Western diet=metabolic syndrome
It should come as no small surprise that your food choices have a direct—and potentially devastating—impact on your overall risk factors for disease. A recent study published in the journal Circulation proves that fact yet again. Researchers found that eating a "typical Western diet" increases your risk of developing heart disease and diabetes.
Researchers measured the food intake of 9,514 participants who were taking part in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study.
Each participant was given a 66-item food-frequency questionnaire in which they were categorized into one of two groups: a Western-style (Standard American) diet, or what they termed a "prudent-pattern" diet.
To refresh your memory, a Western-style diet would include mostly processed and refined foods, lots of fried selections and sugar-y, chemical-laden sodas. A prudent diet included fruits and vegetables, wholesome grain choices, fish and seafood.
Researchers followed the participants, ranging in age from 45 to 64 at the start of the study, for nine years.
Obviously, the Western-style diet was conducive to metabolic syndrome. (Did you think I'd uncovered research showing it was healthy? Fat chance!) In fact, from the beginning to the end of the study period, over 60 percent of those in the Western diet group had three or more risk factors for metabolic syndrome. (Metabolic syndrome is a whole group of factors that increase your risk of heart disease and diabetes. And once metabolic syndrome takes hold in your body, the horse is out of the barn and a real challenge to rein in.)
Granted, this is the age-range where we all try to fend off the "middle-age spread." But the research group worked to adjust for the different factors that could lead to metabolic syndrome, honing in on diet choices specifically.
The researchers found that those who ate two or more servings of meat per day, increased their risk by 26 percent over those who ate meat only twice per week. And those who ate fried foods had a 25 percent higher risk.
But here's what I found especially interesting: Those who drank one can of DIET SODA a day increased their risk of getting metabolic syndrome by 34 percent while those who drank regular soda did NOT increase their risk at all. So much for diet soda being a "better" choice. Forget it, because it's loaded with unnatural chemicals anyway.
But I don't think there's any reason to throw in the towel entirely on meat, considering that there are many benefits associated with the healthier options that are available. Aim for beef that comes from pasture-fed cows, as it's leaps and bounds more healthy than what comes from animals raised on barbaric feedlots. Also, range-fed chickens provide a healthier poultry choice.
