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cholesterol

Elderly show severe impairment of DHEA-S – (08-27-01)

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Elderly show severe impairment of DHEA-S

Given the number of articles appearing related to the topic of adrenal function, a quick review is in order. The medulla (inside) of the adrenals produce epinephrine and norepinephrine…key players in the adrenaline response. The cortex (outside) produce three hormones from cholesterol…aldosterone (regulates blood pressure), cortisol (the body’s stress hormone) and DHEA (which goes on to ultimately become estrogen and testosterone). In the body’s initial response to stress, the body will produce more cortisol at the expense of DHEA (a phenomena known as pregnonolone steal…). Chronic stress will result in both lowered cortisol and DHEA…basically the adrenals “poop out.” All these levels are easily, safely and accurately measured with salivary testing. Synergy : Clinical Endocrinology 55 (2), 259-265

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Your Heart and Blood Vessels on Soy: 5 Things to Know

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A simple Google search will leave you confused about whether eating soy is good for your heart and blood vessels or as evil as Twinkies.

Ok…so nothing could be as evil as Twinkies.

But what IS the deal with soy?  Is it good for us, or does it vaporizes the thyroid, cause breast cancer and stimulate teenage boys to grow Dolly Parton-esque boobs?

As someone who reads through hordes of medical literature, I can tell you that the evidence overwhelmingly points to soy as being very protective for our health.  I don’t even recall coming across any negative studies on soy, and this is a topic I always keep my radar screen open for.  Interestingly enough, all of the articles and blog posts on the Internet demonizing soy seem to point out the evils and then, in fine print, begrudgingly note that soy might be ok if it’s not processed and non-GMO.

When pressed, the naysayers agree that soy is part of a healthy lifestyle once those two factors are addressed.  So why not address these two requirements right out of the gate?  I can’t figure that one out myself.  Regardless of other opinions, I continue to promote soy as part of a healthy lifestyle.  And, as noted, this means no processed soy (as in veggie burgers, veggie dogs, textured vegetable protein, etc..) and non-GMO.

Also important to note is that soy contains protective compounds referred to an isoflavones, specifically daidzein and genistein.  By themselves, these compounds have protective effects.  Beyond this, if someone has the right blend of bacteria in his or her gut (like Asians raised on soy) these bacteria in the gut convert another class of compounds (lignans) into an even more potent compound called enterolactone.  This benefit may be destroyed by antibiotics.

You can see that it’s not all that simple.  The take home message is that soy is, in almost all circumstances, very good for you, so long as the above 2 criteria are met.  And you’re not allergic (not really all that common unless you were inundated with soy over a long period of time), and in some susceptible people it might cause some thyroid problems.

All of this brings me to this particular study looking at the effects of genistein on certain cardiovascular markers.  Participants to 54 mg/day (just under a cup’s worth of tofu) for 6 months, along with a Mediterranean-style diet.  Here’s what they found:

  1. Blood flow (as measured by flow mediated dilation at 50 seconds and peak FMD) improved.
  2. Decreases in total cholesterol, triglycerides and homocysteine.
  3. Descreases in visfatin (a hormone produced by fat cells that drive diabetes and inflammation).
  4. Adiponectin (another fat-derived hormone, but one that protects against diabetes and inflammation) levels were increased.
  5. The participants on the genistein experienced no more side effects nor discontinued the study.

Overall, this was a very positive effect on the health of the blood vessels.  Contrast this with the negative health effects of poor quality, abused, commercially grown beef.  Complete opposite ends of the vascular health spectrum.

Lipoprotein(a) Level Linked to Coronary Events in Middle-Aged Men – (03-11-01)

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Lipoprotein(a) Level Linked to Coronary Events in Middle-Aged Men

I really hate to beat a dead horse, but checking only cholesterol levels with the copious amounts of research on other blood-related risk factors is outdated and a disservice. What is interesting about this study is that the degree of risk from lipoprotein(a) is related to the presence of other risk factors. More support of a global approach to disease management.

