“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