Dr. John's Health Matters
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The articles posted here are from various sources who are duly acknowledged. I would appreciate being immediately notified, if any copywritten material needs to be removed. This blog is not intended to replace the qualified advice of a licensed health practitioner. Readers should exercise their own judgment. Enjoy, subscribe, participate and tell others :)
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Posts tagged "cholesterol"
Tuesday, Sep 1st, 2009 ↓Caution on mix of cholesterol-lowering meds →
Sept 1, 2009 (Cbc.ca)—Combining a prescription cholesterol-lowering medication with omega-3 supplements may not be the best approach, a new review suggests.
Statins are medications that prevent the liver from producing cholesterol, which can help reduce the risk of heart attacks. Every year, Canadian doctors write more than 12 million prescriptions for statins, making them the most-prescribed drugs in the country. Omega-3’s are heart-healthy oils that some evidence suggests help reduce the risk of coronary disease.
In the Nov. 3 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, Dr. Mukul Sharma, medical director of the Regional Stroke Centre at the Ottawa Hospital, and his team reviewed five different cholesterol-lowering medications that can be combined as well as omega-3 supplements sold over the counter. They concluded there is little evidence to support mixing them.
Bad cholesterol increase
In one case, the researchers found taking prescription medication with omega-3 had the opposite effect.
“Your bad cholesterol, the LDL, actually goes up,” Sharma said. “There isn’t a benefit in terms of heart disease, stroke or mortality.”
Most cholesterol patients may be better off taking higher doses of one drug instead of multiple medications, since there may be less chance of side-effects and long-term problems developing, he said. People are also less likely to take their medications the more that are prescribed.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: cholesterol increase risk danger LDL prescription cardiovascular blood heart statin medication liver heart attack prevention coronary disease
Obesity Is A Poor Gauge For Detecting High Cholesterol Levels In Children →
Aug 29, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—With the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, there is concern that overweight and obese children need to be screened for chronic medical conditions, including high cholesterol levels.
However, body fat is not an effective indicator of high cholesterol in children, according to new University of Michigan research.
Those are the findings of a U-M study led by U-M pediatricians Joyce Lee, M.D., MPH, and Matthew Davis, M.D., MAPP, which will appear in the August 3 edition of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
“We found, actually, that using body mass index to find kids with high cholesterol does not work well. There were many overweight and obese kids who had normal cholesterol, and there were a fair number of healthy-weight kids who had high cholesterol,” says Lee, a member of the Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit in the U-M Division of General Pediatrics, and assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at the U-M Medical School.
For full article see link above.
Tags: obesity weight cholesterol heart cardiovascular disease body fat BMI children child overweight prevention screening risk
Tags: supplement metabolic syndrome cardiovascular heart blood pressure extract root obesity cholesterol insulin isoflavone kudzu stroke disease
Melon extract linked to cardiovascular benefits: Study →
Aug 25, 2009 (Nutraingredients.com)—Daily consumption of an antioxidant-rich melon extract may lower cholesterol levels and prevent hardening of the arteries, according to a study with hamsters fed a high fat diet.
Consumption of the commercially-available extract Extramel, produced by France’s Bionov, in combination with a high-fat diet was associated with a reduction in cholesterol levels and non-HDL cholesterol, compared to animals fed only the high-fat diet, according to findings published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases.
“This study provides evidence for the first time that dietary supplementation of a melon juice concentrate rich in SOD protects against diet-induced oxidative stress and atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic hamsters, and no toxicity or evidence of other unwanted pharmacological effects of Extramel was noted at either levels of supplementation,” wrote the researchers, led by Jean-Max Rouanet from the University of Montpellier.
“This indicates that at the low doses used here Extramel is a safe nutraceutical supplement,” they added.
The melon-extract is a rich source of the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD). Dubbed ‘the enzyme of life’ when first discovered in 1968, it is the first antioxidant mobilised by the cell for defence. It is thought to be more powerful than antioxidant vitamins as it activates the body’s production of its own antioxidants, including catalase and glutathione peroxidase.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: melon extract supplement antioxidant cholesterol level cardiovascular hardening arteries high fat diet extramel nutrition diet prevention extramel superoxide dismutase vitamin
Low-carb Diets Linked To Atherosclerosis And Impaired Blood Vessel Growth →
Aug 25, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Even as low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets have proven successful at helping individuals rapidly lose weight, little is known about the diets’ long-term effects on vascular health.
