Diet and Heart Disease

Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook

6 thoughts on “Diet and Heart Disease”

  1. Hi
    What are your thoughts on Paul Mason especially his claim that we shouldn’t eat Fibre.
    By the way my Dad was a cardiologist who in recent years admitted he was wrong about butter, his main advice of-course were the conventional: dont smoke cigarettes, exercise, if you can, grow your own vegetables dont waste money on supplements amd enjoy life. He lived to 93 and

    Reply
  2. Regarding your, in my opinion, quite correct critique of observational studies and the Gary Taubes quote, there’s more to it that further strengthens the critique. Through many channels, low SES potently causes early disease and death, and this effect operates especially through cardiovascular disease. (The effect is not see among most cancers. Of course, illness also causes low SES, esp. in the US where good medical care is not equally available.) Second, genetic and especially epigenetic changes contribute strongly to CVD and metabolic illness incidence, and the harmful predispositions concentrate in low SES and non-white populations, who also tend to have stigmatized dietary practices. And third, there is inevitably social desirability bias in food-frequency questionnaire responses– not admitting to stigmatized consumption–which might be more prevalent among the health-conscious, particularly the medical professionals participating in the Nurses and Physicians Health Studies. (Social-desirability bias is why standard ETOH-consumption questions include one or two super-high consumption categories, so respondents will feel more comfortable reporting an accurate middle category, which is objectively still quite high.)

    Reply
    • Jonathan,
      thanks for those great comments.
      Socio-economic status is a more important confounder than I realized.
      It seems you were making three points for this SES effect but only included two?
      Dr P

      Reply
  3. Hi. Fascinating site, Anthony. Thank you!
    FYI, the wording for the link to the article on Low Carb vs. Low Fat diets on this page: https://theskepticalcardiologist.com/diet-and-heart-disease/ says “Low Fat Diet Superior to Low Carb Diet”. Pretty sure you wanted that to be the other way around.
    Also on the “About” page, it is not easy to find your Name. Appreciate the humility, but it would look good right after the big About page title.

    Reply
    • Lee,

      thanks for the careful reading there. I fixed that title.
      Re putting my name out there. It is very easy to find out who I am, especially since MedPage today has been republishing my posts with my name right next to them. I was seeking some anonymity initially but I have also been criticized for being anonymous. I’m going to put my name in there now.

      Reply

Please leave your comments. The skeptical cardiologist loves feedback. He reads all and replies to all that warrant a reply.

Anthony C. Pearson M.D., F.A.C.C. is a cardiologist, musician, writer and a regular columnist at MedPage Today

Request an Appointment or Make an Inquiry

Please complete this form to request an appointment, or make an inquiry. We will contact you as soon as possible.

%d