Dr. Arthur Agatston in the news

15. January 2008 William Davis (7)


The Miami Herald has a new report on Dr. Arthur Agagtston (of South Beach Diet fame) to announce his new book, The South Beach Heart Health Revolution:
The South Beach Diet doctor takes on cardio care

Agatston, the granddaddy of CT heart scanning, is always at least worth listening to. Although his diet may not be perfect, it clearly has jumped light years ahead of conventional diets like the inane American Heart Association diet. The South Beach Diet focuses on healthy oils, nuts, lean meats, vegetables, and fruits, while slashing grains (except in the often disastrous phase III).

The article lists Dr. Agatston's advice to achieve a "heart healthy" lifestyle:


• Maintain a healthy weight through diet.

• Undergo CT heart scans to check for arterial plaque.

• Do aerobic exercise, along with stretching and strengthening workouts.

• Ask your doctor about taking statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs.


We wouldn't have CT heart scan scoring (at least in its present form) without Dr. Agatston, who developed the algorithm for scoring years ago in the early days of heart scanning. We also need to credit him with putting together a rational diet despite the counter-information emanating from the Heart Association, the USDA (a la Food Pyramid, the one that makes Americans fat and diabetic), and the American Diabetes Association, among others.

But "Ask your doctor about taking statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs"? This is where Dr. Agatston begins to falter. While he is putting his enormous notoriety to use, his message is bland and ineffective. "Do aerobic exercise"? We don't need Dr. Agatston to tell us this.

As much as Art Agatston has added to the national conversation on heart disease and diet, he has failed to deliver the message of true heart disease prevention. His approach lacks just a few crucial ingredients like lipoprotein testing, diagnosis of hidden causes of heart disease (like Lp(a)), and vitamin D. (Two years ago I had a patient I saw for an opinion after he'd showed Dr. Agatston his lipoprotein panel. The patient said Dr. Agatston looked at the report and didn't know what to do with it and handed it back to him without comment. He then asked if he wanted his autograph.)

Anyway, the rising tide raises all boats. Agatston's repeated public endorsements of heart scans will help deliver the message that heart disease is detectable in its early stages and should trigger action to follow a heart disease prevention program.

That alone is an accomplishment in a world hell-bent on dragging us into the hospital for procedures.
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Comments (7) -

  • Neelesh

    1/15/2008 2:34:00 PM |

    This is curious, given that in his book 'The South beach heart program', Agatston talks quite a bit about "advanced blood tests", including LP(a),and lipoprotein subfractions. I wonder if hethinks otherwise now Smile

  • Nancy M.

    1/16/2008 5:41:00 PM |

    I ran into someone that met this doctor and she asked him what diet he eats, thinking he would be following his own.  Apparently he follows a more Paleo type of diet rather than those "healthy" whole grains he espouses in his books.

  • Dr. Davis

    1/16/2008 5:45:00 PM |

    Isn't that interesting!

    If I had to choose from a menu of popular diets that most closely approximates what we do in the Track Your Plaque program, it would be quite close to the Paleo Diet as articulated by Loren Cordain.

  • Roger

    1/21/2008 3:43:00 PM |

    I'm surprised by that.  The Paleo diet is an extraordinarily high meat-oriented diet (the author suggest that about 55% of calories will come from meat.)  Since dairy and soy are forbidden, almost all protein must come from meat, fish, or eggs.  The diet is similar to Atkins, except that the Paleo diet makes a nod to healthier fats like flax oil, which he suggests rubbing on lean meat before serving.

    On page 26 of his book, Cordain describes a 25 year old female who follows the Paleo diet.  He indicates that on a typical day she will get about 190 grams of protein.

    According to NutritionData.com, each of the following contain 190 grams of protein:

    31 large hard-boiled eggs

    1 lb. 11 oz of salmon

    1 lb. 8 oz of turkey

    1 lb. 8 oz of Sirloin

    1 lb. 8 oz pork chops

    Six 1/4 lb. hamburgers

    Basically, a pound and a half of meat.  Using the traditional "pack of cards" portion size (three ounces), a follower of the Paleo diet would be consuming eight portions of meat per day.

    I'm no vegetarian, but it's hard for me to imagine that meat in that quantity is necessary for good health.

