DHARAMSALA, AUGUST 23: Scientists and researchers have long sought alternative therapies to combat obesity, a key risk factor for patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) — the most common type of heart disease and the cause of heart attacks. A recent study has shown that a traditional Tibetan medicine diet may just be the answer.
The first-of-its-kind study by medical practitioners, which compared Tibetan medicine diet with a Western one, has revealed that a traditional Tibetan medicine diet is significantly more effective than a Western diet in reducing the body weight and body mass index (BMI) of patients with CAD and metabolic syndrome.
The group dietary and behavioral intervention study was conducted by Dr. Stephan von Haehling, Dr. Konstantinos Stellos, Dr. Namgyal Qusar, Dr. Meinrad Gawaz and Dr. Boris Bigalke on 524 patients undergoing coronary angiography. The study was administered between December 2008 and November 2010, the findings of which were recently published in the International Journal of Cardiology.
“This is the first study that compares the impact of dietary and behavioral advice recommended in Western medicine diet (usual care) and traditional Tibetan medicine diet in a large group of patients with CAD and manifest metabolic syndrome,” said Dr. Namgyal Qusar, who practices traditional Tibetan medicine at his clinic, Tibetan Healing Centre, in Dharamsala, India.
Dr. Qusar along with his colleagues in the research study led by Prof. Dr. Bigalke carried out the study on white Caucasian patients in Germany who had a BMI of >25kg/m2. The researchers adjudicated one group of 262 patients to a Tibetan medicine diet and another group of 262 patients to a Western diet.
The study found that while both Western and Tibetan medicine diets caused a significant reduction in patients’ body weight and BMI after 6 and 12 months, the changes were noticeably more pronounced in patients following the Tibetan diet.
In addition, the study showed that after 6 months, the levels of total and LDL cholesterol, fibrinogen, and C-reactive protein (CRP) — markers for the risk of heart attacks — were significantly lower among patients following the principles of Tibetan diet as compared to Western medicine. This, the researchers believe, is a result of the lipid-modifying and anti-inflammatory effects induced by the Tibetan medicine diet, compared with that of the Western one.
“We believe the nutritional and behavioral therapy recommended in the Tibetan protocol reduced body weight and BMI in patients with CAD and metabolic syndrome significantly better than that of the Western diet and may also induce lipid-modifying and anti-inflammatory effects,” said Dr. Qusar.
He hopes the latest study would prompt larger multicenter studies to substantiate the current findings of their research paper, which is titled ‘Weight reduction in patients with coronary artery disease: Comparison of Traditional Tibetan Medicine and Western diet.’
Dr. von Haehling, a senior clinician and researcher at the Department of Cardiology, Charité Medical School, Berlin, Germany, was the principal investigator of this research study, which included cardiologists Dr. Stellos, Dr. Gawaz and Dr. Bigalke, along with Dr. Qusar.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people who die from cardiovascular diseases, mainly from heart disease and stroke, will increase to 23.3. million by 2030. It adds that most cardiovascular diseases can be prevented by addressing risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity, high blood pressure, diabetes and raised lipids.
