“Honey, call the doctor...

......it’s lasting more than 4 hours!!!”

First off, a big congratulations to everyone who has let me know about their successes. Thanks tremendously for your info. But mostly for your health-gains for finding how detrimental statins can be and how beneficial a paleo-type diet can be. And it’s not just smoke and mirrors....those improvements can be backed up with blood tests and the biomarkers associated with heart disease, diabetes, and your basic weight-scale readouts!!! BOOYA!!! “My pants are looser!”

That’s downright “winner-winner chicken dinner”!

(stay with me Luke Skywalker, and I’ll tell you how to increase HDL-cholesterol at the end of this post without going over to the Dark Side of Statins!)

Statins are NOT who they say they are....imposters....pleiotropes...fakes...a real “mountebank” in a sense. Their effects (I won’t call them “benefits”) act as unrelated to the “cause célèbre”. The mantra of medicine:

Reduce all cholesterol to the lowest possible level

....like cholesterol is some kind of demon or something...NOT!!!

They act by reducing inflammation in the body....not by reducing LDL-cholesterol...LDL-c is not the culprit in your clogged arteries...nor is cholesterol. It’s the damage inside your arteries from poor/wrong nutrition and poor/wrong exercise that instigates the endothelial damage, and a plaque forms. Statins reduce compounds called prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and Cox-2 receptors....blah, blah, blah....

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T16-51BP6CN-5&_user=10&_coverDate=10%2F29%2F2010&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_origin=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1532399924&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=e8b1801539b37f02e16a96b37300b8a2&searchtype=a

It’s not the economy stupid...it’s the inflammation Einstein!

Also, statins have immunomodulatory properties that affect how your immune system reacts to the damaged endothelium:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1538-7836.2005.01211.x/full

The inflammation starts the process of platelet activation, monocyte adhesion, macrophage attraction (white cells) and smooth muscle migration (a scab on the inside of your arteries), key elements in an inflammatory reaction, anywhere in the body.

Statins are NOT wonder drugs....especially if you have never had a heart attack nor been diagnosed with heart disease. That’s called primary care treatment. And a statin drug has been taken off the market when it killed 52 people and injured 385 individuals from rhabdomyolysis. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerivastatin

No studies exist showing the benefits of statins in primary care in the reduction of heart disease:

http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/short/170/12/1024

And inflammation is a huge instigator of diseases in the body. Many modern diseases of civilization are “caused” by inflammation:

-Alzheimers, heart disease, arthritis, diabetes, cancer, autoimmune diseases, aging, and aging skin

-Musculoskeletal disorders such as shoulder tendinitis, bursitis, gouty arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica

-strokes, vascular disorders, deep vein thrombosis

“....is this lasting more than 4 hours????”

Yes, in a sense of a pervasive, omnipotent, ubiquitous, and widespread effect. It underlies my claim of a “unified field” explanation of disease. One basic cause....many diseases. 

Cure the cause = Cure the disease

....no colored ribbons for my advice

Get it yet? It’s that easy, and should be that clear. You don’t have a statin deficiency??? in order to “normalize” your cholesterol. You don’t need statins to save your life/heart/coronary vessels. You need the right food and  the right exercise.

(....this IS lasting more than 4 hours, and it’s stating to hurt!!! I’ve got to get this finished and get to the point...I have the attention span of an ant!)

Paleo Nutrition and Lifestyle

Food from the original paleo human diet will be:

-Meat, fish, chicken, turkey, lamb, pork, bison, all organs of these animals, any animal land, sea, and air!

-Vegetables and fruits from the earth....(I’m trying to shorten things up Buttercup!)

-Nuts....no, not peanuts for Pete’s Sake!!! They are legumes...beans! (what’s that smell???)

-Fats....butter, lard, tallow, coconut, palm oil, olive oil...you use these to cook your veggies!

-Spices....from A to Y.....Allspice to Yarrow....can’t think of a spice that begins with the letter Z

Exercise from the original paleo lifestyle:

I only recommend once to maybe twice a week hard, intense exercise. That means, lifting weights, sprints, body weight all out exercises. This lasts 30-45 minutes and it’s a 100% effort to exhaustion. Nothing is left on the table....total and complete effort.

Welcome to the NFL, Rookie!

This is imitating the hunter gatherer that is genetically anointed in all of us. “It’s your destiny Luke!” We are not supposed to exercise like everyone thinks....countless hours spent every week on the stair master, bike, running, pounding the pavement and destroying our joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles....no wonder it hurts! Hunter gatherers did intense hunting for part of a day, then the rest of the week, they lounged and gorged on the animal kill. The other days they walked around for miles, gathering veggies, fruits, nuts, and firewood....and probably swung through the trees on vines...and played with Cheeta the Chimp!

