Does FIBER really impact Heart Attack Risk?

Does FIBER really impact Heart Attack Risk?


This is part 1 in a series on fiber. I
got started on this (most recently at least) by a viewer – STRINGS41 and I guess that’s a
he. I think so because the comment, “Dr. Brewer thank you for your education.
This is off the subject but the latest research showing up in the press
indicates a strong need for lots of fiber in one’s diet, like 30 grams per
day for a senior male. (That’s why I think strings41 is a male.) It seems to me that
this amount will be difficult to attain on a low-carb diet for insulin
resistance. Your thoughts? ” John Lorscheider manages the channel and does a
great job. He’s researched everything. Yes fiber is important and
also found that it can be a challenge getting enough on a low-carb diet
I would agree I think all of us have had that challenge especially as you start
getting selective about which fruits and vegetables you actually eat. When you
start worrying about apples and grapes and even carrots and beets! I sometimes
get adequate fiber and sometimes I don’t. Stick to the low glycemic vegetables and
have high fiber. Then he gives a a link to a group called – low low carb diet
doctor the best and the worst. To go back –
he also says, ” if I fall short there is a very good fiber supplement that I use on
a daily basis.” and he gets that it Iherb it’s Yerba Prime Daily.
That’s John’s perspective. He also said it has no additives and exercise and
increased water take will help bowel transit time and I I get significant
impact from both those – especially exercise and water intake, but here we go.
So thanks for your recommendations strings 41. Then I have to add I have to
pipe up from the back and say well I use psyllium fiber.
and here is the psyllium fiber that I use. I put it in water or tea every day
and drink it. it’s not pretty and it’s not tasty. it’s icky and you got to drink
it fast – or it turns into a gunk. But I still do it every day I also put it in
biscuits and things like that. those biscuits by the way are no carb
biscuits – made from coconut flour which is also all fiber – no carbs
now then SUNNY SKIES goes into. “flax seeds are a great source.” A lot of
discussion about flax seeds, chia seeds etc. Then Kenny Charles comes in with
“haven’t you heard that flax seeds raise estrogen levels in men and women? and
obviously men don’t want to have those raised. ” and so here we go down the path Kenny Charles and sunny skies then
continue to just go back and forth about this and again I felt like the guy on
the old Shrek trailer where he’s in the back of the crowd jumping up and down
trying to get attention and I say, “why focus on flax? can’t you get all the
fiber you need with psyllium husk?” Kenny Charles says, “I most likely can but sunny
skies says I prefer flax seeds now.” What is all of this focus on
psyllium fiber? I went back to one of the old classic articles in this
area and it raised a whole new set of questions for me. the American Journal of
Nutrition published an article way back in 2000 almost 20 years ago – the American
Journal of Clinical Nutrition June 2001 term Cholesterol-Lowering Effects of
Psyllium as an Adjunct to Diet Therapy on the treatment of Hypercholesterolemia.
that article has probably been quoted more than any other article about the heart protective effects of
fiber I remember going back to Brad & Amy’s
presentations a couple times and Brad talked about adding fiber to decrease – I
believe he was talking about cholesterol now. in retrospect he must have been and
I just gave you a tip to the question – that I’ve that I’ve now come across with
and that is is the the most quoted article talks about LDL! So how do we
really know that fiber is that helpful for heart attack and stroke prevention?
