Dr. Perlmutter discusses how the concept that LDL, aka “bad cholesterol” is something that should be feared is unfounded. LDL is what we call a carrier protein, and one of its important jobs is to carry a fundamentally important chemical to every cell in the body. This chemical is a critical component of cell membranes, […]
Cholesterol and Heart Disease
Originally posted January 8, 2010. The first major government sponsored study on heart disease was the 40 year Framingham study. The 30-year follow-up study offered the following startling conclusions…. Men over 47 (the age demographic with the most heart attacks) died from heart disease just as often whether their cholesterol was high or low. In […]
Statin Drugs: Part 3
Originally posted September 28, 2010. Cholesterol has many benefits. In Eat Fat, Lose Fat, Enig and Fallon list some of the more impressive ones: Your body uses cholesterol to make hormones that help you deal with stress and protect against heart disease and cancer. Cholesterol acts as an antioxidant, protecting us against free radical damage […]
Are Statin Drugs Like Crestor and Lipitor for You?
Originally posted November 26, 2012. The Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education recently released a 20-page report entitled Physician’s Guide to Cardiovascular Disease Prevention. The Cleveland Clinic is justifiably world-renowned, and the October 2012 guide offers some worthwhile reading on risk factors, diet, lifestyle, fibrates, and niacin. Also included is a two-page discussion of statins. […]
Statin Drugs: Part 1
Originally posted September 14, 2010. Free-range eggs (which are often not so free-range), commercial feedlot beef, load mutual funds, and statin drugs all have a lot in common when you give this rather odd group of cousins a little thought. Each is proffered by mostly well-intentioned folk with a little ax to grind. I am […]
Harvard Biostatistician Attacks New Statin Drug Guidelines
After the shocking change in guidelines for statin use issued by the American Heart Association last week, experts like Dr. Paul Ridker and Dr. Nancy Cook are taking issue with the change. Dr. Steven Nissen from the Cleveland Clinic echoes their concerns. Melissa Healy from the L.A. Times explains these experts’ doubts about the guidelines here. […]
A Doubling of Statin Drug Takers?
A big new statin drug study from American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology is causing controversy for many good reasons. The study indicates that the number of Americans taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs could rise to 72 million from 36 million. Purely from the mathematics of NNT (number needed to treat), I am no […]
Your Life-Threatening High Cholesterol Level!
A high cholesterol level is often singled out as the number one health hazard. We all know about the enormous fortunes that drug companies make selling drugs to lower your low-density lipoprotein (LDL)—in theory, the bad cholesterol. Do these drugs work to your benefit? In nature, there are very few sure bets. The weight of […]
Statin Drugs: Part 2
I have uncovered a small mountain of research material on the subject of heart disease and the value or lack thereof of statin drugs. The black and white of statins gets cloudy real fast with even a cursory investigation. In this installment, I concentrate on the findings of Dr. Mary Enig and Sally Fallon. I […]
Egregiously Wrong Info on Eggs
Many people believe that animal fats and cholesterol cause heart disease, and eggs get an especially bad rap as cholesterol heavyweights. The truth is that serum cholesterol levels probably do not provide an accurate indication of future heart disease. However, a substance called homocysteine has been positively correlated with plaque buildup in arteries, as well […]