Your body needs upwards of 7-10 days of recovery, prior to the next workout in order to perform again:

http://www.mikementzer.com/recoverydm.html

Try this paleo workout lifestyle and see how much more energy you have and how the chronic aches and pains go away. Do your once/twice a week high intensity workout for only 45 mins, and then go home to eat meat, veggies, and fat...with some fruit for desert. 

Oh, yea...almost forgot...(statins do cause amnesia, and forgetfulness btw!!!) You can raise HDL-cholesterol by a few tricks I know:

1. exercise (just like I told you above)

2. quit smoking...that includes cigars

modest alcohol (MODEST = less than 2 glasses/day) skip the beer...

niacin (a vitamin...B3) at 1-2 grams/day. 

stop eating those nasty, vile, disgusting, empty calorie grains!!!

Now, these next few I cannot recommend...I cannot give you this kind of advice over the internet....DO NOT START/STOP ANY OF THESE WITHOUT SPEAKING TO YOUR DOCTOR...I AM NOT RECOMMENDING YOU ALTER YOUR DOSE OF ANY OF THESE WITHOUT SEEKING THE ADVICE OF YOUR PHYSICIAN!!!

Beta blockers lower HDL-c (Talk to your physician)

Androgens (testosterone) lower HDL-c (Talk to your physician)

Gemfibrozil (it’s a fibrate...and a prescription drug) and it raises HDL-c (Talk to your physician)

Ok....that’s all for today....it HAS lasted for more than 4 hours, and I’m going to get something to eat:

Salad, lots of veggies, with a half a chicken, lots of olive oil, spices, and nuts for desert!

If ANY of this is interesting, and you still have an appetite for more info (with pretty little pictures, and more links) send me a note, and sign up for my free newsletter.

As Always....Healthful Regards,

Dr. John

drfitness@cox.net

Mind If We Play Through?

......might be better to improve your game of common knowledge!

I came across an article (mostly from Dr. Michael Eades blog) recently discussing the what the pros eat for energy while on the golf course. It’s the usual dribble about some celebrity/professional in some sport telling us what to eat; like they are nutritional experts or something. Why would we believe a sports hero telling us about nutrition? 

Why don’t we simply ask pig how to fly??? 

They have spent years developing their physical skills, in whatever sport, and not studying human physiology/metabolism. 

They are not experts in advising us what to eat.......

Here’s the setup....The magazine editor hires a woman, a registered dietician (an R.D.), to “help” us understand what each snack can do for human metabolism. The same type of person who tells type 2 diabetics to eat the majority of their daily calories from carbohydrates....like adding gasoline to a fire! Ludicrous advice from the American Diabetic Association and registered dieticians. No wonder we have so many sick Americans:

The US is:
No. 1 in the world for percentage of obese persons (30.6%)
No. 1 in the world in total health expenditures per capita
No. 22 among industrialized nations in healthy life expectancy

First we have Tiger Woods (advice on marital relations???!!! Let’s hope not!) telling us his favorite is a peanut butter sandwich. The dietician raves about the “good fats and protein” in peanut butter. (Peanuts, which are beans, have incomplete protein for humans, and the fat is pro-inflammatory, Omega-6 vegetable oil...not good for you buttercup!).

She goes on to say the bread has carbohydrates and gives you a quick burst of energy...yea...sure...

Then in about an hour your blood sugar comes crashing down as you slice that tee shot!

Next comes Mike Weir. He eats a homemade energy bar filled with grains, other stuff, and honey. The RD goes on to say honey is ok, but agave nectar is better.

WHAT???? ARE YOU IGNORANT OR JUST PLAIN STUPID???

Honey is half glucose and half fructose. Agave is 90% fructose. Countless studies demonstrate how detrimental fructose is as a sweetener (high fructose corn sweetener, HFCS ) and how it stimulates fat storage. Also it’s highly implicated in the development of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease....cirrhosis of the liver, without ever drinking and ounce of alcohol! Wonderful...let’s all switch to fructose as sweeteners and destroy our livers.....unbelievable....

I never consume fructose....EVER!...I’d rather practice bleeding...

Ok...the article continues and gets worse....brace for impact!!!:

The next golfer is Paul Casey. He likes to snack on walnuts. I hoping for a moment of clarity on the registered dietician’s part....hoping she would come out of her carbohydrate-induced coma and say they are a good snack. (I do recommend most nuts as a snack)

It’s like I’m watching that ridiculous show, The Biggest Loser, and hoping the fat contestant will reach their goal...amidst the angst and drama in calorie restriction (FAIL), and working out in the gym to exhaustion (FAIL).

DARN IT!!! They failed again!!!

She goes on to say walnuts alone will not provide enough energy. That you need carbohydrates for energy. You will be on the course for hours and suggests adding carbs for energy. She mentions fruit, like bananas, would be a better source of energy....full of carbs by the way. Get ready for a big sugar spike, then big drop....along with your energy...as insulin pulls the glucose out of the blood stream and into the cells. 

