Good Calories, Bad Calories (86 page)

Our understanding of the Mediterranean diet: See Wil ett et al. 1995. The Seven Countries Study on Crete: Kafatos et al. 1997. The Rockefel er study: Al baugh 1953 (sugar and flour, 18 and table a.51).

Similar studies in China: See, for instance, You et al. 2000; Chen et al. 1990. Dol and Armstrong’s analysis: Armstrong and Dol 1975. “The degree to which…”: World Cancer Research Fund and American Institute for Cancer Research 1997:379.

“they wouldn’t have a sweet tooth…”: Cleave’s testimony in Select Committee 1973a:248.

Yudkin’s nutrition department first in Europe: Galton 1976:99. This Slimming Business: Yudkin 1958.

“remarkable relationship”: Keys and Anderson 1955:189. Yudkin took Keys to task: Yudkin 1957. Yudkin distanced himself from Cleave: Yudkin testimony in Select Committee 1973a:225. Joslin on diabetics and triglycerides: Joslin 1927. Yudkin’s sugar studies: Akinyanju et al. 1968; Yudkin et al. 1969; Szanto and Yudkin 1969.

“Although there is…”: Masironi 1970.

Keys went after Yudkin: Keys 1971. The Seven Countries Study on sugar: Keys 1980:252–53.

Truswel on fat, sugar, and onions: Truswel 1977.

“Yudkin was so discredited…”: Interview, Sheldon Reiser.

CHAPTER SEVEN:

FIBER

Epigraph. “The thing is…”: Quoted in Sabbagh 2002:130.

Background on the hearings: Interview, Kenneth Schlossberg, then staff director of McGovern’s committee.

Committee hearings on sugar, diabetes, and heart disease: Select Committee 1973a.

“The only question…”: Ibid.:256.

“…die at a very early age”: Ibid.:155.

“direct relationship”: Ibid.:202. “…For a modern disease…”: Ibid.:246.

Yudkin and McGovern dialogue: Ibid.:228–29.

“If men define…”: Thomas and Thomas 1929.

Burkitt’s life story: Galton 1976; Kel ock 1985 (ten-thousand-mile trek, 59–65). “one of the world’s…”: Auerbach 1974.

Dol told Burkitt about Cleave: Galton 1976:6. “perceptive genius…”: Burkitt 1979b:12. “What he was saying…”: Burkitt 1991b. Burkitt tours U.S.

hospitals: Burkitt 1970.

Burkitt testing Cleave’s theory: Burkitt 1991b (“I was able to ask…”). Burkitt 1991a (“anecdotal multiplied…,” “written off…” and “Now, just because…”).

“These ‘western’ diseases…”: Burkitt 1971.

1920 article: Rendle Short 1920.

Appendicitis in Africa and elsewhere: Burkitt 1971 (“very rare in Africa”). See also Burkitt 1969.

Burkitt focused on constipation: Kel ock 1985 (“normal bowel constituents,” 182).

“Finished bowel transit tests…”: Kel ock 1985:134. Burkitt and Walker in Africa: Kel ock 1985:134–35. “more white bread, sugar…”: Walker 1962.

Walker’s BMJ article on bowel motility: Walker and Walker 1969.

“diets containing the natural amount…”: Burkitt et al. 1972.

“Al these diseases…”: Ibid.

Himsworth on Sherlock Holmes: Galton 1976:21. “…simply an integral part…”: Walker et al. 1978.

“three mil ion men…”: Trowel 1981:4. Footnote. Higginson 1997. Trowel ’s list of African diseases: Trowel 1960:465–66.

Trowel ’s African experiences: Galton 1976 (“ancient Egyptians” and “Hundreds of x-rays…,” 63). Trowel first diagnosed heart disease: Trowel 1956. “an amazing spectacle…”: Trowel 1975c.

“Western diseases” and footnote: Trowel and Burkitt 1981a: xiii. Trowel reasoned: Galton 1976:68–69. Fibrous foods harder to chew: Rodale 1974.

