Cholesterol Theory – Fatally Cracked

September 9, 2008 // No Comments »

As many of you may know I have a particular interest in the Cholesterol Theory of heart disease and this article came across my desk  today and i thought it so important that i just had to post it. The unerlying premise that Cholesterol and coronary heart disease are linked is clearly coming under increasing scrutiny and may well be not only disproved but blown out of the water – where does that leave the pharmaceutical companies????

September 8, 2008

Egg Study Puts Cracks in Anti-Cholesterol Claims
Results undermine the never-proven hypothesis that diets high in cholesterol and saturated fat promote cardiovascular disease
by Craig Weatherby

A new study from Britain further undermines a decades-old medical myth regarding the role of dietary cholesterol in cardiovascular disease.

And these findings add to fast-deepening doubts surrounding the broader, near century-old “lipid hypothesis” of heart disease, which is reflected in public health policies, including the USDA Food Guide Pyramid.

This increasingly discredited hypothesis holds that “excess” dietary saturated fat and cholesterol – and resulting rises in blood cholesterol and lipid (fat) levels – are major contributing factors to cardiovascular disease (atherosclerosis) and resulting coronary heart disease.

Key Points UK study finds that two eggs a day did not raise cholesterol levels in overweight dieters. Study affirms prior findings that dietary cholesterol does not cause cardiovascular disease. The idea that saturated fat and cholesterol cause heart disease is increasingly discredited by the evidence.

Atherosclerosis – which is the chief defining characteristic of cardiovascular disease – is the medical term for arteries lined with inflamed, unstable, plaque.

This inflammatory condition is the leading cause of heart attacks, stroke, congestive heart failure and the arrhythmias that induce sudden cardiac death.

(For a summary of the relationships and distinctions between inflammation, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and coronary heart disease, see our accompanying article, “What is Heart Disease, Exactly?”.)

Incredibly, given the decades-old public health advice to avoid saturated fat and cholesterol – and the several billion dollars spent annually on cholesterol-lowering drugs – the evidence supporting the lipid hypothesis of heart disease is astonishingly weak.

We covered the declining credibility of the lipid hypothesis of cardiovascular disease earlier this year: see “Cholesterol Fiasco Undermines Accepted Theory”, which contains links to several eye-opening articles in The New York Times and The Boston Globe.

Eggs and heart disease: The overdue exoneration of a scapegoat

Healthy people and heart patients alike have routinely been advised to strictly limit intake of eggs … or avoid egg yolks, where most of their fat and cholesterol reside (along with their valuable vitamin A and D).

Omega-3-enriched eggs: Making a good food better Advice to avoid eggs is misguided, given their blamelessness with regard to heart disease, and the fact that each egg provides about 10 percent of the recommended daily intake of protein and vitamin A. And anti-egg advice is especially wrong-headed now that most supermarkets offer eggs high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are proven to enhance heart health. Eggs high in omega-3s were the norm before competitive pressures caused most farmers to confine their hens in cages and feed them grains such as corn, which are low in omega-3s and high in pro-inflammatory omega-6s. Today, it’s easy to find omega-3-enriched eggs, which come either from “free-range” hens raised on pasture or, more commonly, from hens raised on grain-based feed fortified with fish meal.

This advice flowed from the lipid hypothesis of heart disease, which holds that foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat – such as egg yolks – promote cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, and resulting coronary heart disease.

Yet, misguided medical advice was never supported by a persuasive preponderance of evidence.

Indeed, with the exception of people diagnosed with diabetes – among whom high egg intake is associated with increased heart risks – none of the large epidemiological studies that looked for links between eggs and coronary heart disease or stroke have found any.

As early as 1982, researchers who examined data from the famous Framingham Heart Study found no association between eggs and heart disease: “It is concluded that … differences in egg consumption were unrelated to blood cholesterol level or to coronary heart disease incidence.” (Kritchevsky SB et al. 1982)

Then, researchers from Harvard School of Public health analyzed diet and health data from two of the largest, best-controlled epidemiological studies ever conducted: the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (1986-1994) and the Nurses’ Health Study (1980-1994), which together involved 37,851 male physicians and 80,082 female nurses.

The Harvard team found no evidence that eggs were risky: “These findings suggest that consumption of up to 1 egg per day is unlikely to have substantial overall impact on the risk of CHD [coronary heart disease] or stroke among healthy men and women.” (Hu FB et al. 1999)

(The only exception was diagnosed diabetics, among whom a higher intake of eggs was associated with greater risk of developing heart disease. This could simply reflect the facts that diabetics are more prone to developing coronary heart disease, and that diets high in fat are associated with higher risk of CHD.)