Why do so many people wrongly think carbohydrates are the only source of energy for humans? It seems to be “common knowledge” that ONLY carbs “give you energy”. What about proteins? Fats? They can give you energy very nicely and actually do a better job at satisfying your hunger. Fueling your muscles for hours and hours without a severe lowering of your blood sugar in an hour after consuming carbohydrates. Walnuts contain over twice the energy from fats, as the same amount of fruit, from the energy in carbohydrates. The fat will digest a lot slower, providing energy on a much more stable basis, without the big crash of blood sugar from eating carbs. 

-A medium banana contains about 105 calories...from sugar.

-One ounce (extremely small amount) of walnuts contains 185 calories...mostly from monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, some protein, and relatively no carbs. 

The walnuts would be a much better choice....and would sustain you a lot longer to reach the 19th Hole with enough energy to enjoy your afternoon on the links. Eating a more carbohydrate-heavy snack, will release insulin making it much more difficult for your fat cells to give up their fat stores. Insulin prevents fat release from fat tissue. Eat any carbohydrates and you will NOT be able to access your fat storage in order to burn fat. The insulin is a storage hormone and not a “give-you-energy-hormone” at all. It is a growth hormone that adds inches to your stomach and exacerbates insulin resistance and thus the development of type 2 diabetes. Thus the cycle of raising insulin, fat cells unable to release energy, more hunger, more carbs consumed, more insulin, is created.

I want you to re-read that paragraph...and read it one more time...and again...please.

Carbohydrates are not the only source of energy and if consumed in large amounts will make you fat, insulin resistant, and cause type 2 diabetes. Dietary fats and proteins will not and are much better and safer sources of energy not only for professional golfers, but for us amateur hackers as well! 

And NO, THE FATS WILL NOT CLOG YOUR ARTERIES. I’ve posted that before many times. 

And NO, THE PROTEINS WILL NOT DAMAGE YOUR KIDNEYS. I’ll talk about that soon in a future posting. 

How can any nutrition-educated person (RD) ignore millions of years of evolutionary evidence of what humans have predominately consumed for their energy needs? 

Psst...it’s NOT CARBOHYDRATES...I’ll give you a hint sweet-thang...

Try guessing other ANIMALS, with the saturated fats and protein in the tissues. That’s where we got our energy...and that’s where we should center and concentrate our nutrition today. You think suddenly today we should ignore these millions of years and eat like an herbivore? Eating large amounts of grains? Do that and you will get fat and disease will set in.  Follow the advice of ignorant nutritionists and you will (and we have become) slowly gain weight, become insulin resistant, and develop degenerative diseases. We ate other animals, filled with fats and protein, for millions of years. And we developed into the superior species on this planet....but, now we are the superior species, sick, overweight, and dying of degenerative diseases....sad...very sad...

We, YOU, can change that by eliminating grains, beans, and sugars from your diet. Eat as you evolved to eat...satisfying your genetic design by consuming fats, proteins, and very little carbohydrates. You will be much healthier and disease-free! 

What have you got to lose? (the fat around your stomach and in your liver).

Contact me to sign up for my free newsletter!

As Always...Healthful Regards,

Dr. John

drfitness@cox.net

Supplements I Take

Many people ask me about supplements. "Hey Dr. John, what do you think about ________? All my friends are taking _______, and they are doing great!" 

Monkey See....Monkey Do!!!

Well, here are my recommendations. I've studied them, read about them, sat in formal classrooms and listened to professors discuss them. I've been taking supplements on and off for the last 40+ years and have seen many claims about them. Some work and some don't. Just because one works for your friend/relative/convincing TV salesman, doesn't mean it will work for you, nor, does it tell you how much you need! 

All of my recommendations are backed up by excellent research, clinical trials, and my experience/education in the healthcare field.

But first, let's get some important things out of the way.

1. I'm not selling anything

2. I'm not paid by any supplement company, nor on any supplement board of directors

3. Your health is my main concern

Simple. Just like that. You get my recommendations without bias, financial, or otherwise. Don't you wish all recommendations were like that? 

OK...here we go....in order of priority and importance. Realize I am NOT pregnant, lactating, injured, or in a serious diseased state. If I was, I would be adding some, or not taking certain supplements. Your needs would be very different as well, and my recommendations would change. Also, if you are taking prescription medications, some supplements would not be wise to combine with them. 

VERY IMPORTANT: The further down the list you go, the more serious about supplements you can get. Start with the first one or two, and see how your health will improve. Then as you get better, and better at it, which means consistency and compliance, then move down the list and add more into your habits. As in Alice in Wonderland, "Just how far down the rabbit hole do you want to go Alice?" This list is only a BASIC LIST. I sometimes do other supplements based upon my current temporary needs. If you need one on one advice, please contact me and I can advise you. 

