Never mind the tablets - heart disease could be cut by 76% and men could expect to live more than six years longer if they simply ate the right meal once a day, doctors said yesterday.
Last year the British Medical Journal ran a paper advocating the "Polypill" - combining aspirin, folic acid and cholesterol-lowering and blood-pressure drugs - for everybody over 55. But an article in the Christmas issue says a "Polymeal", containing fish, wine, dark chocolate, fruits and vegetables, garlic and almonds, would achieve roughly the same effect.
Note that the diet (assuming it works) would do this by delaying heart heart disease by an even greater number of years. A delay in the onset of heart disease would then allow time for other diseases to kill before heart disease developed to the point of being fatal.
However, a diet that reduces the risk of heart disease probably reduces the risk of a number of other diseases as well. So this diet might provide an even larger benefit than these researchers project. On the other hand, the various components of the diet may provide benefits that are not additive to the extent that these researchers assume. So the benefit could be less than they project.
Note that in order to get the benefit you would need to follow the diet for years, decades even. Also, if you already have very low cholesterol and low blood pressure I would not expect much of a benefit.
The Polymeal Diet was developed to be an alternative to the Polypill.
Oscar Franco, a public health scientist at the University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and his colleagues suggest the "Polymeal" as a natural alternative to the "Polypill".
This wonder pill - a cocktail of six existing drugs - was proposed in June 2003 as a preventive pill which might slash the risk of heart attack or stroke in people over 55 years old by as much as 80%. The proposal was underpinned by an analysis of over 750 trials of the existing drugs.
The polypill is made up of aspirin, folic acid (a vitamin that would lower homocysteine in the blood), a statin (to lower cholesterol; e.g. Crestor or Lipitor), and three blood pressure lowering medicines. The Polypill brings with it a number of risks including stomach bleeding from the aspirin and muscle problems from a statin.
The recommended daily "dosage" is 150 milliliters of wine, 100 grams of dark (nondairy) chocolate, 400 g. of fruits and vegetables, 2.7 g. of fresh or frozen garlic, 68 g. of almonds and 114 g. of fish four times a week.
Milk in chocolate is believed to counter the beneficial antioxidant effects of bittersweet chocolate, which is known to reduce blood pressure.
Garlic reduces cholesterol, and fresh produce cuts both that and blood pressure, the authors wrote.
My advice? I think anyone considering the Polymeal Diet ought to first consider the Ape Diet to lower cholesterol and inflammation. The Ape Diet has a fair amount of overlap with the Polymeal Diet but will probably exert a stronger cholesterol lowering effect. Though the two could probably be blended. One could eat the Ape Diet with a few of the elements from the Polymeal Diet that are not specifically called out in the Ape Diet.
The most important thing to keep in mind about diet improvements is that you should pursue sustainable improvements. If you think you will stay on a diet only for a few months before tiring of it then there isn't much point pursuing it. But if there are parts of one of these diets you think you could sustain without any feeling of constant sacrifice then certainly start doing those parts.
About the wine in the Polymeal Diet: It should be red wine in order to get the antioxidant resveratrol. My guess is that consuming dark grape juice may work just as well and using a lot of red wine vinegar may also deliver the resveratrol and other antioxidants found in red wine.
As for the chocolate: Some of the dark chocolates have a lot of their flavonoids removed during processing. The company that makes Doves chocolates has made an effort to preserve the flavonoids and it is likely that Doves Dark Promises provides more benefit than most other dark chocolates. Their point about eating dark bittersweet chocolate has to be taken seriously. One would need to eat more milk chocolate to get the same amount of chocolate as dark chocolate contains. The less sweet the chocolate the better because fewer calories would then need to be consumed to get the flavonoid compounds that are thought to be providing health benefits. However, I am still skeptical about the benefits of chocolate for the vascular system since the vasodilation effect is transitory according to accounts I've read. If anyone has more certain information about this then please post a comment.
As for the fish: Check out my favorite FDA table on fish mercury levels (and this fish mercury chart too) and avoid high mercury fish.
Update: Let me amend what I said above about grape juice and vinegar. Grape juice may not be a useful source of resveratrol.
