Heart disease theories

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33032, 27 September 1972, Page 16

Heart disease theories

Sugar as a cause of coronary heart disease had not been established in trials carried out on humans, Miss M. R. Till, dietitian-in-charge at Green Lane Hospital, Auckland, said this week.

She said the controversy over the excessive consumption of sugar had been brought up again because of the recent visit of Professor J. Yudkin, of London, who first published his theories on the matter about 12 years ago. Since then, other workers had conducted similar trials

with humans but had failed to substantiate Professor Yudkin’s views. The Medical Research Council of the United Kingdom concluded that “the evidence in favour of a high sugar intake as a major factor in the development of myocardial infarction is extremely slender.” Miss Till said it had been reported that heavy smokers had a greater intake of sugar than non-smokers, and the primary relationship was more likely to be between heart disease and cigarette smoking rather than heart disease and sugar intake. If Professor Yudkin’s theory was to be proved it should follow that countries with a very high intake of

sugar would have a high prevalence of coronary heart disease, said Miss Till.

Several countries such as Costa Rica, Columbia and Nicaragua had a very high consumption of sugar and information from these countries did not indicate that coronary heart disease was a serious ’ public health problem. She said that New Zealanders consumed 121 grams of sugar per person per day in 1939 but this declined to 113 grams in 1969. However, the incidence of coronary heart disease had not declined.

For the general population in New Zealand it was perhaps premature to advocate a sweeping change in diet, said Miss Till. Moderation seemed to be the key to the problem. Calories should be adjusted to maintain normal weight. If obesity was present, a weight-reduction diet should be followed. The reduction of saturated fat in the diet might well lessen the risk of coronary heart disease and this would require a reduction in the amount of meat products eaten, said Miss Till.

The intake of high cholesterol foods should also be kept at a prudent level, which meant that most adults should moderate their intake of egg yolks, animal fats, organ meats and shellfish.