Today lets have a little fun and see who can figure out a few mysteries. The questions that need to be answered will be a “who” and a “why”. Here is the background:
One of my clients was formerly under the care of a fairly well known physician (this is the “WHO” question). Now here are some clues about who this Dr. is: he/she is diametrically opposed to the Paleo Diet, he/she windsurfs a bunch and he/she recommends virtually an ALL STARCH DIET. That should give it away right there.
Now for the why question: Why would the above physician be violently opposed to my clients’ interest in a C-reactive protein test? Here is what the fine folks at the American Heart Association have to say about C-reactive protein:
Here is a little ditty from the New England Journal of Medicine:
Here is the Conclusion from the NEJM piece:
“Conclusions: These data suggest that the C-reactive protein levelis a stronger predictor of cardiovascular events than the LDLcholesterol level and that it adds prognostic information tothat conveyed by the Framingham risk score.”
And one final thing from Pubmed:
The atherogenic potential of dietary carbohydrate.
Kopp W.
Univ. Doz. Dr. Wolfgang Kopp, Diagnostikzentrum Graz, Mariatrosterstrasse 41, A-8043 Graz, Austria.
OBJECTIVE.: To investigate the role of dietary carbohydrate in atherogenesis. METHOD.: Search of the literature for relevant papers concerning the relationship of insulin/hyperinsulinemia and carbohydrate on the one hand, and the renin-angiotensin system, the sympathetic nervous system, growth factors, i.e. platelet-derived growth factor and insulin-like growth factor-I, C-reactive protein, and dyslipemia, on the other hand, factors well known to be involved in the atherogenic process, as well as for epidemiologic studies investigating the relationship between high-carbohydrate diets and the development of cardiovascular disease. RESULTS.: High-carbohydrate nutrition is shown to have the ability to induce vascular inflammation and plaque formation through an insulin-mediated activation of the RAS, growth factors, cytokines, the SNS, and C-reactive protein and to cause an atherogenic lipid profile in normal humans. Epidemiologic studies as well as studies in experimental animals corroborate an important role of dietary carbohydrate in atherogenesis. CONCLUSION.: High-carbohydrate diets, particularly in the form of high-glycemic index carbohydrate, have the ability to directly induce atherosclerosis. Based on anthropologic facts, the reason for these dietary-induced, insulin-mediated, atherogenic metabolic perturbations are suggested to be an insufficient adaptation to starch and sugars during human evolution. Restriction of insulinogenic food (starch and sugars) may help to prevent the development of atherosclerosis, one of the most common and costliest human diseases.
Plenty more to pull from. Just search under “hyperinsulinemia C-reactive protein”
So…who is the mystery doctor and why would he or she be violently opposed to my client getting a C-reactive protein test…when this doctor recommends a starch-based diet? Especially when C-reactive protein is acknowledged to be a superior predictor of cardiovascular risk than LDL cholesterol? What is the good doctor trying to hide?
The first 5 people who correctly answer the above 2 questions will receive a free subscription to the Performance Menu. If you are already a subscriber we will add a year to your subscription. Deadline is Friday, April 21 12:00 noon PST. Please send email (no sense giving it away in the comments!) and I will post the results Friday afternoon.
