Interesting article on cholesterol by a vascular sugeon

One of the things that makes me sit up and focus when I read an article like this is the author's provenance. This guy is a vascular surgeon. He is one of the guys who will be re-plumbing hearts, lungs and limbs on a daily basis for a number of reasons, including artherosclerosis, which is the main thing cited in encouraging diabetics to accept statins.

If the man at the sharp end (pun intended) says "No, thanks", I find that helpful in supporting my own, researched beliefs.

noblehead said:

I expect he is now just eating a normal diet and avoiding low-fat products, much like all of us do, hope his good progress continues and his cholesterol levels remain stable

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Since when is eliminating sugar, starchy carbs and alcohol a 'normal diet' in the uk today? Ditto with adding extra animal fat?

Although the recent fat revelations in the media are changing things on the fat front, I am glad to see.

AndBreathe said:

One of the things that makes me sit up and focus when I read an article like this is the author's provenance. This guy is a vascular surgeon. He is one of the guys who will be re-plumbing hearts, lungs and limbs on a daily basis for a number of reasons, including artherosclerosis, which is the main thing cited in encouraging diabetics to accept statins.

If the man at the sharp end (pun intended) says "No, thanks", I find that helpful in supporting my own, researched beliefs.

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Exactly AB No disrespect to alternate opinions

Brunneria said:

Since when is eliminating sugar, starchy carbs and alcohol a 'normal diet' in the uk today? Ditto with adding extra animal fat?

Although the recent fat revelations in the media are changing things on the fat front, I am glad to see.

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I've no idea what the normal diet is in the UK, but it makes sense to keep starchy carbs, alcohol and fats in moderation and to eat sensibly.

Andrew Colvin said:

You may find the following article interesting
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/10717431/Why-Ive-ditched-statins-for-good.html

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Thanks Andrew, an interesting read.

The bit that says ' . . . . . eliminating sugar (including alcohol and starchy foods such as bread) and eating more animal fat' says it all really.

I took Atorvastatin for 17 years, that's 17 years of muscle pain that the manufacturers were aware of since 1990 (see the patent application at http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com/statin-CoQ10.pdf). Not only did the manufacturers (Merc in this case) know about the muscle pain, they also knew what was causing the muscle pain, hence this particular patent application.

I'm only upset because my GP at the time just gave me a load of rubbish in his attempts to explain the side effect, including "It's not the statin, you do too much exercise" and "It's not the statin, it's your weight".

My carbs are down to less than 80 gms most days and my last total cholesterol was 5.4 mmol/l. If you look at the data produced by the British Heart Foundation, 5.4 mmol/l seems to be a sort of optimum level. Seems the incidence of heart problems increase with total cholesterol above AND below that figure.

Brunneria said:

And now you need to read my post again.

The bit where I said he hadn't mentioned LCHF but was clearly following it.

Here, I'll quote it for you:
'The only major changes I’d made to my lifestyle since coming off statins were eliminating sugar (including alcohol and starchy foods such as bread) and eating more animal fat.'

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So, to get the benefit, LCHF must also be no alcohol, according to this article, if it's claimed as a LCHF diet.

Not sure I like the sound of that.

I read that article earlier in the year. It is one of the reasons I stopped taking my statins. Since that time my lipids have improved significantly, and my trigs have dropped from 1.15 (on statins) to 0.5 (on low carb high fat).

douglas99 said:

So, to get the benefit, LCHF must also be no alcohol, according to this article, if it's claimed as a LCHF diet.
Not sure I like the sound of that.

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Alcohol? Empty calories! And you know the old story, you only rent booze, while your kidneys are working anyway. If you were watching carbs then you'd have to count alcohol. I gave up 8 years ago and it was the best thing I've done, along with giving up smoking. My health thanks me for it as well.
If I ever get to dump Metformin in the same way that I dumped Gliclazide and Januvia and avoided insulin, can I say I'm cured? I doubt it, just have to be careful with my carbs.

How many carbs do you imagine there are in red wine, vodka, whisky or gin @graj0 ? None is the answer. Maybe the odd one in red wine if you drink several glasses. It's all about moderation with these. It's beer that has the carbs.

@Robinredbreast Do you take alendronic acid tablets once a week as well as the Adcal?

zand said:

@Robinredbreast Do you take alendronic acid tablets once a week as well as the Adcal?

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Yes, I take the 'standing up pill as well,' but from the middle of Steptember until about December I didn't. Do you take these as well ?

Robinredbreast said:

I take Calcium tablets, twice a day , Adcal - D3, on prescription for Osteoporosis, diagnosed 2 months after being diagnosed with Coeliac.

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Hi RRB, he said I should ensure I get adequate calcium sources from my diet as opposed to supplements.

My integrative GP said you could take them but in a small dose (absolute maximum of 800mg per day). But it seems the emphasis these days is on the old Vitamin D for bone health. I get a Vitamin D shot every year. It's more convenient than taking supplements, cheaper and my blood reading is around 100 which is where he wants me to be (i.e. right at the top of the range).