J Am Coll Cardiol 2001;37:434-439 Perhaps ending a longstanding controversy, a new population-based study connects elevated levels of lipoprotein(a) with increased coronary risk in middle-aged men, especially those with high LDL cholesterol levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, hypertension and/or other risk factors. Dr. Arnold von Eckardstein, from the Westfalische Wilhelms-Universitat Munster, Germany, and colleagues collected data on 788 men, 35 to 65 years of age, who participated in the Prospective Cardiovascular Munster study. Over 10 years of follow-up, the researchers evaluated levels of lipoprotein(a) as well as traditional cardiovascular risk factors. During that period, 44 men experienced myocardial infarctions, while the remaining 744 subjects survived without a major coronary event or stroke, according to the research team’s report in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology for February. Dr. von Eckardstein’s group found a 2.7 times increased risk for coronary events among men whose lipoprotein(a) levels were 0.2 g/L or more, compared with subjects with lower levels. The risk was especially prominent in men with LDL cholesterol levels of 4.1 mmol/L or more (relative risk 2.6), and men with HDL cholesterol of 0.9 mmol/L or less (relative risk 8.3). The risk was also strongly associated with hypertension (relative risk 3.2). “Because lipoprotein(a) increases the risk of coronary events strongly depending on the presence of additional coronary risk factors, it is imperative to strictly control additional risk factors in individuals with elevated lipoprotein(a),” Dr. von Eckardstein and colleagues conclude.

Dyslipidemia, Fatty Acids Predict Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in 20 Yrs – (02-26-01)

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Dyslipidemia, Fatty Acids Predict Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in 20 Yrs

What a wonderful article illustrating the power and potential for preventative medicine in preventing disease. A group of 475 men were followed for 20 years after an initial profile of fatty acids and cholesterol was obtained. High levels of linoleic acid were shown to protect the heart, while cholesterol and certain other saturated fatty acids were associated with left ventricular damage. Twenty years is a long, long lead time for a disease predictor…

Circulation — Abstracts: Sundström et al. 103 (6): 836

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Exercise and Your Cholesterol Lowering Drug. Don’t Bother

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Fitness is important for the heart. But what if a common drug used to “protect” your heart completely erased the benefit of exercise?

Quite the conundrum, huh?

Or, at least, it would be for the mainstream medical provider who puts any degree of faith in statins for high cholesterol.

For everyone else who knows the dangers and the incredibly limited benefit, there is no conflict.  It is very well established that statins pretty much suck for preventing a first heart attack and aren’t too much better for secondary prevention either.  Just to make it worse, the list of side effects are quite long and are highlighted in my eBook on statins that can be found by clicking here.

While the side effects of cholesterol lowering drugs are all of concern, the ones related to the heart are of the gravest concern.  After all, aren’t we all taking statins to lower our risk of having a heart attack?

The irony is so strong that it would be laughable if we weren’t spending $20+ billion per year on these drugs.

This particular study finds yet another particularly disturbing side effect of cholesterol lowering drugs.  Here are the details:

  • 37 sedentary overweight or obese adults
  • At least 2 prediabetes risk factors
  • 12 weeks of aerobic exercise training or
  • Exercise in combination with simvastatin (Zocor-40 mg per day)
  • Cardio fitness and mitochondrial function (as measured by citrate synthase activity) were monitored.

And here are the results that should make any cardiologist think twice about prescribing this worthless class of drugs:

  1. Cardiorespiratory fitness increased by 10% in the exercise group.
  2. In the exercise group taking the statins, there was only a paltry 1.5% increase.
  3. Skeletal muscle mitochondrial function in the exercise group increased by 13%.
  4. In the statin group?  A drop of 4.5% in mitochondrial function.

Regular readers of the Rantings will know that I consider mitochondrial function as the holy grail of longevity.  Preserve or improve it, and life it good.  Worsen mitochondrial function and all hell will break loose.

Look at these results again.  Exercise, yes exercise, became worthless in the face of the intake of statin drugs.  Worse than worthless, mitochondrial function deteriorated during exercise, something that should never, ever, ever happen.

If your doctor has told you to take statins to avoid heart attacks, there is just no way he or she is actually reading the medical research centered around cholesterol lowering drugs.  There is no other valid excuse to write that prescription.

