I know the title is a little funny for sure and maybe seem a little bit extreme, but I am going to be brutally honest here and say that Statin drugs are a complete and total sham!  There, I said it, it’s out there for the world to see.  So many times Chiropractors and Naturopathic physicians can seem a little bit like the lone wolves crying in the wilderness with regards to our views on prescription drugs.  Or feel like Will Ferrell in Zoolander “I Feel Like I’m Taking Crazy Pills!!!”  But let me get one thing straight here, I am in no way anti-drug.  I have seen the life-saving benefits of prescription drugs personally in my life with my wife and my mother.  My wife was recently diagnosed with thyroid cancer and my mother just recently had a heart transplant, so in no way am I anti-prescription drugs.  When prescription drugs are used prudently by skilled physicians they can dramatically help people’s lives and in many instances save peoples lives.  However, I have also seen how the pharmaceutical industry has used unethical, dishonest methods for pushing useless drugs on the masses for huge profits.  Drugs like Statins are a perfect example of this.  Numerous studies have shown that Statins do not help prevent heart disease and yet the drug companies continue to parade their outdated and outright biased “studies” to convince physicians and the public at large that statins are not only effective but also safe.  Why wouldn’t they want the public to believe this, I mean Statin drugs alone rake in a nice $30 billion annually.  I could go on and on about this but rather than me looking like a fringe lunatic just screaming from my soapbox I will defer to the experts.  First, if you haven’t read the book by by Dr. Ray Strand “Death By Prescription”, read it.  This book does a fantastic job of not only illustrating the problems that we are facing with the pharmaceutical industry but also gives valuable insight as to things we can do to help be prepared to make better informed decisions regarding our health.  Also read this short article here written by a prominent thoracic surgeon, Dr. Dwight C. Lundell about Statins.  Check it out here.

So to answer the initial question…Yes.  Yes, Statins are from Satan.  Sorry if this offends, it isn’t meant to.  Its just a hard dose of the truth.  Studies have further shown that serum cholesterol levels aren’t the definitive indicator for heart disease risk.  More and more, researchers are continuing to discover that atherosclerosis has far more to do with inflammation and oxidation of cholesterol within the arterial walls than cholesterol in and of itself.  With that said here are a few ways to help lower cholesterol naturally.  Not as convenient or easy as a nice little Statin but these things actually do work.

1.)  Fish Oil.  If you aren’t already taking a high quality fish oil, you should start.  I typically recommend around 3,000-6,000mg per day depending upon the patient.  If you need more information on Fish Oils, I will soon be posting an article here all about how to select a good fish oil.

2.)  Fiber.  Get more.  The typical American gets about 14-15 grams of fiber a day, which is around 10-20 grams short of the daily recommendation.  A quick, easy and tasty way to get more fiber in your diet is by making a nice green smoothie.  I show an easy recipe here.  You can use spinach or if you want even more fiber you can use raw kale.

3.)  Take a potent anti-oxidant.  This is critical.  Because most research is pointing towards the fact that oxidation of cholesterol within arterial walls is the precipitating factor in atherosclerosis ensuring that you are getting optimal amounts of anti-oxidants is a good thing.  One of the easiest ways to do this is through one of the different liquid antioxidant supplements out there.  Take your pick, there are a ton of them.  The ones that I have heard great things about are Jus and MonaVie.  Both have super duper high orac scores (this is the fancy way of measuring the level of antioxidant properties).

Although these aren’t quite as convenient as a single pill, they are far more effective, and yet still pretty easy!

