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Study: Proper blend of carbohydrates, protein can lead to healthy hearts, lower disease risk Lindsey Tanner THE ASSOCIATED PRESS CHICAGO — Deciding what to have for a healthy breakfast just got a little easier. While a healthy high-carb diet has been shown to be good for you, replacing a few of the carbohydrates with a little protein like scrambled egg substitute or beneficial fats like olive oil margarine could be even better, helping further reduce heart disease risks, a study found. At dinner, this might mean instead of pasta, trying black bean tacos and multigrain pilaf with olive oil, the researchers said. They had volunteers try three variations of the same diet, all of them low in saturated fats and including plenty of fruits and vegetables. All three improved blood pressure and cholesterol readings after just six weeks, and adopting any of them would be beneficial, said lead researcher Dr. Lawrence Appel of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “Most people aren’t following anything close to any of these,” he said, adding that the bottom line is: “You can eat healthy in three different ways, and two of them are a bit better than the other.” Appel presented the results Tuesday at an American Heart Association conference in Dallas. The study also appears in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Association. All participants tried each of the diets, eating meals prepared in a research kitchen and taking a few weeks’ break before starting the next diet. The volunteers’ average blood pressure started out borderline high — 131 over 77. Systolic pressure — the top number in blood pressure readings — fell by an average of about 8 points while they were on the carb diet, 9.5 points on the protein diet and 9.3 points on the healthy fats diet. Levels of LDL cholesterol, the bad kind, measured 129 on average at the start; 100 is considered optimal. LDL levels fell an average of almost 12 points on the carb diet, about 14 points on the protein diet, and about 13 points on the healthy fats diet. Those reductions likely would translate into less heart disease if the diets were widely adopted, the researchers said. They estimated that for every 100 people with mild high blood pressure, there would be one less heart attack over 10 years for those on the protein or healthy fats diet, compared with the more carb-friendly diet. Appel said the high-protein diet also seemed to produce feelings of fullness and reduced appetite. “These symptoms raise the intriguing possibility that if individuals were to follow these diets long-term, there may be some weight loss on the protein diet,” he told conference participants. Dr. Timothy Gardner, a Delaware cardiologist, said at the meeting that the study was “a tricky, difficult type of study to conduct, controlling all the factors, with very interesting results.” A JAMA editorial about Appel’s research, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health, questioned whether people in the real world would stick to the diets since they’d have to buy and prepare their own meals. HURRiCflflG • COtlTinUGD FROm I Niemiec was at school at USC when the storm hit. “All I could do was watch it on the news and pray that my family was OK,” Niemiec said. “When I found out they were fine, I started worrying about the house.” The house, again, was destroyed. Niemiec described the destruction as “different from that of Andrew.” Andrew blew houses down where Frances caused damage in other areas. The slow moving storm and its heavy rains left Niemiec’s home with irreversible water damage. “The first thing Frances did was tear off our roof,” Niemiec said. “After that it just rained into our house for about 15 hours. Walls were warped, the septic system was flooded and the house was a garden of mold and mildew.” Niemiec’s family learned their lesson from Andrew and had insurance for the 2004 season. The lack of insurance, Niemiec said, is one of the major problems in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. “The worst part about Katrina is that there is no flood insurance available in New Orleans because they are below sea.level,” he said. “These people really have nothing now.” Niemiec admits his family was relatively lucky. They had the resources necessary to rebuild their life. Many of those who felt the wrath of Katrina in New Orleans were impoverished, making it harder to start over, Niemiec said. “That is why I have donated clothes, money, food and time to the effort,” said Niemiec, who has volunteered at the Navy Reserve Base on Pickens Street, which doubles as a refuge for Katrina survivors. “I know what it’s like to lose everything in the blink of an eye.” Comments on this story? E-mail gamecocknews@gwm.sc.edu ■ South Carolina Bookstore 801 Main St. 1124 Devine St. 2410-C Augusta Rd. And All Domino’s Locations 701 Gervais St., Ste 110 132 Assembly St.