The Cause Of Heart Disease: 31 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS, TIPS & TIDBITS

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31 OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTS, TIPS & TIDBITS

 

1. About omega-3's: " ...relatively simple dietary changes achieved greater

reductions in risk of all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality ... than

any of the cholesterol-lowering studies to date. This is emphasized by the

finding that the unprecedented reduction ... was not associated with differences

in total cholesterol levels. " This quote is from a landmark editorial in

Circulation about the 70% [!] reduction in deaths in those given 2 tablespoons

of canola oil per day, mainly as non-hydrogenated margarine. In omega-3

(alpha-linolenic) this was equivelent to 1 measly teaspoon of flax (linseed)

oil. Flax, a unique nutritional power seed.

Here's a link to this editorial about the oil that prevents fatal heart attacks

while other data from the Lyon Diet Heart Study is here, here and here (Lancet

1994: 1454-9; AmJClNutr; 1995: 1360S-6; Circ; 1999: 733-5 & 779-85). Read the

full data [it's a little tough] and you'll agree that this diet is best

described as " The Canola Oil Diet " . Canola is one of the world's cheapest oils

and can be a great flavor maker. Not cheap, but cold pressed unrefined canola

tastes better than English-walnut oil, another rare source of omega-3. P.S.

There was also much less cancer in the canola group while in a U.S. population

canola may well lower the risk for stroke--as a high omega-3 mustard oil trial

in India, inspired by Lyon, just showed similar impressive overall benefits.

Still not convinced: here's the journal Circulation of April 1 2003: 75% less

heart attacks and " important protection against cardiovascular disease " [with

this omega-3].

Just a few grams of omega-3 per day prevent irregular heart beat [arrhythmia]

and decrease inflammation and promote blood flow and help keep a by-pass open

and protect you after a heart attack. In the long run, omega-3 (most rapidly

fish oil) safely lowers the need for COX-1+2 inhibitors like Aspirin and for

COX-2 inhibitors like Vioxx and Celebrex (see point 18.). Omega-3 is the

rediscovered half of what used to be called vitamin F -with the F from Fat

(Essential Fatty Acid). It takes omega-3 to counter-balance the other half of

vitamin F, the omnipresent omega-6 from soy, corn, sunflower, safflower and

cottonseed, Linoleic Acid (LA). Polyunsaturate has become synonymous with

omega-6 only, which now appears to be part of a health disaster in heart

disease, diabetes and cancer, especially breast cancer, excessive blood clotting

and immune system problems including asthma. Making things worse since 1911,

partial hydrogenation trans-forms saturates, messing with their vitamin

and/or structural roles, raising bad-boy Lp(a). It preferentially zaps the

most precious oil of all: omega-3. Virgin olive is a healthy (omega-9) oil but

it has no omega-3.

Saturated fat (40% of grey matter brain-fat) has important roles and stays

naturally straight, providing anchor and structure. Mono unsaturates (olive,

canola) have molecules with one 60º bend, twice (poly) unsaturate linoleic

(corn, soy) has 2, alpha-linolenic (flax, canola) has 3, while EPA and DHA

(fish) have 5 and 6 such bends. The numbers 3, 6 or 9 with the letter omega (or

" n " ) indicate the location of the first bend from the fatty (methyl) end.

Partial hydrogenation stepwise straightens these bends, leaving an oil

unsaturated but with dozens of [biologically novel, but active] electro-chemical

kinks [cheers!], an ongoing industrial experiment on you. All oils and fats are

blends of various fatty acids, from 4 to 22 carbons long, ... and your health

very much depends on the length and number and locations of the bends.

Fats: carbon chains with a fat end on one side, an acid end on the other

10 to 12 carbons (short): saturates found in coconut and palm-kernel oils (50%),

in breast milk fat (10%) and in butter fat (5%). Not made in people except for

baby. Anti-virus, anti-bacterial and energy roles; easy to digest.16 carbon

saturate: the cholesterol-raising palmitic acid we manufacture (with the aid of

insulin) when we eat a surplus of sugar and starch [as do cows, pigs, poultry,

etc.]. We can stretch this 16 to an 18 carbon saturate and make mono [not poly]

unsatutrates out of either, like the ones dominating in olive, canola, and in

" peanut, pork 'n poultry " .18 carbon polys: the " essential/must-eat " polys:

omega-6 linoleic (always excessive) and omega-3 alpha-linolenic (rare and

beneficial; good mixes in canola & flax).20 carbon polys: the omega-3 [EPA] and

omega-6 [AA] unsaturates we use to make (cell-wall generated)

regulating-hormones (clotting, unclotting, pain, cramping, inflammation,

anti-inflammation, etc.). The 3's prevent irregular heart beat (arrhythmia)

and they must balance the 6's. Used for nerve and cell-wall function (yes,

walls function). Fish or self-made from the 18 carbon omega-3 and 6.22 carbon

poly: DHA, the very delicate omega-3 polyunsaturate found in fish. This is the

8%-of-the-brain-fatty acid we use for thinking. It is effectively the keyboard

of the eyes, brain and nerve cells. From fatty fish or self-made from other

omega-3s.

Adults, but not babies, slowly change the omega-3 from seeds or leaf veggies

into the omega-3's found in fish. Those are the ones that are found in our

eyes, nerves and brain and that are key for hormonal and cardio-vascular balance

[and for full-term births]. Unlike human and horse milk, cow milk and most

vegetable oil based baby-formula don't have the omega-3s needed for brain

development between the last months before birth to age 2.

One of these fish oils -DHA- does much of the work after a signal hits the

brain/nerve cell while the other -EPA- is present in very small amounts to

control the beginning and end of this work; it controls a thought, motion,

depression or mood swing from start to finish. In fact, the over-activity of

certain brain-fats due to insufficiency of EPA [~1.8g/d?] may well underlie

schizophrenia and some types of depression [Fincastle], Huntington's and

post-partum (birth) depression. Depression also predicts heart disease. Or,

thinking " nutritional deficiency " (-made worse, trust me, by masses of

omega-6-), a lack of omega-3 [EPA] may be a common linking cause in

schizophrenia, (bipolar)/-depression, M.S., cancers, adult diabetes, bone and

heart disease [Horrobin et al]. Think: there's the DHA of a 2 kg (5 lb) salmon

in your head --and appropriately enough, the molecule is shaped like a ? mark

or fish-hook -in fact, it wiggles like a worm on a hook, millions of times a

second,

around that basic shape, making it arguably the brain's most versatile

molecule. This fat, DHA, is the keyboard of your eyes and the processor-chip of

the computer in your brain!