First and Foremost: "I eat real food!!!" I eat things I recognize....like fish, chickens, beef, eggs (please don't remove the yokes...they are good for you), turkey meat that looks like it came from a real turkey....NOT pressed into a round disc in cellophane. Vegetables that I know actually grew out of the ground without additives. Fruit that came from a plant....NOT rolled into a "Fruit Roll Up" for goodness sake! And I DON'T mix powders into some gooey mess and force it down my cake-hole. I eat lots of nuts as a snack and a little bit of dairy products from cows and sheep. Read labels. If you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. And if you wouldn't have that additive sitting on your pantry shelf, then it shouldn't go in your mouth!

Also, those who are familiar with my food advice know I DO NOT EAT GRAINS, SUGARS, OR BEANS. They are not healthy for you because they raise your blood sugar too much, increase your blood fats and triglycerides, and stimulate fatty weight gain. This is what clogs your arteries....not dietary fat. My diet recommendations are to consume a more normal carbohydrate level at under 100 grams/day. One bagel is about 30 grams, whole wheat bread is about 20 grams per slice (so 40 grams/sandwhich), and an English Muffin is 30 grams....thats 100 right there. And we haven't even considered all the other carbs in your daily veggies/fruits. 

You don't need all these carbs unless you are working out at a very intense level of activity EVERDAY! And I mean INTENSE HIGH EXPLOSIVE PHYSICAL EXERCISE....in order to burn off all that gooey sugars from the carbs. Then maybe a few more carb grams/day, but you better get your BUTTS to the gym to work it off. Otherwise your insulin, the hormone that stores sugars/carbs, will turn all those carbs into fat.

If you eat grains, sugars, or beans, you will get fat, your arteries will clog, and your abdomen (go ahead and look down at your stomach right now!!!) will get larger every year. That is happening to our population right now based upon bad advice from the last 30 years. More on that in another letter....

I only buy things around the perimeter of the market....meat/poultry/fish, dairy, and produce. Stay out of the center isles of the market. Those are what I call the "killing fields"...just about anything in there is NOT healthy food and will NOT produce a healthy body.

 Junk Food

OK...that's enough about food. I have another message about real food coming in the future and will talk about what exactly we should eat. But just remember my first sentence: Eat Real Food. If you eat real food, you won't need a lot of expensive supplements. That's where most of your "supplements" will come from. I will have recipes and suggestions what to eat for different meals and how this will help you be fit and loose weight if necessary.

Alright already....let's talk about supplements. 

1.Multi vitamin/mineral capsule

Buy the best one you can afford. Make sure it's in CAPSULE form. Easier absorbed. I've even seen powders. Brands: Twin Labs, Solgar, and a few others. Our food supply is not always the best and a lot of it comes from very depleted soils. The plants can only absorb what's in the soil. So a little "insurance" of vits/minerals is your best place to start.

Amount: Better to take 1 in AM, and 1 in PM. Find the "Two-a-Day" one. 

2. Fish oils

Liquid form is best. Then capsules if you can't do the liquid, or when traveling. Try different brands, since some are easier to swallow, and taste better. I switch to Cod Liver Oil in the winter time to get more Vit. D. Brands: Carlson's is the best and the cleanest from pollutants, pesticides, and heavy metals...all those really are not good for you! Another brand is Pharmax Fish Oil. Great stuff and VERY pure. No heavy metals. Other brands I just don't trust. Fish oils are such an important supplement, that I don't trust any other out there.

Amount: 2-3 grams per day

3. Vitamin D

Wow! This is so important this time of the year, I can't emphasize it enough. This vitamin, which actually acts more like a hormone in your body than vitamin, is responsible for many functions that keep you well this time of the year. It stops influenza in its tracks and gives it a knockout punch! It should be the first priority, but I must in all honesty place it here at #3 for balance, synergy, and integration with other vitamins/minerals. I like the liquid forms out there on the market. Better absorbed this way.

Amount: 5000-8000 international units per day

4. Probiotics

Cultured milk products are VERY good for your intestines. They provide the beneficial bacteria that protect us from bad bacteria. We need the good guys to stop the bad guys in our intestines. Lactobacillus is the major strain of beneficial bacteria and need to be constantly fed and populated in our guts in order to protect us. Products such as yogurt, buttermilk, kefir, cultured sour cream, etc. are the best. Try different brands. Some have "better" taste than others, and have improved over the past 40 years. Even cheese have the good bacteria as well. 

Amount: Everyday I have one of these products

That's it....simple...

Wishing you the best in health always,

Dr. John

John Mitchell, DC, DAAPM

Doctor of Chiropractic

Diplomate American Academy of Pain Management

Nutrition 101 and Obesity

....Is it really just eating less and exercising more? Nope!

