 |
|
Children who learn heart healthy eating habits lower heart disease risk
September 12, 2007Lowering intake of foods high in saturated fat found to be key
A new study in a mid-August edition of Circulation: Journal of the America Heart Association confirms that when young children learn about heart healthy eating habits, it can strongly influence their heart disease risk later in life.
Results from the Turku Coronary Risk Factor Intervention Project have landmark implications on how children should be taught to eat. In this study, a child's fat intake, primarily reduction in intake of saturated fat, was found to be one of the greatest influencing factors, according to the research.
The publication of this study is timely since September 2007 is National Cholesterol Education Month, sponsored by the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's National Cholesterol Education Program.
Harri Niinikoski, M.D, Ph.D, lead author and a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Turku in Finland, says: "The aim of the diet counseling in our study was not to reduce the total number of fat calories in the diet, but to shift the child's intake from saturated toward unsaturated fats and have cholesterol intakes of less than 200 mg (such as the use of more vegetable oils than animal fats and butter.)"
Key dietary changes in the intervention families included: 1) using soft margarine and liquid oils instead of butter to maintain adequate fat intake while lowering consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, and 2) appropriate adjustments to the type of milk consumed by the children.
Consumption of vegetables, fruits, berries, and whole grain products was encouraged as well.
The intervention families consisted of 540 children and their families who underwent intensive diet counseling; the control group (522 children and family members) received only basic dietary advice. The goal of dietary counseling for the intervention group was to keep total intake of fat at 30% to 35% of daily calories, the ratio of saturated fat to unsaturated fats at 1:2, and cholesterol intake to less than 200 milligrams daily.
The study concludes: A low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol- oriented nutrition intervention had a favorable effect on saturated fat intake and serum total and LDL cholesterol concentrations throughout the first 14 years of life, with percent of cholesterol lowering differing by age and sex. The lipid lowering effect was maintained through pre-puberty and puberty, when children consume exceedingly more of their dietary intakes away from home.
"We feel that lifetime habits form early in life and healthier lifestyles should be started earlier in life," Niinikoski remarks. "We were trying to find out whether it is safe to start a lower-saturated-fat and lower-cholesterol diet early in life."
Niinikoski adds, "In the long run, even a minor decrease in serum cholesterol concentrations in a large population can have a major influence on coronary heart disease."
Another important study with 226 participants (children and their parents) was conducted in the U.S. and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The children reduced their bad (LDL) cholesterol levels by nine percent when soft margarine was used in place of butter; adults significantly reduced their cholesterol levels as well by making the same substitution.
One emphasis of this year's National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) is on fat intake. As noted by NCEP, "Saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol in the diet all raise the level of LDL "bad" cholesterol in the blood. The higher the LDL cholesterol, the greater the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), the main form of heart disease and a leading cause of death, illness, and disability in the United States. Saturated fat and trans fat raise LDL similarly, but Americans consume 4-5 times as much saturated fat as trans fat. Saturated fat is the chief dietary culprit that raises LDL, but consumers need to know about all three - saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol - in the foods they eat to reduce their risk for CHD and stay heart-healthy." The use of soft or liquid margarines and oils is recommended vs animal fats (i.e., butter) throughout all of the NCEP materials.
Kellen Communications
The publication of this study is timely since September 2007 is National Cholesterol Education Month, sponsored by the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's National Cholesterol Education Program.
Harri Niinikoski, M.D, Ph.D, lead author and a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of Turku in Finland, says: "The aim of the diet counseling in our study was not to reduce the total number of fat calories in the diet, but to shift the child's intake from saturated toward unsaturated fats and have cholesterol intakes of less than 200 mg (such as the use of more vegetable oils than animal fats and butter.)"
Key dietary changes in the intervention families included: 1) using soft margarine and liquid oils instead of butter to maintain adequate fat intake while lowering consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, and 2) appropriate adjustments to the type of milk consumed by the children.
Consumption of vegetables, fruits, berries, and whole grain products was encouraged as well.
The intervention families consisted of 540 children and their families who underwent intensive diet counseling; the control group (522 children and family members) received only basic dietary advice. The goal of dietary counseling for the intervention group was to keep total intake of fat at 30% to 35% of daily calories, the ratio of saturated fat to unsaturated fats at 1:2, and cholesterol intake to less than 200 milligrams daily.
The study concludes: A low-saturated-fat, low-cholesterol- oriented nutrition intervention had a favorable effect on saturated fat intake and serum total and LDL cholesterol concentrations throughout the first 14 years of life, with percent of cholesterol lowering differing by age and sex. The lipid lowering effect was maintained through pre-puberty and puberty, when children consume exceedingly more of their dietary intakes away from home.
"We feel that lifetime habits form early in life and healthier lifestyles should be started earlier in life," Niinikoski remarks. "We were trying to find out whether it is safe to start a lower-saturated-fat and lower-cholesterol diet early in life."
Niinikoski adds, "In the long run, even a minor decrease in serum cholesterol concentrations in a large population can have a major influence on coronary heart disease."
Another important study with 226 participants (children and their parents) was conducted in the U.S. and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The children reduced their bad (LDL) cholesterol levels by nine percent when soft margarine was used in place of butter; adults significantly reduced their cholesterol levels as well by making the same substitution.
