Support NeoGAF

[entremet]

So my dad just had a heart attack (got him the the hospital quick so he's fine, had to put a stent in his artery though).

My grandfather died of a heart attack.

wtf should I eat?

What do you eat now?

I would make sure you manage your stress well and get good sleep, stay away from fried foods especially fast and package stuff. Do your shopping and around the perimeter of the supermarket. And stay active. And avoid excess sugars like the plague.

 

[ThreePiMatt]

Keep a small piece on your counter like this:

It will take 10 days or so before it goes rancid.

As much as I love good spreadable butter, there is no way I could go through a whole stick in 10 days. I would throw away so much butter.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

So my dad just had a heart attack (got him the the hospital quick so he's fine, had to put a stent in his artery though).

My grandfather died of a heart attack.

wtf should I eat?

In all honesty, there is no conclusive proof that a person's diet can have any major effect on their chance for having a heart attack. The truth is that we do not know what causes heart disease, but we do know that dietary fat and cholesterol do not. It seems like a large part of your chances depend on genetics, unfortunately.

 

[inm8num2]

Always best to pay attention to ingredients and how the food is made, rather than just looking at the fat content.

 

[K.Sabot]

At this point I'm gonna eat what I'm gonna eat and die when I'm gonna die I guess.

Celery4ever

 

[Septimius]

So my dad just had a heart attack (got him the the hospital quick so he's fine, had to put a stent in his artery though).

My grandfather died of a heart attack.

wtf should I eat?

You should eat as little sugar as possible. That's probably most important. There are books like "Suicide by sugar" and a lecture called "Sugar: The Bitter Truth" (youtube) that shows why sugar and especially HFCS is bad. It can lead to hypertension and cardiovascular disease, since processing fructose creates bad cholesterol.

 

[ChainedMaster]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: take every dietary "study" with a grain a salt.

 

[GodofWine]

Long live my tub of virgin coconut oil.

And i agree on the added sugars thing. sugars are going to eventually be the cause of all ailments.

 

[Maxim726X]

Thanks for this valuable and informative post.

From what I've read, the Mediterranean diet seems to be best for those with a history of heart disease.

See your primary, get some blood tests. Even if there is precedence in your family, much of atherosclerosis can be avoided early if you know what's going on (i.e. familial hypercholesterolemia or high triglycerides). Odds are, there is some abnormality with cholesterol/lipid degradation that runs in the family. Find out what that is.

Also, given the family history- You should probably seek a cardiologist to monitor you regularly.

In all honesty, there is no conclusive proof that a person's diet can have any major effect on their chance for having a heart attack. The truth is that we do not know what causes heart disease, but we do know that dietary fat and cholesterol do not. It seems like a large part of your chances depend on genetics, unfortunately.

Not entirely true, as there are certain conditions that predispose some to coronary artery disease and thus heart problems.

 

[ThoseDeafMutes]

I was at a talk on the relationship between diet and dementia on Friday. The guy concluded with something to the effect of "My results tell me that consuming full fat dairy increases your risk, but have no mechanisms by which this can be explained and think this result is basically crap."

:lol

 

[Cooter]

Old news. The more studies we have the better though. I would love for the narrative to finally change on this issue.

 

[Septimius]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: take every dietary "study" with a grain a salt.

But excess salt is dangerous, according to a dietary study!

 

[Messofanego]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: take every dietary "study" with a grain a salt.

Not too much, though.

 

[teh_pwn]

Selfy tag quote

 

[Napoleonthechimp]

I was at a talk on the relationship between diet and dementia on Friday. The guy concluded with something to the effect of "My results tell me that consuming full fat dairy increases your risk, but have no mechanisms by which this can be explained and think this result is basically crap."

:lol

He should get in touch with Ken Ham. I imagine they'd get along well.

 

[aceface]

Thanks for the tips guys. It just drives me nuts cause my dad ate a low fat diet pretty well and yet had an artery 99% blocked. Then I see this study and it's like, what's the point, am I just fucked because of genetics?

 

[kirblar]

Thanks for the tips guys. It just drives me nuts cause my dad ate a low fat diet pretty well and yet had an artery 99% blocked. Then I see this study and it's like, what's the point, am I just fucked because of genetics?

Just keep on top of your health. You can't change genetics, but you can keep yourself informed.

 

[IceCold]

Thanks for the tips guys. It just drives me nuts cause my dad ate a low fat diet pretty well and yet had an artery 99% blocked. Then I see this study and it's like, what's the point, am I just fucked because of genetics?

