Skip Navigation.

June 2004 Vol. 9 No. 6

“Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for
perfection is demoralizing”
Harriet Braiker

 Table of Contents:The Controversy Over Dr. Atkin’s Health
Analysis of Health Problems Associated with High-Protein, High-Fat, Carbohydrate-Restricted Diets
Fruits and Vegetables Strengthen Girls? Bones
Fitness Lowers Diabetes Mortality in Men
Measuring the Risk of Diabetes
Fast Food Fuels Childhood Obesity
Fish Oil in Pregnancy Helps Fetus Grow
Major Study Shows Fish Oil Fat in Infants Increases Adult Intelligence

The Controversy Over Dr. Atkins? Health
By Neal D. Barnard, M.D.  

The Atkins diet phenomenon has spread like a virus across North America, Europe, and elsewhere. It has convinced millions of people to buy into two dangerous notions: that avoiding carbohydrates is the key to weight loss and that high-fat, high-cholesterol foods pose essentially no risk.

Serious health problems and deaths have occurred in individuals following the diet. For example, the Southern Medical Journal reported the case of a sixteen-year-old Missouri girl who died while following a low-carbohydrate diet. In the report, her physicians described the ways the diet may have contributed to the disordered cardiac rhythm that killed her. Jody Gorran of Delray Beach, Fla., went on the diet, only to find that his cholesterol level skyrocketed. He developed chest pain and needed urgent heart surgery. And in 2001, the American Heart Association issued a warning that low-carbohydrate diets are likely to contribute to heart and kidney disease.
Full article at: http://www.pcrm.org/magazine/gm04SpringSummer/gm04SpringSummer01.html

Analysis of Health Problems Associated with High-Protein, High-Fat, Carbohydrate-Restricted Diets Reported via an Online Registry Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Updated May 25, 2004
http://www.pcrm.org/news/registry_report.html
Fruits and Vegetables Strengthen Girls? Bones  

Girls with high intakes of fruits and vegetables had larger bone size than peers who consumed the least amounts, reports the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers looked at the dietary habits of 56 Caucasian females, ages 8 to 13, dividing them into two groups: those who ate less than three servings per day of fruits and vegetables and those who ate three or more servings per day. X-rays revealed that the latter group not only had stronger bones, but also reported higher concentrations of potassium, magnesium, vitamin A, and vitamin C. Despite similar calcium intakes, this group also excreted less urinary calcium.
Tylavsky FA, Holliday K, Danish R, Womack C, Norwood J, Carbone L. Fruit and vegetable intakes are an independent predictor of bone size in early pubertal children. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;79:311-7.

Fitness Lowers Diabetes Mortality in Men  

Men with diabetes who exercise are more likely to sidestep all major causes of death than their more out-of-shape counterparts, according to a 15-year study of 2,200 men published in the journal Diabetes Care. The advantages of exercise were seen even in men who were overweight. Thirty minutes of walking five times per week was enough to bring significant benefits.
Church TS, Cheng YJ, Earnest CP, et al. Exercise capacity and body composition as predictors of mortality among men with diabetes. Diabetes Care 2004; 27:83-8.

Measuring the Risk of Diabetes  

Diabetes risk can be estimated with a simple tape measure and a blood test. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention measured the waist size and blood fat levels of 9,183 adults. Those with the highest scores on both accounts were three times more likely to have diabetes.
Kahn HS, Valdez R. Metabolic risks identified by the combination of enlarged waist and elevated triacylglycerol concentration. Am J Clin Nutr 2003;78:902-3.

Fast Food Fuels Childhood Obesity  

A new study from the Children?s Hospital at Harvard Medical School supports the idea that fast food contributes to obesity in children. In a sample of 6,212 children and teens, nearly one-third ate fast food on any given day, and this one-third consumed more sugar, calories, and saturated fats and less fruits and vegetables than their peers. In 1970, fast food accounted for 2 percent of total calories for this group compared to 10 percent by the mid-1990s, an increase accompanied by rising obesity rates in youngsters.
Bowman SA, Gortmaker SL, Ebbeling CB, Pereira MA, Ludwig DS. Effects of fast-food consumption on energy intake and diet quality among children in a national household survey. Pediatrics 2004;113:112-8.

Fish Oil in Pregnancy Helps Fetus Grow   

Scientists have discovered that eating large amounts of fish during the later stages of pregnancy might increase fetus growth but doesn?t extend the duration of the pregnancy.  A study conducted involved 11,580 women who found the more fish they consumed at the 32-week mark in their pregnancy the lower the likelihood of restricted growth in the baby. One researcher stated these findings supported the data that increasing the intake of fish or omega-3 fatty acids while a woman was pregnant increased the fetal growth rate.

The women in the study were questioned on the amount of fish they ate and the levels of omega-3 fatty acids were then measured by the fish intake the pregnant women consumed.  Results from the study showed that women ate 33 grams of fish on average, which was equal to around one-third of a tiny can of tuna each day and to 0.15 grams of omega-3 fatty acids. Some experts have recommended fish as a rich source for omega-3 fatty acids, which are considered essential for cell function.  Some of the other sources of omega-three fatty acids include canola oil, flaxseed and flaxseed oil and nuts.
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health June 2004;58(6):486-92
http://www.mercola.com/2004/may/29/fish_oil_pregnancy.htm

Major Study Shows Fish Oil Fat in Infants Increases Adult Intelligence   

Infants who are breast-fed for up to 9 months may out-smart their peers as adults.  The findings support a growing body of research linking breast-feeding with intellectual development in early and middle childhood, but are the first to show an association between breast-feeding and adult intelligence.

It is not clear why breast-fed infants may log higher IQs as adults, but the researchers speculate that breast milk contains beneficial nutrients not found in formula or cow’s milk. Breast milk contains docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA) — long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids that appear to support brain development, according to previous studies. These nutrients were recently added to some infant formulas sold in the United States.  The physical and psychological bond between a mother and child that develops during breast-feeding might also play a role by stimulating brain development, or unidentified environmental factors may be at work. For instance, the researchers suggest, the amount of time a woman spends breast-feeding her child may serve as a marker of the time and energy she invests in the child’s entire upbringing.

Test scores rose in tandem with the duration of breast-feeding for up to nine months, regardless of the parents’ social status and education, the mother’s weight gain during pregnancy, the  individual’s birth weight, and other factors that may affect cognitive development.  Longer duration of breast-feeding was more common among older moms and those with more education and higher social status, and among infants with higher birth weights and lengths, the study found. Single women and those who smoked were the least likely to breast-feed for long periods.

These results indicate that breast-feeding may have long-term positive effects on cognitive and intellectual development. The nutrients in breast-milk, behavioral factors, and factors associated with choice of feeding method may all contribute to the positive association.
JAMA May 8, 2002;287:2365-2371
http://www.mercola.com/forms/carlsons.htm