Cholesterol drug can damage muscles in high doses – Simvastatin takers should see doctor

(please take the following with a grain of sea salt, unless your “health care provider” has told you to follow a ‘low sodium’ DIE-et)

Now maybe it’s just me, but didn’t going to the doctor cause this problem in the first place?  This witch hunt on cholesterol, which is Essential to your body for HUNDREDS of uses, has caused far more problems than it ever solved.

Your body uses cholesterol to make many essential hormones.  A recent study in elderly subject “surprisingly” found that those with the highest cholesterol levels got the best results from their exercise program.  These subjects, who were at high risk for muscle loss, gained more metabolism boosting muscle tissue than those with lowest cholesterol levels.

Now here is ANOTHER study showing rhabdomyolysis (muscle loss) in patients taking cholesterol lowering drugs.

When I went to school, I was taught that the HEART was also a muscle – but of course I’m not a DOCTOR so you should feel free to draw your own conclusions.  Most of these drugs also severely deplete the essential antioxidant Co-Q10, which your HEART needs to function in a healthy way (along with a host of other things, including: Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, and Magnesium).

High cholesterol is a SYMPTOM, not a disease!

6 years ago, my heart had a problem.  I had a birth defect that caused me to need a pacemaker.  My cholesterol level was a total of 293, with HDL at only 13.  Now through healthy nutrition (including lots of omega-3 foods) and regular exercise my total is around 160, with a HDL of 38.

ALL WITHOUT CHOLESTEROL LOWERING DRUGS.

Make informed choices, and don’t follow the lemmings of the cliff – just my opinion…

A Better Choice Today, Longer Life Tomorrow

Our society today is fueled by processed foods, animal products, dairy products, and sugary substances. The Standard American Diet which is based on the foods listed above is killing our people. Currently, eighty-five percent of the nation’s healthcare costs come from diet-related illnesses such as strokes and heart attacks. The only way to combat that and the Standard American Diet is to become a nutritarian. Nutritarians strive to consume more foods with skyrocketing nutritional values, and food that is beneficial to their health. It is pivotal to make the change to a nutritarian lifestyle because of the harmful effects the Standard American Diet has on individuals, more energy from nutritarian eating, and it promotes health and longer life. It may seem challenging to eat little else but nutrient dense foods, but the lifelong benefits it promises are worth it.

The first key reason to being a nutritarian is to avoid the lethal effects the Standard American Diet has on individuals. By consuming a low intake of unrefined plant foods on that diet, the immune system becomes weakened. Therefore, frequent illness and premature death can occur. A diet consisting of animal products, pasta, fried food, and sugar are the building blocks of disease. Secondly, by eating foods without nutritional value and no antioxidants, waste products build up inside cells that lack necessary material needed for proper function. The average American consumes only seven percent of their calories from nutritional foods. Furthermore, adding fruits and vegetables to the Standard American Diet is not enough. To be a true nutritarian, individuals must make nutrient dense foods such as green vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes the center of their diet. Abandoning the Standard American Diet and becoming a nutritarian will increase one’s energy and productivity levels.

A nutritarian lifestyle also gives individuals more energy and drive to complete tasks throughout the day. Firstly, being a nutritarian increases one’s stamina. Therefore, one will have more vigor to exercise and fully enjoy recreational activities. Secondly, being a nutritarian reduces fatigue which plagues many working people throughout the day. Empty calorie foods on the Standard American Diet makes one feel sluggish and lazy. Most importantly, nutritarian eating improves bodily functions, increases brain power, and promotes health.

Lastly, being a nutritarian promotes health and combats disease. If individuals follow the eating routine of a nutritarian exactly, many diseases can be prevented and combated. Diseases such as type two diabetes, heart problems, strokes, cancer, and circulatory impediments can be healed and reversed. Furthermore, one can maintain a youthful complexion, age slower, have vigor and stamina, and live much longer. These results are proved and supported with years of medical studies and thousands of success stories. Because of eating those foods strictly from nature, one’s health can be preserved, and diseases can be reversed and healed.

