Picking on cholesterol as the villain in heart disease not only ignores the lack of evidence for such a  connection, but also ignores its importance in the functioning of the human body.  Certainly very high cholesterol is indicative of problems in body balance, but choosing lower and lower levels to vilify is, in my opinion, dangerous in the extreme.

A study in the Lancet (2001; 358:351-355) stated that their study confirms previous findings of increased mortality in elderly people with low serum cholesterol, and shows that long-term persistence of low cholesterol concentration actually increases risk of death. 

I was horrified when they considered making statins over-the-counter, but could not say it better than Dr. Malcolm Kendricks:

We are sleep-walking into what could be a major medical disaster. Most people, and most doctors, are unaware – or don’t seem to care – that statins should never ever be taken by a women of child-bearing age. The risk, it would seem, is greater than that posed by thalidomide, and no-one seems to be the least bit bothered. ‘Yeh, whatever.’

Yet, when statins go OTC it is absolutely certain that women of childbearing age will take them, knowing nothing of this risk. It is equally certain that a number of these women will become pregnant, and many of these pregnancies will result in horribly deformed children....

But these defects shouldn’t exactly come as a surprise. Cholesterol is essential for the development of neural tissue, so we should expect to find that if the mother is taking a drug that inhibits cholesterol synthesis at a time when the fetus is developing – horrible developmental abnormalities will occur. Such as failure of the brain to develop in the right way, or duplication of the spinal cord.

For more complete details of the birth defects caused by statins consider reading the New England Journal of Medicine, April 8, 2004: pages 1579 – 1582. It’s a letter by Robin J Edison and Maximilian Muenke.

Now, a discovered connection between statins and Parkinson's disease (more than 3 times the risk) should alert everyone to the dangers not only of the medication, but of trying to achieve unrealistically low levels of cholesterol.

New Study To Test Statin-Parkinson's Link

The Vitamin Lady wrtes about a Natural Aproach to Cholesterol Balance - you will find a link to Dr. Kendricks book, "The Great Cholesterol Con" there.

This was sent to me by a caring friend, and is so relevant I am sharing it with you.  Please pass it on!

 I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best
 description I've ever read .

 Women and heart attacks (Myocardial infarction).  Did you know that women
 rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart
 attack...you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat,
 grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies.

 Here is the story of one woman's experience with a heart attack.

 "I had a completely unexpected heart attack at about 10:30 pm with NO prior
 exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've
 brought it on. I was sitting all snugly y & warm of a cold evening, with my
 purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and
 actually thinking "A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my soft,
 cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up." A moment late, I felt that
 awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a
 bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite
 seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the
 esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't
 have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time
 drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was
 my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of
 anything since about 5:00 PM.


 "After that had seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little
 squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight,it was
 probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continue racing up and
 under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when
 administering CPR). This fascinating process continued on into my throat and
 branched out into both jaws.


 "AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening--we all have read
 and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signal of an MI
 happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, quote; "Dear God,I
 think I'm having a heart attack !" I lowered the foot rest, dumping the cat
 from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. Thought
 to myself "If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next
 room where the phone is or anywhere else.......but, on the other hand,if I
 don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer i may not
 be able to get up in moment."


 "I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next
 room and dialed the Paramedics... I told her I thought I was having a heart
 attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my
 jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said
 she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was
 near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor
 where they could see me when they came in.


 "I then laid down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I
 don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto
 gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to
 St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw
 that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap,helping
 the medics pull my stretcher out  of the ambulance. He was bending over me
asking questions (probably something like "Have you taken any  medications?")
 but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or
 form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist
 and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral
 artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side by
 side stints to hold open my right coronary artery.


 "I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken
 at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took
 perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St.Jude
 are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to
 the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped
 somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing the stents .


 "Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want
 all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned first
 hand."


 1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not
 the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my
 sternum and jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women than
 men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were
 having one, and commonly mistake it a s indigestion, take some Maalox or
 other anti-heartburn preparation, and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better
 in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't happen. My female friends,
 your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the
 Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt
 before. It is better to have a "false alarm" visitation than to risk your
 life guessing what it might be!


 2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics". Ladies TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
 Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER--you're a hazard to others on the
 road, and so is your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking
 anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road. Do NOT call your
 doctor--he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach
 him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will
 tell you to call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car
 that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you
 need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.