High levels of HDL cholesterol — the “good” kind — have long been thought to help protect against heart disease. But new research finds that having high levels of HDL cholesterol may matter less than how well the good cholesterol functions — that is, how well it works to rid the body of excess cholesterol. HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol performs this clean-up by acting as a boat, removing unwanted cholesterol from cells called macrophages and transporting it to the liver, where the body can get rid of it. That helps prevent the cholesterol from getting stuck in the arterial walls, leading to the plaques that are a hallmark of heart disease, explained Dr. Daniel Rader, director of Preventive Cardiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Low levels of HDL are strongly associated with an increased risk of heart disease, but the converse isn’t always the case. For years, experts were perplexed at why some of those with high levels of HDL cholesterol were still at high risk of heart attacks. In fact, a trial for torcetrapib, a drug that raised levels of HDL cholesterol, was halted in 2006 when it emerged that people taking the drug were at heightened risk of heart attacks and death. That led researchers to surmise there might be something about the way in which a person’s HDL functioned that mattered more than HDL levels. In the study, Rader and his colleagues took blood samples and measured the thickness of the blood vessel walls in the carotid artery of the necks of 203 healthy adults. The carotid thickness indicates arterial plaque and heart disease risk, Rader noted. Researchers then took the HDL from the blood and applied it to macrophages derived from mouse cell lines. In humans and mice, macrophages are white blood cells that swallow invading microbes as a front line of defense; they also engulf cholesterol, thus contributing to the formation of plaques and inflammation in the walls of the arteries. Participants whose HDL cholesterol was less able to remove cholesterol from the macrophages tended to have a thicker carotid artery. “The function of the HDL was an even better predictor of the thickness of the carotid wall than the HDL level itself,” said Rader, the senior study author. The researchers term this function “cholesterol efflux capacity.” The study is published in the Jan. 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In a second experiment, the researchers measured the HDL function of 442 people who had undergone bypass surgery due to a blocked artery and 351 people without heart disease. Those with heart disease had poorer HDL function than those without it, even after adjusting for traditional risk factors, the investigators found. “We found the people who had blockages had significantly less ability to promote cholesterol removal than those who had no blockages,” Rader said. “The measure of HDL function was a much better predictor of the likelihood of having blocked arteries than the measure of HDL cholesterol itself.” That doesn’t mean high HDL is of no help, noted Dr. Robert Eckel, past president of the American Heart Association and a professor of medicine at University of Colorado. Generally, people with higher levels of HDL also have better function, Eckel said. But the findings may help explain why some people with high HDL are still found to have heart disease. “I see plenty of people who have heart disease but who also have high levels of HDL. So what is going on there? Why aren’t they protected? This study may suggest their HDL isn’t working properly to carry out its function,” Eckel said. The converse may also be true: even someone with low levels of HDL may never develop heart disease because their HDL may work very well. “Just because someone’s HDL level was high, doesn’t necessarily predict their function is going to be high,” Rader said. “And just because their HDL is low, doesn’t mean their HDL function, or their ability to remove cholesterol, is low.” Statins, a popular cholesterol-lowering medication, lowers levels of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. When LDL is engulfed by macrophages, it generally gets stuck in the arterial walls, accumulates and forms plaques. Statins do not effect HDL cholesterol levels, Rader said. There is no test available to the public for HDL function, nor is there likely to be one soon, Rader noted. He pointed out that researchers also don’t know what causes HDL cholesterol to function poorly in removing excess cholesterol, something that will be the subject of future research.SOURCES: Daniel J. Rader, M.D., director, preventive cardiology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia; Robert Eckel, M.D., professor, medicine, University of Colorado, Denver; Jan. 13, 2011, New England Journal of Medicine HealthDay

There is an ever-growing mountain of evidence substantiating the numerous health benefits that a plant-based diet provides.

Peer-reviewed medical paper after peer-reviewed medical paper published in the most well-respected of journals have shown that a plant-based diet free of meat and dairy products is the single most powerful tool we have at our disposal to prevent and fight disease.

Not only can heart disease and diabetes be prevented but the disease progression can be stopped and reversed. If that wasn’t enough there is a multitude of research showing how the consumption of a plant-based diet’s can prevent cancer, dramatically reduce cancer recurrence rates, reduce cognitive impairment as we age (Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia) and reduce osteoporosis in addition to a myriad of others. This being the case, how exactly does something as seemingly simple and low-tech as one’s diet manage to do these things?

The short answer is this: via a gas called nitric oxide which is produced by our endothelial cells.  The problem with this very brief explanation is that most people have never heard of nitric oxide, much less endothelial cells. Consequently, that probably isn’t going to help most people understand how the very important the daily decision to eat a plant-based diet is able to accomplish such incredible feats.