In conclusion, being a nutritarian can benefit one’s health incredulously. It is vital to be a nutritarian rather than a victim of the processed and fatty eating of the Standard American Diet. If one looks closely at the first letters of the words “Standard American Diet,” it spells out the word “sad.” That is completely true. This diet most Americans are on deters their health completely. Even though nutritarian eating can be difficult to switch to, it can taste delicious and gourmet with extra effort. Secondly, nutritarian eating satisfies every craving of the body. Backed by medical research, this way of life is the key to living longer without disease, illness, or the use of prescription medications. By eating food strictly from nature only, one can add up to twenty more years onto their life. It is never too late to become a nutritarian. If one wants to enjoy life to its fullest, being a nutritarian is the way to achieve that goal.

Rose LoPiano

April 30, 2010

Grade 8

Buddhist to do list

1. Breathe

You have 3 Primary Nervous Systems:

• Sympathetic – fight or flight, stress
• ParaSympathetic – calm and relaxation
• Autonomic – digestion and reproduction

How you Breathe Directly Influences both the Sympathetic and ParaSympathetic.

Your Lungs are actually comprised of 4 lobes. When you breathe through your mouth and into your chest, you only get air into the top two lobes. This activates the Sympathetic Nervous System – which makes you feel stressed. Useful if you are about to get into a fight, not so useful for dealing with co-workers and family! =)

Breathing deeply through your nose and into your belly gets air all the way down to the bottom 2 lobes. This activates the ParaSympathetic Nervous System, which is calming. You can Instantly lower your Heart Rate and Blood Pressure by simply Re-Learning how to Breathe!

Experiment:

• Hyperventilate through the mouth 30 times – notice the effect
• Take 10 Deep breathes in through the nose, all the way down into your belly - how does that feel? Different?

This is Stress Management 101

This is an Incredible tool that you always have at your disposal!

Don’t let your circumstances dictate your reactions.

Learn to take Control and Respond Appropriately!

According to NutraIngredients:

“The rhizome of the ginger plant (Zingiber officinale) is a rich source of antioxidants, including gingerols, shogaols, zingerones and other ketone derivatives … ginger’s pain reducing effects are biologically plausible with both in vitro and in vivo animal studies showing an effect of gingerols, shogaols, and zingerones on inflammatory compounds.”

Ginger has a long history of medicinal use, primarily for soothing nausea and easing stomach upset and dizziness. But it’s also a natural immune system booster with anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties — as this latest study confirms — and has even been found to promote cardiovascular health.

Ginger as a Natural Pain Reliever

In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized study, the participants were given either two grams of raw or heat-treated ginger supplements, or a placebo, for 11 consecutive days. They then performed a strenuous exercise with a heavy weight to induce “moderate muscle injury” to the arm. Pain- and inflammation levels were assessed prior to the exercise and for three days afterward.

While both types of ginger produced good results compared to the placebo, the raw ginger was slightly more effective, reducing exercise-induced pain by 25 percent within 24 hours. The heat-treated form reduced pain by 23 percent.

Part of the explanation for ginger’s pain relieving properties is its potent antioxidant content, which includes gingerols, shogaols and zingerones. It is believed that these compounds have particular anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties similar to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

Co-author Patrick O’Connor is quoted as saying:

“The economic and personal costs of pain are extremely high. Muscle pain generally is one of the most common types of pain and eccentric exercise-induced muscle pain specifically is a common type of injury related to sports and/or recreation, like gardening.

Anything that can truly relieve this type of pain will be greatly welcomed by the many people who are experiencing it.”

Yes, knowing that there are far safer options out there that cost a fraction of conventional painkillers is indeed a very valuable piece of information.

I’ve written extensively about the health dangers of NSAIDs such as Vioxx, Celebrex, and even common over-the-counter painkillers. The short- and long-term side effects of these types of drugs can cause far more suffering than the pain you’re trying to get rid of.

Other Natural Pain Relievers

Aside from ginger, there are several other natural products and strategies that can offer pain relief, including:

Boswellia: Also known as boswellin or “Indian frankincense,” this herb contains specific active anti-inflammatory ingredients.

