News from Harvard: Eggs Will Kill You

From Yahoo News:

Seven or more eggs a week raises risk of death

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Middle-aged men who ate seven or more eggs a week had a higher risk of earlier death, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.

Men with diabetes who ate any eggs at all raised their risk of death during a 20-year period studied, according to the study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The study adds to an ever-growing body of evidence, much of it contradictory, about how safe eggs are to eat. It did not examine what about the eggs might affect the risk of death. [So this study only discovered a correlation between egg consumption and mortality, and as we all know, correlation does NOT imply causation. Of course that never stops the media from reporting on these "studies" as if they do.]

Men without diabetes could eat up to six eggs a week with no extra risk of death, Dr. Luc Djousse and Dr. J. Michael Gaziano of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School found.

"Whereas egg consumption of up to six eggs a week was not associated with the risk of all-cause mortality, consumption of (seven or more) eggs a week was associated with a 23 percent greater risk of death," they wrote. [That one extra egg was the tipping point, I guess?]

"However, among male physicians with diabetes, any egg consumption is associated with a greater risk of all-cause mortality, and there was suggestive evidence for a greater risk of MI (heart attack) and stroke." [Of course, eggs were the only thing that these diabetic physicians were eating. Right? Because if they'd been eating anything else, we'd have seen other correlations pop up. Right?]

They urged more study in the general population. [I urge a real study, one that controls for other dietary variables and actually looks beyond correlations.]

Eggs are rich in cholesterol, which in high amounts can clog arteries and raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. [Despite the growing mountain of evidence to the contrary.]

One expert on nutrition and heart disease said the study suggests middle-aged men, at least, should watch how many eggs they eat.

"More egg on our faces? It's really hard to say at this point, but it still seems, if you're a middle-aged male physician and enjoy eggs more than once a day, that having some of the egg left on your face may be better than having it go down your gullet," said Dr. Robert Eckel of the University of Colorado and a former president of the American Heart Association. [I suggest that all middle-aged male physicians grow beards, in order to assist in the capture and storage of said eggs whilst they are en route to said gullets.]

"But, remember: eggs are like all other foods -- they are neither 'good' nor 'bad,' and they can be part of an overall heart-healthy diet," Eckel wrote in a commentary. [Remember: there are NO BAD FOODS. Chips, cheezies, and Pop Tarts can be part of an overall heart-healthy diet. Just keep your calories under 600 and never, ever eat more than a 1/4 teaspoon of polyunsaturated fat a month. And make sure you throw away the yolks.]

The Harvard team studied 21,327 men taking part in the much larger Physicians' Health Study, which has been watching doctors since 1981 who have agreed to report regularly on their health and lifestyle habits. [So was this a study of a study?]

Over 20 years, 1,550 of the men had heart attacks, 1,342 had strokes, and more than 5,000 died. [Must have been the eggs, then.]

"Egg consumption was not associated with (heart attack) or stroke," the researchers wrote. [Scratch that - the people who have been actually conducting this study for the last 17 years didn't find any association at all. So why is this news?]

But the men who ate seven eggs a week or more were 23 percent more likely to have died during the 20-year period. [Harvard: "Yeah but, they, like, ate EGGS. And eggs are, like, BAD. And they, like DIED. And like, we're from Harvard, so, like, we know stuff."]

Diabetic men who ate any eggs at all were twice as likely to die in the 20 years. [Harvard: "See?"]

Men who ate the most eggs also were older, fatter, ate more vegetables but less breakfast cereal, and were more likely to drink alcohol, smoke and less likely to exercise -- all factors that can affect the risk of heart attack and death.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox)

Based on the last paragraph, I hereby present alternative headlines for this breaking news story:

Being Old Raises Risk of Death
Fat Diabetic Physicians Die
Vegetables Will Kill You
Want to Outlive Your Colleagues? Eat Breakfast Cereal.
Drinking, Smoking and Lack of Exercise: A Prescription For Death

This is a shining example of why one should NOT base their diet or overall health strategies on what they read in the news. Maggie Fox, don't put this one in your portfolio.

The Cochrane Report - Where's the Media?

I am a huge fan of Dr. Mike Eades' blog. He's got a great post about the Cochrane Report:

A few months ago the Cochrane Collaboration released a study showing that subjects on low-carb diets lost more weight and improved their cardiovascular risk profiles to a greater extent than did subjects following any other kind of diet. Did you read about this study in your local paper or see it on the evening news? I didn’t think so. I didn’t either.

Go here to read the entire post. Makes you wonder what the point of reading the paper or watching the news is, doesn't it? If we're only getting a selection, why bother? Are we really informed?

Do your own research, make your own choices. Never do anything just because an organization, study group, speaker or anyone says it's the "right" thing to do.

I touched on this in the Kimkins post. Look what's happened there! Pictures of her, the weight-loss wonder woman, obese. Sad, really. But it hammers the point home - no-one, and I mean no-one, knows what's good for you better than you. And no-one can do anything to you that you do not allow. People like Kimmer, media outlets, corporations...they have only the power that WE give to them. And look how quickly we as a society gobble things up without thinking, just because the message is something that we desperately want to be true, or because it's easy to believe.