What the heck are endothelial cells? and what the heck is Nitric Oxide (NO)? and how do they accomplish the mammoth task of keeping us healthy?

Endothelial cells are the thin single-layer of cells that line the interior surface of all blood vessels.  They are the cells that come in direct contact with blood flowing through our cardiovascular system.  A “healthy” endothelium can be best described as having like a Teflon coating on the vessels’ inner walls; this non-sticky quality enhancing the flow of blood.  An “unhealthy” endothelium, by contrast, acts like Velcro, grabbing white blood cells, platelets and cholesterol and packing them against the inner wall of the blood vessels narrowing them = causing the vessels to thicken over time, thereby inhibiting the flow of blood. This accumulation of “material” leads to the formation of  what are called atherosclerotic “plaques”.

A healthy endothelium is not being covered by any plaque and therefore has the ability to release many beneficial substances into the blood stream.  An unhealthy endothelium  eventually narrows and thickens and resultantly loses flexibility.  The vessels can no longer expand as they should when the heart pumps blood through them. Pumping blood into stiff arteries containing plaque increases resistance to blood flow causing the heart to work harder. Your blood pressure must increase to pump the same volume of blood through these vessels.

That being said, what then determines the overall health of our endothelial cells that make up our endothelium? In other words what makes our endothelium non-stick or sticky?

That is where Nitric Oxide (NO) comes in. Remember, a healthy endothelium is able to release many beneficial substances into our blood stream.  (Note: we are born with a very healthy endothelium which means until we create an environment in which plaques are created, our vessels are healthy, slick and without plaque)  Nitric oxide is one of these substances.  Nitric oxide has a number of important functions.  One of its primary functions according to Dr. Louis J. Ignarro, the 1998 Nobel Prize winner in Medicine,

“…is to help keep the arteries and veins free of the plaque that causes stroke and to maintain normal blood pressure by relaxing arteries, thereby regulating the rate of blood flow and preventing coronaries (heart attacks)”.

He goes on to explain that,

“Nitric oxide is the body’s natural cardiovascular wonder drug”.

NO accomplishes this by controlling muscle tone of the blood vessels which directly impacts blood pressure control, inhibiting the aggregation of platelets and other particulate such as cholesterol and white blood cells.

Other functions worthy of note include: facilitation of proper kidney function, aiding in the transmission of messages between nerve cells, helping the immune system fight  viral, bacterial and parasitic infections as well as tumors, peristalsis, regulating inflammation, lowering of cholesterol levels and penile erection. Let’s discuss one of these functions in more detail to illustrate.

For example, erection of the penis during sexual excitation is mediated by NO release from the endothelial cells lining the blood vessels of the penis.  The NO release from the endothelial cells cause the blood to pool in the adjacent blood sinuses producing an erection.  Thus, if NO cannot be produced (or produced in sufficient amounts) as the result of a damaged endothelium, then an erection cannot occur. This is why difficulty getting or maintaining an erection is indicative of impending or active heart disease (= ample accumulation of plaque).  If you are currently experiencing impotence, it would be a very good idea to see your doctor such that he or she can discern the cause.

Bringing it full circle: So, if a healthy endothelium results in adequate production of NO and NO performs all of those vital tasks, including keeping our endothelium debris free (=healthy) what exactly causes our endothelium to become unhealthy and thereby produce less NO which results in plaque formation and accumulation?

