet will likely improve health compared to SAD. However, as we all already know, keto is probably the most beneficial diet when it comes to metabolic diseases such as heart and stroke. Not to mention the myriad of other health benefits.

It also occurs to me that researchers seem to start with a faulty premise and anything after that is just plain invalid. Oh well…

#3

I won’t take drugs but now I went and googled the mediterranean diet (Intangible Culture Heritage…? that’s new to me)… It’s horrible to someone like me. I knew it’s something awfully carby but there are zillion other problems that makes it impossible for me to follow for 2 days.
And the article only said eggs 3-4 times per week but they didn’t write if 4x10-12 is okay… It’s hard to get information about diets sometimes.

Even coming from SAD (or some other bad diet, mine was mostly vegetarian European, very far from SAD, whatever that is), the restrictions are painful, it’s better just do some low-carb diet that suits us, I would think. The Mediterranean is some low-fat high-carb diet (though I suppose it’s possible to do it low-carb if we forget about the grains and use vegs, fruits and legumes carefully. but looking at the main items, it’s normally high-carb), surely better for many than their original HCHF high processed stuff one but I have better ideas. I am biased though. And no one in my family could do the Mediterranean diet, it’s so super restrictive (even more so if one can’t get seafood. I barely can get any, the options are extremely limited and it’s very expensive and usually way too lean) and unsuited to us.

Sigh. Poor, poor saturated fats. They are always blamed. And my body is elated to get lots of it. Never limited them beyond my usual fat minimization.

Oh and the article I have read talked about fruits 5 times - and for snacks too. Snacking on fruits between meals… Wow. Maybe I need other articles. And I eat plenty of fruits (compared to my body’s opinion, at least. it doesn’t want any, ever. boring). I shouldn’t (well maybe a tiny bit here and there… for mental health…) but well, they are irresistible. No way tons of fruits is good for basically everyone. Yeah, it’s better than a bunch of highly processed sugary dessert but it depends on the fruit as it’s extremely sugary. And JUST sugar, without all the nice fats and protein in a dessert. Homemade non-fruity (or just slightly fruity) desserts without added sugar are for the win, I say.

(Ethan) #4

Probably the stale advice never will end but less and less people will listen to it. That’s where some natural aspects become interesting - there is something known a s Fibonacci ratio which seems to explain many things in nature and that ratio is 61.8 and 38.2. If the population is basically smart then 61.8% will eventually stop using stale info. If the population is dumb then 38.2% will stop using. Looking around, I think the correct number is 38.2%. 61.8% will keep using it and thus it will in fact never end.

(Bob M) #5

Though if the main thing they’re discussing is Lp(a), that’s mainly genetically determined, and diet doesn’t really affect it. I have extremely high Lp(a), and I’m testing whether vitamin C will lower this value. (Though I have seen no evidence yet that lowering the value has a benefit.)

Now, since Lp(a) is basically LDL+, it does go up and down similar to LDL. So, if I fast multiple days, Lp(a) goes up. But not much seems to affect it, at least to the point I’d need. My Lp(a) is often 300+ when the value they want to see is 75, so I’m 4 times that amount.

As for the Med diet, as KM has said, it is better than a normal diet. But there are very few keto versus Med diets that are any good at all. For instance, they often combine keto and very low calorie.

(KM) #6

Well, the two drugs in trial are pelacarsen, and lepodisiran. One showed an 80% reduction in LPA and the other a 94% reduction. Injection, apparently lasts 6 months.

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2415818

But the article also carries on about LDL, even identifying it as the bad cholesterol, and talking about someone who brags on dropping his LDL to 27. Are we sure a 94% reduction in LPA is a good idea?

#7

Well, I mean… it’s WaPo, what do you expect? Credibility?

That said, Mediterranean diet is a million times better for 90% of the population so it’s not wrong either.

Paywall busted easy enough, but the same exact article is here without the paywall.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/diseases-and-conditions/there-s-another-risk-to-your-heart-that-s-getting-new-attention/ar-AA1JM7kt

#8

If we understand that lipoproteins are an important active molecule in immune system function and action in disease response, then in acute, or sudden disease like infections or sudden injury, reducing that response could be a health disaster.

(Ethan) #9

Washington Post, NY Times, Boston Globe. All terrible but which one is the worst? I think Boston Globe is by far the worst. The Globe are like cheerleaders for ignorance and destruction.