“If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance.”- Orville Wright

In America 65% of adults are overweight or obese. I would venture to say a vast majority of pilots at AA, and family members are overweight or obese as well. No, not solely restricted to International pilots, or F/As, or because of the “delicious” crew meals on board the planes....maybe the sundaes??? That IS some of the problem though....keep reading and I’ll fill in the rest of the obesity puzzle!

William L. Weis, a management professor at Seattle University, says that the obesity industries, including commercial weight-loss programs, weight-loss drug purveyors and bariatric surgery centers, will likely top $315 billion this year, nearly 3 percent of the overall U.S. economy.

400,000 Americans die every year due to obesity related diseases. In 10 years, this will be responsible for 4 million American deaths. While every year, it costs $100 Billion dollars in health care costs. Obesity-related medical costs (not obesity industries) are nearly 10% of all annual medical spending. 

45% of children and teenagers are overweight/obese as well. Many are diet-induced type 2 diabetic. Normally this shouldn’t show up until reaching the late 30s or 40s years of age; if at all. But it’s showing up at a much younger age. Why? Are we becoming fatter and diseased because we are simply lazy and overeating? Or is it the nutritional advice we are receiving? In my view, it’s NOT your fault.

Nationally, two-thirds and nearly one-third of children and teens are currently obese or overweight. Since 1980, the number of obese adults has doubled. Since 1970, the number of obese children ages 6-11 has quadrupled, and the number of obese adolescents ages 12-19 has tripled. (healthyamericans.org, 2010 Obesity Report)

Why are we getting fat, and what’s the solution?.....read on....my diet/lifestyle will allow you to eat all you want, not be hungry, and normalize (reduce if you’re fat) your weight. And decrease your elevated blood lipids, triglycerides, and insulin resistance.

It’s getting worse every year...not better...even in spite of “expert” advice. New (but really the same) FDA food pyramids every 5 years, “obesity genes” found, the thrifty gene, more gym memberships, new methods of working out, pills/potions/procedures in the surgical room, motivational speakers, popular reality shows....”The Biggest Loser”???

The real loser are the people who recommend working out like a madman, getting you to believe you need to go to the gym in order to lose weight....and restrict your calories at the same time....The most unscientific concept I have ever heard of in over 40 years of being involved in nutrition and fitness. Like “Calories-In-Calories-Out” (CICO) is some mantra to be repeated and believed. Where’s the science for that theory? Where’s the long term clinical trials demonstrating humans can restrict calories and permanently lose weight?  Where’s the research data? Show us the unequivocal results of long term caloric restriction that demonstrates how calories in and calories out theory works for humans??? 

....none, nada, zilch, zero, Zimbabwe!!!

The “experts” must have missed that day in human biochemistry/physiology class, that discussed the effects of food, macronutrients, and energy systems in the human body. Most doctors are not trained to use biochemistry or nutrition in any practical form. Formal nutrition education is woefully inadequate:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2430660/

They take what the drug reps tell them as the truth. I know doctors do not want to harm, but not paying proper attention to the science has led us down a terrible road that not only takes our health away, it is bankrupting us. Look at what happens in most of us after dieting...restricting calories and working out more:

...temporary weight loss, with rebound weight gain past the beginning weight! 

When you restrict calories in humans, certain specific, evolutionary-based survival mechanisms kick in and try to save you. Nature wants you to live...to survive...to thrive..to hunt, find food, eat and reproduce. When you restrict calories, autonomic hormones, (human growth hormone, insulin, cortisol, glucagon, etc.)  are secreted to change your biochemistry to help you survive “the famine” you created when you created a caloric-restricted diet.

....here’s a hint: whatever your hormones do, your body will do! Change your hormones....change your body....keep reading!

Growth hormone increases (stimulates lipolysis) with a concomitant reduction in thyroid hormone (major energy conserving adaptation by decreasing basal metabolic rate and limiting muscle protein breakdown) Insulin decreases (insulin is an anabolic growth hormone) No reason to have a growth hormone around when there is no food. Cortisol (a stress hormone) goes up, and this stimulates your body to store calories....not burn them.

Your thyroid hormone goes down. You slow down, energy levels decrease, lethargy sets in, you want to sleep more, and YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE WORKING OUT!!! Hunger centers in your hypothalamus are stimulated to make you seek and find food....your will power will only last so long, and you end up over eating and becoming frustrated/disillusioned/discouraged with your diet in the weeks to come. You end up eating more calories and gaining your weight back and beyond.

Nutritionists, and many of us, think our bodies are biochemical “closed-systems” and whatever we eat either gets burned or stored. Not true. We are open systems with energy leaving and coming in to our body all the time to and from the environment. 

Law of energy conservation: Change in energy stores = Energy intake - Energy

expenditure

The equation doesn't indicate which is cause and which is effect

It's possible that a change in energy stores could cause changes in intake and/or expenditure.