Causes of endothelial damage  and resultant plaque formation:

• Smoking – it decreases good cholesterol (HDL) and increases bad cholesterol (LDL) that damages your endothelial cells. Further, nicotine directly damages endothelial cells and the carbon monoxide from cigarette smoke damages the endothelium too.
• A high fat, high cholesterol diet (particularly animal fat from meat and dairy products; plants do NOT have cholesterol) – LDL directly damages endothelial cells.
• A diet low in fiber content (animal products do NOT contain any fiber) – High fiber foods absorb bile salts that your body uses in digestion.  Your liver manufactures bile from cholesterol.  Thus, high fiber foods are a natural way to reduce bad (LDL) cholesterol.
• Diabetes – When blood sugars are beyond the normal range it causes oxidative stress to the endothelial cells resulting in damage to them.
• Being overweight or obese – Fat cells store vitamin D and vitamin D inhibits vessel calcification (plaques eventually get harder as a result of calcification). Thus, losing weight or being at a healthy weight keeps the vitamin D in your system allowing for utilization thereby preventing plaque calcification. Read the rest of this entry »

I want to start off by saying that I am not against meat eaters. If a person wants to eat meat, they have a right to eat all the steak they want. However, I do believe that there are health benefits that come from not eating meat. This post, and this blog in general, is designed to present facts relating to heath so that you will have the information needed to make informed health decisions. With that said, I have been reading about the meat industry and couldn’t help but see similarities between their tactics to promote their product and the tobacco industry’s strategies to sell theirs. First and foremost, both industries pour billions of dollars into the promotion of their products. Marketing companies are hired to advertise their product and ensure that they are portrayed in a positive light. Deception is often at the center of these marketing strategies. Additionally, huge amounts of money are spent to provide free educational materials to schools, public service announcements, and press releases. These are all used so that you think that they are doing a service for you and the rest of the community. Really, they are attempting to divert the attention away from the fact that their product may not be beneficial to your health.  Discrepancies are common between what individuals in the meat industry claim and what is proven scientifically.  Sam Abramson, the CEO of Springfield Meats stated, “Who says meat is high in saturated fat? This politically correct nutrition campaign is just another example of the diet dictocrats trying to run our lives.” On the other hand, Marion Nestle, the chair of the nutrition department of New York University said, “Meat contributes an extraordinarily significant percentage of saturated fat in the American diet.” First, it is interesting that the meat industry would say that “diet dictocrats” are trying to “run our lives” when in reality, they were reacting simply to the release of facts to the public. An educated population does not need anyone to run their lives for them, since they can make better choices with the information they are given. Second, saturated fat and cholesterol (which is also found in meat) contributes greatly to atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

A program developed by Dr. Dean Ornish  helps patients reverse heart disease. His program is comprised of 5 main parts:

1. A very low-fat, whole foods, vegetarian diet
2. Half an hour a day of walking or other exercise
3. Half an hour a day of stretching, meditation, relaxation, stress reduction, ect..
4. Psychological and emotional support groups
5. No smoking

While you don’t have to be vegetarian in order to improve your health and decrease your risk for heart disease, you will receive greater health benefits as you limit the amount of meat (red meat especially) that you consume. It may be wise to think of fish as  a good alternative or small amounts of white meat.  Here are a few numbers to think about:

• Average cholesterol level in the US: 210
• Average cholesterol level of US vegetarians: 161
• Average cholesterol level of US vegans: 133

From William Castelli, M.D., director of the Framingham Health Study, the longest-running study of diet and heart disease in medical history: “Vegetarians have the best diet; they have the lowest rates of coronary heat disease of any group in the country.”

The Mayo Staff Clinic states, cholesterol is a waxy substance that’s found in the fats (lipids) in your blood. While your body needs cholesterol to continue building healthy cells, having high cholesterol can increase your risk of heart disease.

When you have high cholesterol, you may develop fatty deposits in your blood vessels. Eventually, these deposits make it difficult for enough blood to flow through your arteries. Your heart may not get as much oxygen-rich blood as it needs, which increases the risk of a heart attack. Decreased blood flow to your brain can cause a stroke.

High cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia) can be inherited, but is often preventable and treatable. A healthy diet, regular exercise and sometimes medication can go a long way toward reducing high cholesterol.

Over the past two years my doctor has been keeping a close eye on my bad cholesterol levels and she has decided that I should be on medication. Heart disease runs in my family and though I’m sure that genes are part of the reason for my high cholesterol levels, I definitely have to change my lifestyle and eating habits or I could end up like my mother and have a stroke, or like my grandparents and have a heart attack and end up having heart surgery.

