Geisinger Preventive Medicine Lecture Series: “Taking the Die out of Diet”

Lecture Type: Online Video (Link Here)

Time: 56 minutes 10 seconds

Date: October 5th, 2017

Speaker: Dr. Kim Williams, MD

Topic: Health and Diet

Introduction

Dr. Kim Williams is a Cardiologist who teaches at Rush University and was a former president of the American College of Cardiology. In his lecture on “Taking the Die out of Diet”, as part of the Geisinger Commonwealth Preventive Medicine Lecture Series, Dr. Williams shares insight into the connection between diet and heart disease. He advocates for the health benefits of choosing to eat a plant-based diet. This lecture is packed with scientific information! Read below to learn more or watch the lecture for yourself. Click the link in the description above to view!

Current Issues

Every 34 seconds, a person in the United States dies from cardiovascular disease (CDC, 2022). Drivers of cardiovascular disease are complex, but risks increase if you have diabetes, are obese or overweight, and smoke cigarettes. Nutrition and lack of exercises are also major drivers of developing these chronic health conditions, which Dr. Williams emphasizes in this lecture. He suggests we can improve our health by adjusting our dietary intake to fit a plant-based diet, full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

Meal Size

One issue related to dietary intake in the United States today is the amount of calories that Americans are getting in. Typical portions have become supersized, meaning we are eating more. This is especially apparent in the fast-food industry. and easy to visualize in this slide presented by Dr. Williams.

Another issue is the types of foods we are choosing. Americans are eating less fruits, vegetables, and other whole foods that have lower caloric density. Instead, they have been replaced by processed foods, sugary beverages, refined grains, unhealthy fats, and red meat. Caloric density is the number of calories a food contains for a certain portion, such as half a cup. This is important because the signals of satiety, or fullness, that the stomach sends to the brain is related to the amount of stretch the stomach feels as we eat. For the infographic shared by Dr. Williams below, it is clear to see that we will feel much more filled by 400 calories of vegetables than 400 calories of oil.

Sugar Intake

American sugar intake has also increased over the years. This is significant because sugar causes a hormone called insulin to be released. When insulin is released into the blood stream, it causes nutrients to be stored in the body. For example, glucose (one of the basic units of sugar) first stores glycogen in muscles cells and then excess glucose is converted to bodily fat tissue. This also impacts the formation of arterial plaques, increases risk for developing diabetes, and increases mechanisms of inflammation in the body.

What is sugar? Sugar is not only the table sugar that you put in your morning coffee. It also includes other common forms, such as honey, maple syrup, and artificial sweeteners. Artifical sweeteners, like errythritol, have been found to increase insulin levels! So switching to diet sodas is not a good option if you are a diabetic. Sugar also includes refined flours, pastries, cookies, candies, soda, and juice. It even includes fruit! However, here we find one important distinction.

Although fruit contains high amounts of the sugar fructose, there are factors that decrease the impacts of sugar as above. One major modulator is fiber! All fruits, and other plant-based whole foods, contain some amount of fiber. Fiber is a type of indigestible carbohydrate that the body cannot break down. It improves blood sugar levels, promotes bowel regularity, and has a myriad of other health benefits. According to Dr. Williams, the more fiber fruit has the healthier it is. Here is a slide her shared comparing the content of fiber and fructose per serving of fruit. The fruits more to the lower right of the graph has the greatest fiber to fructose ratio.

Exercise

Although not the central idea of this lecture, physical activity and exercise are an important aspect of Dr. William’s lecture. Americans have become more sedentary due to the type of jobs we work, among other things. The more active we are, the more calories we burn. Exercise has also been shown to decrease blood sugar levels and therefore the detrimental effects related to insulin described in the previous section. If you are more active some days compared to others, you can adjust your dietary intake around this. For example, using the fiber-fructose graph above, enjoy grapes prior to a run. On a day when you are home reading this article or watching television, stick to higher fiber and lower fructose food options, like avocadoes or raspberries.

Basics of Food to Avoid or Limit

Dr. Williams reviews the science of foods that increase risk of cardiovascular disease. Here is a quick recap of foods you should try to avoid:

• Sugary beverages (sodas and refined juices)
• Refined flours and carbohydrates
• Sweets (candy, cookies, cakes)
• Fried foods
• Added fats and oils (especially saturated fats)
• Excess salt intake
• Processed meats
• Red Meat
• Animal protein in general

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend watching this video to learn more about supporting research. Dr. Williams goes into the nutritional biochemistry and pathogenesis of the above foods that we want to avoid. For example, phosphatodylcholaine content in animal proteins leads to the formation of TMAO that causes arterial plaque formation.

Click on the link in the description above, or the link in the citation below, to view.

Citation

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. (2022). Heart Disease Facts, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

Williams, K. (2017, October 5). Taking the Die Out of Diet. [Lecture Recording]. Geisinger Commonweath Preventive Medicine Lecture Series in partnership with WVIA. https://on-demand.wvia.org/video/dr-kim-williams-taking-the-die-out-of-diet-qew3sn/

Disclaimer

This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of medical advice or treatment from a personal physician. All viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. The publisher of this content does not take responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, exercise or other lifestyle program.