 3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a  normal
 cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated
 reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high, and/or
 accompanied by high blood pressure.) MI's are usually cause by long-term
 stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly
 hormones into your system to sludge things up in there. Pain in the jaw can
 wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we
 know, the better chance we could survive...


 A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people,
 you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.


 **Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care
 about** I just did!!
 

Never under-estimate the value of adding spices to your food.  As a young woman, I travelled extensively in less-than developed countries, and by dint of adding hot peppers to everything I ate, I avoided the dire consequences  that usually attend foreign travel.

Let alone the fact that without spices , food can be pretty blah!

The spice curcumin, from turmeric, one of the major ingredients in curry powder, and used extensively by itself also, has been studied for its effect on serious conditions, such as Alzheimer'sd and cancer prevention.  Now a new study shows that it can also affect cholesterol and LDL beneficially, as can cayenne pepper or capsaicin.

Here is the study

Here is a great (and simple) way to use turmeric frequently

Here you will find both curcumin and  cayenne pepper

If you go to my article on Oligoprocyanidins, written in about 2000, you will see that I was already advocating Resveratrol as an anti-cancer strategy and over-all health support.  In fact, 2 years ago I found an absolutely wonderful small company making capsules and powder of the Muscadine Grape, grown right here in the USA.

I picked up the products immediately, and began using it myself.  It turns out that the Muscadine Grape has about 3 times the amount of Resveratrol as other kinds of grapes, as the website www.resveratrol.com points out. 

Red Wine compound may extend life - mouse study

Resveratrol - protecting against vascular alteration and aging

Jarrow makes an excellent Resveratrol product, with 16 mg of Resveratrol.

Knowledge of the muscle pain that sometimes occurs with statin drugs is now fairly widespread, I think.  Fewer people are suffering this side effect ignorant of the cause.

Now, however, comes word of an even graver danger: the possibility of lipitor being involved in the development of ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, a debilitating and fatal disease of the neurological system.

Here is a detailed report.

Here is my article listing all the natural ways to address high cholesterol

Here is a listing of natural remedies that may help cholesterol balance

Jealous of my infallible reputation, the first thing I did when I read this study was check my article on Healthy Diet to make SURE walnuts were prominently featured.  I am glad to report that indeed, they are.

This study suggests that walnuts may be an even more important part of the Mediterranean diet than olive oil, as far as cardiovascular health is concerned.

So whatever else you reach for postprandially, add a handful of these little treasures!

New Study Shows Eating Walnuts Protects Heart Against Short-Term Damage From Saturated Fat

This study serves as  further cautionary evidence that dietary supplements used in drug-like quantities, may have side effects. More is not necessarily better.

Elderly patients who have had a heart attack need to avoid large doses of supplementary L-Arginine.

An inspiring account of how a centuries' old drawing led a modern day heart surgeon to improve his technique.

da Vinci conquers - more than code.

Details and illustrations here.

Did anyone out there read "How to lie with Statistics"?

One of the first thing to notice about this study (though not mentioned in the reporting) is that almost the same number of people on placebo developed heart failure as those using Vitamin E..

Jack Challem (www.nutritionreporter.com) points out to me that all of the subjects in this stsudy were seriously ill, either with heart disease or diabetes.  Half had already suffered heart attacks, and a quarter had undergone heart surgery.  All of them were talking pharmaceutical drugs.

As helpful as Vitamin E is, as proven by one positive research study after another it cannot be expected to perform miracles for those who are severly ill after years of abusing their bodies.

Almost as though the study were carefully designed for failure.

Did anyone report the reduction in  cancer rates found in that same study??

Did anyone out there read "How to lie with Statistics"?

One of the first thing to notice about this study (though not mentioned in the reporting) is that almost the same number of people on placebo developed heart failure as those using Vitamin E..

Jack Challem (www.nutritionreporter.com) points out to me that all of the subjects in this stsudy were seriously ill, either with heart disease or diabetes.  Half had already suffered heart attacks, and a quatrer had undergone heart surgery.  All of them were talking pharmaceutical drugs.

As helpful as Vitamin E is, as proven by one positivfe research study after another it cannot be expected to perform miracles for those who are severly ill after years of abusing their bodies.

Almost as though the study were carefully designed for failure.

Did anyone report the reduction in  cancer rates found in that same study??

April 17th