Krill oil: The omega-3 fats EPA and DHA found in krill oil have been found, by many animal and clinical studies, to have anti-inflammatory properties that reduce joint inflammation and promote joint lubrication.  (You can get a great Krill oil supplement HERE)

Bromelain: This enzyme, found in pineapples, is a natural anti-inflammatory. It can be taken in supplement form, but eating fresh pineapple may also be helpful.

Cetyl Myristoleate (CMO): This oil, found in fish and dairy butter, acts as a “joint lubricant” and an anti-inflammatory. I have also used this for myself to relieve ganglion cysts and a mild annoying carpal tunnel syndrome that pops up when I type too much on non-ergonomic keyboards. I used a topical preparation for this.

Evening Primrose, Black Currant and Borage Oils: These contain the essential fatty acid gamma linolenic acid (GLA), which is particularly useful for treating arthritic pain. I personally prefer the use of GLA supplements from evening primrose oil but borage oil contains a higher concentration of GLA, which means you need fewer capsules, and it tends to be less expensive.

Cayenne Cream: Also called capsaicin cream, this spice comes from dried hot peppers. It alleviates pain by depleting the body’s supply of substance P, a chemical component of nerve cells that transmits pain signals to your brain.

Another pain relieving strategy that includes neither drugs nor supplements or creams of any kind, is to use an energy tool such as the Meridian Tapping Technique/Emotional Freedom Technique (MTT/EFT).

Many types of pain, especially chronic pain, can be the result of a disruption in your body’s subtle energy system, caused by unresolved emotions or emotional trauma.

Granted, emotional trauma may have little to do with the pain you experience after straining your muscles from vigorous exercise. However, if you suffer from chronic or other hard-to-treat pains, MTT/EFT may be something you’ll want to look into as this simple do-it-yourself technique has been shown to provide effective pain relief about 80 percent of the time — on everything from headaches to cancer pain.

Ginger – The BEST Therapy for Nausea and Morning Sickness!

Getting back to ginger, one of the most common traditional uses of this medicinal tuber is for nausea, including the morning sickness experienced by about 80 percent of pregnant women.

Ginger has been proven to be more effective in reducing nausea and vomiting in pregnant women than a placebo, and it also works just as well as vitamin B6, which can also improve morning sickness symptoms in pregnant women.

I believe it’s one of the absolute best therapies for nausea of any kind, and can even work on motion sickness as well.

However, last year NutraIngredients reported that the Finnish food safety agency, Evira, “recommended warning labels for ginger supplements, after its Risk Assessment Unit highlighted dangers for consuming them for pregnant women.”

“The assessment found that ginger food supplements, teas and drinking powders should be limited in pregnant women because elements in ginger may be harmful to fetal development if consumed in great enough quantities.” [Emphasis mine]

The warning label issued in Finland was not necessarily due to scientific evidence of harm, but rather implemented as a precaution.

I’ve previously stated that ginger is safe for consumption during pregnancy, and I still believe it is safe in moderation.

It’s worth considering that whole ginger root contains a variety of synergistic compounds. This natural synergy typically ensures that one compound in the food doesn’t “overtake” the others to inflict harm. It is rare for any type of whole food to be dangerous enough to not eat during pregnancy.

That is typically only a concern that arises when you extract individual ingredients or compounds from a food or plant source, which is done in drug development, and to a more limited extent for certain supplements.

That said, whole ginger can be consumed in a variety of ways, including:

My favorite way of using it is to cut off about a teaspoon worth, dicing it very fine and swallowing it with water. This is far more potent, inexpensive and effective than any other way I know of.

Cooking with it: Ginger tastes great lightly sautéed with other vegetables, meat, sesame oil, and a pinch of natural, unprocessed salt.

As a tea: Simply put a couple of thin slices into hot water. A little bit of raw honey can sweeten the otherwise “hot and spicy” flavor of the tea.

I’ve previously also recommended ginger syrup, which you can easily make on your own or purchase in most health food stores. However, knowing what we now know about the massively negative health ramifications of fructose consumption, I’d recommend avoiding this alternative and just stick to eating or drinking the ginger without loading up on unnecessary sugar.