Can this stuff be predicted through a blood test? If so, then you could try a certain diet + exercise and after a couple of months have a blood test done. Usually when you are young you can eat pretty much whatever you want though. It's only once you reach your 30s+ that health issues such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol start to appear. That's why having a family doctor is so important. Yearly checkups can help you prevent health issues.

 

[aceface]

Can this stuff be predicted through a blood test? If so, then you could try a certain diet + exercise and after a couple of months have a blood test done. Usually when you are young you can eat pretty much whatever you want though. It's only once you reach your 30s+ that health issues such as high blood pressure or high cholesterol start to appear. That's why having a family doctor is so important. Yearly checkups can help you prevent health issues.

Yeah I'm 34 and haven't seen a doctor in ages. Definitely going soon to get on top of this stuff.

 

[Tragicomedy]

So my dad just had a heart attack (got him the the hospital quick so he's fine, had to put a stent in his artery though).

My grandfather died of a heart attack.

wtf should I eat?

I realize that there are a million different studies arguing for a million different dietary choices, but the one with the most support for a healthy heart is the vegetarian/vegan route.

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
ABC synopsis of the study.

The vegetarian diet is heart-healthy and easily sustainable. The vegetarian diet can also be complete garbage if you sit around eating potato chips instead of healthy fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, etc.

I've been on the diet for nearing four years now and it has done wonders for my health
(both anecdotally and also measured in blood work). I will confess that I do take a vitamin B12 supplement in the mornings, since I don't drink regular milk or eat cereal very often.

 

[bigsnack]

Inflammation causes damage to the artery walls, and cholesterol is a symptom of that inflammation. The body sends over cholesterol to help repair cell damage caused by inflammation. Depending on your diet, your cholesterol make up will either be large and fluffy (HDL as well as larger sized LDL), or small and dense (triglycerides and smaller sized LDL). If your cholesterol is small enough and dense enough, and if the artery walls are damaged to the point of tearing, the cholesterol will get stuck behind the lesions of the artery wall while trying to repair it.

My recommendation is to eat foods that lower inflammation, as well as raise HDL and lower triglycerides. Total cholesterol is not a reliable indicator of overall health, as one can actually have a high LDL count made up of larger, fluffier LDL.

FWIW, I have been eating a low / no refined sugar / carbs diet for almost 18 months, and my cholesterol is higher than it has ever been (240). That being said, my HDL is at an all-time high, my triglycerides are at an all-time low, and my LDL particles are made up of larger, fluffier cholesterol. This was confirmed with a test, so it's not just a guess.

 

[God Dayumm]

Pretty much. Every day you hear a report or study coming out declaring something to be incredibly unhealthy or surprisingly healthy.

It's because most of these reports are based on statistical data rather than biomolecular analysis. They are like "in this controlled population from an obscure asian town, people who consume more carbs daily live 2 years longer in average". Then they don't define the biological or genetic parameters of the study, such as what was the insulin response of each test subject and testosterone levels, etc.

 

[plagiarize]

It's because most of these reports are based on statistical data rather than biomolecular analysis. They are like "in this controlled population from an obscure asian town, people who consume more carbs daily live 2 years longer in average". Then they don't define the biological or genetic parameters of the study, such as what was the insulin response of each test subject and testosterone levels, etc.

the problem with studies on diet and exercise (and why they all tend to be based on statistical analysis like this) is you can't do a double blind test to find out if vegetables are good for you.

everyone told to stop eating vegetables will know what's up, and any built in biases will invalidate your results. it's why we don't really know if stretching before exercise is good for you or not. if you know what group you're in, it fucks the whole thing.

so statistical analysis, or identifying specific pathways in human biology are where it's at. allowing anyone with any agenda, to push it, sadly.

but what else can you really do? everybody thinks they know their own body better than 'some Doctor'. I don't see a way around it.

 

[ZealousD]

the problem with studies on diet and exercise (and why they all tend to be based on statistical analysis like this) is you can't do a double blind test to find out if vegetables are good for you.

everyone told to stop eating vegetables will know what's up, and any built in biases will invalidate your results. it's why we don't really know if stretching before exercise is good for you or not. if you know what group you're in, it fucks the whole thing.

so statistical analysis, or identifying specific pathways in human biology are where it's at. allowing anyone with any agenda, to push it, sadly.

but what else can you really do? everybody thinks they know their own body better than 'some Doctor'. I don't see a way around it.

There's also the ethical concerns. Imagine dying at an early age because you were in a very long study that needed to measure mortality rates based on diet.

All of these studies are essentially metadata analysis. You can't get proof, only a strong inference.