The evidence supports this interpretation (metabolic/hormonal changes that drive us to change adiposity by adjusting intake/expenditure).

Also, it takes energy to digest food, so this is lost as heat...98.6 degrees...and not all the calories in our food are fully digested. It also depends upon your hormones status during your meals which determines what you do with our food: burn it....store it....or excrete it....yes, some of our food is never digested and is excreted in feces. So calculating calories in minus calories out will not work.

Pregnant women fatten due to hormonal changes.

Female hormones induce hunger and lethargy to create the positive caloric

balance necessary for fat accumulation.

And in children, a positive caloric balance is associated with physical growth

Evidently, they eat a lot because they're growing (not growing because

they eat a lot).

Hormonal drive to grow causes increased appetite.

Positive caloric balance is a result, not a cause, of growth.

Caloric deprivation is compensated for by lowering expenditure.

No wonder dieting is so difficult: it is a fight against mechanisms which evolved

precisely to to minimize fat loss when caloric intake is reduced

▪ Traditional response to failure of dieting is to blame the victim for lack of willpower; the real problem is that you can't force a caloric deficit.

▪ Any weight lost from caloric restriction can only be kept off by continuous

restriction; a return to natural eating will bring the weight back.

▪ An extreme masochistic challenge: to fight hunger and lethargy for a

lifetime.

▪ A child's growth can be stunted by starvation; fat accumulation can be

offset by starvation. But in neither case will starvation address the root

causes.

◦ Obesity is a symptom of an underlying disorder; caloric restriction attempts to

treat the symptom, but doesn't address the root cause

And do you think you just need to go to the gym to burn off your food? Well, you better be planning to take up a residence at your gym. You need a hours to burn one pound of fat:

1lb fat=3500 calories

1 hour on a stair master burns=700 calories

Therefore...5 hours needed to burn one pound of fat on the stair master

Yes, I know about the residual effects of working out and the post-adaptive metabolic response to exercise. But, those very few calories you burn in the hours afterwards are minuscule compared to your total daily caloric intake. And the funny thing is, when you exercise more, you end up eating more....stimulating your hunger! Energy levels go up and this further stimulates your hypothalamic hunger centers. But the experts want you to believe the CICO principle and that it’s your fault why you are fat. They say: “You are lazy, and you need to workout more.” Well, we’ve been doing that and it’s obviously not working. It’s not your fault.

The take-home message: This metabolic “insult” creates adaptive changes and responses in the body that determines what you do with your food....not simply eating less and exercising more. It’s a very flawed hypothesis and has never been tested. 

What’s the solution? Different macronutrients have different effects on our hormones. And hormones determine weight gain or loss. 

A high carbohydrate diet, with low fats, is very lipogenic...it makes you fat. Your body can only store 1600 calories of carbohydrate, as glycogen; 400 in your liver, and 1200 in your muscles. Anything above this and your liver converts these carbs into triglycerides. And these excess triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. 

Carbohydrates will always affect your hormones, blood glucose, insulin levels, and of course fat storage. Whenever you eat carbs, insulin is secreted and you will tend to store those sugars as fat. 

Using a low carbohydrate diet will normalize your weight, stimulate fat burning, and balance insulin....ie. reducing your insulin resistance. 

Here are some reported benefits from low carb diets: (embedded with references)

• Weight loss (even when not consciously restricting calories)

• Improved triglycerides

• Reduced blood glucose for diabetics and pre-diabetics

• Increased HDL (“good”) cholesterol

• Improved insulin sensitivity

• Decreased blood pressure

• Lower blood insulin level

• Compared to high carb weight loss diets (and when combined with exercise), less muscle mass lost

• Ketogenic diets (one type of low carb diet) used to treat seizure disorders

Here are my nutrition recommendations: 

Eat food you can recognize (meat, veggies, fruit, nuts)

Eliminate grains (especially wheat, rye, barley) including corn, rice, soy, oatmeal, etc.

Eliminate beans (red, black, kidney, peanuts, legumes)

Eliminate sugar (white, brown, fructose/high fructose corn syrup, honey, agave nectar)

Eliminate all vegetable oils (canola, soy, safflower, corn)

Eliminate processed foods and chemicals you can’t pronounce!

Here’s a framework for my meals:

Breakfast: 2-3 eggs, 3-4 strips of bacon (or any kind of meat: steak, hamburger, chicken, pork, sausage, etc.), handful of berries, some nuts (macadamia, almonds, walnuts, pistachio, cashews, etc)

Lunch: Big salad with 4-5 different vegetables, meat (beef, chicken, fish, lamb, etc) Only use olive oil for a base of the salad dressing. No other kind of vegetable oil: No canola, soy, safflower, corn, etc.

Dinner: Any kink of meat, roasted/sauted/grilled vegetables (butter on top), avocados, olives, pesto, etc.