And a study in Japan yielded more evidence exonerating eggs as risk factors for developing coronary heart disease: “In conclusion, eating eggs more frequently, up to almost daily, was not associated with an increase in CHD [coronary heart disease] incidence for middle-aged Japanese men and women.” (Nakamura Y et al. 2006)

Last year, researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey came to similar conclusions after analyzing diet and health data from 9,734 adults aged 25 to 74. The title of their publication summarized their exculpatory findings: “Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases.” (Qureshi AI et al. 2007)

Die-hard defenders of the lipid hypothesis of heart disease might say that while epidemiological studies like these reveal associations, they cannot provide final proof of a hypothesis regarding diet and disease.

However, the results of a British clinical trial should help end the debate over heart health and eggs.

British study exonerates eggs

A research team from the University of Surrey recruited 45 overweight but otherwise healthy volunteers, and divided them into two groups (Harman NL et al. 2008).

• Group A (egg group) followed a low-calorie diet that included two eggs per day for 12 weeks.
• Group B (control group) followed the same low-calorie diet for 12 weeks, but ate no eggs.

The people in both groups lost 7- 9 lbs (3 to 4 kg) and their average levels of blood cholesterol fell.

Their blood cholesterol levels were measured at six weeks and 12 weeks, and both groups showed either unchanged or reduced cholesterol levels … particularly in their LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

This finding came despite the egg group increasing their dietary cholesterol intake to around four times that of the control group.

As the authors concluded, “An increased intake of dietary cholesterol from two eggs a day does not increase total … or LDL cholesterol when accompanied by moderate weight loss. These findings suggest that cholesterol-rich foods should not be excluded from dietary advice to lose weight on account of an unfavorable influence on … LDL cholesterol.” (Harman NL et al. 2008)

Team leader Bruce Griffin, Ph.D., RPHNutr summarized their findings in a press release: “We have shown that when two eggs a day are eaten by people who are actively losing weight on a calorie-restricted diet, blood cholesterol can still be reduced.”

And Dr. Griffin’s companion comment focused on the heart of the matter: “There is no convincing evidence to link an increased intake of dietary cholesterol or eggs with coronary heart disease through raised blood cholesterol.”

In fact, saturated fat – whose primary dietary sources among Americans are red meats, butter, and foods made with butter – is more responsible for raising blood cholesterol than cholesterol-rich foods, such as eggs.

However, this does not mean that saturated fat is a significant villain, either.

The available evidence shows that diets high in saturated fat are not linked much more closely to risk of heart disease than are diets high in total fat, polyunsaturated fats, or monounsaturated fats. The main exception is that younger people’s risk is exacerbated more by high fat intake. (Artaud-Wild SM et al. 1993; Esrey KL et al. 1996; Jakobsen MU et al. 2004; Xu J et al. 2006; Volk MG 2007)

Sadly, many doctors remain unaware that the lipid hypothesis of heart disease rests on a foundation of sand, with numerous studies proving that diets high saturated fat and cholesterol are not inherently unhealthful.

Instead, it is a lack of plant foods and exercise and an excess of refined carbohydrates (i.e., white flour products) that can make fatty diets dangerous. These contextual differences explain why people in Finland and France have widely divergent rates of heart disease despite having similar intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol (Volk MG 2007).

In other words, it appears safe to eat reasonable amounts of saturated fat and cholesterol as long as your diet meets the basic criteria outlined in our accompanying article, “What is Heart Disease, Exactly?”

