What is Cholesterol and How Does Too Much of It Affect Your Health?
Now a look at how the industry has manipulated the cholesterol issue.
There was a genetic disorder known since 1930s, which affected 1 in 500 people where the body produced too much cholesterol called Familial Hypercholesterolemia (FH). There were some cholesterol lowering drugs that were already approved to treat this condition but as you can imagine, it was a very small market. In late 1970s and early 80s studies were beginning to show a strong correlation between high blood cholesterol and Cardio Vascular diseases (CVD) like heart attack and stroke. American Medical Association (AMA), and political lobbies were able to convince the government (Food and Drug Administration) to approve Statin drug as a preventive measure for heart disease.
In Nov. 1986 Merck sent the new drug application (NDA) to the U.S. FDA and Lovastatin was given FDA approval to become the first commercial Statin Drug in September 1987.
In 1998, the FDA placed a ban on the sale of dietary supplements derived from red yeast rice, which naturally contains lovastatin, arguing that products containing prescription agents require drug approval.
Statin drugs today are the largest selling drug in the world with sales of over $800 Billion per annum. Many studies have shown that of all people dying of Heart Attack, more than 2/3rd have normal cholesterol levels. Statin drugs do reduce cholesterol levels but do nothing to reduce the cause of heart attacks, which is Atherosclerosis. Studies have shown that total mortality was unchanged by Pravastatin as compared to placebo.
All the doctors are still prescribing Statin drugs. It is too big a business to challenge. FDA has no interest in challenging it. Those who have questioned it all along, are a very small group of activists like the PBWF doctors.
The NNT (Number needed to treat) for statin drugs is 217 for heart attacks and 313 for stroke. This means that if 217 people take statin drugs one heart attack would be saved and if 313 people take statin drugs one stroke would be saved. The NNH (Numbers needed to harm) for statin drugs is 10 implying that every tenth person is harmed by the statin drugs.
The choice is yours. When you change to PBWF your NNH reduces to zero. Nobody is harmed by switching over to PBWF. The NNT is also very low. It has not been researched as such but if you look at Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s results his NNT was 1.
I quote below an article just to show how outrageous is the lobbying for Statin drugs:
“Almost all men over 60 and women over 75 should be taking the drugs, the research found. And more than a third of people between 30 and 84 should be allowed to do so.”
Statin drugs are totally unnecessary. They do cause more harm than good and research has shown that they cause higher all – cause mortality. I would encourage all users of Statin drugs to make some changes in their eating habits and get off these drugs ASAP. Just a simple habit of eating 1% of your body weight each, in vegetables and fruits every day will do the trick. There are some foods which help achieve it much faster like Amla, beetroot and green leafy vegetables. You may please watch the linked videos on the subject
Should You Take A Statin Drug? Is Healthier Diet and Lifestyle Better? Expert Panel
https://t.me/c/1465700389/3796
Replace your statin drugs with Amla.
You Don’t Need Statin Drugs!
Statin Muscle Toxicity
Optimal Cholesterol Level
••• RAPID WEIGHT LOSS
Can Increase LDL •••
It is advisable to lose weight slowly and sustainably. When you practice PBWF/IF/10K diet and lifestyle, overweight people lose weight automatically without any portion control. Generally it amounts to losing 1-2 pounds per week. In the beginning one loses additional weight, due to two reasons:
1. The food in transit, in your Gastro-intestinal tract reduces, when we change over to plant based whole food. This is because PBWF, as against animal and processed foods, takes less time to digest and absorbed as it travel through stomach, intestines and colon.
2. The PBWF has lower salt content, compared to animal and processed foods. This lowers the retention of water in the blood.
These two factors can reduce one’s weight, anywhere from 3-7 pounds within days, even if there is no fat loss. So it is common to experience a weight loss of 7-16 pounds in the first month.
It is possible to lose weight faster by additional fasting, portion control or additional exercising.
When we lose weight, we burn fat that has accumulated over many years. The composition of that fat is based on your dietary habits in the past. The skin of all fat cells is made of cholesterol and when these cells shrink, they not only release triglycerides but also some cholesterol. Triglycerides get burned to release energy but cholesterol does not burn. It goes to liver and gets converted into Bile and sent to gall bladder. As a result, it is not uncommon for people to experience an increase in bad LDL cholesterol under such scenarios. This is what some in my health groups who have lost lot of weight quickly have experienced. One should not be alarmed by this, as it is only temporary and once weight stabilizes bad cholesterol also comes down to reflect your new improved diet and lifestyle.
Another impact of rapid weight loss can also be development of gall stones. Gall stones are nothing but super saturated cholesterol crystals.
In the following video disregard the reference to low carb. Focus on weight loss part only. 👇
Reason for LDL Increase for Some on a Low Carb Diet
Sect. 8; Clip 1: Dr. Sean Bourke, of JumpstartMD, interviews author Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D. & Stephen Phinney, MD, Ph.D.