by The advice on how to avoid heart disease has been the same for years and one common recommendation is to avoid sources of saturated fat such as red meat – but Florida-based heart surgeon Dr Philip Ovadia challenges this as “misunderstanding.”
“Most of what I eat, the basic framework that I will build what I eat around, is things from the animal world, mostly animal protein,” said Ovadia News Week. “That’s meat of all kinds, seafood as well, and then eggs and dairy products.
“That is, I would say, for me, more than 95 percent of what I eat every day.” He clarified that he could add seasonings, onion or garlic from time to time, or even avocado every now and then.
He said that some of his patients were surprised when he told them about his diet, or even suggested similar ways of eating.
“Coming from a heart surgeon, the biggest misconception … is that red meat is bad for you, for your heart health,” Ovadia said.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people in the US, killing someone every 33 seconds, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The traditional view that foods high in saturated fat – such as red meat – raise cholesterol levels, which leads to sticky plaques building up in blood vessels, blocking blood flow and leading to heart attacks and strokes.
The American Heart Association website says: “Eating too much saturated fat can raise the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol in your blood. A high level of LDL cholesterol in your blood increases your risk of heart disease and stroke.”
He recommends getting no more than 120 calories, out of about 2,000 per day, from saturated fat, which is 13 grams or less.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website also states: “Eating a lot of foods high in saturated fat and trans fat may contribute to heart disease.”
But Ovadia said News Week that this was “simply not true” and based on “weak science that was misinterpreted and overpromoted.”
“For most people, when they’re talking about eating meat, it’s in the context of the standard Western diet, which has a lot of refined carbohydrates, a lot of processed foods. That’s what causes the harm – but the red meat took the blame.”
Instead of cutting out red meat and other sources of saturated fat, he said: “A whole food approach, a low carbohydrate diet is the best way to deal with insulin resistance and inflammation, which are the real causes of heart disease.”
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Inflammation is a normal immune system response that can become chronic if it is constantly triggered by dietary or lifestyle factors, such as sugar and ultra-processed food.
Insulin resistance is a condition that is a precursor to diabetes. When we eat carbohydrates, the body converts this food into glucose, and the hormone insulin is released to take the glucose out of the bloodstream to be used as energy.
People who eat a lot of sugar and refined carbohydrates – such as white bread, pasta and rice – may develop insulin resistance, where the body gradually struggles to deal with high levels of glucose in the blood.
“There are things like diabetes, things like cancer, high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease – all these things are associated with insulin resistance and inflammation,” said Ovadia. “The carnivore diet in particular – but in general, low-carbohydrate diets – has now been shown to be very effective in dealing with insulin resistance and improving or preventing inflammation.
“That’s why I think they’re so powerful when it comes to heart disease and these other chronic diseases.”
Ovadia has two active medical practices: one that focuses on performing heart surgery for people with advanced heart disease, and another that helps people improve their diets.
“The biggest thing I talk to people about is cutting out processed food, eating whole, real food,” he said. “Then I tell them you don’t have to be afraid of red meat.”
The most common heart surgery performed at Ovadia is coronary artery bypass surgery, dealing with people with advanced blockages in the arteries of the heart.
“What I say [my patients] is the surgery, it’s going to address the problem, right?” he said. “They’re not getting enough blood flow to their heart, and the surgery deals with that, but the surgery doesn’t change why they got the heart disease.
“If we don’t address that, they will have problems with heart disease for the rest of their lives.”
Nutritionist Nichola Ludlam-Raine, author How Not to Eat Ultra-Processedit was said News Week: “While short-term benefits may be reported, the high intake of red meat and lack of carbohydrates in a carnivore’s diet is a concern for long-term heart and gut health.
“There is more balance, a varied diet including lean proteins – with fresh red meat featuring about twice a week heart-healthy fats, and fiber from plant foods better supported by evidence of cardiovascular protection.”
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Update 10/24/24, 5:04 am ET: This article has been updated to include a comment from nutritionist Nichola Ludlam-Raine.