  • Zute

    3/7/2008 7:40:00 PM |

    I just looked up where I heard about Agatston actually thinking Paleo is right diet to follow.  Here's a link to the thread where it was discussed:
    http://forum.lowcarber.org/archive/index.php/t-337734.html

    "It was a lecture geared towards health professionals....he spoke of how he believes in the Paleo diet(book) and that the ideal for us in our current state of evolution is a grain free diet.....really..he said that!!

    He also did not know that his Meal Plan Guide is telling us to add in cereal first in phase II....he said he would get that changed...it should be berries only...first...then starchy veggies.....whole grain last and after whole grain...then processed grain ie: flour/bread :idea:

    He also told me that they put whole grains into the plan so that it'd be easier for people to adapt to the plan....they know that people are addicted to grain and it would be too hard for most to give them up totally...me :wave: ;) He was trying to make the plan marketable to all and he felt that telling us to eat whole grain is better than what we were doing before...and he's right."

    See, this is where I have a problem with that sort of thinking.  Instead of telling you what is optimal for your health, they tell you what they think you'll comply with instead.  I think the ADA does that too.  The results of this are that people might be slightly healthier than if you did nothing but you're a long ways off from the health you could achieve if you were fully informed at the beginning.

    Some of us have the discipline to make the needed changes.  Dear Doctors, please don't assume we're all hopeless!

  • Ideal Scents LLC

    3/15/2010 4:09:29 AM |

    South Beach Diet in my opinion is awesome.  After Phase I you lose your cravings.  I have been into nutrition for over 30 years, and still need to lose a few pounds.  On this diet you eat healthy fresh foods, you don't have to eat any meat if you don't want to and if you're vegan it can work as well.

    One of the great things about it is you don't have to be manic, it's pretty simple. You are full eating lots of fiber from fresh veggies.   Those foods God planned for us to eat, instead of processed and over cooked foods.

    One thing you mentioned was the LPP test for heart disease, I have a question, why aren't M.D.'s requesting this test more often.  The docs who are requesting this are those who are both  N.D. M.D.'s, they look at the whole person not just one aspect.

  • buy jeans

    11/3/2010 6:46:50 PM |

    In addition, since I have been involved with cardiac CT for now nearly 24 years, the PLC also affords me an opportunity to develop a CT coronary angiography training program for cardiologists and radiologists (www.cardiaccta.us). Together, these new efforts are merely an extension of my interests in prevention, patient care, and teaching.

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Is Cocoa Puffs no longer heart healthy?

Is Cocoa Puffs no longer heart healthy?

29. April 2010 William Davis (17)
Until recently, Cocoa Puffs enjoyed the endorsement of the American Heart Association (AHA) as a heart-healthy food.

For a price, the AHA will allow food manufacturers to affix a heart "check mark" signifying endorsement by the AHA as conforming to some basic "heart healthy" requirements.

Odd thing: The list of breakfast cereals on the check mark program has shrunk dramatically. When I last posted about this, there were around 50-some breakfast cereals, from Cocoa Puffs to Frosted Mini Wheats. Now, the list has been trimmed down to 17:

Berry Burst Cheerios-Triple Berry
Cheerios
Cheerios Crunch
Honey Nut Cheerios
Kashi Heart to Heart Honey Toasted Oat Cereal
Kashi Heart to Heart Oat Flakes & Wild Blueberry Clusters
Kashi Heart to Heart Warm Cinnamon Oat Cereal
Multi Grain Cheerios
Oatmeal Crisp Crunchy Almond
Oatmeal Crisp Hearty Raisin
Quaker Cinnamon Life
Quaker Heart Health
Quaker Life
Quaker Life Maple & Brown Sugar
Quaker Oat Bran
Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Brown Sugar
Quaker Oatmeal Squares - Cinnamon


According to sales material targeted to food manufacturers, the American Heart Association boasts that "The American Heart Association’s heart-check mark is the most recognized and trusted food icon today . . . Eighty-three percent of consumers are aware of the heart-check mark. Sixty-six percent of primary grocery shoppers say the heart-check mark has a strong/moderate influence on their choices when shopping."

So, is Cocoa Puffs no longer heart healthy?

I suspect that agencies like the AHA, the USDA, the American Diabetes Association as starting to understand that they have blundered big time by pushing low-fat, having contributed to the nationwide epidemic of obesity and diabetes, and that it is time to quietly start backpedaling.

While it's a step in the right direction, judging from the above list of breakfast cereal "survivors" of the check mark program, the criteria may have been tightened . . . but not that much.
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Comments (17) -

  • Anne

    4/29/2010 3:50:05 AM |

    One step forward, two steps back.