Another 1999 study found a 60% reduction in sudden heart deaths in the high

omega-3 oil group -when associated with high vitamin E or low trans fat intakes:

Am J Cl Nutr; May 99. Fish oil is high in omega-3 and dramatically lowers blood

triglycerides in people with very high starting levels: NEJM; '85:1210-6 The

original omega-3 heart studymay well have been the large 1959-71 U.S. supported

Finnish Mental HospitalStudy where, in order to reduce cholesterol, [milk] fat

was replaced withsoybean oil which happens to be also very high in omega-3. The

omega-3increase (about 3.7 g/day) was in-line with the Lyon Study as were the

benefits observed. The benefits were -I believe wrongly- attributed to the

cholesterol lowering effect of the omega-6linoleic in soy, this being the old

theory that both polyunsaturates(3 and 6) are heart-healthy (IntJEpid;1979,V8,

2: 99-118). Special benefits of omega-3were not suspected or discussed. [

n=676 mid-agedmales; 2x 4.5y X-over; Intakes -incl.

processing losses: chol. 282 vs. 480mg/d; sat. fat 27 vs 55 g/d; n-3 oil 5.6

vs. 1.9 g/d; n-6 oil 34 vs. 11g/d. Results/change: total chol. 226 vs. 268

mg/dl; body weight, triglyc.:no change; CHD death or major ECG change: 4.2 vs

12.7 /1000 man-y = -67%;p=0.001] -This trial showed heart benefit but other

similar high omega-6 studies show subsequent increases in cancer deaths. -->

An overview by Dr. Simopoulos of benefits of omega-3 and dangers of excessive

cholesterol lowering omega-6 linoleic (again: soy, corn, sunflower, cottonseed

and safflower) is here: Am J Cl Nutr; Sept '99. She has a practical book the

Omega Diet. Simply put: Balance Canola, Olive and Flax --and Avoid the Rest.

The Heavy Science is here, in pdf.

 

 

For more about this table, see ISSFAL, the " cream " of the world's fat experts.

This table is the standard to which all fats, mayos, margarines, oils and their

labels must be measured. If the label is bad, don't buy the fat. They " ... do

not recommend trans-fatty acids to be in the food supply as a result of

hydrogenation of unsaturated fatty acids. " [in layman's terms: stop factory

hydrogenation]. ISSFAL's FDA submission: " ..omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the

risk of coronary heart disease. " [also, since 2002, an AHA scientific postion]

 

 

Time for an oil-change... to unhydrogenated canola, flax (lin)seed & fatty

fish. Unhydrogenated soybean might be o.k. but it's also high in omega-6

linoleic, already an excess in most Western diets (an average person already

stores over 1 kg -3 lb; see also points 29 and 30 below). Here's an omega-3

reference for the little heart disease [and depression] in Japan where the oils

are fish, canola and soy: AJCN; Jan. 2000, and here's the history of omega-3 by

pioneer Ralph Holman. P.S. You may want to add some vitamin E to your oils and

refrigerated them: they (like cholesterol) become harmful when damaged by

processing, heat or light. While motor oils are designed for engine health,

most " vegetable oils " are engineered for corporate health, lack of flavor, clear

appearance and shelf life.

 

 

2. Vitamin C's most important study was probably in the Canadian Medical

Association Journal of Sept. 23 1972. During 102 days (3.4 months) in winter,

407 about 25 year old Canadians took 1 g/day + 3 g/day during the first 3 days

of any illness. An identical group of 411 on taste and look-alike dummy pills

had 40% more people seeking medical help (56 vs. 40), 58% more doctors visits

[94 vs. 60] and a " similar[ly] " increased prescription drug use. Statistically,

many of the benefits were important, such as the 99.9% probable decrease in days

of disability. Sadly, drug use and doctors visits, simple indicators of bad

health, were not looked at in the larger follow-up study that also proved

benefit. For long-term benefits of vitamin C: Epidem; May '92.

In science, if no effect is found, there was none, the study was badly designed,

or statistically unlucky. However, significant results from proper studies

stand until proven wrong by other studies.According to these non refuted

results, 1 g per day of vitamin C with an increase during illness would change

the face of everyday medical practice.Comment. About 1/5 g/d (200 mg; with some

effort and cost obtainable from fruits and veggies) will saturate the blood, and

cells, in totally healthy people. Illness and infection instantly makes the

need for vitamin C skyrocket and it is here, and in long-term health, that

benefits of much higher amounts are likely. The biochemistry is so complex

-ProcNutrSoc; '99: 469-76- that only practical indicators like doctors visits,

drug use and days of sickness or disability can give rapid answers about

benefits.

 

 

3. " The current evidence suggests that people who take such supplements and

their children are healthier. " This quote is from the editorial " Eat Right and

Take a Multivitamin " in the New England Journal of Medicine of April 9th, 1998.

[Dr. G. Oakley from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention talking about

" standard " multivitamins with 400 mcg folic acid.] Here's the effect in heart

disease prevention.

 

4. The same major study found a 75% reduction in colon cancer risk (one of the

4 biggies) after 15 years of multivitamin use and here is an intriguing

observation about long-term multivitamin use and reduced cervical cancer. Just

like it takes decades to cause cancer, it may take decades of supplement use to

prevent it. Here is one folic acid based theory how: J of Nutr; Feb 2000.

Folic acid (folate, folacin or B9) may well be the most dangerous and common

long-term vitamin deficiency around; liver, beans, green veggies,

multi-vitamins. Anything you do to foods specifically destroys folic acid, and

B6.

5. Few have a financial interest in supplements but you, your family and your

insurer -but supplements are taxed and you won't get a credit on your premium.

A life-time supply of folic acid (a cancer, Alzheimer's disease, birth defect &

artery damaging homocysteine risk reducing vitamin) is under $10 (at LEF.org).

The daily dose of 0.4 mg (400 mcg) weighs 1/10th of a tiny flax seed and costs

0.02¢. And, as said before, being low in folic acid is truly dangerous since it

prevents many of life's diseases!

If every American would take a good quality multi, like Twinlab's Daily One

Caps, the U.S. would save about $100/yr per adult in hospital costs regarding

babies and heart disease alone (estimate Western J of Medicine; May '97), not to

mention savings in other diseases and suffering. New: the Down's syndrome link.

 

6. Multi-level pyramid sales, patented or special formulations are rarely cost

effective, think: Coral Calcium. Another example is Ester-C, chemically not an

ester but a costly degraded mix of oxidized vitamin C. From their website: All

of the .. studies are considered to be pilot or preliminary, and although the

results suggest a positive result, further studies are necessary [but not for

sales] to verify these conclusions. " Eleven years after the patent the largest

reported trial involved only 54 people during 1 day! Feel like wasting time,

here's their patent. Such practices based on deceptive research give the

vitamin industry a bad name, yet their very friendly watch dog, the Council for

Responsible [sic] Nutrition, refuses to bite this industry-wide profitable scam.

This watch dog -with 4 PhDs on staff- knows who buys the dog food. They happily

collect 0.1% of any member company's Ester-C sales. So much for " enhancing

consumer confidence in dietary supplements " . A

deceptive name for a common lobby group [-however, they are vital to help keep

vitamins legal and available -thank you]. How'bout patenting pre-oxidized

vitamin E, with real metabolites! Well, personally I like my vitamins cheap,

cold and un-oxidized. P.S. Now Ester-C is " fatty acid ester free " ... Bonus!

Shame on that industry already famous for price-fixing (and making good multi's

hard to find on store shelves) and which refuses to self-police and weed out

supplement scams.