It turns out that there’s evidence that it is. but I can’t cover all those
articles in just one video. so I’m going to get through this article, make a
couple of other comments wrap it up. then we’ll get into some of the other
evidence about fiber a little bit later. so what was this article about – the background hypercholesterolemia is a major risk
factor for coronary heart disease – and nutrition management in the initial
therapeutic approach now if you’ve spent any time on this channel and if you’re
up to date with the most recent heart attack and stroke prevention research you begin – you say well how “major” a
risk factor is it? and probably not a major risk factor! yes it can be for
folks with a familial hypercholesterolemia with a significant
genetic problem. but for the vast majority of the folks it’s not I’ll
cover a couple of other things that I’m going to go back to this point and again
if it’s all LDL then is psyllium or is fiber really that important? the
objective here in this study the 2,000 study in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition that was quoted so often it was a multicenter trial
evaluating long-term effective effectiveness of
psyllium husk fiber is an adjunct to the diet in the treatment of persons with
primary hypercholesterolemia. so what they are doing is picking people with
primary hypercholesterolemia eligible subject had concentrations 3.36 to 4.9 millimoles per liter and of LDL – they
were randomly assigned to receive either 5.1 grams of psyllium or a cellulose
placebo twice daily for twenty six weeks while continuing diet therapy
the results were serum total and LDL cholesterol concert concentrations were
four point seven percent and six point seven percent lower in the cilium group
than in the placebo group after 24 to 26 weeks the probability of this was point
zero zero zero one other outcome measurements did not differ significantly between the groups. conclusions ? – treatment with
psyllium fiber twice daily produces significant net results. now what
they did – they had two steps the first step was eight weeks of a diet. American Heart Association diet
which I also have some problems with. again it’s like the ADA diet American
Diabetes Association diet – unless I’m mistaken they both still have way too
many carbs in. – now so again I’ve hit these things from the side several times
let me go ahead and hit it straight on again the key evidence that’s been
quoted for twenty years in terms of psyooium fiber in the diet being good
for your heart one of the major articles has been this
one it’s where they put people on a diet then they added fiber and then they saw
a decrease in their LDL. My perspective is with new research
indicating that LDL is important – but not nearly as important as carbs and
cardiovascular inflammation – then what does this actually show us? I would
say it does show you that you do get a decrease in cholestero. But as I’ve said
before I’m not sure that that – in and of itself – is a major protectant from heart
attack and stroke so where do we go from here? well I have to I do have to put in
a plug there are meta analyses that we’ll talk about in in further videos –
further studies and there’s some other studies that we’ll talk about as well
there is evidence that it does actually protect from heart attack and stroke but
we’ll get to that at another point. I do have to say this I’ve had a couple of
different videos where I’ve mentioned this. one thing that people give me
feedback on is sometimes a little too technical a little too dry so I’ve been
working on that I went to read some of the great speeches some of the great
visionaries Mahatma Gandhi Martin Luther King John F Kennedy and if you don’t
like any of their politics there are other people too that are just –
(I tend to be actually lean libertarian conservative in my politics) but anyhow
that’s here’s the thing it’s Martin Luther King Day or it was yesterday. I’m
at the beach and I have to make a comment I have a dream, too! I have a
dream where patients will come to me and they won’t weigh 250 pounds –
they won’t weigh 300 pounds – they will have at one point but they will have
lost that weight – they’ll have become comfortable with the fact that we don’t
have to eat every day! Many of them will have lost that weight
through combinations of mimic fasting and every other day water fasting.
Most – if not all – will understand their carbohydrate metabolism. Most of them
will have already started continuous glucose monitoring. We will have dealt
with insulin resistance as a major cause – the major cause of heart attack and
stroke risk so – yes – I have a dream too ! and I hope no one is offended by this comparison again – my the
the effort here is is one in earnest I forgot what the numbers are if you go
somewhere just beyond that the Washington Monument in the background
here you see the Vietnam Memorial. That War Memorial – another
political event – more than a political event- it tore the country to pieces – why
am i bringing that up? as you heard David say( David Meinz) in his presentation – we
have the equivalent of a Vietnam War – in terms of the numbers of death and
disability what is every two weeks (it’s every 3 weeks, really) It’s an incredible number! but yet what
are we doing about it? we think heart attack and stroke are just something
that you can’t predict – something that’s going to happen – and just part of daily
life. Well you know what I think? We need to create a new vision! Thank You -for
your interest and thank you thank you for your patience with me as I help I
tried to push this agenda!