Current dietary guidelines emphasize a reduced intake of total fat. This means that (saturated) fatty acids should be replaced by carbohydrates. But are carbohydrates the optimal replacement? High-carbohydrate diets do indeed lower plasma LDL-cholesterol levels. However, both sugars and complex carbohydrates lower HDL-cholesterol and increase fasting triacylglycerol levels (Mensink & Katan, 198...

AIMS The serum resistin level is associated with the incidence of ischemic heart disease in the general population. We analyzed the associations between serum resistin and fat intake, serum lipid concentrations and adiposity in the general population. METHODS A cross-sectional study of 6,637 randomly recruited adults was conducted. The resistin levels were measured in thawed aliquots of serum...

Metabolic syndrome (insulin resistance syndrome) represents a group of physiologic signs that indicate a predisposition to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Consistent with the idea that intolerance to carbohydrate is an underlying feature of metabolic syndrome, we present results showing that a low carbohydrate diet results in global improvement in traditional and emerging markers...

OBJECTIVE Food labels are the number one source for nutrition information for Canadians, but are food labels accurate? This study aims to provide an assessment of the accuracy of the reported trans fatty acid and saturated fatty acid values on food labels in selected foods. METHODS Over 380 samples of cookies, crackers, granola bars, breakfast bars and a variety of frozen foods were collected...

Blood pressure was measured in the prospective randomized Special Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project Study with an oscillometric method every year from 7 months to 15 years of age in 540 children receiving a low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol diet and in 522 control children. Dietary intakes, family history of parental hypertension, and grandparental vascular disease were recorded....

BACKGROUND Although treatment targets for the consumption of dietary fat in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are well accepted, little is known about the actual fat consumption by newly diagnosed patients or the dietary adjustments that they make in the following years. AIMS To measure fat intake in patients with type 2 diabetes in general practice at diagnosis, shortly after dietary co...

Nut consumption reduces cardiovascular risk, and reductions in blood pressure and peripheral vascular resistance may be important mediators of this relationship. We evaluated effects of pistachios on flow-mediated dilation and blood pressure response to acute stress. Twenty-eight adults with dyslipidemia completed a randomized, crossover, controlled-feeding study. All of the meals were provided...

Nut consumption reduces cardiovascular risk, and reductions in blood pressure and peripheral vascular resistance may be important mediators of this relationship. We evaluated effects of pistachios on flow-mediated dilation and blood pressure response to acute stress. Twenty-eight adults with dyslipidemia completed a randomized, crossover, controlled-feeding study. All of the meals were provided...

OBJECTIVE Individuals with type 2 diabetes have high risk of late-life cognitive impairment, yet little is known about strategies to modify risk. Targeting insulin resistance and vascular complications-both associated with cognitive decline-may be a productive approach. We investigated whether dietary fat, which modulates glucose and lipid metabolism, might influence cognitive decline in older ...

BACKGROUND Atherogenic dyslipidemia associated with elevated plasma triacylglycerol concentrations and reduced HDL is improved by both caloric restriction and reduced carbohydrate consumption. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify the molecular pathways responsive to both caloric restriction and dietary composition within adipose tissue by monitoring transcriptional expression. DESIGN Subcutaneous...