Sources

• Artaud-Wild SM, Connor SL, Sexton G, Connor WE. Differences in coronary mortality can be explained by differences in cholesterol and saturated fat intakes in 40 countries but not in France and Finland. A paradox. Circulation. 1993 Dec;88(6):2771-9.
• Dawber TR, Nickerson RJ, Brand FN, Pool J. Eggs, serum cholesterol, and coronary heart disease. Am J Clin Nutr 1982;36:617-25.
• Dawber TR, Nickerson RJ, Brand FN, Pool J. Eggs, serum cholesterol, and coronary heart disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 1982 Oct;36(4):617-25.
• Esrey KL, Joseph L, Grover SA. Relationship between dietary intake and coronary heart disease mortality: lipid research clinics prevalence follow-up study. J Clin Epidemiol. 1996 Feb;49(2):211-6.
• Gramenzi A, Gentile A, Fasoli M, Negri E, Parazzini F, La Vecchia C. Association between certain foods and risk of acute myocardial infarction in women. BMJ 1990;300:771-3.
• Harman NL, Leeds AR, Griffin BA. Increased dietary cholesterol does not increase plasma low density lipoprotein when accompanied by an energy-restricted diet and weight loss. Eur J Nutr. 2008 Sep;47(6):287-93. Epub 2008 Aug 26.
• Hu FB, Stampfer MJ, Rimm EB, Manson JE, Ascherio A, Colditz GA, Rosner BA, Spiegelman D, Speizer FE, Sacks FM, Hennekens CH, Willett WC. A prospective study of egg consumption and risk of cardiovascular disease in men and women. JAMA. 1999 Apr 21;281(15):1387-94.
• Jakobsen MU, Overvad K, Dyerberg J, Schroll M, Heitmann BL. Dietary fat and risk of coronary heart disease: possible effect modification by gender and age. Am J Epidemiol. 2004 Jul 15;160(2):141-9.
• Kritchevsky SB, Kritchevsky D. Egg consumption and coronary heart disease: an epidemiologic overview. J Am Coll Nutr. 2000 Oct;19(5 Suppl):549S-555S. Review.
• Lacombe CR, Corraze GR, Nibbelink MM, Boulze D, Douste-Blazy P, Camare R. Effects of a low-energy diet associated with egg supplementation on plasma cholesterol and lipoprotein levels in normal subjects: results of a cross-over study. Br J Nutr. 1986 Nov;56(3):561-75.
• Nakamura Y, Iso H, Kita Y, Ueshima H, Okada K, Konishi M, Inoue M, Tsugane S. Egg consumption, serum total cholesterol concentrations and coronary heart disease incidence: Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study. Br J Nutr. 2006 Nov;96(5):921-8.
• Qureshi AI, Suri FK, Ahmed S, Nasar A, Divani AA, Kirmani JF. Regular egg consumption does not increase the risk of stroke and cardiovascular diseases. Med Sci Monit. 2007 Jan;13(1):CR1-8. Epub 2006 Dec 18.
• Volk MG. An examination of the evidence supporting the association of dietary cholesterol and saturated fats with serum cholesterol and development of coronary heart disease. Altern Med Rev. 2007 Sep;12(3):228-45. Review.

Xu J, Eilat-Adar S, Loria C, Goldbourt U, Howard BV, Fabsitz RR, Zephier EM, Mattil C, Lee ET. Dietary fat intake and risk of coronary heart disease: the Strong Heart Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Oct;84(4):894-902.

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Posted in Drugs, Omega 3, cholesterol, diet, food, heart, medicine, pharmaceutical drugs

Statins For Children

July 8, 2008 // No Comments »

I saw this report in Natural Nwes today and was frankly appalled but not surprised.

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Posted in cholesterol

Cholesterol – lowering with drugs is ineffective

March 6, 2008 // No Comments »

Hey – seems as if my drift on Cholesterol is right on cue. To hear that drug companies in the advertisements are now saying that with small print like this

“In a large clinical study, 3 percent of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack
compared to 2 percent of patients taking Lipitor.”
- HOW DUMB do you have to get to realise that there is no real benefit

 

It begs the question “why would anyone take a drug like this when it improves results by just 1% over the placebo” – as a scientis that is surely questionable in terms of significance. In terms of money for the drug company its huge – how may read the fine print (if its there at all). We have been using food to reduce cholesterol for over 8 years and guess what it works.

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Healthy Mentors – here to help you
Trehalose – the safe sugar
Phil Hughes – Homeopath

 

 

Last month, I told you about the latest statin shockwave involving Vytorin and the failing grade it received in a recent study evaluating its effectiveness (2/21/08 eTip, subject line: “New recruits”). Not surprisingly, attention quickly shifted to other statins, and the question on the forefront of everyone’s mind — not to mention the cover of Business Week magazine — was “Do cholesterol drugs do any good?”

Now, you read the eTips three times a week, so I’m guessing chances are good that you’re as skeptical as Dr. Wright and I are about patent medications. But, I’ve got to say, the answer to the statin question even surprised me. Thanks to Dr. Wright, I’ve known for years that statins aren’t the miracle workers that Big Pharma makes them out to be. But I had no idea just how inflated that claim really is.

To get a better sense of statins’ effectiveness you have to look beyond the percentages the drug ads are always spouting out. The print ads for the drug claim that it helps reduce heart attack risk by 36 percent. But follow the asterisk next to that number down to the fine print at the bottom of the page and things get a whole lot less impressive. There it says “In a large clinical study, 3 percent of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2 percent of patients taking Lipitor.”

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Posted in Drugs, cholesterol, health, heart

Cholesterol – the truth is coming out now

March 4, 2008 // 2 Comments »

For those of you that read this blog you will know that i have a bone to pick with the medical world who persist in pushing statin drugs to artificially lower cholesterol. They did it to me, or i allowed them to do it to me, for years until i said enough. Slowly bit by bit the real truth is coming out and this article continues that trend. If you are interested in this subject this article is a must read.

