Tag Archive for: Mediterranean diet

Nutrition: Experts and the Public Disagree

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A recent New York Times survey compared the survey results of nutrition experts, including me, with the public’s opinions. Some differences make sense—others, not so much.

When asked whether a food was healthy, experts said foods high in fat and/or sugar were generally not healthy. The greatest differences were in granola, granola bars, and frozen yogurt with over a 30% difference between experts, who thought they were not healthy, and the public who thought they were.

What surprised me was that experts viewed coconut oil as not healthy while the public indicated it was healthy. The only . . .

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The Link Between Fat Intake and Heart Disease

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The second batch of headlines I referred to Tuesday related to an article published in the journal Open Heart (1). The study was a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials done before the dietary guidelines on fat were put in place in 1977. The studies analyzed showed no reduction of heart disease when subjects were placed on a low-fat diet; therefore the current study’s authors concluded that the original low-fat recommendations in the 1970s had no scientific basis.

Sorry, but we didn’t need randomized controlled trials in this case—and here’s why.

In the late . . .

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The Mediterranean Diet and Stroke Risk

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As American Heart Month continues, let’s take a look at a recently published study on the Mediterranean diet and stroke (1); this study fits in nicely with Go Red campaign as well because it contained over 130,000 women educators who are part of the California Teachers Study. The study has followed these women since 1995, and over 300 articles have been published from data collected in this study.

Before I get into the nuts and bolts of the study, I want to make sure you understand what a stroke is: an interruption in blood flow to the area . . .

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What Is the Mediterranean Diet?

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One of the studies published this month examined the benefits of following the Mediterranean diet and its effect on the risk of ischemic stroke. Before I talk about the study, let me review some basic information on the Mediterranean diet.

The diet is so named because it’s the typical dietary pattern of people who live in and around the Mediterranean Sea including Italy, Greece, and Spain. People in those areas who follow the traditional diet have lower rates of heart disease. Here are the characteristics of the Mediterranean diet:

  • Primarily plant-based foods, such as fruits and . . .

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