The resveratrol content of wine is related to the length of time the grape skins are present during the fermentation process. Thus the concentration is significantly higher in red wine than in white wine, because the skins are removed earlier during white-wine production, lessening the amount that is extracted [3]. Grape juice, which is not a fermented beverage, is not a significant source of resveratrol. A fluid ounce of red wine averages 160 µg of resveratrol, compared to peanuts, which average 73 µg per ounce [6]. Since wine is the most notable dietary source, it is the object of much speculation and research.
Also, there are apparently at least two ways to make vinegar. One involves exposure to air and may destroy the resveratrol. I do not know which method of making vinegar is most common. But vinegar does not appear to be a reliable source of resveratrol. If you do not want to drink red wine there is at least one commercial red wine extract whose maker claims it preserves resveratrol.
Even among red wines the concentration of resveratrol can vary by more than an order of magnitude. Red grapes grown in colder conditions and for longer periods of fermentation have higher concentrations of resveratrol. If anyone comes across a table listing resveratrol concentration by wine brand and vintage please post a comment with a link to it.
By Randall Parker at 2004 December 19 12:52 PM Aging Diet Studies | TrackBack“My guess is that consuming dark grape juice may work just as well and using a lot of red wine vinegar may also deliver the resveratrol and other antioxidants found in red wine.”
I’ve read that taking resveratrol without the wine isn’t very effective.
Here’s an article that discusses resveratrol issues:
http://www.dragonflymedia.com/em/em2007/eh_lead2007.html
As I’m not a wine drinker and would like the benefit of resveratrol without the alcohol, I’m interested in research as to whether red grapes, grape juice, or raisins have benefit. (I tend to believe they don’t since the resveratrol doesn’t seem to be preserved without the wine.)
Well, a moderate amount of wine is probably good for you but the PolyMeal.....!??!
see http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/329/7480/1447?ehom and scroll down to the "Rapid Responses".
Eat the steak, leave the chips.http://paleodiet.com/ Drink the wine, forget the beer. http://www.lowcarbportal.com/archives/2004/11/14/eggs_marvellous_eggs.phpGobble the butter, NEVER eat marge.http://www.lowcarbportal.com/archives/2004/11/09/more_saturated_fat_less_coronary_artery_disease.php
DO NOT LISTEN TO GOVERNMENT DIET ADVICE. THEY ARE THE CLOWNS WHO MADE YOU FAT. IF LOWFAT DIET ADVICE HAD BEEN CORRECT CORRECT THE WEST WOULD NOT BE OBESE.
Perhaps a crazy question... but what about just eating the grapes? The hard part seems to be knowning the resveratrol content of the particular grape or wine.
Here are a few references for a selection of red wines with high concentrations of resveratrol
Frank's Pinot Noir proven healthiest wine
http://www.drfrankwines.com/reference/meridenrj.html
Wine Lengthens Your Life
http://cms.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20030902-000008.html
Looks like I was right again. Have been telling my customers that each glass of my unfiltered Sierra Syrah will extend your lifespan for about 18 hours. Just keep up the dosage!
You say:
"A delay in the onset of heart disease would then allow time for other diseases to kill before heart disease developed to the point of being fatal."
Where is your evidence for this? It may just delay the onset of heart disease, but heart disease may get you in the end.
"Also, if you already have very low cholesterol and low blood pressure I would not expect much of a benefit."
Where is your evidence for this? The BMJ paper did not make this caveat.
"Garlic reduces cholesterol, and fresh produce cuts both that and blood pressure"
Fresh produce? Where does the paper mention fresh produce? The paper is very unspecific about type of fish, fruit and veg to eat. For instance, it does not say whether tinned salmon or fresh cod count equally or if one is better than the other.
"About the wine in the Polymeal Diet: It should be red wine in order to get the antioxidant ... My guess is that consuming dark grape juice may work just as well..."
Guessing is not a scientific approach to diet, and science is the only thing that works. So why not stop guessing and read the science more closely? The polymeal paper does not say anything about red versus white wine, reservetal, etc. Other papers I've read have indicated it is the alcohol that counts, so your guess is probably way off.
Your comments on the chocolate indicate a problem with the paper - it is not specific enough. Which dark chocolate was used in the experiments? What percentage cocoa mass? 80%? Chocolate is expensive so I'm tempted to buy the LIDL 74% which is a 1/3 of the price of other dark choclates in the UK (their red wine is reasonable as well!) Again you are guessing with (expensive) Dove chocolate -- you need to read the references from the original BMJ paper to find out the chocolate used.