If you are overweight or unhealthy, the absolute WORST position you can put yourself in is one of desperation. The best? One of power. Each of us always, always, has the power to direct our lives towards that which is best for us, that which serves us. We know in our guts when something rings true...and when something just aint right. If overweight or ill health is affecting your self esteem, if you're interpreting this state of affairs as indicative of your worth and effectiveness as a person, you're an easy target for misleading studies and predatory weight loss and health scams. Overweight or ill health is a state of being, but it isn't You. It isn't You. You do not need to be saved, or directed, or led, or punished. Get quiet and listen to that little voice inside you, that little voice that knows. That little voice is You, and is worthy and wonderful and perfect just as it is. That little voice says: patience. We'll get there. We can. We will. We are.

Don't trust studies, or writers, or spokespeople, or me, or anyone. Read, research, investigate...but don't trust. Trust your little voice. It'll always lead you to what's right for you.

PS: Your little voice is not to be confused with that other voice who says stuff like "Having a family sized bag of Ruffles for dinner is a GOOD idea. You should do that. Go on! Do it! Yee ha! Woo hoo! Ruffles!" and then the party music kicks in and it starts dancing around and shaking maracas. That voice is your Inner ScrewIt. It's pretty easy to notice the difference; for example, your little voice will generally not speak with a foreign accent or be accompanied by a Mariachi band, nor will it have an umbrella drink in it's hand. Inner ScrewIt can and should be let out to play every so often - it just isn't so great at running the whole show. It's far too drunk.

Exercise in Futility

The Independent, London, UK

'Treadmill desks' could cut obesity rates in the office
By Jeremy Laurance
Published: 15 May 2007

As solutions to the obesity crisis go, one idea dreamed up by two US
scientists could transform our notion of the office. Instead of walking to work, the pair have designed a desk that enables the overweight to walk at work.

The walking desk - or "vertical workstation"- is fixed to a treadmill
enabling office workers to work while burning calories.

Professor James Levine and Jennifer Miller of the Mayo Clinic, in
Minnesota, who invented the device, say using it for a couple of hours a day could help obese staff shed up to 30kg a year.

They tested the contraption on 15 people with sedentary jobs who never
exercised. The participants set the speed of the treadmill themselves and
carried on working at their computer, which was fixed above on a frame with
adjustable arms. One arm carried the screen and the other the keyboard and
mouse.

On average, the participants burned more than twice as much energy
per hour at the walking desk compared with the normal stationary one. Their
energy expenditure was measured while they walked and worked for 35 minutes out of an hour and compared with the amount of energy used while working seated at
an ordinary desk. There were no falls or injuries and no unsteadiness. The
participants enjoyed using the device.

A key reason why waistlines have expanded over the past 30 years is the
increase in sedentary work. For millions, the hammer and shovel have been replaced by the keyboard and mouse as they spend their days at computer screens.

The desks cost about £1,000 each and slide over a standard treadmill.
By 2010, it is estimated that more than half the workforce of developed
countries will be working at computers. The inventors of the device suggest they could be walking at them too.

And then the treadmills could be hooked up to enormous energy storage devices that would power the whole office! And the fat they lose could be collected and used to power their cars! Like, how totally awesome!

It amazes me how difficult we as a species like to make things. People are getting fatter and fatter? Low fat didn't work? Diabetes, heart disease and other diseases of civilization are on the rise, despite diets full of whole grains? Better invent pills and machines to handle it - easier than, oh, examining our diet and making some changes based on current scientific evidence and, hey, even anthropological evidence. Better make designer frankenfoods, like shakes and bars and low-fat chips - easier than going back to whole, natural foods like meat and vegetables.

Putting desks over treadmills assumes that the office chubsters are just too damn lazy to move their fat asses without being forced. It assumes that fat people in general are overweight because they do nothing but sit around and eat all the time. And it may just be me, but the image of row upon row of office pods staffed with people running in place while staring into a computer is frightening, not to mention a rather ironic statement about our society in general. Is this who we are, chubby little gerbils wasting our days furiously getting nowhere...and not even noticing, because the Powers That Be say we're doing the "Right Thing"?

Of course, no-one's talking about the increase in appetite that comes along with increased exercise/calorie expenditure, or the fact that as a person loses weight, they generally have to increase their level of exercise to continue seeing results. Oh...and that aerobic activity, such as walking, isn't all it's cracked up to be as far as weight loss goes.

Rather than spending money on special desks, why not improve the food served in the office cafeteria? Get rid of the Taco Bell and the Mickey D's, the frozen chicken fingers and fries. Serve actual food, stuff that isn't all grain-based or smothered in breading. Why even put money into sub-par cookies and cakes and pastries? Cafeteria versions aren't that good anyway. Get good quality meats, vegetables, fruits - hell, get good quality cooks, people who know how to make simple food delicious. And make it easier for employees to bring, store and/or prepare foods themselves on site. Have a kitchen. Once a week, have a group lunch where people actually cook and serve food to their co-workers.

Rather than stick treadmills in the office, encourage employees to use the gym...and make sure they have time to use it! In my experience, people would use their lunch hour for the gym and then end up eating lunch at their desk while working; maybe an extra half-hour would be a good incentive, and wouldn't impact all-important company productivity except perhaps to improve it. If there's no on-site gym, team up with a local facility to offer employee discounts on memberships and services like massage and chiropractic.

Maybe, just maybe, if we can make our office environments more authentic and less artificial, the health of the people spending 40+ hours there each week will improve. At the very least, it could be a start.