Now, a study led by a scientific team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) provides some of the first data on this subject, demonstrating that mice placed on a 12-week low carbohydrate/high-protein diet showed a significant increase in atherosclerosis, a buildup of plaque in the heart’s arteries and a leading cause of heart attack and stroke. The findings also showed that the diet led to an impaired ability to form new blood vessels in tissues deprived of blood flow, as might occur during a heart attack.
Described in the online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the study also found that standard markers of cardiovascular risk, including cholesterol, were not changed in the animals fed the low-carb diet, despite the clear evidence of increased vascular disease.
“It’s very difficult to know in clinical studies how diets affect vascular health,” says senior author Anthony Rosenzweig, MD, Director of Cardiovascular Research in BIDMC’s CardioVascular Institute and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. “We, therefore, tend to rely on easily measured serum markers [such as cholesterol], which have been surprisingly reassuring in individuals on low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets, who do typically lose weight. But our research suggests that, at least in animals, these diets could be having adverse cardiovascular effects that are not reflected in simple serum markers.”
For full article, see link above.
Tags: cardiovascualr diet long term weight loss carbohydrate high protein atherosclerosis blood vessel cholesterol disease
Why Low Vitamin D Raises Heart Disease Risks In Diabetics →
Aug 25, 2009 (sciencedaily.com)—Low levels of vitamin D are known to nearly double the risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with diabetes, and researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis now think they know why.
They have found that diabetics deficient in vitamin D can’t process cholesterol normally, so it builds up in their blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. The new research has identified a mechanism linking low vitamin D levels to heart disease risk and may lead to ways to fix the problem, simply by increasing levels of vitamin D.
“Vitamin D inhibits the uptake of cholesterol by cells called macrophages,” says principal investigator Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, M.D., a Washington University endocrinologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “When people are deficient in vitamin D, the macrophage cells eat more cholesterol, and they can’t get rid of it. The macrophages get clogged with cholesterol and become what scientists call foam cells, which are one of the earliest markers of atherosclerosis.”
Macrophages are dispatched by the immune system in response to inflammation and often are activated by diseases such as diabetes. Bernal-Mizrachi and his colleagues believe that in diabetic patients with inadequate vitamin D, macrophages become loaded with cholesterol and eventually stiffen blood vessels and block blood flow.
For full article, see link above.
Tags: vitamin d diet nutrition diabetes deficient blood vessel heart attack stroke danger rosk cholesterol atherosclerosis immunity disease
‘Unknown’ cholesterol in processed food poses big heart health risk →
Aug 20, 2009 (Foodnavigator.com)—With all the focus on LDL (bad) cholesterol, a ‘virtually unknown’ form called oxycholesterol may pose the biggest heart health threat, say Chinese scientists.
Scientists from the Chinese University of Hong Kong identified fried and processed food as the main sources of oxycholesterol in the diet, statements that may lead to louder calls to reformulate towards ‘healthier’ foods.
“Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), and the heart-healthy high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) are still important health issues,” said lead researcher Zhen-Yu Chen, PhD.
“Our work demonstrated that oxycholesterol boosts total cholesterol levels and promotes atherosclerosis [“hardening of the arteries”] more than non-oxidized cholesterol.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: fast food processed food heart cholesterol LDL oxyxholesterol heart cardiovascualt diet nutrition dna damage atherosclerosis
Resveratrol - The Miracle Nutrient for Cancer, Cholesterol and Longevity by Mike Adams the Health Ranger →
Aug 12, 2009 (NaturalNews.com) —You’ve all heard the good news about resveratrol, commonly known as the “red wine nutrient.” There’s more to resveratrol than red wine, though, and it’s helpful for far more than just preventing heart disease. It’s also phenomenal for maintaining a healthy cholesterol balance and even supporting increased longevity.
As you’ll see below in quotes from health experts about resveratrol, this “miracle” nutrient is also useful for preventing many types of cancer. As you read these quotes, pay special attention to any mention of phytoalexins, as this is a class of plant-based nutrients that you’ll be hearing about much more in the future (as nutritional healing becomes more widely known).
If you want to acquire some resveratrol, there are lots of natural sources such as red wine or grape leaves (the leaves actually contain far more than the grapes themselves). The Chinese medicine herb hu zhang is also loaded with resveratrol.
For full article see link above.