7. Half of American men over age 40 are affected by degrees of impotence due

to local artery dysfunction, smokers 2x as often as nonsmokers. An early

warning for men only [sorry ladies] for his entire heart and vascular system

(CBS; 60 Minutes, Nov. 8, 1998; Health Canada, 2003). Smoking plus not taking

vitamins raises heart disease risk 12 fold! The shape of things to come:

nicotine gum, condoms and vitamins at the same store counter.

8. In women, the no-alcohol + low-folic acid group had 4.5x the heart disease

deaths of the highest-alcohol + highest-folic acid group (JAMA; '98-2-4).

Another study found almost 2x the cardio-risk at the lowest intake of nuts, a

risk that increased if no multi or vitamin E supplement was used (BMJ;

'98-11-14).

9. More-studies-are-needed. While there will never be certainty, there is

sufficient data to send the optimum-nutrition case to the jury with instructions

that, in life, a hung jury is not an option. This website is one such analysis.

Here's one by Nutrition Science News. Here's another but more technical

analysis by AltMedRev; '96: 132. Any doctor not having read the latter and the

Feb. 16 '99 issue of Circulation about omega-3's and McCully's homocysteine book

has dangerous information deficiencies. McCully's contribution is establishing

the link, via the blood chemical homocysteine, between many diseases and poor

nutrition (low B-vitamin intake). This link is the mc² [think McC-ully] of low

micro-nutrient intake and disease: higher than minimal homocysteine proves

malnutrition (in each of us and in groups). This scientific link, for which he

should be on the short-list for a Nobel Prize, also supports some of Adelle

Davis' views of the early research... like eating

B-vitamin and methyl group supplying eggs and liver against heart disease

(--research like the pioneering work of Lester Morrison and of Charles " insulin "

Best before that; see also points 11 and 24. below).

10. Imagine ... that just maybe a friend's colon cancer or Alzheimer's disease

was caused by low folic acid, breast or prostate cancer by low selenium or fatal

irregular heart beat by low magnesium, potassium or omega-3. Imagine most heart

disease is caused by micronutrient deficiencies. Imagine how cheap and easy it

would have been to avoid ... and how hard to undo. The list gets longer while

we wait for " conclusive " evidence.

Low vitamins D, C, B1, B3 or iodine respectively cause rickets, scurvy,

beriberi, pellagra and goiter (to the disbelief of the medical world at the

time). The next section tells you why long-term low B6, B12 and folic acid

(general malnutrition or Western diets) causes much of heart disease, cancer,

early aging and Alzheimer's. Here's a teaser: 400 versus 100 mcg folic acid

intake, and 19 years later, 20% less cardiovascular disease and stroke!

11. Homocysteine lowering is fast, cheap and easy using a multi with slightly

higher than RDA/DV amounts of B vitamins [this author in Arch Int Med]. Raising

B vitamin intake and thus dropping homocysteine is proven to stop and reverse

artery plaque formation [see Spence, below] and help blood flow and " balloon "

(angioplasty) operation success rates.

The effects of the 4 main agents [folic acid (folacin or B9), B6, B12 &

betaine**] are cumulative and together probably lower by ½ the risk of heart,

blood vessel and Alzheimer's disease (AJCN; Jan. '01; Alzheimer's). The graph

on the left was modified from NEJM, Feb. 14, 2002. It (over) simplifies the

study about homocysteine levels in 1100 elderly and the % getting dementia and

Alzheimer's, many years later. High homocysteine is and proves low B vitamin

status: NEJM: " The simple addition to a normal diet of large doses of folacin,

vitamin B12, or betaine will substantially reduce plasma homocysteine in most

people. " [magnesium and other B vitamins also play roles].

Even if in real life only half these benefits materialize this would still

be a massive reduction in suffering. Other benefits of these nutrients

(directly and through homocysteine) are in birth defects, pregnancy

complications, (significant) cancer prevention and artery relaxation. These

effects are the best rationale for taking a high-dose multi vitamin. The book

Methyl Magic is a fine reference. High homocysteine is the best indicator of

malnutrition and vitamin deficiency (the shameful rule in the home-bound

elderly).

" Good " homocysteine is: below 8 in mid-age and below 10 when elderly; the

lower the better with below being 6 ideal. In the above [Framingham]

Alzheimer's study, average values were 11.5 at age 60-65 to 22.5 above age 90

but in all seven age categories were people with ideal values below 6 !

Pennies per day for the multi and zero risk! Add vitamins C and E, fiber,

minerals, omega-3 oils and eat low processed foods** and you'll reduce your

statistical chances of early heart and mental ill-health to a fairly low level,

independently of your genetics. Smoking and possibly unfiltered coffee may

increase this blood toxin [good news for coffee in diabetes, and Parkinson's,

however].

Homocysteine lowering is especially important for the about one third of us

with a genetic tendency to higher levels. For some reason, most people with

heart disease have " desirable " cholesterol levels. Quoting McCully: " [in 2/3rds

of autopsies with severe atherosclerosis] ...the disease developed without

evidence of elevated ... cholesterol, diabetes, or hypertension. " Could low

omega-3, mineral, antioxidant and homocysteine lowering nutrients cause that

difference --or does your MD, heart specialist or lipidologist [yes, a

" blood-fat-specialist " ] have a better theory? Since half of you reading this

website have or will have heart and blood vessel diseases, this question is

worth asking.

**Betaine [be-tai-ïne, bee-tain or TMG] and choline are about 0.5% and 0.25%

respectively of wheat bran or germ -leaving refined flour with only about 0.06%

(Cereal Chem; 1-'67: 48-60). The new 5-2003 Journal of Nutrition analysis for

wheat germ and bran is even higher. Both nutrients have similar vitamin-like

roles that are crucial for artery health (this author in AJCN). Choline (eggs,

liver, soy, wheat bran/germ, meat, fish, and self-made from lecithin) turns into

betaine (3 methyl groups stuck onto the amino acid glycine; beets, spinach,

wheat bran/germ, shrimp & beer) that, after donating a methyl group (like the

famous and expensive SAMe) turns into DMG, still a donor of methyl groups, and

related to what some used to call vitamin B15.

These nutrients lower toxic homocysteine and also protect your blood fats,

brain and liver by other mechanisms. Methyl groups do hundreds of (mainly good)

things, and sticking methyl onto the sulfur of homocysteine (re-)generates the

essential amino acid methionine, taming the beast. Methionine, lecithin,

choline and betaine are the " lipotropes " , that is, they help the body deal with

fats [and " fatty-liver " ]. Morrison found a 22% reduction in cholesterol with

betaine in a small trial and 50 years later we have the first trial (ArchIntMed

2000-9-11:160) of betaine lowering homocysteine by 15% in normal people:

different mechanisms but in the same healthy direction.

Nutrient information won't come from a cardiologist. For example, the

Consensus Recommendations for Heart Failure from the American College of

Cardiology is about drugs. The only mention of any nutrient is: " Physicians

should monitor [which is difficult] and correct any deficiencies in potassium

and magnesium, since these may cause ... arrhythmias [irregular heart beat] " .

