Gluten And Heart Disease
Type “Gluten And Heart Disease” into Dr. Google and you find two major peer-reviewed studies.
This study is entitled Effects Of A Gluten-Reduced Or Gluten-Free Diet For The Primary Prevention Of Cardiovascular Disease.
These are the authors’ conclusions.
Very low-certainty evidence suggested that it is unclear whether gluten intake is associated with all-cause mortality. Our findings also indicate that low-certainty evidence may show little or no association between gluten intake and cardiovascular mortality and non-fatal myocardial infarction.
There would appear to be no strong link, between gluten and heart disease.
This British study is entitled Long Term Gluten Consumption In Adults Without Celiac Disease And Risk Of Coronary Heart Disease: Prospective Cohort Study.
These were the authors’ conclusions.
In these two large, prospective cohorts, the consumption of foods containing gluten was not significantly associated with risk of coronary heart disease. Although people with and without celiac disease may avoid gluten owing to a symptomatic response to this dietary protein, these findings do not support the promotion of a gluten restricted diet with a goal of reducing coronary heart disease risk. In addition, the avoidance of dietary gluten may result in a low intake of whole grains, which are associated with cardiovascular benefits. The promotion of gluten-free diets for the purpose of coronary heart disease prevention among asymptomatic people without celiac disease should not be recommended.
As before there would appear to be no strong link between gluten and heart disease.
To me, this is the most important sentence.
In addition, the avoidance of dietary gluten may result in a low intake of whole grains, which are associated with cardiovascular benefits.
So can we do something about it?
Enter The First Great Ethiopian Marathon Runner
I used to run a bit (badly) at school and my three heroes were Chris Brasher, Bruce Tulloh and Abebe Bikula.
The Ethiopian; Abebe Bikula was a double Olympic marathon champion.
- In 1960, he won in Rome, running barefoot.
- In 1964, he won in Tokyo, a few days after leaving hospital after having his appendix removed.
Both wins were in world record time.
Since 1964, three Olympic men’s marathons have been won by Ethiopians.
Ethiopian women have also won two gold and one bronze medals since the women’s marathon was inaugurated in 1984.
And then there’s the Kenyans, who’ve won a hatful of marathon medals.
Their competence is generally put down to living at altitude and I wouldn’t disagree with that.
My Experience Of Kenya
Soon after C died, I went on holiday to Kenya.
In one part of the holiday, I was riding horses in the Masai Mara and in the other I was glamping.
The second part was upmarket and one evening the chef approached me to find out more about my gluten-free diet. At breakfast next day, he presented me with a couple of rolls made from a local flour, which was probably something like millet or perhaps, teff from Ethiopia.
I had no adverse reaction. and he said, I could eat like a true African, as Western flour had no place in the local diet.
Conclusion
If we are worried about the lack of whole grains in gluten-free food, then perhaps we should add gluten-free whole grains from East Africa.
As a manager in a Marks and Spencer store, told me that they used Ethiopian flour in their gluten-free breads, I suspect this is already happening.
Fortescue Future Industries Enters Ethiopia to Produce Green Energy
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on 2Merkato, which describes itself as Ethiopia’s biggest business portal.
This is the first paragraph.
Ethiopia grants license to Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) for the production of green hydrogen and ammonia. Ahmed Shide, Minister of Finance, noted that the company would increase Ethiopia’s access to green energy.
FFI seems to buying hydrogen from everywhere.
False Banana: Is Ethiopia’s Enset ‘Wondercrop’ For Climate Change?
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Scientists say the plant enset, an Ethiopian staple, could be a new superfood and a lifesaver in the face of climate change.
A new study is saying, that the plant could be used to feed 100 million people in a warming world.
It looks like the study was done in an Ethiopian University, which is surely a heartwarming thing.
This is said about how enset is used for food.
Enset or “false banana” is a close relative of the banana, but is consumed only in one part of Ethiopia.
The banana-like fruit of the plant is inedible, but the starchy stems and roots can be fermented and used to make porridge and bread.
I’m not sure, but I seem to remember that porridge is a major food in Africa.
It is certainly a fascinating good news story. in several ways from Africa.
The Anonymous Widower 