Lp(A) Levels and ApoE4 Allele Predictive of Coronary Events in Men – (03-05-01)

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Lp(A) Levels and ApoE4 Allele Predictive of Coronary Events in Men

The Lp(a) marker has been used in many functional medicine lab’s coronary risk profiles for years now. And to that homocysteine, cholesterol, CRP, fibrinogen and several others and you get a very good picture of cardiovascular risk. Remember that many of today’s chronic diseases have more than one contributing factor–do you think checking only one factor (cholesterol) is anywhere near all we need to be doing these days to evaulate cardiovascular risk? I’ve got a better idea–save the money on the lab tests and just start leading a healthy lifestyle…

Am J Med 2001;110:22-32,71-72 Adjusted multivariate analysis revealed cholesterol level, diabetes, smoking status, diastolic blood pressure, Apo-AI, age, and Lp(a) as independent risk factors for cardiac events. Dr. Seed and colleagues found that “coronary events were lowest in the group with Lp(a) levels below 2.9 mg/dL (the 25th percentile), highest in those with levels higher than 26.3 mg/dL (the 75th percentile), and intermediate in the group with levels of 2.9 to 26.3 mg/dL.” In the second study, Dr. Angelo Scuteri and colleagues, from the National Institutes of Health, in Baltimore, measured apoE genotypes in 730 men and women who participated in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. The researchers identified the apoE4 allele in 200 subjects. On follow-up, 104 of the 730 subjects had coronary events. These events were significantly more frequent in subjects with the apoE4 allele (20%) than in those without it (12%), Dr. Scuteri’s team reports. “In a multivariate model, apoE4 was an independent predictor of coronary events in men (risk ratio 2.9), but not in women (risk ratio 0.9),” they note. Dr. Scuteri and colleagues also found that cholesterol levels did not appear to mediate the association. Despite the findings of these two studies, Dr. Peter W. F. Wilson, from Boston University School of Medicine, maintains that there is nothing definitive about using these markers as predictors of cardiac events. In an accompanying editorial, he writes that “improvement in vascular disease risk prediction with apoE allele determination is marginal [and] for Lp(a), the situation is [even] more murky.”

Chromium Supplementation Lowers Glucose, Lipid Levels – (12-14-00)

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Chromium Supplementation Lowers Glucose, Lipid Levels

Chromium has been recommended for years for sugar handling problems, and is nicknamed GTF, glucose tolerance factor. It is not a stretch to believe that it can lower cholesterol levels as well. Since insulin stimulates HMG-CoA reductase, the enzyme that makes endogenous cholesterol, and chromium can lower the need for insulin, it’s a rational train of thought. This study dropped HbA1c levels with no side effects, and even very small changes in HbA1c result in major benefits of end organ damage.

(article) Dietary supplementation with chromium decreased glucose and lipid levels in type 2 diabetics enrolled in an active rehabilitation program, Dr. Haim Rabinovitz reported here in a poster presentation at a meeting of the Gerontological Society of America. In addition to receiving standard diabetes treatment, all subjects were given 200 mcg of chromium twice a day for 3 weeks. Participants were placed on a low-sugar diet of 1500 calories a day. Blood samples, dietary intake, and anthropometric data were collected before and after supplementation. The researchers found a significant decrease in the subjects’ fasting blood glucose levels, from an average of 189 mg/dL to 150 mg/dL. Their hemoglobin A1c levels also improved, falling from an average of 8.15 to 7.58. Total cholesterol dropped from 225.26 mg/dL to 211.42 mg/dL. Triglyceride levels fell from 152 mg/dL to 136 mg/dL. Chromium appears to work by increasing the sensitivity of the patients’ insulin receptors, so they are able to use the insulin more effectively, Dr. Rabinovitz explained. There have been no side effects from it, he added.

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Apo e2 Allele and Anti-atherogenic Lipoprotein Profile in Children – (10-05-00)

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Apo e2 Allele and Anti-atherogenic Lipoprotein Profile in Children

This is another example of “new” markers that can affect our cardiovascular health. Running an isolated cholesterol level without the other markers such as homocysteine, apolipoprotein e2, lipoprotein a, fibrinogen and CRP. The interesting note about this article is that we are starting to release that cardiovascular disease begins in childhood.

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