One emphasis of this year's National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) is on fat intake. As noted by NCEP, "Saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol in the diet all raise the level of LDL "bad" cholesterol in the blood. The higher the LDL cholesterol, the greater the risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), the main form of heart disease and a leading cause of death, illness, and disability in the United States. Saturated fat and trans fat raise LDL similarly, but Americans consume 4-5 times as much saturated fat as trans fat. Saturated fat is the chief dietary culprit that raises LDL, but consumers need to know about all three - saturated fat, trans fat, and cholesterol - in the foods they eat to reduce their risk for CHD and stay heart-healthy." The use of soft or liquid margarines and oils is recommended vs animal fats (i.e., butter) throughout all of the NCEP materials.
Kellen Communications
Saturated Fat Current Events and Saturated Fat News RSSResearchers study how pistachios may improve heart health
Going green may be heart healthy if the green you choose is pistachio nuts, according to researchers at Penn State who conducted the first study to investigate the way pistachios lower cholesterol.
New research suggests diabetes transmitted from parents to children
A new study in the September issue of the Journal of Lipid Research suggests an unusual form of inheritance may have a role in the rising rate of diabetes, especially in children and young adults, in the United States.
New mushroom study shows the power of energy density
Preliminary research, led by Dr. Lawrence Cheskin, MD, Director of John Hopkins Weight Management Center, suggests increasing intake of low-energy density foods, specifically mushrooms, in place of high-energy-density foods, like lean ground beef, is a strategy for preventing or treating obesity.
Lowering cholesterol early in life could save lives
With heart disease maintaining top billing as the leading cause of death in the United States, a team of University of California, San Diego School of Medicine physician-researchers is proposing that aggressive intervention to lower cholesterol levels as early as childhood is the best approach available today to reducing the incidence of coronary heart disease.
NEJM: Low-fat diets not best for weight loss: New study by Ben-Gurion U. of the Negev
A two-year study led by researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) reveals that low-carbohydrate and Mediterranean diets may be just as safe and effective in achieving weight loss as the standard, medically prescribed low-fat diet, according to a new study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.
Macadamia nuts can be included in heart healthy diet
Macadamia nuts included in a heart healthy diet reduced low-density cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and should be included among nuts with qualified health claims, according to researchers.
Changing school environment curbs weight gain in children
Small changes in schools lead to big results when it comes to preventing childhood obesity, according to a study published in the April issue of Pediatrics.
Study shows long-term weight control is achievable
People who shed weight and want to keep it off might benefit from monthly personal contact interventions, researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism.
Typical North American diet is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids
New research from the Child & Family Research Institute shows the typical North American diet of eating lots of meat and not much fish is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and this may pose a risk to infant neurological development. Omega-3 fatty acids are unsaturated fats found in some fish such as salmon and herring and in smaller amounts in eggs and chicken.
Most with high blood pressure do not follow recommended diet
A relatively small proportion of individuals with hypertension (high blood pressure) eat diets that align with government guidelines for controlling the disease, according to a report in the February 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
More Saturated Fat Current Events and Saturated Fat News Articles
 | Saturated Fat May Save Your Life by Bruce Fife Describes the different types of dietaty oils and how they affect health. Includes a health program with... |
 | Fats Are Good for You: How Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Actually Benefit the Body by Jon J. Kabara Common wisdom, encouraged by pharmaceutical companies with a financial interest in the matter, invariably blames cholesterol and saturated fats for everything from heart disease to stroke. Distilling 50 years of research on the subject, and citing studies largely ignored by the mainstream, Fats Are Good for You and Other Secrets offers a provocative challenge to this idea. Author Jon Kabara... |
 | How to Cook Yourself Healthy and Slim: Easy Recipes That Are Rich in Antioxidants and Low in Saturated Fat by Nessa Lee It is a smart guide to cook fresh, delicious and nutritious meals. Recipes are simple, fast and healthy. Ingredients are inexpensive and easy-to-find. Grocery lists are short. Each recipe comes with a full-color food shot and easy instructions. This book is all you'll need to learn how to cook light and satisfying dishes that make you... |
| Grocery Shopping Guide: A Consumer's Manual for Selecting Foods Lower in Dietary Saturated Fat & Cholesterol by Nelda Mercer, Carl Orringer | |
 | Olive Oil Baking: Healthy Recipes That Increase Good Cholesterol and Reduce Saturated Fats by Lisa Sheldon Recent media attention has focused on research showing the health benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet. Olive Oil Baking is a unique addition to the growing selection of Mediterranean diet cookbooks, applying the lessons learned from this research to familiar desserts. The focus of Olive Oil Baking is the whys and how-tos of substituting olive oil and other healthy oils and fats in favorite... |
| Grocery Shopping Guide: A Consumer's Manual for Selecting Food Lower in Dietary Saturated Fat and Cholesterol by Nelda Mercer | |
| Fats in Your Diet, Live a Longer Life: Guide to Lower Saturated Fat Lower Cholesterol by James R. Moore, Madeline H. Moore | |
| The fat and sodium control cookbook;: How to prepare tasteful meals for the sodium-restricted or low salt diet and for the fat-controlled diet, including ... suggestions for low saturated fat regimens by Alma Payne Ralston | |
| Saturated fat may slow atherosclerosis in women.(Cardiovascular Medicine): An article from: Internal Medicine News by Robert Finn This digital document is an article from Internal Medicine News, published by International Medical News Group on June 15, 2004. The length of the article is 611 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.Citation... | |
 | Low Cholesterol Cookbook: Over 50 Recipes, Each One Low in Cholesterol and Saturated Fats (Healthy Eating Library) by Christine France |
| © 2008 BrightSurf.com |