Using a ginger syrup, which consists of about twice the amount of sugar to ginger, doesn’t make much sense in terms of overall health – especially if you’re drinking it regularly.

Added Boon: Ginger May Also Help Prevent Heart Disease

In the past decade, researchers have also discovered that ginger may benefit your cardiovascular health, including:

• Preventing atherosclerosis
• Lowering cholesterol levels
• Preventing oxidation of low density lipoprotein (LDL)

One animal study found that mice who received 250 micrograms of ginger extract daily experienced:

• 44% reduction in aortic atherosclerotic lesion
• 27% reduction in triglycerides
• 29% reduction in cholesterol
• 53% reduction in VLDL cholesterol
• 33% reductions in LDL (bad) cholesterol
• Reduced LDL oxidation and aggregation

As you can see, there are plenty of reasons to make sure you’re eating (or drinking) fresh herbs and spices such as ginger on a regular basis.

Like me, SL is fighting the inevitable. At 55, he’s working out vigorously at least once a day. “I feel a hell of a lot better,” he tells me.

Working out not only makes him feel better, it has reduced his risk of heart disease. His cholesterol counts are better than before, but not as good as he’d like them to be. He’s still taking statin drugs and he doesn’t like it.

I asked about his diet and was surprised to hear that he is following an old-fashioned, low-animal-fat, high-carbohydrate plan.

“Eating a lot of cholesterol doesn’t give you high cholesterol,” I told him. He looked at me like I was nuts.

It’s amazing how little most people know about nutrition.

On a recent plane ride, I sat next to a young filmmaker who’d just completed a documentary about dieting. “I really bashed Dr. Atkins,” he said proudly.

I told him that I’d been Atkins’s publisher and asked him what was so objectionable about the Atkins diet. Turns out that he, too, believed that eating cholesterol leads to high cholesterol.

If you want to keep your cholesterol low and avoid statin drugs, Dr. Al Sears provides a complete plan of action in his book, “The Doctor’s Heart Cure.”

Here are some of his recommendations:

• Engage in interval exercise to raise your levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol.
• Eat plenty of protein, the right kinds of fat, and keep your carbohydrate intake low.
• Eat a diet high in plant sterols, fiber, garlic, and omega-3 fatty acids.
• Supplement your diet with policosanol, niacin, vitamins C and E, CoQ10, and L-carnitine.

As we grow older our sleep becomes lighter and more restless. In fact, the National Sleep Foundation reports that 67% of people over 55 suffer from insomnia and other sleep disorders. With this in mind, Forrest H. Nielson, PhD, of the USDA Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, decided to conduct clinical trials on the subject.

His theory? Magnesium deficiency.

You know it takes more than just dozing off while tossing and turning to wake up feeling energized. You need to fall into deep, slow wave sleep for your muscles to really relax, your nerves to calm and your brain waves to go on idle.

A sleeping pill might make you drowsy – and make you think you are sleeping – but studies show that most over-the-counter sleep aids keep you in the lighter stages of sleep.

And the Chronic Results…

When you’re not getting decent sleep, things really snowball. You become more vulnerable to infection. Your un-relaxed muscles and nerves generate chronic pain. The human body does its best repair work in deep sleep.

In 2002, researchers at Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry did a double-blind, placebo-controlled sleep study and found that patients who took magnesium supplements experienced a significant increase in slow wave (deep) sleep. Further blood testing showed that the magnesium effectively reduced their cortisol levels – a stress hormone that promotes alertness.

Other studies, again from USDA Human Nutrition Research Center, revealed that low magnesium levels disrupted brain waves (electrical activity) when the patients were asleep. This resulted in very agitated sleep patterns and excessive awakenings.

Head researcher Nielsen concluded, “It looks like magnesium is important for a good night’s sleep.”

Chronic Deficiency… Why is this Happening?

So what are the dietary sources of this mighty little mineral, magnesium? That’s the interesting question – and the answer is very telling…

The best sources of magnesium are whole, unprocessed foods. There has been widespread removal of minerals from processed foods. The result is that Americans’ intake of magnesium has dropped 50% in the last century.