Am I scared? Yep! My mom told me that when she was 30-something  she also started medication for cholesterol. I don’t want to have a small pharmacy in my purse, and at this point I’m on my way. Open my purse now and you can find Simvastatin, Sertraline, and Loratadine  inside. That’s two prescriptions too many…one is for allergies, I can handle that.

Foods I should avoid:

• Fatty meats: Corned beef, ham, bacon, lunch meat, short ribs, spare ribs, sausage, hot dogs, all organ meats
• Any seafood that is sauteed or deep fried
• Cream cheese, processed cheese and cheese spread
• Canned baked beans
• Any milk product made with whole or 2% milk, chocolate milk, milkshakes, eggnog, coconut milk
• Yogurt made from whole milk or custard style
• Cereals containing coconut, instant hot cereals, granola
• Pasta and rice prepared with whole eggs, cream and cheese sauces; canned or boxed noodle and macaroni dishes; canned spaghetti dishes
• Baked Goods – butter or cheese rolls and breads; croutons; commercial biscuits, muffins, pancakes, pastries, sweet rolls, donuts, croissants, popovers
• Soft flour tortillas made with lard, shortening, hydrogenated fats, coconut and palm oils
• Salted crackers or snacks; fried snack foods; any snacks or crackers containing saturated fats, coconut or palm oils, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats; cheese crackers or snacks; potato chips; corn chips; tortilla chips; chow mein noodles; commercial buttered popcorn

Damn! The list goes on and on. You can read more of what to avoid along with healthy options here.  This is gonna be very hard and life altering for me, but I have gotta get it together or I could die too young and in very bad health.

Related Articles

• The Truth Behind Six Cholesterol Myths (everydayhealth.com)
• Questions to Ask Your Doctor About High Cholesterol (everydayhealth.com)
• The Keys to Cutting Cholesterol (everydayhealth.com)
• High Cholesterol Levels in the Young (everydayhealth.com)
• Developing a Low-Sodium and Low-Cholesterol Meal Plan at Home (brighthub.com)

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This morning I’m making up a batch of protein power oatmeal and then going for a spa pedicure with my friend.  Later today the boys and I are going on an outdoor adventure to try out my son’s new metal detector.  But first – a little bit of info I found.  I confess: I surf the web a lot.  I am always looking for inspiration, information and entertainment. Yesterday I found this site: http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/ a blog written by a medical librarian. She had a great list of information about cutting cholesterol. I realized that I was doing a lot of these things last summer, which is probably why my cholesterol was so good at my last check up. But good to be reminded, so I can incorporate back into my menu plan for the week:

Harvard Heart Letter’s Top 11 Foods That Lower Cholesterol–vol. 20(2): Oct. 2009

1.  Oats – soluble fiber

2.  Barley & other whole grains – soluble fiber

3.  Beans – soluble fiber

4.  Eggplant & Okra – soluble fiber

5.  Nuts – 2 ounces a day can lower LDLs by about 5% (based on previous research)

6.  Vegetable oils – I’m not advocating this one, but it’s on the Harvard list as a replacement for butter, lard, & shortening

7.  Apples, grapes, strawberries, citrus fruits – these fruits are rich in pectin, a soluble fiber that lowers LDL

8.  Foods fortified with sterols and stanols – 2 grams a day can lower LDL cholesterol by about 10%.  My comment:  skip the fortified margarine & juice & take them in supplement form

9. Soy – consuming 25 grams of soy protein a day (10 ounces of tofu or 3 cups of soy milk) can lower LDL by 5-6%

10.  Fatty fish – the omega-3s lower LDLs & triglycerides.  My comment: skip the fish & go for high-grade pharmaceutical quality fish oil, or the algae vegetarian equivalents.  Note: recent research by Dr. Christopher Gardner of Stanford University has shown that flax does not come anywhere close to the triglyeride-lowering effect of fish oil. Very disappointing. 

11.  Fiber supplements – the least appealing way to get soluble fiber.  2 tsp a day of psyllium, which is found in Metamucil, provides 4 grams of soluble fiber