Trowel accommodated Keys’s logic: Trowel 1975b (quotes on 221).

“not dismissed completely…”: Trowel 1975a:38. Burkitt said as much: Burkitt 1991a. (“I recognised that when it came to things like coronary heart disease, excess fat was just as important as diminished fibre. But Cleave would never accept that fat played any role in il health at al .”) Fat and absence of fiber could be blamed: Trowel 1975a:25; Trowel 1975b:221.

“major modification”: Trowel and Burkitt 1975:343.

“Special ethnic groups…”: Trowel 1975b:221.

Trowel ’s pair of articles in AJCN: Trowel 1972a; Trowel 1972b. “regenerative” agriculture: Anon. 1990. “The natural fiber…”: Rodale 1973.

“changes in gastrointestinal behavior”: Burkitt et al. 1974. “the tonic for our time”: Auerbach 1974. Reader’s Digest and the reaction: Kel ock 1985:166

–67.

Burkitt’s lecture: Kel ock 1985:175–85 (“catastrophic drop…” and “We eat three times more…,” 180–81).

Burkitt’s disputes over fat or fiber: Kel ock 1985:146–47. “furor over fiber” and “A good diet…”: Mayer and Dwyer 1977.

Forty-seven thousand male health professionals: Giovannucci et al. 1994. Eighty-nine thousand nurses: Fuchs et al. 1999. The half-dozen control trials: McKeown-Eyssen et al. 1994; MacLennan et al. 1995; Alberts et al. 2000; Schatzkin et al. 2000; Bonithon-Kopp et al. 2000; Pfeiffer et al. 2003. Fruits and vegetables: Michels et al. 2000. The WHI results: Beresford et al. 2006; Howard, Van Horn, et al. 2006; Howard, Manson, et al. 2006; Prentice et al.

2006.

“Burkitt’s hypothesis…”: Interview, Richard Dol .

NEJM editorial: Byers 2000.

“Observational studies…”: Ibid. The American Cancer Society recommendations: Byers and Doyle 2003. The NCI recommendations for preventing colorectal cancer can be found at http://www.nci.nih.gov/cancerinfo/pdq/prevention/colorectal/ patient/.

“Scientists have known…”: Boodman 1998.

Negative news in Times: Stolberg 1999; Kolata 2000b. “If preventing colon cancer…”: Brody 2000. “Keep the Fiber Bandwagon…”: Brody 1999a.

“Health Advice…”: Kolata 2000a.

“Plenty of Reasons…”: Burros 2000. “Vindication for the Maligned…”: Brody 2000. By 2004, Brody advocating fiber: Brody 2004b.

CHAPTER EIGHT:

THE SCIENCE OF THE CARBOHYDRATE HYPOTHESIS

Epigraph. “Forming hypotheses…”: Kleiber 1961:273.

Tokelau: The primary sources for Tokelau and the Tokelau Island Migration Study are Wessen et al. 1992 (U.S. Exploration Expedition, 37–40); Hunstman and Hooper 1996 (details of TIMS, 1–20; staples of the diet, 286–94); Wessen 2001.

TIMS a remarkably complete study: Wessen et al. 1992:18 (99 percent of al known Tokelauns were examined in round one and 82 percent by round three).

Dietary changes on Tokelau: Wessen et al. 1992:288–94 (pounds of fish, 30).

In the decades that fol owed: Tuia 2001; Wessen et al. 1992 (modern medical services, 267; cholesterol 306–10; weight changes, 299; Cenpac Rounder, 290–91).

Migrants to New Zealand: Wessen et al. 1992 (“immediate and extensive changes,” 291; “exceptional y high incidence…” and “migrants were at higher risk…,” 377–78). “…big increase in sucrose consumption”: Prior et al. 1978.

A number of factors: Wessen et al. 1992:383–88 (“substantial y higher” and “in fact, obesity…,” 384; migrant lifestyle rigorous, 295–96; saturated fat, 292).

Difficult to explain simply: Ibid.:384–86 (“that a different set…,” 384).

Cleave’s saccharine disease: Cleave and Campbel 1966 (simplest possible explanation, 6–13).

