Tag Archive for: cardiovascular disease

Waist-Hip Ratio vs. BMI

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In Tuesday’s message, I said researchers used a unique approach to answering the question of whether waist-hip ratio (WHR) is associated with cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes regardless of BMI. They found 48 genes which were associated WHR, a unique approach using the genetic information with Mendelian randomization of epidemiological data. If that isn’t a brain-full, I don’t know what is. Let me see if I can break it down for you.

As I’ve said many times before, epidemiological data cannot show cause and effect; they’re just observations. By using the genetic information related to WHR, researchers can analyze the data by statistically removing the effect of BMI. Because the genetic traits follow some randomization based on Mendel’s genetic work, if the WHR is still associated with the increased risks of disease, that means that where you carry your body fat is important, whether your BMI says you’re overweight or not.

They found that WHR is an independent risk factor for CVD and type 2 diabetes, confirming that the location of your body fat is important regardless of your BMI. That may be why people with a high BMI but low WHR have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels while others with a normal BMI but a high WHR may have high numbers.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: JAMA. 2017;317(6):626-634.

 

Redefining the Risks of Extra Weight

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Studies show that 70% of the population is overweight; by definition, that means that their body mass index (BMI) is greater than 25 or more. But are all overweight people at the same risk? Just because you’re overweight, are you automatically at greater risk for cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes?

That’s what a group of researchers in the U.S. attempted to find out. They had the benefit of access to the U.K. Biobank, an independently funded databank that has collected biometric data on over 500,000 subjects in the U.K. and contains accurate measures of BMI as well as the waist-hip ratio (WHR) on all subjects. They also had one more thing: the genetic information on a large sub-group of subjects. They identified 48 genes that seemed to be associated with WHR and used a unique approach to tease out the effects of WHR from BMI. I’ll cover that the rest of the week.

In the meantime, check out your BMI and measure your waist and hip to calculate your WHR. Measure your waist about an inch below your belly-button and your hips at the widest point; divide waist by hips and you have your ratio.

What are you prepared to do today?

Dr. Chet

 

Reference: JAMA. 2017;317(6):626-634.

 

Power Up with Vitamin B12

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The final supplement I’ll cover this week is vitamin B12, sometimes called the energy vitamin. Many vitamins are involved with energy production, but a lack of B12 can certainly cause problems with energy and other issues.

Vitamin B12 is also known as cobalamin and if you’re wondering, yes, this vitamin does include the mineral cobalt. There are two primary functions of B12 in the body. The first is to help reduce the chemical homocysteine to methionine while helping folate be converted into a usable form in the same reaction. Without enough B12, homocysteine increases inflammation in the body . . .

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What You Need to Know About Omega-3s

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This week I’m covering basic information about three supplements.  One of my favorites and one I don’t ever leave home without is omega-3 fatty acids.

There are three basic forms of omega-3 fatty acids: eicosapentanoic acid or EPA, docosahexaenoic acid or DHA, and alpha-linolenic acid or ALA. The body cannot make omega-3 fatty acids, so they have to come from food and supplements. ALA is an essential fatty acid—the body can make EPA and DHA from it but not very well—so getting EPA and DHA from diet and supplements is critical.

EPA . . .

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Is Sugar the Problem?

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The questions I left you with on Thursday were related to the press and scientific reaction to the article about the sugar industry published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Was it worth all the press on CNN, Time, and even Treehugger.com? I don’t see it that way and I’ll explain why.


The Article

The paper in JAMA was not a study (1); it was a review of correspondence and papers published in the 1950s and 1960s. It was more investigative journalism than science . . .

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Sugar: New Villain?

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Health by headlines continues, this time, from one of the Journals of the American Medical Association. The headlines revolved around how the sugar industry influenced research and scientific publications in the 1950s through the 1980s. A group of researchers, affiliated with the Philip Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, examined documents from the Sugar Research Foundation and correspondence between scientists who examined research on the role fat and sugar play in the development of cardiovascular disease. The scientists involved have all died; this was an examination of their papers archived in the universities where they spent their careers as well . . .

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Does Sitting Cancel Out Exercise?

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This past Friday, I ran 4.5 miles on a great running and biking trail in Grand Rapids; it was a great morning and with the canopy of trees, it was cooler than it would have been in the sun. The rest of the day, I recorded my radio show, read, wrote, and finished off the day watching some home improvement shows. I typically spend more than eight hours sitting while I do what I do.

Unfortunately, that run won’t reduce my risk of dying from cardiovascular disease—not based on the headlines for a scientific statement just released . . .

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It’s American Heart Month

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February is American Heart Month as well as the big month for the Go Red for Women campaign. Both are efforts to call attention to the biggest killer of men and women: cardiovascular disease. The messages for the rest of this month will focus on preventing heart disease. I’ll review some recent research on heart disease that made headlines—some interesting, some misleading. I’ll also talk about a program I recently discovered that allows you to track your heart metrics to keep on . . .

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Extracts vs. Foods: Tomatoes, Lycopene, and CVD

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In today’s look at foods versus extracts, researchers examined a series of studies on the effects of whole-tomato products versus the phytonutrient lycopene on markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD).
Tomatoes vs. Lycopene
Researchers reviewed well over 100 published studies that used either tomatoes (both raw and cooked) or the phytonutrient lycopene (1). Their objective was to see whether the whole food or the extract was more effective in reducing markers for CVD such as blood pressure, inflammation, and serum lipids. Based on a medical model of treatment and results, they felt the research was underwhelming on the effects . . .

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The Low Carb Versus Low Fat Battle: No Decision

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Today I’m finishing my review of the study that compared a low-fat diet with a low-carb diet. As Paula can attest, I’ve been muttering under my breath since I read that paper—not to mention the occasional rant. Here’s why.

First, the researchers tried to get the healthiest obese people they could get—completely understandable because the idea is to eliminate confounding variables. The problem is that when every measured variable is normal to begin with, the results are meaningless unless there are huge changes in something such as body weight, cholesterol, or triglycerides. Note . . .

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