Another 1999 consensus panel's Guide to Preventive Cardiology for Woman

states: " Diets rich in antioxidant ...nutrients and folate are preferred over

supplements. " (J Am Coll Cardiol; May 1999: 1751-5). This statement is

misleading because you can well do both. In fact, folic acid or folate (B9) and

B12 are vitamins that are much better absorbed from supplements. For example, 1

in 8 Americans over age 60 is B12 deficient (yet able to absorb B12 from a pill)

because of low or drug-reduced stomach acid. This is the group doctors like to

inject with B12. In a different " vein " (sorry), vitamin E from food plus a

multi will not get you, as all cardiologists know, the about 200 IU's linked

with a 40% lowered risk of heart disease.

A warning about such consensus panels --or websites, including this one, as

Dr. JRA Mitchell once said: " What passes for knowledge is often no more than

well-organised ignorance. " and " The alternative to scientific experiment is the

expert committee. Unfortunately, just as one cannot be sure of the relationship

between risk factors and disease, we cannot be sure of the relationship between

the opinion of the committee and the truth: the opinion of the committee will

depend on who is selected for it. " Wise words.

 

 

12. First Try and Maintain Optimal Nutrition underlies the medical principle of

first and foremost not to cause harm. In other words, first insure that an

illness cannot be cured or helped by nutrition. Nutritional medicine is also

called naturopathic or orthomolecular medicine or psychiatry. The idea that a

" well balanced diet " gives optimum amounts of all the nutrients you need is

based on dogma but not on science. While a balanced & varied diet with lots of

fruits, veggies & whole-grains is truly a superb idea (JNCI; 00-1-19), no

scientist can say that even such diet (and more importantly your actual diet)

has your optimum amounts of selenium, magnesium, calcium, potassium, vanadium,

silicon, molybdenum, chromium, vitamins C, E, etc.

13. People don't readily change eating patterns shaped by taste, family,

habit, price, availability, restaurants, vending machines, corporate profit,

religion and custom --and 1/3rd of Americans get 45% of their calories from

" Energy-Dense, Nutrient-Poor " [junk] foods -AJCN; Oct. 2000. This, like rain,

being a scientific and human reality, taking a few supplements (a good multi, C,

E, calcium / magnesium and omega-3 in the diet) is an effective, cheap and easy

thing anyone can do about the known nutrients.

14. Selenium is crucial in heart disease and cancer prevention --or put the

other way, many heart conditions and cancers are, at least in part, selenium

deficiency diseases. Selenium is found in US or Canadian wheat flour at 1 to

120 mcg/100g depending on where it was grown, making it either a good or a

terrible source (you need about 200 mcg/day).

Since 1984, ultra-low selenium and ultra-high heart disease Finland supplements

its fertilizers with selenium. Rather than supplementing fertilizer or flour

with minerals or vitamins and hoping you'll get optimum nutrients, your chances

are much improved with a well targeted vitamin-mineral supplement. Sure, it

looks like a pill but it's really a food concentrate. P.S. Here's the latest

about an ongoing selenium study with impressive results about cancer prevention.

And, surprise, surprise, selenium is an anti-inflammatory in rheumatoid

arthritis and it may reduce infection rates in HIV / AIDS and in other virus

diseases.

 

15. Dog food contains a vitamin and mineral supplement, even the canned-meat

variety. This lack of added supplements explains the veterinary dogma that your

dinner leftovers are bad for a dog! Animal science accepted years ago that a

supplement is an essential food group for dogs, cats, zoo, farm & lab animals.

Farm science also proved that supplements are vital to crop health because

plants may not get all the nutrients they need from the soil. As your pet and

crop get supplemental micro nutrients, what are the chances you get them from

restaurant or supermarket foods?

16. Food-pyramids of the various food groups are made by portion size and some

relative importance. However the 1995 U.S. Dietary Guidelines and Pyramid do

little to prevent disease according to 2 studies here and here. These Harvard

studies call for a review of the guidelines... A suggestion: promote whole and

unprocessed foods, omega-3 oils and a multi ... refined rapidly absorbed carbs,

now the base of the pyramid would move up, into the use sparingly area. Part of

the very base of an improved pyramid would be fruits and vegetables that would

share this base with a category for omega-3 oil and a micro-nutrient supplement.

This was in fact the comment of one of U.S.'s top senior scientists at the May

2001 Linus Pauling Institute nutrition conference ... while a second top

scientist commented that a multi is the most conservative thing one should

consider for a hospitalized patient.

 

 

17a. UNDER-dose of nutrients affects most people. The most common ones are:

calories, protein, iodine, iron, calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium &

vitamins A, B, C, D, E, omega-3 oils (fish -% varies, flax -57%, unhydrogenated

regular canola -9%, unhydrogenated soy -7%, wheat germ -5% & unrefined walnut

-5%) and last but not least: folic acid. Anything you do to foods (freeze, can,

boil, age) specifically lowers 2 homocysteine lowering vitamins: folic acid and

B6.

17b. OVER-dose of nutrients, apart from things like calories, omega-6, iron

and copper are rare and usually benign. About fluoride however, the " do not

swallow " , supervise-your-kids and " use only a pea-sized amount " warnings on

toothpaste are ominous, and valid. Fluoride is nearly as toxic as arsenic.

Fluoride causes aging, dark skin blotches, white-spotted teeth, cancer, collagen

and DNA damage, " unwanted " bone growth (in cartilage and in artery walls and as

spurs on bones), and it may not even prevent tooth decay long term --ref's 1 &

2. Applied to growing teeth, it forms fluor-apatite, , a bone-hard mineral also

found in bone-hard calcified arteries. Promoted as if it could be a nutrient by

money and bad science, fluoride is the toxin that raised permanent " mottle "

tooth damage in U.S. kids (fluorosis = permanent white spots) from about 6 to

30%: CDC/JADA; Feb. 2002. Here is an important Canadian summary: directly

applied to growing permanent teeth, there might be a

small benefit in one (1) age-group (age 7 to 12 ?) but ingested in any form

--from toothpaste, water, drinks or very high tea intake (leaves)-- there is

long-term risk to all. P.S. The title of Dr. Leo Spira's 1953 book with the

first 25 years of science is: The Drama of Fluorine, Arch Enemy of Mankind.

Fluoride anyone?

17c. PRESCRIBED-doses of drugs in hospitals daily kill a jumbo-jet full of

Americans (300) and cause 6000 [very] " serious " adverse reactions: JAMA;

'98-4-15. Serious was defined as: permanent disability, [re/more]

hospitalization, or causing death. This is 1 U.S. doctor prescribed FDA approved

drug death and 20 extremely serious reactions every 5 minutes! (Why worry about

Anthrax ... as the world-wide medical and drug intervention toll surpasses that

of the World Trade Center calamity, each and every day. In life, it's not the

danger, it's the perceived danger that motivates humans.