Proposed the name Syndrome X: Reaven 1988. Over the years: Reaven 2005.

NHLBI belatedly recognized: NCEP 2002. Footnote. The first time: Sugarman 1999. The second time: Lindner 2001. A couple of thousand: LexisNexis search, over seventeen hundred articles between 1977, the beginning of the database for the Washington Post, and November 23, 1999, that included the word “cholesterol” in the headline, lead paragraph, or search terms.

“What you’re faced with…”: Interview, Scott Grundy.

“concept of the nature…”: Krebs 1971.

Bernard observed: Bernard 1957; Bernard 1974 (“harmonious ensemble” and “with such a degree of perfection…,” 48). The Cooks’ translation of Bernard is occasional y awkward, and so I have used Cannon’s translation—“Al the vital mechanisms…,”—which is from Cannon 1939:38. “No more pregnant sentence…”: Quoted in Cannon 1939:38. Cannon also discussed homeostasis in Cannon 1929.

“Somehow the unstable stuff…”: Cannon 1939:23.

Homeostasis and body temperature: See, for instance, Greene 1970:23–29.

Homeostasis, hypothalamus, and hormonal functions: Wilson et al. 1998. Hormonal effects on fuel partitioning: Newsholme and Stuart 1973:329–36.

Role of insulin: Catt 1971:106–21.

Yudkin observed: Yudkin 1986:116.

“The changing dietary patterns…”: Neel 1999.

“We real y must learn…”: Bernard 1957:89. “the wholeness of the organism…”: Krebs 1971.

Hypertension as “insulin-resistant state”: McFarlane et al. 2005. Relationship among hypertension, triglycerides, cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease: Rocchini 1998; Hal et al. 2003; Wilson et al. 1998.

Textbooks recommend salt reduction: See, for instance, McFarlane et al. 2005. Century-old salt hypothesis: See, for instance, Foster 1922. Salt binge increases blood pressure: Interview, Franklin Epstein. For a more comprehensive treatment of the salt/blood pressure, see Taubes 1998.

“inconclusive and contradictory”: Stamler 1967:261. “inconsistent…”: Cooper et al. 1983. “the deadly white powder”: Jacobson 1978. Systematic reviews: See, for instance, Graudal et al. 1998; He and MacGregor 2004.

Donnison on blood pressure in African natives: Donnison 1938:15–17; Donnison 1929 (“It tends to come down…”). Observations confirmed: See, for instance, Page et al. 1974.

Hypertension in Kenya and Uganda: Trowel 1981.

Donnison on the stress of civilized life: Donnison 1938:43–46. Absence of hypertension as compel ing evidence: Intersalt Cooperative Research Group 1988; Taubes 1998; Colburn 1995. (To the question whether salt raises blood pressure, Jeremiah Stamler responds, “Even if you stand on your head, the answer is yes.” He then says that the most compel ing evidence is that “populations that habitual y take in a lot of salt have blood pressures that are higher than other populations that take in less salt.”).

Shaper’s studies: Shaper 1967; Shaper et al. 1969. Prior’s studies: Prior et al. 1964; Prior 1971. “the antecedents of cardiovascular disease…”: Page et al. 1974.

Voit on carbohydrates and blood pressure: Rony 1940:154. “With diets predominantly carbohydrate…”: Benedict et al. 1919:195. New generation: Kekwick and Pawan 1957. Rationalize popularity: See, for instance, Anon. 1973.

“remarkable sodium and water…”: Gordon 1964:1301. Bloom’s research: Bloom 1962; Bloom 1967.

“low blood pressure resulting…”: White and Selvey 1974:48. “fluid balance” and “avoid large shifts…”: Dwyer and Lu 1993:246. Insulin and sodium metabolism: See DeFronzo 1981b for a review. Insulin higher in hypertensives: Welborn et al. 1966.

“the major pathogenic defect…”: Christlieb et al. 1994.

