#PUREresults

Normally on Foodie Friday I like to share a recipe and/or other food tips for eating a healthy diet that works to lower your blood sugar and insulin levels. However, the results of a rather large observational study titled PURE (Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology) were just released. This study had participation from 18 countries, covering 5 continents, and tracked the dietary habits and results of over 135,000 people, some for more than ten years. It was presented at the European Society of Cardiology meeting in Barcelona and released in the Lancet journal. Click here to read it in full (if you have nothing to do this weekend…)

Some are touting the results where drinking low to moderate amounts of coffee (up to 4 cups a day) was shown to lead to lower mortality rates. I knew it! #CoffeeIsLife #HereComes4CupsofEspresso #WheresARestroom [;/…..\|….”‘>/{:}……] #KeyboardJitters

Maybe I shouldn’t have gone so hard at that number, just got a little excited. I normally like to stay at around 1 to 2 cups a day. For a balanced view of this, I like David DiSalvo’s article, The Good and Bad News about Coffee and Your Health.

However, most are commenting on what I feel are the two most important observations from the studies, that “Intake of total fat and each type of fat was associated with lower risk of total mortality” and “Higher carbohydrate intake was associated with an increased risk of total mortality.” In short if you want to live a long life, fat good, carbs bad. That is definitely an oversimplification, but it does flip the established dietary guidelines on their head.

A couple of things to note, it states that not only is a lower risk of mortality observed for those eating higher amounts of all types of fat, but also each type of fat. This means that even those who ate higher levels of some fats that were previously believed to be most harmful, like saturated fat were observed to have benefits associated with eating them.

The risk of death rising with carbohydrate intake is also becoming a well-established observation. This phenomenon was born out of the low-fat diet strategies that have ruled the last 50 years where obesity and type 2 diabetes has spread like wildfire. Over the last 20 years we’ve seen numerous diets that seek to combat this, Atkins, Wheat Belly, Paleo, Keto, the list goes on. They are all taking different angles at it but the main target is reducing carbohydrates (especially low quality ones filled with sugars and processed grains).

There is just no getting around the fact that our bodies run better on real natural foods. We’ve been gifted with this life and with a planet designed to nourish us. Let’s not waste it being sick with sweets. How many more studies will it take to convince you?

Please share, like and comment below. I’d love to hear any tips you have for finding better nourishment. Have a good one!