Tags: resveratrol nutrient supplement nutrition prevention cancer phytoalexin healing red wine grape leaf heart disease longevity cholesterol
Tomato Pill Found to Reverse Heart Disease →
Aug 11, 2009 (NaturalNews.com)— A pill made from tomatoes may do more to help treat heart disease and high cholesterol than many pharmaceutical products currently on the market, according to preliminary trials carried out by researchers from Cambridge University.
The pill, known as Ateronon, contains a version of the tomato phytonutrient lycopene, which gives the fruits their bright red color. Lycopene has been shown in a number of studies to help relieve the symptoms of heart disease and to help prevent cancer
The chemical is poorly absorbed by the human body, however, so researchers from a Cambridge spinoff company have refined it into a more accessible form. In preliminary trials, Ateronon reduced the oxidation of harmful fats in the blood to zero after only eight weeks of treatment in 150 people, a more significant result than that observed in statin drugs.
The preliminary study results were announced at the pill’s launch, at a meeting of the British Cardiovascular Society.
“If you think that this can reduce the damage to the arteries, which is the damage that ends up causing heart attacks and strokes — this can potentially extend life but also saves lives on a global basis,” TV doctor Rob Hicks said. “The potential impact is enormous — we might see a fall in the number of people suffering heart attacks, strokes and other problems relating to arterial damage and the clogging up of the arteries. That has to be welcomed.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: tomato supplement heart attack cardiovascular disease blood artery damage cholesterol ateronon lycopene fat oxidation reduce stroke prevention clog
Durian is the Healing King of All Fruits →
Aug 8, 2009 (Naturalnews.com)—Durian is a little known fruit from Asia that has an extremely pungent smell and an amazingly sweet taste. The smell of the durian fruit is so bad that many hotels in the areas where durian grows will not allow their guests to have the fruit in their rooms. But those who brave the smell are quickly won over by its beautiful taste and amazing health benefits. Unlike most fruits the durian is left to fall from the tree as this is a sign that it is ripe to eat. People in the local villages of South East Asia, where the durian is most common, call it “The King of Fruits,” and they will clear the floor under the trees near to harvest time and then camp near them for up to two months just to make sure they get the fruit at its peak. This is a truly exceptional and healing fruit.
Traditionally the durian fruit was seen as a powerful aphrodisiac, while women would eat the ashes from burnt durian skins to help them recover after child birth. But concoctions made from the leaves of the durian tree were also used to help reduce swelling and cure skin disease. More recently nutritionists have claimed that the durian fruit can help lower cholesterol and cleanse the blood as well as cure jaundice and alleviate fevers.
Experts even say that you can rid yourself of yeast infections such as thrush through eating the durian fruit. This is because of the durian’s high iron content that helps the white blood cells in our body make specific chemicals that kill off the infection.
The durian is also packed with amino acids as well as Vitamins B, C and E and many people are even comparing the sweet custard like centre of the durian fruit to the goji berry for its high levels of anti oxidants. These anti oxidants help slow down the destruction of cells from free radicals such as pollution and smoking; in doing so, they decrease the effects of aging on the skin giving you a younger more refreshed look.
For full article see the link above.
Tags: fruit durian aphrodisiac swelling skin disease cholesterol blood cleanse jaundice fever yeast infection iron vittamin b c antioxidant aging prevention
High Cholesterol In Midlife Raises Risk Of Late-life Dementia, Study Finds →
Aug 6, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Elevated cholesterol levels in midlife – even levels considered only borderline elevated – significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia later in life, according to a new study by researchers at Kaiser Permanente’s Division of Research and the University of Kuopio in Finland.
he study appears in the journal Dementia & Geriatric Cognitive Disorders.
The four-decade study of 9,844 men and women found that having high cholesterol in midlife (240 or higher milligrams per deciliter of blood) increases, by 66 percent, the risk for Alzheimer’s disease later in life. Even borderline cholesterol levels (200 – 239 mg/dL) in midlife raised risk for late-life vascular dementia by nearly the same amount: 52 percent. Vascular dementia, the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer’s disease, is a group of dementia syndromes caused by conditions affecting the blood supply to the brain. Scientists are still trying to pinpoint the genetic factors and lifestyle causes for Alzheimer’s disease.
By measuring cholesterol levels in 1964 to 1973 based on the 2002 Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines (the current practice standard) when the Kaiser Permanente Northern California members were 40 to 45 years old, then following the participants for 40 years, this study is the largest long-term study with the most diverse population to examine the midlife cholesterol levels and late-life dementia. It is also the first study to look at borderline high cholesterol levels and vascular dementia, rather than just Alzheimer’s disease.