Snacks: nuts

Eat as much as your hunger (hormones) will direct. Do not count calories. Eating fat is good for you. Don’t worry about how much fat you consume. It has no effect on heart disease. Cholesterol (LDL-c, HDL-c, VLDL-c, etc.) affects heart disease; not fat consumption. You will eat less since your meals will be much more satisfying and filling from the increased fat consumption. Cravings will decrease since you will be eating more nutrient dense foods and not the junk foods from grains/cereals/rice!

Your level of activity/exercise will tell you how much to eat. Many studies have been done demonstrating it is difficult/impossible to overeat fat and protein. Your satiety brain center will prohibit overeating. Your weight will reduce, lipids improve, along with improved energy levels, reduced “brain fog”, lessened cravings for sweets, improved moods, emotions more even, less aches and pains, greatly improved gastrointestinal upsets (GERD)...to name just a few!

Wrapping this very long posting up....my apologies, and thanks to those still reading at this point! I went too long on the science/justification and not enough on the recommendations. I can elaborate more in my next posting and I will get my blog/website going soon.

As always...Healthful Regards,

Dr. John

drfitness@cox.net

Statin Drugs

Statin Drugs...Inflammation Is Like Being On Fire!

One of my previous posts was about statin drugs. I discussed the science and various recent studies regarding the efficacy of them...or lack there of. I suggest going back to read it if you haven’t already. 

This time I want to bring to light a couple of ideas of why statin drugs work....at the expense of your overall health. Yes, these drugs do lower LDL-cholesterol, and thus reduce your heart disease risk....but at what expense? 

Your overall mortality goes up and you die of other diseases sooner. When heart disease deaths go down in primary prevention with the use of statin drugs, there are more deaths from other diseases. You trade your heart attack for cancer. The usual drug trial is just a few years, and cancer/infectious diseases/gastrointestinal diseases take longer to develop under the undesirable side effects of statin drugs. They don't’ show up until later.

And just why do statins work? Lowering your LDL-cholesterol? Nope! I don’t ascribe to the idea that LDL-c is trying to kill me and HDL-c is trying to save me. Evolution would not have allowed simultaneous events of one blood product trying to kill me and another trying to save me. You think LDL-c is actually made by your body in order to clog up your arteries??? And HDL-c is the “clean-up-crew”? C’mon...

Same thing about cholesterol....it’s not harmful, nor would the human body produce something that’s trying to kill me. Human biochemistry unfortunately is not that simple. Nor would your body work in such fashion. Cholesterol has particular benefits, albeit requirements, for your health; without it you cannot make any cell membranes, hormones, bile salts, or Vitamin D. Kinda important there...

Trials have failed repeatedly to associate the lowering of LDL-c and the reduction of cardiac events. ALL HAVE FAILED!

Read that again....

Here is some information from Dr. Kurt Harris, MD:

-Older trials have demonstrated all-cause mortality benefit to statins in secondary (you’ve already had a heart attack or coronary artery disease) prevention only in men...not women. More recent trials show an even less benefit to statin use even in secondary prevention. 

-If you have neither had a heart attack, or coronary artery disease, there is no demonstrated mortality benefit to taking statins for primary prevention.

-Recent studies show statins actually work by decreasing inflammation in your body.

And this inflammation is the real problem here. The inside of your arteries, the endothelial membranes, become damaged from a poor diet, infection, alcohol, drug side-effects, trauma, and a few other lesser important issues. Your immune system tries to repair it with a cascade of chemicals, platelets, white cells, etc. 

Arterial inflammation involves 4 important components and steps. And it begins with a substance called nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB): 

Platelets become all excited...they get sticky

Macrophages (white cells that are in your tissues) They eat things...pathogens and dead tissues

Monocytes (white cells that are in your blood...sort of immature macrophages) They also eat things, but stuff in your blood...damaged red blood cells, pathogens, and damaged endothelial lining of your arteries

Smooth muscle cell migration...i.e.. certain types of arterial muscle cells go to the injury site and enlarge, making the inside of your arteries smaller, closing down the inside

Higher levels of inflammation consistently predict coronary events, and survival after an event, goes down. Markers for inflammation include a blood test called hs-CRP...or Highly Sensitive C-Reactive Protein. This protein, produced by your liver in response to inflammation, is a very strong indicator of generalized inflammation. And when it is elevated, is a very good predictor of coronary events. As a matter of fact, if your CRP is in the upper third of normal levels, your risk is doubled. This increased risk level has been demonstrated in men, women, and the elderly. 

Many good claims are being made to reduce your inflammation by consuming more antioxidants to combat the free radicals abundant in inflammation. Arteriosclerosis is an inflammatory issue, from beginning to end. The damage inside your arteries, and the resultant plaque buildup, is from a natural immune response to inflammation. 

