Faulty study on low carbohydrate diet and heart disease risk exposed

The Metabolic Society has weighed in on the latest nonsense about the "dangers" of a low carbohydrate diet. Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to heart disease were used in a small study to "prove" carbohydrate restricted diets may harm arteries. Low-Carb Lifestyle Examiner Jimmy Moore showed in a recent article how the study was faulty. Click below to get the link.

This is the Press Release in which The Metabolic Society reported on this study:

Researchers use mutant mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to heart disease to 'prove' carbohydrate restricted diets may harm arteries.

Defects in ApoE -/- result in defects in processing blood cholesterol. As human studies continue to show the benefits of low carbohydrate diets and the general failure of low-fat diets, it is necessary for the nutritional establishment to find more and more obscure methods of attacking dietary carbohydrate restriction.

One method is to prepare mutant animal models, to use odd diet that humans would never consume, call them low carbohydrate diets and then show some deficit. Because mice are not generally susceptible to atherosclerosis, it was necessary for Foo and coworkers to use an ApoE-/- mutant and a ridiculously high protein diet to vilify low carbohydrate diets which have been a useful alternative for many people suffering from obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Read more and watch the video.

Don't believe everything scientific studies say

All scientific studies are not created equal. Assuming all scientific research is reliable is the same as playing with fire. You're bound to get burned. When I took journalism courses back in college the one premise that always stuck with me was “Consider the Source”. This serves one well whether watching news or advertising, or reading articles, non-fiction books, weblogs, or science journals. You can’t put a lot of stock in study results stating ‘milk aids in a slimmer waist’ if it was funded by the dairy industry or the results are taken out of context.

A recently published study stated children who drink more than three servings of milk a day are prone to overweight. The study participants included more than 12,000 children nationwide and found that the more milk they drank, the more weight they gained. Those consuming more than three servings each day were about 35 percent more likely to become overweight than those who drank one or two.

This undermines a heavily advertised dairy industry claim that milk helps people lose weight. The scientific study the dairy advertisers relied on to pitch their “Milk aids in weight loss” campaign stated CALCIUM supported weight loss, not milk. Making an assumption (without a solidly designed study to back it up) that because milk has calcium it will also support weight loss is unreliable stupidity. Always consider the source (along with their funding and affiliations) before swallowing what the scientific community and the media are spoon feeding you.

Jimmy Moore illustrated this beautifully in a blog. Read more and watch the video.