Fruits, Veggies, and Heart Disease

November 6th, 2009, by

A new Swedish study, looking at nutritional intake and heart disease, found that consuming fruits and veggies is only of benefit to your heart when combined with a high intake of dairy fat. Without the dairy fat, not only was there little to no benefit from eating fruits and vegetables, but the risk of a heart event actually increased by 70%! The study also found that eating whole grain bread and fish twice a week were also of no benefit to the heart.

This proves, yet again, that eating fruits and veggies is irrelevant when it comes to reducing heart disease, and may actually contribute to it. At the same time, saturated fat is what is of any benefit to your ticker. This means we should all be eating plenty of fatty red meats and delicious egg yolks.

Think about that the next time you pour yourself a glass of skim milk or reach for the low-fat cheese.

Just Say No!

Category: Nutrition

26 Responses to "Fruits, Veggies, and Heart Disease"

  • mark R.
    November 12, 2009, 8:07 am

    Not just back, it's back with authority taking on skim milk and the low-fat fanatics (in leu of full disclosure I'll confess that I used to be one) nice to see the Nutrition blogs resurgence, and with guns blazing.

  • mark R.
    November 12, 2009, 8:10 am

    On a separate note since I am a fan of skim milk (I like the taste) can I just eat butter or lots of egg yolks to make up for my lack of creamy fat intake, or do I really need to switch to the whole milk? Although it seems these days I really only have milk when I'm bingeing on an off day.

  • Bill
    November 12, 2009, 12:12 pm

    Mark - The crap they label as milk in the grocery store isn't milk in my book. The pasteurization, homogenization, and removal of fat completely change the original profile into something that has absolutely nothing to offer nutritionally. Skim, 2%, whole...it can be summed up as "pick your poison". If you want milk here and there, I have a lady in McHenry who can hook you up with raw whole milk by the half gallon ;)

  • Bill
    November 12, 2009, 12:42 pm

    Please feel free to expand on your statement that Ornish's work is the "only scientifically tested diet study on heart". Seriously, Ornish is completely full of shit! For instance, he continues to base all of his stuff on a paper he wrote nearly 20 years ago. His "Lifestyle Heart Trial" has many problems with it. For one, participants stopped smoking, began exercising, started meditating, and went on a low-fat, vegetarian diet. I would expect anyone to get healthier if they did all 4 things. The first 3 lifestyle changes will overshadow the poor choice of diet for a while. Secondly, a number of participants were "lost" during the follow-up. Losing the "right" participants can make your statistical data look a lot better. Thirdly, the difference in arterial narrowing found at the end of the study was so minimal that it is statistically irrelevant. The imaging technology used at the time had something like a 5% error built into it, but Ornish reported a 2-3% change in subjects; How is this possible? Finally, the lipid values of participants in this study showed their triglycerides went up quite considerably while HDL values went down. This is the exact opposite of what you need to happen to lessen your chances of heart disease.

    If you want to follow a cardiologist on your quest for nutritional supremacy, I would suggest checking out Dr. Davis.

  • mark R.
    November 12, 2009, 4:24 pm

    What about Oberwies Dairy's milk, that stuff tastes like the nectar of the Gods, I know that's no endorsement for health quality but it's gotta be better than Aldi milk, right?!?!

  • Bill
    November 12, 2009, 4:53 pm

    Oberweis is only better in that the cows weren't given any hormones or steroids. The milk was still heated to high temps though.

  • Glady's
    November 13, 2009, 11:27 am

    Hmmmm...ok, so the milk was heated to high temps, but then put in the freezer to make yummy ice cream!!! :)

    Gotta count for something!

  • stacy
    November 14, 2009, 1:58 pm

    Bill I want some of that raw milk. I have been trying to get you to get me some months now. I'm ready for the switch!

  • Heath G
    November 15, 2009, 12:20 am

    Bill, I would be interested in a 1/2 gallon here and there. Not a big milk drinker but do enjoy a glass occassionally.

  • Checking Stuff out
    November 15, 2009, 2:59 pm

    See meat makes you angry :)
    His "paper" is a 20 year long study that remains to this day the only scientifically proven study on heart disease and diet/lifestyle. And they continue to revisit the participants. Its all peer reviewed so he cannot get away with "losing" anyone. Post the proof on that claim please. Also not every participant smoked nor was everyone sedentary prior to starting, although some did/were. That's the point of a scientific study is to take people in at random. BTW, arteries don't un narrow by any great measure, however blood flow can increase and there may be slight reduction in the plaque area, but basically its damage done. His primary claim is increased blood flow.. Yes HDL went down but so did LDL and the total, the ratio of HDL to LDL and total to LDL went up. Also, BTW no one ever proved TG as a standalone factor contribute to anything, but I would suggest you read the book and studies the TGs did not go up but rather down on average. Btw, you guys have the insulin and carb relationship correct, however the caveat is that is true only when you combine high carb with high fat, in which case fat is an insulin receptor blocker so you're body thinks it needs more insulin and gets jacked to dangerous levels. If you're eating paleo, the deadliest combination is for you guys to break down and eat a bunch of carbs. Even low fat guys will admit that. That guy eating the bun is right to regret it.
    You can pick and choose the studies you want to justify your lifestyles. For every cardiologist you find, low fat guys can find 100. The pics of you guys all look young and fit so you're probably OK no matter what you do. But I would suggest you check your family history and if you're over 30 do more objective research. esp as it relates to heart disease.