And this is why statins work....NOT from reducing cholesterol...but from reducing inflammation. 

And this is why aspirin, an anti-inflammatory drug, shows benefit to reducing coronary events....NOT from reducing cholesterol...reducing inflammation.

And this is why a diet filled with plants, and certain vitamins/minerals (full of antioxidants) shows benefit to reducing coronary events....NOT from reducing cholesterol...reducing inflammation.

Your body knows how much cholesterol to make based upon your particular needs. Not some number (180, 200, 250, 350) pulled out of some pharmaceutical lab’s financial ass. Where did the “maximum total cholesterol” number come from? Why is it such an absolute number when most other lab values have ranges? 

Elevated cholesterol is in response to inflammation. Especially oxidized cholesterol....the stuff involved in arterial plaque formation...from an inflammatory response. Cholesterol is sent there to “patch” the arterial damage and help mend the lesion. So if it is elevated, you probably have a large amount of inflammation going on. 

Ranges of values....not absolute numbers...are what’s commonly stated in lab science.

Laboratory science looks at ranges of values, plus or minus, and even daily fluctuations, hour by hour, and values even change over a course of a month...and years based upon age of the patient. 

That pharmaceutical lasso gets “bigger” every few years....now, 180 total cholesterol, in some clinics, is the maximum amount...and I have heard even 160 as well....hmmm, can anyone say “more patients”??? More drugs??? More $$$???

Well, guess what? You know what statins inhibit? The Grandaddy of all anti-inflammatories: nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB)! That stops the initiation, and each element of the 4 steps of inflammation I previously mentioned. You stop that guy, and BINGO!...NO inflammation! And heart disease drops. Not from the lowering of LDL-c. You need LDL-c for your metabolic functions. 

But wait a minute....statins also inhibit an energy pathway called the mevalonate pathway...the one involved with Co Q10...which makes your heart muscle strong, allows your liver to function, and kidneys to eliminate toxins. These high energy organs, and every other tissue in your body, rely upon Co Q10 to generate ATP (your energy currency in your cells). Nearly all (95%) of your energy produced is from the utilization of Co Q10 in the mitochondria of your cells. Statin drugs have been shown to cut the mitochondrial energy production by at least 50%.

Uh oh...”Houston, we have a problem here”...

THAT’S WHY STATINS HAVE MAJOR SIDE EFFECTS TO YOUR BODY! 

AND THAT’S WHY ALL CAUSE MORTALITY IS HIGHER ON STATINS!!! 

If you are on a statin drug, go read the drug insert that came with it when you started taking this drug....What? You don’t have it anymore? You threw it out before reading it??? SHAME ON YOU! 

My professional advice is to call your dealer...oppps...doctor, and discuss these side effects I mentioned. Or google for your drug’s side effects and YOU decide what you want to do...NOT your doctor. If your doctor didn’t mention side effects after prescribing a statin drug, SHAME ON THEM! 

All doctors are obligated to discus side effects of any prescribed treatment. That’s why in my clinic, and any other you have been to, you have to sign an “Informed Consent To Treatment” before anything is done to you. You are putting your health and life in our hands....you trust us....right??? 

Right....

Now, am I telling you to stop taking your prescribed pharmaceutical? Of course not. My discussion and comments are not to be construed or substituted as medical advice. Seek the consult with your doctor...a smart one who understands diet and nutrition in heart disease promulgation. We do not have a shortage of drugs in America, causing diseases to occur. Visit any drug store across the country, and you will be assured we do not have any drug shortages. There’s plenty to go around...and then some. 

So if we have plenty of drugs, why do we still have diseases? 

It’s not your fault. You have just followed the wrong advice...advice unfounded in science, biased financial interests, ignorance, and naiveté. The health results of our society stand as a symbol of medical failures. In my opinion it is mass genocide of our populace. 

Here are some CDC Facts:

Every year, over 106,000 people die from adverse drug reactions. Sloppy prescription hand writing cause over 7,000 deaths/year. Preventable medication mistakes hurt 1.5 million/year. But only 6% are identified. If you are between 45-64, your mortality rate rose 90% in 5 years....even taking the drug correctly.

Most side effects are mistaken for new diseases which leads to more drugs...more side effects...more risks of death. 

In 2001, Pfizer was the number one most profitable company of all Fortune 500 companies: 7.8 Billion Dollars. The medical industry is a “for profit disease industry” that can only survive if people get sick, and stay that way.

Please discuss this with your doctor. And you decide what you want to do. 

In my opinion, diet and lifestyle are much more effective and safer at reducing inflammation than drugs. Toxic medications can never replace poor food choices and inferior lifestyles.

In my next newsletter I will address how food and some supplements can reduce inflammation. Stay Tuned For More Information!

As Always...Healthful Regards,

Dr. John

drfitness@cox.net