Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together [Read more →]

I have posted previously about the myth that lowering cholesterol will prevent heart attacks and other cardiovascular disasters. I urge you to not “buy into” one of the biggest frauds perpetuated by Big Pharma. What is really sad is that most conventionally trained doctors feel forced to “cover their butts” and prescribe statins the minute total cholesterol levels go above the quite random number of 200. [Read more →]

Do you have labs results with HIGH TRIGLYCERIDES?

Is your conventionally trained physician just telling you to take drugs?

Yikes! High triglycerides can usually be spotted even without lab tests because they look like belly fat, or the classic apple shape body. [Read more →]

Many of us have been incited to concern, even fear,  about cholesterol levels.  There has been an enormous media and medical push to reduce cholesterol levels in the past two decades.  [Read more →]

written for NDNR (www.ndnr.com) and published Feb 2008
Heart disease is the leading cause of the death in the U.S. The World Health Organization estimates that 17.5 million people died of CVD in 2005, representing 30% of all global deaths. [Read more →]

The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association have released new guidelines for physical activity that recommend that healthy adults ages 18 to 65 exercise a minimum of five days per week in order to promote health and prevent disease.

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Abnormal lipids (fats) in the blood are considered one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of premature death.  Conventional wisdom has been to evaluate blood lipids after abstaining from food for 12 hours. 

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Hypertension is defined as a repeated blood pressure (BP) reading of greater than 150/90 mm Hg (mercury). There are two types of hypertension: primary (aka essential or idiopathic, which means no particular cause can be identified) and secondary, which means due to some definable cause such as kidney failure or atherosclerosis.

About 89% of cases are considered to be primary hypertension, and while no specific cause can be singled out as the culprit, many factors are implicated in the development of primary, or essential hypertension. Some of the recognized risk factors include family history, environment (family size, crowding, eating patterns, occupation, obesity), salt ingestion and sensitivity (there is controversy over whether the sodium or chloride part of the salt molecule is the principal factor), race (blacks have more primary hypertension and more morbidity and mortality than whites), hyperlipidemia, smoking, and diet.

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The standard definition of high cholesterol is having an excess of cholesterol in the blood, usually more than 200 mg/dl, although many doctors are now citing 180 mg/dl as the maximum of the reference range.

The reason you have “high cholesterol” is probably because you have eaten too much saturated fat (from animals) over the years. Some people, however, have an inherited type of high cholesterol. For more information on familial hypercholesterolemia please see the conventional diagnosis section.

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Fats, or lipids, are essential to good health. Fats serve as a concentrated source of energy. Each gram of fat supplies 9 calories, whereas protein and carbohydrate supplies 4 calories each per gram. Fatty tissue in the body helps to hold the organs and nerves in place and protects them against traumatic injury. The layer of fat just below the skin insulates the body and maintains a steady temperature. Fats allow for the absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K). In the stomach, fats depress enzymatic activity thus slowing the emptying of the stomach after a meal and providing the felling of fullness (satiety) after eating. Fats are also terrific carriers of flavor, so add to the good taste of foods. Having said all that, Americans tend to consume way more fat calories than is necessary for optimal health. Most of the increase in fat consumption in America over the past 25 years represents an increase in the consumption of salad dressing and fried foods. The average American diet consists of 40% fat, 30% protein and 30% carbohydrate. A better ratio for good health would be 10-15% fat, 20-30% protein and 55-70% carbohydrate.

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