 

18. ASPIRIN daily kills about 46 Americans, as many as die from AIDS (NEJM;

June 17 '99) but an ultra low dose (~1/4th of a high strength pill (125 mg)

every 2nd day -but not if you take ibuprofen first) can be anti-clot +

anti-inflammation heart healthy (for those at high-risk -see the FDA) and about

160 times more bang for your buck than cholesterol lowering statin drugs (BMJ;

Dec. 5 '98). Aspirin however is linked to 200,000 U.S. hospitalisations for

congestive heart failure [ " NSAIDs should be used with caution in patients with a

history of cardiovascular disease. " ] and internal bleeding. " Aspirin, like all

other drugs, is a poison " is the title of this editorial in BMJ that concludes

that " ..it may be more appropriate for some people to eat an apple rather than

an aspirin a day. " [here's the Jan. 2002 update and discussion]. Then there is

Tylenol which like its parent, phenacetin, and aspirin to a lesser degree, may

damage your kidneys and combined with alcohol is disaster

for your liver --and it should therefore not be sold in bars, or used for

hangovers.

 

Aspirin, Tylenol and super expensive Celebrex & Vioxx work by reducing

inflammation and pain from omega-6 oil-based molecules. The omega-3 family of

oils, and most effectively fish oil, does the same but more gently, more safely

and with more flavor (some would say: with too much flavor). These omega-3

effects are from " COX-regulation " in addition to the electro-chemical effects of

the oil itself. These omega-3 benefits are evident in heart disease, in gut

diseases like colitis and Crohn's, in arthritis, and in health in general. An

" unexpected " cautionary flag was raised in JAMA about COX-2 inhibitors and heart

health: they also reduce one of the really " good " prostaglandins ... oops! [and

they prevent bones from healing.]

Simply put: the aspirins prevent clotting but cause bleeding while the

vioxxes may lower bleeding but promote clotting --and slow surgical, bone and

wound healing. CycloOXygenases (proteins clinging to fat-based cell membranes)

put the loop (Cycle) into and the OXygen onto several already bent 20 carbon

long fatty acids (removed from the host-membrane). This turns them into

prostaglandins. Inhibitors prevent this, which can be good (for pain,

inflammation and blood flow) or bad (for clotting, bleeding, kidney,

blood-pressure, heart failure, etc.). Such anti-inflammatories and pain

killers, from Aspirin to Prednisone, are little nuclear weapons against the

fat-based machinery of your system, the effects of which will not be understood

for decades [and now there are P-COX-1a, P-COX-1b, COX-3, and whoknows..].

All COX-1 and some COX-2 reside in a small sub-cell inside each cell and make

the cell work properly. Other COX-2 sits around your DNA and tells it what to

do and how to behave but most COX-2 is made in inflammation and infection,

hopefully only when needed (otherwise it promotes cancer, arthritis and heart

disease, and possibly Alzheimer's). Let me guess ... this is more than you

wanted to know.

 

 

 

19. Nutrient modification by processing is little questioned: pick any

supermarket shelf. This includes Europe where the foods are no better and where

the nutrition labels are terrible. Since the recent addition in the U.S. of

dirt-cheap folic acid to flour and breakfast cereals, many highly processed

products are now endorsed as sources of folic acid --NEJM; May 13 '99. While

fortification helps a little, about 90% of the world eats non supplemented

refined grain and rice products --and nobody replaces the 80 - 100% of removed

magnesium, zinc or vitamin E to name but a few lost nutrients. Low magnesium

alone is linked to 11% of U.S. heart mortality (Int. J. Epid; 1999).

 

 

20. The combined supplements --E, C, the B's, minerals, CoQ10, flax or fish

oil & niacin if needed & throw in ~1/4th of a high strength aspirin every other

day (in non-hypertensives)-- are cheaper and a heart-healthier package than any

of the cholesterol lowering statin drugs. After about 50+ billion $ in sales

and related costs (JAMA; '00-4-12: $2.2-$5/day), drug companies still aren't

allowed to say they will improve or prolong life for most users --unlike niacin

(Nutr Rev; Aug. '93: 246-52 and J Am Coll Cardiol; Dec. '86: 1245-55).

Mega-niacin does take some medical guidance [for the first few days it will

give a harmless but frightening hot-flush] but it's the only drug suggested by

the AHA to raise HDL and it's 1 of 3 to lower LDL. Here's a write-up and table

about no-flush niacin by Thorne and here's one about how niacin keeps your blood

fluid (Am Heart J; '00-10-14).

21. CHOLESTEROL PILLS, statins, -Pravachol, Lipitor, Zocor, Mevacor, Lescol,

Crestor- [ " .. if diet and exercise alone are not enough.. " ] are expensive, easy

to take and make part of the lab report look better. This makes families poorer

but more at ease and doctors aren't yet getting blamed for prescribing them.

They hardly raise HDL and slash the production of CoQ10 by the same % as LDL,

forcing your heart, in fact all cells, to work with less energy. Their limited

effect is clearly not from cholesterol but from lowering inflammation (2nd ref.)

and blood clotting, and by changing artery function, as do, more cheaply,

aspirin, omega-3 oils and several vitamins.

 

Some statin fine-print warns " The effects of ... on cardio vascular morbidity

[illness] or mortality [death] ... have not [!] been established. " And:

" Significant decreases in circulating ubiquinone [CoQ10] levels in patients

treated with X or other statins have been observed [happens in all users, and

this does] .. lead to impaired cardiac function [heart failure; nerve death]

... " . Also: " ..in some patients the beneficial effects of lowered... cholesterol

may be partially " blunted " [canceled] by a concomitant [linked] increase in

Lp(a) levels. "

 

 

Most advertising omits such warnings while Medscape, after listing over 100

side effects, manages to miss the CoQ10 problem altogether, as does MedlinePlus.

Scary stuff. Simply put, statins:

1. Probably good: inflammation, clotting and nitric oxide effects;

2. No effect: from what they do to cholesterol [lipids];

3. Certainly bad: muscle pain/weakness, less CoQ10, more Lp(a), cost;

4. Misleading: scary promotions without sound science [Lipitor, Zocor];

5. The problem: they don't prolong survival; cancer and long-term risk:

Massive benefits proclaims Oxford University about its Heart Protection Study,

" the world's largest cholesterol-lowering trial " . 75% of heart attacks still

happen and 300 people on the drug for 12 months to postpone the death of just 1

of them. Massive drug use, few lives saved. The other large 2002 European

study, claiming benefit in high-risk elderly, PROSPER, found only 6 lives saved

-and more cancer deaths and more new cancers in each of 4 years, in a group with

52 fewer smokers. Zero " anything " benefit was next found in the ALLHAT trial in

a 10 year younger North American group: 1 death postponed per 1.1 million pills

swallowed! Next came Lipitor's 2003 ASCOT study: also no mortality benefit, see

graph below.

 

" Ask your doctor if " X " is right for you " prompt the TV ads and websites ...

but vital information is hard to come by for you and your doctor (paving the way

for criminal investigations* and lawsuits). Statins, fibrates and high intakes

of the common cholesterol-lowering polyunsaturated " vegetable " oils are linked

to more cancer. Canadian ads always and U.S. ads never warned about the

dramatic lowering of CoQ10 by statins... there's your muscle pain! Few studies

were done on women and elderly, groups where high LDL has no evident link to

mortality [low HDL does have such link, but HDL is best raised by, for example,

exercise, moderate alcohol use or mega-niacin]. No mortality studies were done

in people taking a good multi, whole foods and omega-3 oil. Statin plus

B-vitamin (homocysteine) studies are underway, yet several are designed to allow

statins to take credit for the vitamin effects. This paves the way for

combination therapy: statins + niacin and/or aspirin and/or

fish oil and/or multi-B-vitamins ... if statins alone are not enough ...

