The Low-Fat vs. Low-Carb Diet Debate Has a New Answer

reports that investigators found that “people eating high quantities of carbohydrates...had a nearly 30% higher risk of dying during the study than people eating a low-carb diet.” Meanwhile, individuals “eating high-fat diets had a 23% lower chance of dying during the study’s seven years of follow-up compared to people who ate less fat.” reports that research suggests “global dietary guidelines should possibly be changed to allow people to consume somewhat more fats, to cut back on carbohydrates and in some cases to slightly scale back on fruits and vegetables.” http://time.com/4919448/low-fat-v-low-carb-diets/

Frequent Smartphone Afib Monitoring Catches Arrhythmia

Twice-weekly use of a smartphone device for single-lead electrocardiogram detection of atrial fibrillation caught more cases than usual care, although with a fairly low yield in seniors with afib risk factors. Screening picked up 3.9-fold more atrial fibrillation than found in routine care -- 19 versus five cases out of the evenly divided 1,001 participants (P=0.007), Julian Halcox, MD, of Swansea University in Wales, reported here at the European Society of Cardiology meeting and simultaneously online in Circulation. "The data from this study confirm results from studies with implanted pacemakers, cardioverter-defibrillators, and loop recorders and other AF screening studies that ... the more we look for AF, the more we will find it," wrote Albert Waldo, MD, PhD, of UH Case Medical Center in Cleveland, and John Camm, MD, of St. George's University of London, in an accompanying Circulation editorial. https://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ESC/67594?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-08-30&eun=g721819d0r&pos=2

Cholesterol Lowering Depends on Genes

The investigators found that genetic variants that mimic the effect of CETP inhibitors were associated with higher high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, lower LDL cholesterol, lower apoB and a corresponding lower risk of cardiovascular disease that was proportional to the reduction in LDL cholesterol. In fact, genetic variants that mimic the effect of CETP inhibitors had a very similar effect on reducing the risk of cardiovascular events as genetic variants that mimic the effect of statins, ezetimibe, and PCSK9 inhibitors when measured per unit reduction in LDL cholesterol. These results may help to explain the failure of some CETP inhibitors to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events despite robustly lowering LDL cholesterol," Ference said. "Adding a CETP inhibitor to a statin reduces LDL cholesterol out of proportion to apoB. Because the clinical benefit is determined by the reduction in apoB, rather than LDL cholesterol, combination therapy with a CETP inhibitor and a statin reduces the risk of cardiovascular events proportional to the attenuated reduction in apoB. This may be significantly less than expected for the observed change in LDL cholesterol depending on the degree of discordance between the reductions in apoB and LDL cholesterol." https://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ESC/67586?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-08-30&eun=g721819d0r&pos=1

Study Reveals Potential Links Between Secondhand Smoke, Type 2 Diabetes, And Obesity.

reports a study published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care reveals “potential links between secondhand smoke and type 2 diabetes and obesity.” Researchers arrived at the study’s findings after analyzing Health and Nutrition Examination Survey “data from 6,472 participants ages 20 years or older against smoking status.” http://endocrinenews.endocrine.org/innocent-bystanders/

Huge Diet Study Shows Carbs, Not Fats Are the Problem

Defying expectations, PURE found that high carbohydrate intake was associated with a significant increase in the risk of death, while both total fat and saturated and unsaturated fats were associated with a decreased risk of death. However, fat consumption was not associated with cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular mortality, though saturated fat had an inverse association with stroke. The second presentation and Lancet paper, by Andrew Mente, PhD, also of McMaster University, challenges the widely held and nearly religious belief that more is always better when it comes to fruits, vegetables, and legumes. The study did confirm that fruits and veggies (and legumes) in moderation are good for you, but it did not show that the benefits keep growing with increased consumption. Instead, the PURE researchers found that the maximum benefit was achieved with three to four serving per day. Current guidelines recommend that people consume five servings a day. The authors note that many people in lower income countries are unable to afford this high level of consumption. https://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ESC/67566?xid=NL_breakingnews_2017-08-29&eun=g721819d0r

At Long Last, Inflammatory Hypothesis Confirmed in CVD

https://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ESC/67529?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2017-08-28&eun=g721819d0r&pos=0 Long-awaited evidence that targeting an inflammatory pathway can reduce heart attacks and stroke independent of lipids is now in hand -- canakinumab (Ilaris) reduced events by 15% compared with placebo. But there is a two-fold catch: Because canakinumab is an immunotherapy, the drug carries a high price tag and use was associated with an increased risk of fatal infections.

Saint Louis Public Schools serve more than 26,000 students over a vast geographic area that hugs the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state

https://www.healthiergeneration.org/_asset/5099ej/AHS-Success-Stories---Saint-Louis_FINAL.pdf?_cldee=YW15ZHVnYW4yQGdtYWlsLmNvbQ%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-e93ebf3c3d6ce411bec16c3be5a8f744-9c4420248356409da05f93ab2f5f6a78&utm_source=ClickDimensions&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=America%27s%20Healthiest%20Schools&esid=ecb21fcd-f288-e711-8135-e0071b6af281