If you click on my 'Polymeal Mal' link you will find a link to the original BMJ paper.
100 grams of Dark Chocolate. I love dark chocolate. But 100 grams a day? That's a lot of chocolate! If the cocoa is the real beneficial ingredient, why not just add cocoa powder to your diet. Does any of the other stuff in dark chocolate add any health benefit? And how many grams of cocoa is in 100 grams of dark chocolate?
Polymeal Mal,
Some people who have their heart disease delayed will still die of heart disease. But, to illustrate the point, imagine that heart disease could be delayed for 15 years. Do you really think that every person who has their heart disease delayed for 15 years will not get cancer or suffer from a liver failure or some other organ failure?
If all heart disease were curable people would only experience a 3 or 4 year (I forget the exact amount but this has been calculated by assorted gerontologists) increase in life expectancy. Most people who get heart disease are old and are at much higher risk of a great many diseases. This is common knowledge. I do not need a scientific citation to prove this point.
Cholesterol lowering and net benefits for different people: Look, do you expect statin drugs to reduce the incidence of heart disease as much in people who have 150 cholesterol as in people who have 300 cholesterol? Of course not.
Guessing is not a scientific approach? That paper is one big guess. They did no clinical trials on the combination. They do not show that the effects would be additive. They do not show that 100 grams of chocolate a day will be a net benefit. The argument for chocolate's benefit is particularly weak. I've read some of the chocolate health research done at UC Davis and found it interesting but a far cry from clinical trials showing a reduced heart disease risk.
The paper does not even synthesize the best of what is known about diet and health at this point. The Ape Diet developed by David Jenkins is a far better tested diet for lowering heart disease risk because it really does lower cholesterol about as well as statins do.
Dove is expensive? Not if you find a way to buy 5 lb bags at a cheap internet store. I've found it that way and bought some a couple of years ago.
Paul Swart,
I agree with you that, all else equal, you are better off eating the cocoa powder. However, I do not know which brand(s) of cocoa powder, if any, have most of their flavonoids preserved in processing. Whereas I know that Mars changed their Dove chocolate processing to preserve most of the flavonoids. Mars even paid some researchers at UC Davis to test their chocolate for effect on capillary dilation if memory serves.
Forgive me, but what is mesothelioma?I see it on a lot of blogs.
Too much red wine was detremental to my blood pressure and general well-being.
Taken as table-wine with my evening meal I was drinking about a litre a day.
Although my BP fell to around 110/50 during and just after the meal it was often up to 200/110 by morning. Using a number of anti-hypertensives I found myself getting drowsy all the time and I often slept for 14 hours (counting naps) out of 24.
I first gave up the red wine.
My BP still came down to 110/50 during my evening meal but it was better in the mornings.
I began (as an experiment) to have a little breakfast. This brought my morning BP down even further.
I discontinued the beta-blocker. Still my BP stayed low. I discontinued the alpha-blocker - the most recently prescribed anti-hypertensive for me. Still my BP stayed low. I feel alert and active and my sleep patterns are normal (for a 65-year-old).
I know that a sample of one is not a scientific study and I don't recommend arbirary experimentation with life-saving medication but I strongly recommend caution with that red wine! There must be other anti-oxidants.
John
The PolyPill and PolyMeal articles were each in the annual humor issues of the British Medical Journal and were parodies, not meant to be taken seriously.
For university tested wine for high resveratrol content, pls see FLEUR de PINOT NOIR by Dr Konstantin Frank Cellars in Hammondsport, NY. It had 46.1 umolar of Resveratrol tested by Professor Leroy L. Creasy of Cornell Univ, PhD in Pomology. Dr Creasy tested dozens of US wines and found this Pinot Noir to have several orders of magnitude more resveratrol. Dr K has come out with another Pinor Noir brand named SALMON. Follow the articles in his web site. Good luck.
Jaime
Does alcohol-free red wine accomplish the same thing as the red wine containing alcohol?
Does the alcohol-free wine contain resveratrol?
I eat dark chocolate every day to get the other benefits it provides eg endorphines, I was wondering if the benefits would differ if you started this diet an earlier age in life, like in your late teens. Would this then add more years to your life?
my mother has a sickness and she went on exactly the same diet as describe and it not only helped her feel better but it also helped her loose alot of weight.
i say:
keep up the good work Randell