An early TV ad exclaimed [picture a good-looking elderly couple]: " Lipitor

did it! .. Treatment " targets " for pain killers are clear. However for drugs

that drop blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol, ask your doctor if real

health benefits are proven or simply assumed. Ask to see those studies.

the lower numbers you're looking for. " Notice they weren't saying: " The less

heart disease and better health you're looking for. " One year into the campaign

a text was added with: " Lipitor has not been shown to prevent heart disease or

heart attacks. " Isn't that what people expect when taking the drug? And how

about this couple in a 2003 TV ad: " Oh, Jessie, I love you too! " [...Zocor, Be

There!]. While " up to " 87% of Baycol* patients drop to " target levels " [picture

an eagle and a target or a dropping elephant] they reported that effects on

disease and death had not been established. They're targeting you with dummy

targets: the " surrogate end-point " [non-disease marker] of less LDL, and not

with real wellness goals like less illness, fewer doctors visits or reduced drug

use. *)Baycol a.k.a. Lipobay was taken off the market in 2001 for causing

unexpected deaths: here's an important comment about all statins.

The Journal Club on the Web has two good statin study analysis here and here:

A typical participant would have to be treated for over 200 years at a drug cost

of $200 000 to prevent one cardiac " event " . In one of these studies (WOSCOPS),

160 000 men invited, 6600 selected, half treated -but after 5 years and 30%

giving up on the drug, the total death rate was not quite statistically

different. The other study (CARE) found " .. no significant differences in

overall mortality .. " . A comment in NEJM; 99-4-8:1115 about a 3rd major study

(LIPID): " Pravastatin has no particular advantage over placebo [dummy-pill]. "

The poster-child of the statin studies (4S) did save men but tended to harm

women, and some unusual things are reported in the mortality statistics.

Eventually doctors will get blamed for prescribing statins [to fix the

" landscape " of your " dys " arranged blood-fat emulsion].

If you are on a statin, learn the facts. From the ALLHAT study website:

" ..trials demonstrating a reduction in [heart disease] from cholesterol lowering

have not demonstrated a net reduction in mortality. " MedlinePlus / Reuters

about ALLHAT: " ..people taking pravastatin were no less likely to die or develop

heart disease than people receiving usual care. " Lipitor's mortality result are

no different -- 5168 people on statin, 5 million pills swallowed and the

mortality curves touch after 3 years [and with cancers, quality of life and

muscle pain not reported] :

Statins ain't " cholesterol lowering therapy " , they lower mevalonate, the

mother-molecule that also makes squalene, CoQ10 and other useful stuff

[ " cholesterol synthesis intermediates " ]. Similarly, aspirin is not simply

" anti-clot therapy " , it rearranges your " hormonal balance " , that is, all your

fat-based " house keeping " , pain and signal machinery. The effects of statins

and aspirin are from reductions in key molecules, hampering fundamental body

processes. The good comes with the bad. On the other hand, high dose vitamin

B3, niacin, is a promoter in hundreds of processes. Niacin has few harmful side

effects in most since it stimulates body processes, like all vitamins. However,

also niacin is just a partial answer to heart disease --but it has added other

health benefits.

 

 

Bottom Line: At 10 - 36x the price of generic niacin (1.2 kg for $50 or 80¢/week

here)*, in some types of heart patients, some statins may reduce the risk of

cardiac events by one fifth after 5 years of use [but you have to scrape the

statistical barrel]. This leaves no less than 4/5ths of the risk. To deal with

the larger under lying problem, remember that fat substitutions have proven of

little value, apart from those involving omega-3 oils, and that whole-foods and

supplements cheaply lower most risk factors -and survival chances. *(tel.

1.800.544.4440 or 1.954.766.8433; product 94.)A doctor putting you on a statin

and not first using niacin + a good multi vitamin and without tracking both your

homocysteine and Lp(a) -and without giving you replacement CoQ10- is practicing

dangerous medicine.

 

22. The blood pressure debate. The Seven Countries Study tracked 49 year old

men who curiously enough had (in all these varied countries) average systolic

blood pressures of 138 plus or minus 3%. They found (after 25 years) that

heart-mortality in northern Europe and the U.S. was 4 times higher than in

coastal south-east Europe or southern Japan (NEngJMed; Jan 6 '00: p1). At

identical blood pressures, death by heart disease " varied greatly between

populations. " This is not what you want in a reliable risk barometer --and

incidentally, the same factor 4 difference in heart deaths was also found at

identical cholesterol levels.

Within each location however people with heart disease were found to have higher

blood pressures. The report and editorial interpret this link in the sense of

blood pressure causing heart disease (thus the potential for drug treatment).

The reverse is more logical: the heart pumping into hardened arteries evidently

causes higher pressures than if pumping into healthy ones. As told by Dr.

Kendrick: High Blood Pressure: it's a Symptom, not a Disease, Stupid!, in The

Joy of Hypertension Trials or in Guidelines and Alice in Wonderland. In short,

if you're nice to your arteries with nutrition, you automatically help even the

" new " disease of Pre-Hypertension [perspective by Paul Rosch].

Bottom line. High blood pressure is not good for anything. A high or

increasing pressure is an important warning for possible heart, artery and

kidney disease. The type of diet is the important risk factor for both heart

disease and blood pressure. If cholesterol or blood pressure are not risk

factors in your case, simply lowering the numbers with drugs is like painting a

car while ignoring the oil change.

There seems to be medical agreement that drugs are possibly only warranted in

very high blood pressure (and those with added diabetes), and that in all cases

nutrition is of primary importance and of proven worth [--as can be CoQ10].

All blood pressure drugs have serious side effects. If you have a drug name,

check RxList. You may also want to find out about lowering salt and increasing

high potassium foods (fruits and veggies) and increasing omega-3 oils and about

the amino acid arginine which makes (with help from vitamin C) the artery

relaxant nitric oxide (found in: lean meat, eggs, low fat dairy, nuts, whole

grains, wheat germ or nitroglycerin -think: dynamite). There are several other

nutritional approaches (see book 1 in links). Here are 2 link about the

complexities of drugs in heart conditions: BMJ; Feb. 12 '00 and about some blood

pressure drugs causing heart failure: Ann Int. Med; Sept 3 '02.

 

 

23. The AHA is a 1/2billion$/year organization with 3.8 million volunteers.

Unfortunately, most of its prevention approach is slanted by soft-money from

interest groups [big Pharma... treating to " targets " , reaching number " goals " in

lab reports]. The focus is prevention by lowering fat and cholesterol " as part

of a balanced eating plan " . Its website recommends in general not to take

supplements while among the foods suggested are water bagels, molasses cookies,

angel cake and [check for yourself] ... frankfurter buns. These are all

refined-starch, finely ground flour-based foods, that are high-glycemic, that

trigger insulin and that therefore promote obesity and type 2 diabetes which

eventually leads to heart disease and stroke.

