Science Behind Our Program

At Healthy Living Dallas, we’re very firm believers that current research is the best foundation for the programs we develop for our patients. Science, combined with appropriate laboratory testing and identification of underlying problems, allows us to have an incredible impact on the health of our patients.

Below are just a few summaries of research published in peer-reviewed published journals that used the same principles and programs that we often use in our practice.

• 12 week randomized study – compared effects of the First Line Therapy program to the standard American Heart Association (AHA) plan in post-menopausal women.
• Following our plan showed significant additional decreases in:
  • Total cholesterol
  • LDL-cholesterol
  • Triglycerides
  • Blood Pressure and
  • Framingham Risk Assessment

 

• Incorporation of specific medical foods and phytochemicals resulted in increased reductions in total cholesterol, triglycerides, and non-HDL cholesterol.
• 43% of the participants using First Line Therapy and appropriate medical foods and phytochemicals resolved their metabolic syndrome in 12 weeks!

 

• High-risk subjects utilizing the First Line Therapy plan in combination with medical foods showed, on average, the following improvements which were statistically significant compared to the changes seen in the American Heart Association plan group:
  • Cholesterol decreased by an average of 15.8%
  • Triglycerides reduced by an average of 44.8%
  • HDL cholesterol increased by an average of 5.6%
  • Fasting insulin reduced by 25.7% on average
  • Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) reduced by an average of 3.4%
  • Reduced inflammatory marker hs-C-Reactive Protein (hs-CRP) by an average of 33.7%
  • Showed an average weight change of double the amount of weight compared to the American Heart Association plan

• Healthier Dietary Patterns including lower sugar and carbohydrate intake, lower fat intake, lower glycemic index ans glycemic load, high EPA and DHA intake
• Improvement in metabolic syndrome variables including reduced waist circumference, reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure and reduced plasma triglycerides
• Improvement in conventional cardiovascular risk factors including lower plasma total cholesterol, lower LDL cholesterol, lower non-HDL cholesterol, lower apolipoprotein B, and lower apoB/apo A-1 ratio

 

• Healthier dietary composition including:
  • Lower % energy from saturated fat
  • Lower % energy from trans fat
  • Higher % energy from protein
• Improvement in additional cardiovascular disease risk factors including:
  • Lower atherogenic lipoprotein particles (lipoproteins likely to form plaque in the arteries) including large VLDL, small VLDL, IDL, and small LDL
  • Higher ratio of large HDL to medium + small HDL particles
  • Lower plasma oxidized LDL
  • Lower plasma Lp (a)- lipoprotein (a)
  • Lower apo-C-III and apoE

 

• Low-glycemic load Mediterranean style dietary patterns led to healthier weight and body composition including:
  • Body Mass Index- weight to height ratio used by researchers to indicate obesity.
  • Higher % of fat-free mass
  • Lower percentage body fat
  • Lower percentage abdominal fat
• Improvements in Insulin resistance including:
  • Lower plasma insulin
  • Lower HOMA-IR score
• Additional improvements including:
  • Lower plasma level of inflammatory marker TNF alpha
  • Lower plasma level of leptin indicating improved leptin sensitivity (indicates increased feeling of fullness after eating because the body hears the "fullness" signal more efficiently)

 

• Higher phytonutrient antioxidant intake as evidenced by higher plasma Beta-carotene and lutein levels

 

• Additional improvements in reduced HMG-CoA reductase gene expression in mononuclear cells, indicating that the liver produced less cholesterol, which is often a mechanism for elevated LDL cholesterol levels in the blood.

 

• Plant-based diets such as the Mediterranean style food plan have been shown to counter the insulin raising effects of statin therapy.

 

• Insulin sensitivity is improved with intensive lifestyle intervention.

 

• Mediterranean-style diet led to greater glycemic control and Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) risk reduction and delayed drug therapy in type 2 diabetes.

 

• Lifestyle intervention outperformed metformin (prescription commonly prescribed for diabetic patients to help control blood sugar levels), with lasting effects on diabetes risk reduction