Insulin-induced hypertension in textbooks: Randal 1973. Focus on salt hypothesis: kark and Oyama 1973. “One claim…”: Bray 1978. Low-calorie diets recommended to reduce blood pressure: DeFronzo 1981a. “carbohydrate overeating”: Kolanowski 1981.

Landsberg’s research: Landsberg 1986; Landsberg 2001; Interview, Lewis Landsberg.

CHAPTER NINE:

TRIGLYCERIDES AND THE COMPLICATIONS OF CHOLESTEROL

Epigraph. “Oversimplification has been…”: McCol um 1957:37.

Gofman’s Science article: Gofman and Lindgren 1950.

Gofman’s background: Interview, John Gofman.

“At a particular cholesterol level…”: Gofman and Lindgren 1950.

Test carried out by four groups: Cooperative Study of Lipoproteins and Atherosclerosis 1956.

Split between Gofman and other investigators: Interviews, John Gofman and Max Lauffer.

Four groups published a report: Cooperative Study of Lipoproteins and Atherosclerosis 1956 (“The lipoprotein measurements are so complex…,” 724).

“While it is true…”: Gofman et al. 1958:29–30.

Carbohydrates elevate VLDL: Gofman 1958.

“carbohydrate factor”: Ibid.

Measurement of total cholesterol: Ibid. (“false and highly…,” 281; “generalizations such as…,” 273); Gofman et al. 1958 (“Neglect of…,” 45). 157 “that the lipemic plasma…”: Ahrens et al. 1961. “The percent of fat…”: Joslin 1927.

“an exaggerated form…”: Ahrens et al. 1961.

“especial y in the areas…”: Ibid. “We know of no solid…”: Ahrens et al. 1957.

Peters a “contrarian”: Interview, Margaret Albrink. Albrink’s research: Albrink 1963; Albrink 1962.

“Rockefel er Institute Report…”: Osmundsen 1961. “…brought the house down…”: Interview, Margaret Albrink.

Albrink’s results confirmed: Kuo 1967; Carlson and Bottiger 1972; Goldstein et al. 1973. JAMA published an editorial: Anon. 1967.

No consideration to alternative hypothesis: See Bishop 1961; Baker et al. 1963. Seven Countries Study: Keys 1970:I-7.

Five-part NEJM series: Fredrickson et al. 1967a–e. 161 Four of the five lipoprotein disorders: Fredrickson et al. 1967c:149 (table 2). Warned against low-fat diets: See, for instance, Fredrickson et al. 1967b:219. “sometimes considered synonymous…”: Fredrickson et al. 1967a:273. “Patients with this syndrome…”: Lees and Wilson 1971. Footnote. Select Committee 1976:37.

HDL protection against heart disease proposed: Barr et al. 1951a and b. Confirmed: See, for instance, Nikkila 1953; Gofman et al. 1966; Levy et al.

1966.

“negative relation…”: Gordon 1988. Footnote. Gordon 1988; Interview, Tavia Gordon.

Controls from al five populations: Castel i et al. 1977. Evidence from Framingham alone: Gordon et al. 1977 (“total cholesterol per se…,” 712; “marginal,”

710).162 “striking” revelation and “Of al the lipoproteins…”: Gordon et al. 1977:707.

“fragmentary information…”: Castel i et al. 1977. See also Hul ey et al. 1972.

HDL directing attention away from triglycerides: See Hul ey et al. 1980.

“…greeted with a silence…”: Interview, Tavia Gordon.

“the findings re-emphasize…”: Brody 1977.

VA twenty-center trial of gemfibrozil: Rubins et al. 1999.

Lowering LDL appears more important: See, for instance, NCEP 2002:I -11.

“Whatever the underlying disorder…”: Kannel et al. 1979.

Justifying total-cholesterol measurements: Gordon 1988. “marginal risk factor”: Gordon et al. 1977:710. “powerful predictor” and “a significant contribution…”: Kannel et al. 1979. Footnote. NCEP 2002:I -1.

“lipid profile”: See, for instance, Kannel and Castel i 1979. Added little predictive power: Gordon et al. 1977:710 (table VI I).