There are 3 AHA " heart-checks " on Lipton's " Promise Ultra Fat Free Nonfat

Margarine " which has " 0% fat " , zero protein, zero etc. Some Promise, 2 of the

50 nutrients you need: water and supplemented vitamin A. Telling you not to

supplement, they endorse an imitation margarine for its supplemented vitamin A.

And how about " Smart Beat Fat Free American Flavor Non-Dairy Slices " ?

Cheers! Also endorsed is the Breakfast Candy listed below, because it contains

a piece of a multi-vitamin. Such " nutrient-fortified and enriched starches "

[sic] are in evident conflict with the CHD-Taskforce and AHA Dietary Guidelines:

" ...individuals should choose foods and beverages low in sugars, particularly

added sugars.

AHA endorsements are sold for a yearly fee and include Frosted Flakes (42%

sugar and only 1 g fiber), Cocoa Krispies ( " chocolatey sweetened rice cereal " ),

Cookie Crisp (sugar and hydrogenated oils) and Cocoa Puffs (1st ingredient

sugar: 47% + 0.2 g fiber, 1/125th of your daily requirement --I managed to grow

mold on it so it does support life). Then, there's scary Count Chocula,

synthesized from de-germed corn meal (corn starch), sugar and marshmallow bits,

a hydrogenated Frankenfood through marriage to the equally spooky Frankenberry

(95% carbs and 0.2 g fiber -not certified). No joke, but no yolk! No AHA

scientists could possibly suggest that Count Chocula or spreads like Promise

" fight heart disease and stroke " .

If a food has as much as 1/11th of an egg [a whole food with all the

nutrients to make a new chicken and no evidence of harm], it won't be endorsed

but sawdust with over 10% of 1 of only 6 required nutrients (fiber) qualifies.

Endorsements based on low saturated fat and cholesterol and the presence of only

one added nutrient is irresponsible. America's most reliable source of

heart-health information [according to itself] must change its orientation if it

doesn't want to remain part of the core problem. Using its dedicated volunteers

and doctors and without corporate money, simple science based advise should be

given, endorsing all healthy foods, even without industrial sponsors. One good

step: AHA's new position on omega-3 oils (flax, canola, fish-oil). If only the

AHA could ban the use of the word cholesterol -that horse has been dead for

about 30 years, and it was finally buried by last year's trials that found no

fewer deaths from cholesterol lowering.

Cholesterol-thinking is poisoning heart associations world-wide; it's time to

face these facts, and tell the people.

Donations: Until the AHA gets nutrient-wise and stops endorsing stuff like

Cocoa Puffs and puts your donation supported 5 journals free on the Internet

[access to Circulation alone is $15/day or $236/yr while for example the great

member-financed BMJ is free], Americans and their estates might consider

donating instead to the nutrition dedicated Linus Pauling Institute with their

free news-letter. Why donate to the AHA, or any similar group, for corporate

soft-money tainted drug or or food advice that may well have helped cause

illness in the first place? At least the Pauling people are moving forward with

practical research and relevant advice. [The AHA gets $90 million per year from

estates but spends $100 million on fund-raising alone!]

 

24. Avoiding liver or fresh eggs for their cholesterol is most often bad for

your heart since they also provide protein, lecithin, choline and B vitamins.

Liver is low in fat and it happens to be the best source of heart-healthy folic

acid (B9), B6, B12, choline and of most other B vitamins, while its betaine

(trimethylglycine or TMG) may soon become a heart health food. High cholesterol

shrimp are in fact suggested as heart-healthy in AJCN; Nov. '96 (but I'd avoid

any trans-fat filled batter, and dried egg product).

The late Adelle Davis, America's most celebrated nutritionist [according to

her publisher**] suggested: " ..eggs.. should never be restricted in the diets of

persons with atherosclerosis. " In a chapter with 170 references about

cholesterol problems she also suggests eating liver [4 oz or 110 g/d].

Remember, it is now, 35 years later, pretty well unanimously agreed that

unoxidized cholesterol is not toxic while oxidized, highly refined, hydrogenated

-trans- or deep fried fats definitely are toxic. It is also agreed that

antioxidants prevent toxic blood fat oxidation and that the vitamins in liver

lower your homocysteine.

About half of the brain, your hormones, nerves and cell walls are various

types of fats and cholesterol. It is thus logical that even slightly modified

or lacking fats or cholesterol have major effects on physical, and mental,

health. Since your brain is basically a machine made of fats (directing other

fats and proteins), it is for its own protection not primarily equipped to burn

fats (like your heart) and it constantly needs glucose for energy --dying

quickly when this blood sugar supply stops (called: a stroke). The brain also

protects itself from oxidized cholesterol, the dried egg product variety, by

making all of its own cholesterol.

It is amazing that 35 years ago Davis suggested the amount of omega-3 now

proven as cardio-protective, 1 tblsp. flax/lin or 2 tblsp. unhydrogenated soy or

of the later developed canola. She was also right that high omega-6 safflower,

sunflower and corn don't have such benefit. She was wrong with the theory of

the day that people can turn omega-6 into omega-3 [there may be good biological

reason to keep these 2 systems separate]. **The same publisher who 6 years

after her death concocted " her " to-be-avoided book Let's Stay Healthy. Her

original 1965 Let's Get Well with 2280 scientific references however could be a

text book in a course Treasures of the First 50 Years of Nutrition Sciences

(mistakes and foresight included). A similar book with parallel thinking and

1100 references is Nutrition Against Disease by vitamin discoverer R.J.

Williams.

 

 

25. This chart illustrates the great underlying puzzle. Some areas [and here]

still have no heart disease while others suffer steep increases like several

former East Block countries. The steep part of the curve follows: 1.) the use

of long shelf-life [low nutrient] processed [low fiber] foods; 2.) the invent of

hydrogenated fats; 3.) the exploded use of added sugars and refined starches and

4.) the decreased use of eggs and other whole foods. Recently leveling rates

follow cereal/flour fortification (particularly voluntary B6 additions since

about 1962) and the ever increasing supplement and canola use.

The American Heart Association directed the fat and cholesterol phobia and

an about 7 fold disease rate increase [which was strangely similar to the cancer

rate increase].** Considering this track record, food endorsements that include

Cocoa Puffs and Count Chocula [high glycemic index foods - here's a full list],

and heavy reliance on drugs, the role and direction of the AHA beg for an

inquiry -now there is a worthy project for U.S. vice-president and heart patient

Cheney. Imagine a private business or executive with such record! **More in

sudden heart deaths where, in 1912, as Procter & Gamble imported hydrogenation

into the U.S. (Crisco 1911 and 1912), a certain Dr. Herrick presented 6 heart

attacks in JAMA (Dec. 12: 2015-20 -with mostly German references). Angina,

nitroglycerin and digitalis were known but heart attacks were rare and journal

worthy. Today, 1 Brit and 6 Americans suffer heart attacks every 2 minutes.

This is part of the Law of Unexpected Consequences,

the If Anything Can Go Wrong, It Will --principle of the nutritional changes

during the last century.