  • Bill
    November 15, 2009, 5:07 pm

    Omerto, please name the study you are referring to. If you are talking about "The Lifestyle Heart Trial" that put Ornish on the map, then you are wrong. Click this link to see the criteria. It clearly states that healthy individuals were not accepted. Again, provide us with some links containing facts if you want to take this debate any further.

  • Bill
    November 15, 2009, 5:18 pm

    Heath, Stacy, and anyone else interested, all you need to do is join a local co-op. I have been a member of 2 different ones (Nature's Juice and Belle's Lunchbox). This link lists a few more in the area. We haven't been using much in the way of dairy lately so I haven't been placing orders. Feel free to get a group of CrossForters interested though and organize a group buy each week and then someone could pick it up and deliver it to the Fort the way Jeff does with the meat.

  • Checking Stuff out
    November 16, 2009, 10:09 am

    Bill - Proving better blood flow in people without restricted blood flow/occlusion doesn't really make sense does it, nor was that the goal of the study. nor was that what I wrote. What I was saying is the people in the study were not 100% smoking, couch potatoes (heh heh) as you claimed. Some were non smokers and some were athletes, yes with CAD. It was indeed a scientific study, to this day the only study specifically on diet and heart health, with controls and peer review. More important for your logic is the study obviously didn't prove that eating Ornish made people worse. If carb loading is so bad, they all should have gotten worse despite the wonderful effects of exercise/meditation/nonsmoking. There's many reasons to eat the way you want to eat and there's no catchall given the genetic variety out there, but to claim eating carbs (specicially fruits and veggies) is not heart healthy is what prompted to me to be a buttinski. I think down deep you know this, but free country and all. If you go paleo, get enough Vit E and don't mix carbs w/ high fat. I will now butt out.

  • zach
    November 17, 2009, 8:57 am

    Just so I am not poorly influenced here:

    Bill, what you are saying is NOT THAT eating fruits and veggies will GIVE you heart problems but that eating them and AVOIDING saturated fats will do more harm than good as a long term preventative measure against heart diseases. Don't solely rely on fruits and veggies as your primary defense against heart disease.

    Since Checking Stuff out at least knows the "Paleo" buzz word, can I add the idea that "Paleo-man" had meats and saturated fats more frequently and readily available to eat then veggie forage? If "Paleo-man" came up to a fork in the road and to the left there was a field of Bison but to the right there was a field of cabbage and apples; you'd better believe he is going to GENETICALLY, NATURALLY and HORMONALLY (big words for this not very scientific guy :) ) default to the Bison. FURTHERMORE "Paleo-man" would EXPECT to be able to live off that field if the Bison didn't run away!

    Checking Stuff out seems to be putting words in your mouth, is that correct?

    • Kalosthenos
      November 26, 2009, 7:56 pm

      Milk is for babies. Try hemp seeds for the best fat available. Get really healthy and eat goji berries, maca powder, bee pollen, raw cacao, spirulina, hemp seeds, wheatgrass, hemp protein, qhinoa, oats, rice, and lots of fruit, vegges. Don't believe me then try to do the exercises I do. and maintain low body fat and muscularity. Get off the dead carcass.

    • Bill
      November 26, 2009, 11:15 pm

      Dan (a.k.a. Kalosthenos) - I am curious as to how you came across our site. I poked around your website a little and don't have anything against your body weight training. Too bad your nutrition blog doesn't contain a single post. From the comment you left here, I can only assume that you are a vegetarian. Just because you are lean and muscular doesn't mean you are healthy. I would be willing to put my blood work up against yours anytime. Without the added protein powders, vegetarians tend to struggle to maintain lean body mass as they age. As for me, I plan on avoiding the fructose and polyunsaturated fats that your diet is loaded with so that I may have a lesser chance of contracting cancer or heart disease. Happy Turkey Day!

    • Jennie Yundt
      November 26, 2009, 11:33 pm

      Hey Bill, why does your nutrition blog attract so many trolls? I just don't get it. (scratching my head)

      I have my own special way of handling blog trolls, but Bill chooses to take the high road, and even engage in debates with these people. What I would just like to say to all the trolls is:

      WHO ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION?

      Is the fact that we have a nutrition blog and allow comments your open invitation? Is Bill's infinite wisdom just a tractor beam for knuckle-head vegetarians? Do you feel that it is your duty to disagree with everything Bill posts here, and try to convert all of us angry meat eaters to your vegetarian ways? NOBODY HERE cares what you have to say. Be lean. Be muscular. Go against what nature intended you to eat. I don't really care.

      Our nutrition blog is a way to communicate pertinent information to the members of our gym, and for them to respond with questions. This isn't your soap box to preach about your f-ing hemp seeds. Seriously. Go find the monkey bars, take your skinny self and your bee pollen and have a nice day. (That's not what I really wanted to say, but I'll try and follow Bill's example)

    • Katharine Vanderzanden
      November 2, 2010, 8:59 am

      A Very nice input . Whenever i check your website i find a different perspective . Furthermore , as a new developer, i need to say that the structure of your website rocks . Can you post the name of the theme . I find it hard to choose among all these themes and widgets.
      Thank you.