    Chocolate Cheerios are good for the heart. If you don't believe this go here http://www.cheerios.com/ourCereals/ChocolateCheerios/ChocolateCheerios_home.aspx

  • Anonymous

    4/29/2010 6:09:16 AM |

    I had a bowl of bran flakes and checked my blood sugar. 141. Yikes!

  • Myron

    4/29/2010 7:49:24 AM |

    I have been down on wheat family of grains for a long time, but for other reasons than the health consequences tied to peak blood sugar elevations [and consequent hypoglycemic phases].  I'm down on the inflammatory oils and the allergy aspects.

    Have you investigated HEMP SEED?  It is high in protein and packed with good oils.   How does it rate with your diet suggestions?    Would it be good to run some trials?

  • Bryan Rankin

    4/29/2010 3:20:34 PM |

    "they have blundered big time by pushing low-fat ... it is time to quietly start backpedaling."

    They're backpedaling all right, but it's not because they are abandoning the low fat message.  The average consumer is not quite ignorant enough to believe Cocoa Puffs are healthy, and they don't want that 60% that are affected by their check mark to drop.

  • Anonymous

    4/29/2010 9:11:08 PM |

    Just got an AHA solicitation in the mail this week.  Like so many other organizations, they do not act in the best interest of the people they claim to serve.  My money and time are better spent pursuing the more promising preventative practices such as those promoted by TYP.

  • whatsonthemenu

    4/29/2010 11:02:29 PM |

    A colleague eats a Quaker oatmeal square for breakfast every morning.  Among the ingredients listed on the label is partially hydrogenated soybean oil, not enough, apparently, to bump the transfat content above .5 grams, so the nutrition label lists 0 grams of transfat.  No amount of transfat is healthy, yet this product has the AHA seal of approval. I used to eat granola bars when I thought they were healthy.  I read labels and noticed that quite a few use partially hydrogenated oils, including brands that boast of high fiber or Omega 3 content.

  • Lori Miller

    4/30/2010 12:19:48 AM |

    Maybe the people at Cocoa Puffs stopped writing checks. Who needs an endorsement when your product contains wheat, sugar and chocolate and is marketed to kids in an I-want-to-be-my-child's-friend mileau?

  • Larry

    4/30/2010 11:29:12 PM |

    As if these cereals aren't bad enough...
    KFC is selling their fried chicken in Pink "Buckets for the Cure" for Breast Cancer fund raising.
    It left me speechless.
    I've said it before... we're on our own.

    http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/homestyle/04/28/kfc.pink.bucket.campaign/

  • Lynn M.

    5/1/2010 3:35:49 AM |

    The site Ted linked to (www.cerealfacts.org) has a list of Top 10 Cereals by Nutrition Score.  None of those top 10 are on the AHA list of heart-healthy cereals.

  • Venkat

    5/2/2010 11:17:53 PM |

    Dr Davis,

    This question is off the topic. I read your book Track your plaque a month back and had been to AZ heart institute and got my plaque measured.

    I am a Type 2 Diabetic for the past 11 years and am actively low carbing (<30g carbs per day) and 100% grain avoiding since May 2008.

    My calcium score was 0.

    But the staff was not able to say whether the machine they used was EBT/MDCT. They said it is newer than EBT. The machine had GE 64 slice VCT printed on it. Can you confirm if this is the one you are asking people to have it calcium scored?

    I live in Phoenix, AZ and had been to AZ Heart Institute (got the information from "Track your plaque" book).

    Please let me know if I got calcium score done in a machine in which I am supposed to do.

    Thanks for all the help.

    Thanks

    Venkat

  • Ned Kock

    5/3/2010 9:13:38 PM |

    > I had a bowl of bran flakes and checked my blood sugar. 141. Yikes

    It is a great idea to check blood glucose levels after meals, just bear in mind that they can vary rather erratically:

    http://healthcorrelator.blogspot.com/2010/05/blood-glucose-variations-in-normal.html

  • Anonymous

    5/4/2010 9:50:41 PM |

    Oats, oats, oats is the common thread of the "survivors." Either the oat industry is doing an excellent coordinated marketing attack or there is something to the claim that oats are good for cardiovascular health.

  • Anonymous

    5/6/2010 2:36:59 AM |

    I don't eat cereal of any kind. Have no desire to. A much healthier choice altogether would be cottage cheese with fruit or just fruit, scrambled eggs or even bacon cooked extra crispy.

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