Doubts Linger on Oat Bran Study
Several prominent scientists have called into question a recent Harvard study reporting that oat bran does not really lower cholesterol.
The Harvard study concluded that high-fiber oat bran was no better than low-fiber wheat foods in reducing cholesterol.
Actually, the study showed that oat bran had an enormous impact on cholesterol by improving the critical ratio of bad LDL-cholesterol to good HDL-cholesterol by about 8%, said Dr. David Kritchevsky of Philadelphia’s Wistar Institute.
Harvard professor Dr. George Blackburn said the Harvard study was loaded against oat bran because people on the oat-bran diet ate about 20% more fat than the Cream of Wheat eaters.
Calling both the statistics and the arithmetic in the study incorrect, Dr. James Anderson of the University of Kentucky said there are now 12 studies showing that oat bran does lower blood cholesterol.
“It’s absurd to let one bad study wipe out all the positive evidence in favor of oat bran,” Kritchevsky added.
Heavy drinkers who have a diet low in copper may be particularly vulnerable to heart damage due to alcoholism. That’s the implication of a new animal study by biochemist Meira Fields of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
In fact, Fields found that rats eating adequate amounts of copper “were protected from heart damage” even though they drank 20% alcohol instead of water.
On the other hand, rats lacking copper suffered damaged heart muscle and other internal ravages from the alcohol.
Since it’s well known that alcoholics commonly have damaged hearts, it may be, says Fields, that a deficiency in copper aggravates the harm. “Unfortunately,” she says, “most Americans are very deficient in copper, but it’s no problem if we don’t drink too much or eat too much sugar.” Yes, sugar in previous animal experiments, wrecked the hearts of animals deficient in copper.
Best sources of copper: oysters, liver, blackstrap molasses, black pepper, nuts and legumes.
Don’t rely on copper supplements, warns Fields. They often contain the wrong type of copper to do any good.
The good news: If you’re a typical American, you are eating more fish--about 6 1/2 pounds more a year than Americans ate in 1935.
The bad news: You’re most likely eating more of the “lean” fish (cod, haddock, flounder) and less of the fattier fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines) than Americans did 50 years ago, according to Nancy Raper at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
If so, you’re cheating yourself of fish’s Omega-3-type oil, which scientists believe helps protect you from numerous diseases, especially heart disease. Fattier fishes contain much more Omega-3 oils.
Studies show that the Japanese, who have low rates of heart disease, eat from 1,000 to 1,500 milligrams of Omega-3 a day, mostly from seafood. That’s at least 10 times more than Americans typically eat. One study found that 20% of average middle-aged American men eat no fish at all.