The widespread belief that “bad Cholesterol” ( LDL cholesterol) is a major factor driving heart disease — and that cholesterol-lowering drugs like Lipitor and Crestor can protect us against fatal heart attacks — is turning out to be a theory filled with holes. These drugs, which are called “statins,” are the most widely-prescribed pills in the history of human medicine. In 2007 world-wide sales totaled $33 billion. They are particularly popular in the U.S., where 18 million Americans take them.

We thought we knew how they worked. But last month, when Merck/Schering Plough finally released the dismal results of a clinical trial of Zetia, a cholesterol-lowering drug prescribed to about 1 million people, the medical world was stunned. Dr. Steven E. Nissen, chairman of cardiology at the Cleveland Clinic called the findings “shocking.” It turns out that while Zetia does lower cholesterol levels, the study failed to show any measurable medical benefit. This announcement caused both doctors and the mainstream media to take a second look at the received wisdom that “bad cholesterol” plays a major role in causing cardiac disease. A Business Week cover story asked the forbidden question, “Do Cholesterol Drugs Do Any Good?“

The answer, says Dr. Jon Abramson, a clinical instructor at Harvard Medical School, and the author of Overdosed America, is that “statins show a clear benefit for one group — people under 65 who have already had a heart attack or who have diabetes. But,” says Abramson, “there are no studies to show that these drugs will protect older patients over 65 — or younger patients who are not already suffering from diabetes or established heart disease from having a fatal heart attack. Nevertheless, 8 or 9 million patients who fall into this category continue to take the drugs, which means that they are exposed to the risks that come with taking statins — which can include severe muscle pain, memory loss, and sexual dysfunction.”

Finally — and here is the stunner — it turns out we don’t have any clear evidence that statins help the first group by lowering cholesterol levels. It’s true that they do lower cholesterol, but many researchers are no longer convinced that this is what helps patients avoid a second heart attack. It now seems likely that they work by reducing inflammation. In other words, these very expensive drugs seem to do the same thing that aspirin does. (Are they more effective than the humble aspirin? We’ll need head-to-head studies to find out.)

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Posted in cholesterol, health, heart

Drug interactions hidden or Unknown?

January 21, 2008 // No Comments »

Hi its Monday morning and a quick trawl through the news brings up this article which seems to point to the fact that drug interactions are indeed harming our health. Thats no surprise to many of the people who read this blog but what was more interesting is that the negative evidence around the Cholesterol lowering drugs is growing. For someone who was told 15 years ago that i’d have to be on Zocor for the rest of my life and that once on the drug could never come off – hoggwash. I’m now off the dru, have been for 10 years and my cholesterol is lower than its been in 20 years. Please don’t always believe what the drug companies say. If you want to find out what i did and do today just email or Skype me.

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Healthy Mentors – here to help you
Trehalose – the safe sugar

January 17, 2008
Major Heart and Mood Drugs Take Huge Credibility Hits
Cholesterol drug enlarges artery clogs; Makers of major anti-depressants hid studies with inconveniently negative outcomes
by Craig Weatherby

America’s biggest prescription drugs, and the patients taking them, were reeling today after reading headlines about the second of two disturbing medical reports to appear this week.

We hope that these findings prove decisive in energizing the public to insist that legislators enact urgent data-disclosure reforms.
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Posted in Omega 3, cholesterol, heart, hypotension, nutrition

The Greatest Tragedy of All Time

January 15, 2008 // No Comments »

This film was a personal response to our over reliance on the established medical treatments and it expresses some of my personal views. If you want to see more please go to website www.squidoo.com/greatesttragedye mail me


Healthy Mentors – here to help you
Trehalose – the safe sugar

Posted in C Reactive Protein, Low GI, NIDDM, Omega 3, Sickle Cell, Trehalose, breast cancer, cancer, chemicals, cholesterol, diabetes, diet, food, glycoforms, glyconutrition, health, medicine, minerals, obesity, skin, skin care, skincare, type 2 diabetes

Blood Pressure Vs Cholesterol

November 7, 2007 // 4 Comments »

A high blood level of cholesterol, which damages the heart by clogging the arteries with plaque and fat deposits, is probably the number one contributing factor for heart disease. But high blood pressure (currently defined as anything above 140/90) comes in as a close second, also known as hypertension, it is often called the silent killer, because there are usually no symptoms.Hypertension can often be controlled with medication, but there are a number of other measures you can take that may help as well. You might want to experiment with some of the following to see how they work for you, but consult your doctor beforehand.