I had asked you for a source comparing a hindu and muslim village in india
and some implied differences in carb intake as to the "indian paradox"
you made. In place of it you provided some articles about the paradox.
I'm well aware of the paradox and it cann't be explained by the amount of
carb intake. The carb intake between rural and urban indians is similar
but the urban has the greater risk factors for cvd and diabetes. Rural
folk use whole grains and urban more refined but carb amounts are similar.
It is clear that the urban people eat more fat, have lower exercise and
eat more. Using the butter ghee is shown in the below to be higher in a
higher overall fat intake in urban folk and it also suggests a difference
in fats as explaining the "paradox"
Effects of an Indo-Mediterranean Diet on the Omega6/Omega3 Ratio in
Patients at High Risk of Coronary Artery Disease: The Indian Paradox
Daniel Pellaa , Gal Dubnovb , Ram B. Singhc , Rakesh Sharmad , Elliot
M. Berryb , Orly Manorb a 2nd Interna Klinika,Safaric University,
Kosice, Slovakia; b Department of Human Nutrition and Metabolism,
Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel; c
Subharti Medical College, Medical Hospital and Research Centre,
Moradabad, India; d Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New
York, N.Y., USA Coronary artery disease (CAD) has become a major
health problem in the Western world, and is rapidly increasing in the
developing countries, accom-panied by rapid changes in diet and
lifestyle [13]. The prevalence of CAD is 23% in rural areas and
914% in urban populations of India [2, 3]. This find- ing is
associated with a lower total fat intake in rural areas compared to
urban ones (1015 vs. 1527 en %/day, respectively) [24]. The paradox
is that despite low fat intake relative to Western countries, the
urban population has a high prevalence of CAD. The rural population in
north and east India consumes more mustard oil and grains, which are
considered a poor man's food. In urban areas, Indian ghee (clarified
butter rich in cholesterol oxide [5]), vegetable ghee, but- ter,
cream, refined oils and refined bread and flour are substituted for
mustard oils and whole grains, resulting in marked changes in the
omega6/ omega3 ratio of urban diets [24]. The cause of the Indian
paradox can be explained by the increased ratio of omega6/omega3
fatty acids in the urban diets. The dietary changes described are more
pronounced in patients with high risk of CAD [4, 611]. It is possible
that decreased consumption of omega3 fatty acids may increase the
coronary risk among urban subjects and in patients with CAD.
Juhana Harju - 15 Jun 2005 09:19 GMT
:: I had asked you for a source comparing a hindu and muslim village in
:: india and some implied differences in carb intake as to the "indian
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
:: increase the coronary risk among urban subjects and in patients with
:: CAD.
That was interesting. There are likely to be several reasons contributing to
this higher risk in urban population, not only this ratio of omega-6/omega-3
fatty acids. Overweight, lack of exercise, refined grains, saturated fat,
oxidized cholesterol, decreased omega-3 fatty acid intake are all factors
contributing to higher risk of coronary artery disease.
Below is an abstract confirming that ghee is a source of oxysterols.
Mol Cell Biochem. 2001 Oct;226(1-2):39-47.
Effect of dietary ghee--the anhydrous milk fat on lymphocytes in rats.
Niranjan TG, Krishnakantha TP.
Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, Central Food Technological
Research Institute, Mysore, India.
Lymphocytes are important components of the immune system. Dietary lipids
affect the functioning of the immune system. Changes in the lipid
composition of the lymphocyte membrane is a case in point. Membrane
structural changes are reflected in the altered function of the cell.
Lymphocyte proliferation and lymphocyte rosetting are membrane associated
phenomena. Ghee, is a clarified butter product, commonly used in the Indian
diet. It is rich in saturated fatty acids and also contain oxysterols which
are generated on prolonged heating of ghee. Male weanling rats were fed 2.5%
(of the total fat levels) of fresh or thermally oxidized ghee for a period
of 8 weeks. The control rats were fed groundnut oil. Lipid composition of
lymphocytes in ghee fed rats showed changes. In vitro lipid peroxidation of
lymphocyte membranes increased by 26% in oxidized ghee fed rats. Na+K+
ATPase activity was decreased in oxidized ghee fed rats (18%). Lymphocyte
proliferation was reduced in ghee fed rats (32%), compared to the controls,
irrespective of the mitogens used (Con-A or PHA), or the tissue (splenocytes
or peripheral blood lymphocytes). Oxysterols present in oxidized ghee are
the likely agents inhibiting lymphoproliferation. Rosetting of lymphocytes
decreased in the fresh ghee fed rats by 16% and in oxidized ghee fed rats by
25%. Membrane fluidity declined in the oxidized ghee fed rats. It is
concluded that feeding ghee results in decreased proliferation of
lymphocytes. Also, feeding oxidised ghee results in decreased proliferation
of lymphocytes through alterations in the structure of the lymphocyte
membranes in the rat. PMID: 11768237

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