26. Carotenoids are " functional pigments " related to vitamin A of which

beta-carotene and lycopene [ .org ] are 2 out of over 600. They are best eaten

in lightly steamed carrots, tomato (or tomato paste), and in all deeply colored

fruits and veggies. Without some oil in the same meal they won't be well

absorbed! Lack of vitamin A in some Asian and African countries is the major

cause of blindness and one major cause of death in kids. In Western countries,

low antioxidants and low carotenoids lutein (the yellow in yolk, and in

green-leaf veggies) and zeaxanthin (corn, spinach, greens, fruits) are linked to

macular [central vision] blindness in older people (JAMA; 1994: 1413-20) and to

adult onset diabetes (AJCN; 4-'00). Low lycopene (tomato/paste, watermelon,

grapefruit, guava and apricot) is linked to heart disease and prostate cancer

(many studies). While vital to good health, especially if pregnant or smoking,

I'd avoid supplements with over about 10,000IU (6 mg) of

beta-carotene. Lycopene is the predominant carotenoid in the prostate, as are

lutein and zeaxanthin in the eye where these " macular pigments " have protective

antioxidant roles --AJCN June 2000: 1555-62.

27. Bone loss (osteo-arthritis / fracture): eat bone (45% water, 10% fat, 20%

protein, and 25% mineral that is 96% calcium based). It is surprising that not

all research about low bone density first suggests to eat more bone and/or

calcium. Think: when your tire has low air density, you give it air. Amazing:

women at age 84 building stronger bones when given 1.2g calcium + 800 IU vitamin

D per day: NEJM; '92-12-3. Low vitamin D is big factor in many hip fractures

(JAMA; '99-4-28) and BMJ; '03-2-27, with 22% fewer fractures with a 3x/year

vitamin D supplement [equivalent to 800 IU/day]. Surprise, it may well be the

D, as much as the calcium, giving the benefit.

Another bone-density risk factor is low vitamin K intake (green leaf veggies,

broccoli and cabbage: 2/3rd reduced hip fractures in high vs. low intake --AJCN;

May 2000). Please note that Coumad®in / Warfarin and antibiotics interfere

with vitamin K (think: Koagulation, Klotting, Kalcium and Koumad®in).

P.S. #1 If you can now afford a broken hip or wrist, you could have

afforded the 1.5 g calcium, 3/4 g magnesium, 800 IU vitamin D and daily green

leaf or cabbage type veggie for vitamin K to have prevented this fracture or

indeed today's bad back --and there may even be a colon and breast cancer

benefit.

P.S. #2 High protein (even milk) or soft-drink intakes eats calcium from

your bones unless you also ingest sufficient extra calcium-type minerals or

alkali buffers (fruits and veggies).

P.S. #3 High omega-3 (fish oil) helps grow bone! [2001 ref's.: T. Terano and

B.A. Watkins et al.]

P.S. #4 Paradox: the faster bone loss in bone, the faster it [bone] grows in

arteries. In the lab, this is explained by the presence of oxidized

LDL-cholesterol !

28. Similarly, in the case of cartilage loss (again: arthritis): eat cartilage

(when purified, called glucosamine -shells of crustaceans- and chondroitin

-shark and animal cartilage- sulfates) and a lesser source, soft bone itself.

Biochemically not surprisingly, research links cartilage health with artery

health and heart disease survival (Morrison/Schjeide, medical library book WG300

M879c 1973 and Angiology 1973; 24(5):269-87). The chondroitin taken for

cartilage (joint) health may well help the cartilage (connective tissue) of your

arteries.

 

 

 

 

 

29. People and animals store the types of fat they eat. For example a rare

15 carbon fat in blood cells is indicative for milk use while 20 mg of butt-fat

( " adipose tissue aspirate " ) scientifically reveals your long-term consumption of

animal and plant type fats. Feed chickens flaxseed or fish(!), their eggs go

omega-3. Eat solid partially hydrogenated or heat-damaged fats and one may

speed up premature stiffness; with flax oil the skin stays smooth, while

lecithin and fish oil keep things " fluid " .

Naturally saturated tropical fats [link under palm-tree], tallow and butter

are much healthier -and certainly for frying- than the common " vegetable " oils,

margarines and shortening (think: French fry and donut) as shown in the

interesting Figure 1 in NEJM. Surprise, fats are as important as protein:

surrounding and controlling every cell and every factory in and on each cell.

There are hundreds of fat combinations in the miscellaneous cell walls that

" host " this machinery: channels, proteins, enzymes and some DNA -all of which

these fats control. They, the fats of the host-membranes, control where the

guest proteins go, how they behave and fats may perform tasks for the guest

proteins. Fats, in a balance between omega-3 and -6, control every motion,

emotion, pain and heart beat, with your brain effectively a glob of smart fat

.... so much for the lowly fat!

30. Omega-3 is a problem to food processors as they are liquid and quick to

spoil. This is why this vitamin F that prevents death by -and in- a heart

attack is eliminated by hydrogenation. This turns it into toxic trans fat, a

double nutritional whammy underlying heart-disease that is found in ½ of N.

American vegetable (read: seed) oils. Omega-3 type vitamin F can also be

eliminated from the plant, like in the low omega-3 (yellow, not brown)

flax/linseed Linola or soy cross-breed Soyola. There is no guarantee that these

nutritionally inferior stains can be kept separate in the plant kingdom.

Regardless, they reduce the few available plant sources of omega-3.

For deep-fat frying low omega-3 strains are still not as safe as saturated

fat but they are safer than hydrogenated canola or soy -however at what risk to

the long-term omega-3 type vitamin F supply? The key in all plant and food

engineering is extreme caution and long-term public interest. This is clearly

not served by vitamin F removal. Superb omega-3 and trans labels are coming to

Canada: here's the one proposed for soy. That won't fix the fact that in the

U.S. up to 0.49 g " per serving " [there's your loophole] will continue to be

advertised as zero trans, like I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! margarine (You

Wouldn't Believe How Much Trans). Trans warnings on labels and menus would give

consumers important health options (until governments ban hydrogenation

altogether). Until then a handy tip: if the sum of the listed fats does not add

up to the total fat listed, the balance is trans fat -and don't buy the stuff

[in the label example: 14 equals 2+1+7+4, ergo: no

trans]. 167 º 171 ½ 172 ¼ 241 ±-->

31. Eddie's Muesli " The Breakfast Mix " : 1/3 no-fat yogurt +1/3 fruits

(currants, raisins, apple, banana, strawberries, blueberries, cantaloupe,

apricot, prune, papaya) + 1/4 whole rye (cook 1-2 min.) & oat kernels, oat bran

& wheat germ ( & /or rolled oats or low-fat granola type cereal) + 1/6 lecithin,

flax seeds, flax oil, sunflower seeds, Brazil & walnuts (better oil than pecans

and almonds). Powdered vitamin C keeps things fresh. Mix in 1 gal. (4 l)

container. Let sit for 12 hours. Refrigerate & eat within 7 days. Good &

delicious breakfast and snack food; increase the fruits and you'll get a dessert

-vary to taste.

 

 

 

Eddie Vos, M Eng, waiving copyright for non-commercial use. With thanks to:

WebMaven://Marlene S, Dawn McK, Stephen & Susan G, Gail P, Steve Meyers LBNL,

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