Low fat diet rises risk of early death by a quarter

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New study reported here:

•  Laura Donnelly, health editor, in barcelona 

29 AUGUST 2017 • 11:39AM

Low-fat diets could raise the risk of early death by almost one quarter, a major study has found.

The Lancet study of 135,000 adults found those who cut back on fats had far shorter lives than those enjoying plenty of butter, cheese and meats.

Researchers said the study was at odds with repeated health advice to cut down on fats.

Reference:

Associations of fats and carbohydrate intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 18 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study

Quote:

Findings
During follow-up, we documented 5796 deaths and 4784 major cardiovascular disease events. Higher carbohydrate intake was associated with an increased risk of total mortality (highest [quintile 5] vs lowest quintile [quintile 1] category, HR 1.28 [95% CI 1.12–1.46], ptrend=0.0001) but not with the risk of cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular disease mortality. Intake of total fat and each type of fat was associated with lower risk of total mortality (quintile 5 vs quintile 1, total fat: HR 0.77 [95% CI 0.67–0.87], ptrend<0.0001; saturated fat, HR 0.86 [0.76–0.99], ptrend=0.0088; monounsaturated fat: HR 0.81 [0.71–0.92], ptrend<0.0001; and polyunsaturated fat: HR 0.80 [0.71–0.89], ptrend<0.0001). Higher saturated fat intake was associated with lower risk of stroke (quintile 5 vs quintile 1, HR 0.79 [95% CI 0.64–0.98], ptrend=0.0498). Total fat and saturated and unsaturated fats were not significantly associated with risk of myocardial infarction or cardiovascular disease mortality.

----- Update 8/09/2017 -----
Another article, from the NYT, commenting on that study:

New Study Favors Fat Over Carbs

Quote:

Compared with people who ate the lowest 20 percent of carbohydrates, those who ate the highest 20 percent had a 28 percent increased risk of death. But high carbohydrate intake was not associated with cardiovascular death.
People with the highest 20 percent in total fat intake - an average of 35.3 percent of calories from fat - had about a 23 percent reduced risk of death compared with the lowest 20 percent (an average of 10.6 percent of calories from fat). Consuming higher saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat were all associated with lower mortality. Higher fat diets were also associated with a lower risk of stroke.

Study finds vegetarians have twice the rate of depression

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A new study by Bristol University of almost 10,000 men in the south west of England:

Vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms among men

The study full text is paywalled but a Daily Mail article describing the study says this:

Quote:

A study by Bristol University of almost 10,000 men in the south west of England found that those who gave up meat were almost twice as likely to suffer depression as those on a conventional balanced diet. It found the 350 committed vegetarians had a higher average depression score compared to others.

The paper, in the Journal of Affective Disorders, said a veggie diet led to lower intake of vitamin B12 and greater consumption of nuts rich in omega-6 fatty acids, which may be linked with greater risk of mental health problems. The report added: ‘Other potential factors include high blood levels of phytoestrogens – consequent mainly on diets rich in vegetables and soya. Another potential contributing factor is that lower intakes of seafood are thought to be associated with greater risk of depressive symptoms.’ Around one in 20 Britons are committed vegetarians and the majority are women.