AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION | health & wellness ||
37
Magazine review
EAT ACCORDING TO PURE
The
Prospective
Urban Rural Epidemi-
ology (PURE), large
cohort study that
studied typical health
problems and their
social components,
provides grounds for
concluding that many
dietary recommenda-
tions are out of date.
O
ne hundred thirty-five thousand people ages 35 to 70 from
seventeen countries and having low, mid, and high levels
of income participated in the study, which continued from
2003 through 2013. The scientists followed each partici-
pant for an average of seven years; data were collected
on the connection of types of nutrition to illnesses. The results of
the study were presented in Barcelona at a meeting of the Euro-
pean Society of Cardiology. ALPEON will acquaint you with the
researchers’ conclusions.
1
The recommendation of the World Health Organization to
include as many raw vegetables and vegetable dishes as
possible in your diet is a good one, but the study showed
that those who ate three vegetable dishes a day had no
greater chance of dying than those who ate five to eight vegetable
dishes. Apparently nothing was said about those who ate no veg-
etables at all, and it may be that the benefits of vegetables are
achieved with three servings of vegetables a day.
2
3
The study ascertained that grains, cereals, legumes, and
fruits were more effective than vegetables in preventing car-
diovascular disease.
The reputation of fat was rehabilitated in this study. People
whose diet had the highest fat content—35% or more of
their daily caloric intake—had 23% less chance of dying
than those who ate almost no fat—10% or less of the daily
intake. To refine the study and prevent possible prejudice, the sci-
entists took control blood samples from participants and checked
cholesterol in particular. The statistical associations were con-
firmed here, too: those participants who ate more fat and fewer
carbohydrates had a lower level of “bad” LDL cholesterol and a
higher level of “good” HDL cholesterol. It was also ascertained
that diets that limit fats lead to hypoxia—oxygen deficit in body
tissues—which obviously has a negative effect on the brain and
heart. In addition, fat ensures synthesis of cell membranes and
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