Another significant source of magnesium? Mineral rich drinking water. But not the softened, de-mineralized water that most of us drink.

In August, 2004, the World Health Organization issued guidelines for drinking water quality. They noted that magnesium levels have a protective effect on the smooth muscle cells found in blood vessels. This can help to lower blood pressure. Their studies showed that restoring calcium and magnesium to drinking water directly reduced heart disease mortality!

Caffeine, sugar and alcohol intake can increase magnesium loss. Diuretic drugs and overloading on calcium supplements can flush it from the body. And gastro-intestinal disorders such as diarrhea, Crohn’s disease and intestinal surgeries can impair its absorption.

More Marvels of Magnesium

Magnesium helps to regulate more than 300 enzymes. A deficiency in this mineral can affect virtually every system in your body. It helps to regulate your heart rhythms and control blood pressure. It helps to maintain insulin sensitivity and keep your blood sugar stable. It helps to prevent hardening of the arteries. It plays an important role in bone-building. It is vital to your immune system. It can relax cramping muscles and calm nerve impulses.

I could tell you lots more about this little powerhouse known as magnesium…

Like how it has a direct effect on conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, memory loss and migraine headaches.

And how it has an anti-aging effect because it helps stave off inflammation and Metabolic Syndrome.

Oh, Magnesium, Where Art Thou?

Excellent sources of magnesium that I would recommend include dark leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, legumes, avocado, almonds, cashews and walnuts, wild shrimp, wild salmon and halibut.

Whole grains are also a rich source. But most of us should keep the grains to a minimum. They can spike your blood sugar and insulin levels.

The sources I recommend most highly are raw cacao beans or cacao nibs (these are the crushed beans). They have a crunchy texture just like nuts and a rich, chocolate flavor. Cacao beans are incredibly high in magnesium. They are also one of the richest antioxidant foods on the planet.

You can eat them by the handful straight out of the bag. If they taste too bitter, mix them with nuts and a few organic raisins.

Keep those magnesium levels up and running and you’ll enjoy the natural health you were meant to have. Not to mention turning back the clock to restful sleep and Sweet Dreams!

1. Cholesterol is used by the body to manufacture steroids, or cortisone-like hormones, including the sex hormones. These hormones include testosterone, estrogen and cortisone.

2. Cholesterol helps the liver produce bile acids. These acids are essential for digestion of fats and ridding the body of waste.

3. Cholesterol acts to interlock “lipid molecules,” which stabilize cell membranes. Therefore, cholesterol is the vital building block for all bodily tissues.

4. Cholesterol is an essential part of the myelin sheath. The myelin sheath, similar to the coating on copper wire, ensures that the brain functions properly by aiding the passage of electrical impulses. Without the myelin sheath, it is difficult to focus and we can lose memory.

5. And finally, cholesterol has beneficial effects on the immune system. Men with high cholesterol have stronger immune systems than those with low cholesterol, as can be seen by the fact that they have more lymphocytes, total T-cells, helper T-cells and CD8+ cells.  Many strains of bacteria, which cause us to get sick, are almost totally inactivated by LDL cholesterol.

In closing, lowering such a vital molecule might be considered suicide in slow motion. To illustrate, imagine that your house represents your body and the nails holding it together, cholesterol. Now start pulling just a few nails out of the house. What happens? The house turns to a pile of rubble. The same is true for the human body.

Reference: Ellison, Shane. Hidden Truth about Cholesterol Lowering Drugs

Exercise vigorously for five minutes and then take your pulse. Wait two minutes. Then calculate your heart rate again.

If you have an average level of fitness, it will drop by 55 beats.Well-conditioned people will see a higher drop, perhaps 70 beats. Generally the faster you recover, the better your fitness and the lower your risk of heart disease.

The best way to improve your heart health is not necessarily more, longer cardio though!

Once you have the conditioning to walk at a decent clip for 15-20 minutes, it is time to start adding interval training.  Interval training is simply mixing periods of harder exercise with easier recovery.  A sport like basketball is a perfect example.

What’s more, Interval Training is awesome for fat loss as well.  That is why we incorporate it with our personal training and group workouts.  Better heart health And fat loss – count me in! =)