“Our study shows that even moderately high cholesterol levels in your 40s puts people at greater risk for Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia decades later,” said the study’s senior author. Rachel Whitmer, Ph.D., a research scientist and epidemiologist at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. “Considering that nearly 100 million Americans have either high or borderline cholesterol levels, this is a disturbing finding. The good news here is that what is good for the heart is also good for the mind, and this is an early risk factor for dementia that can be modified and managed by lowering cholesterol through healthy lifestyle changes.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: cardiovascular alzheimer's cholesterol dementia risk blood brain lifestyle change
Heart Disease Patients With Previous Blockages More Likely To Die →
Aug 5, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Heart disease patients with previous atherosclerosis (fat deposits in the walls of the arteries) are more likely to die in the hospital and less likely to be treated with recommended therapies, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers analyzed data from the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines - Coronary Artery Disease database to determine whether compliance with quality of care treatment for heart disease was associated with the extent of prior vascular disease. They examined records from 143,999 patients hospitalized in 438 facilities between 2000 and 2008. Overall in-hospital mortality for all patients was 5.3 percent, but those who had previous artery blockages were more likely to die while hospitalized than those who had no prior vascular disease.
They were also less likely to undergo surgery to clear their new blockages, had longer hospital stays and received cholesterol-lowering drugs, counseling to stop smoking and angiotensin-coverting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors for left ventricular dysfunction less often.
“The results are surprising,” said Emmanouil S. Brilakis, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and director of cardiac catheterization laboratories at Veterans Administration North Texas Healthcare System. “Patients with prior atherosclerosis have a higher risk for complications compared to those without prior atherosclerosis. Therefore, one would expect them to be more likely to receive these evidence-based treatments.”
For full article see link above.
Tags: heart disease cardiovascular coronary artery blockage death die hospitalization surgery cholesterol smoking counseling atherosclerosis risk
Tags: social stress fat obesity overweight lower socioeconomic status heart disease cardiovascular diet cholesterol hormone
Health Benefits Of Physical Activity More Pronounced In Women →
July 31, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Many experimental studies have found that physical exercise can improve cholesterol levels and subsequently decrease the risks of cardiovascular disease; however, few of these studies have included enough participant diversity to provide ethnic breakdowns. Now, a long-term study of over 8,700 middle-aged men and women provides race- and gender- specific data on the cholesterol effects of physical activity, with the interesting result that women, particularly African-American women, experience greater benefits as a result of exercise than men.
The analysis of this large Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study, which appears in the August issue of Journal of Lipid Research, was carried out by Keri Monda and colleagues at North Carolina and Baylor. They found that over a 12 year period, all individuals who increased their exercise by about 180 metabolic units per week (equivalent to an additional hour of mild or 30 minutes of moderate activity per week) displayed decreased levels of triglycerides and increased levels of the “good” HDL cholesterol. However, statistically significant decreases in the “bad” LDL cholesterol were only observed in women, with particularly strong effects in menopausal women and African-American women. And total cholesterol levels were only significantly decreased in African-American women.
For full article see link above.
Tags: physical activity exercise women woman benefit cholesterol cardiovascular HDL LDL
Food Additive May One Day Help Control Blood Lipids And Reduce Disease Risk →
July 30, 2009 (Sciencedaily.com)—Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have identified a substance in the liver that helps process fat and glucose. That substance is a component of the common food additive lecithin, and researchers speculate it may one day be possible to use lecithin products to control blood lipids and reduce risk for diabetes, hypertension or cardiovascular disease using treatments delivered in food rather than medication.
“Currently, doctors use drugs called fibrates to treat problems with cholesterol and triglycerides,” says the study’s co-first author Irfan J. Lodhi, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in endocrinology and metabolism. “By identifying this substance that occurs naturally in the body — and also happens to be used as a food additive — it may be possible to improve the treatment of lipid disorders and minimize drug side effects by adding particular varieties of lecithin to food.”
Lecithin is found at high concentrations in egg whites. It also is in soybeans, grains, fish, legumes, yeast and peanuts. Most commercially used lecithin comes from soybeans. Lecithin can alter food taste and texture and also can be mixed with water to disperse fats, making it a common additive in margarine, mayonnaise, chocolate and baked goods. Lecithin is a mixture of fatty compounds called phosphatidylcholines. Various types of phosphatidylcholines house different kinds of fatty molecules linked to a common core.
For full article see link above.
