> From first hand experience I can attest that cholesterol is reduced by
> statin drugs. I also believe that they *probably* reduce the chance of
> having a *second* heart attack. But the method of operation is not from
> the reduction of cholesterol which is just an innocent bystander. They
> probably work by virtue of having a slight anti-imflammatory effect.
> Something you can get more effectively and cheaply from aspirin and/or
> fish oil.
I'm rather entertained by this. Of course, my own eating habits range
from hyper-picky to total-slob from one meal to the next. I'm kinda
hoping that it all averages out. However, as each year passes, the
fewer McDonald's French Fries I eat. Now, if there is just some way of
making Mexican food healthier.
I'm a Garlicholic. I have been most of my adult life, (mom used garlic
salt--yuck). I'd be perfectly happy if I could find some way of eating
a clove or two with every meal. Obviously, this would have some social
side-effects, but at least I'd be eating well. Anyway, what I have
found is that garlic is a good blood-pressure regulator. When I'm not
eating much, my BP will creep up a bit. When I'm on a garlic bender,
it will drop down as much as 15 pounds. Whether it is some chemical in
the garlic doing it or whether I'm just happier, I don't know. But it
does work.
About three years ago, my cholesterol measurements were pretty bad.
The BP had crept up to the top end of the normal range. (High BP runs
in my family). We started eating more fish and cooking Italian style.
Olive oil and garlic became major staples. I'd eat a lot more onion
too, but I'm the only one in the household who likes onions. We always
used olive oil, but converted to a better grade of it. I still cook
with salt--most salt consumption is a result of processed foods, so we
avoid most of them and not worry about the table/cooking salt too much
because we really don't use much. But I use a lot more spices than
before. Our basil and pepper budget is pretty high.
The thought of medications creep me out. There is a time and place for
them when something is 'broken" in your system, but most of these meds
that Chuck is referring to are mostly just regulators. If we study and
figure out what they are doing, we can usually get the same results
through dietary, exercise and sleep adjustments.
We buy a bunch of various vitamins and supplements. Well, not as many
as some people. But we are careful about various claims. We do the
green powder thing in the morning and stuff like A, B-complex, C, D,
E, Calcium and fish oil. My wife does a couple other things that help
her out as a cancer survivor with no hormone generating or storing
parts. We are quite picky about these, though, and do pretty deep
research, avoiding all the marketing nonsense. The supplement industry
is almost as misleading as the big pharmaceuticals.
One of our best friends is a pharmacist who is generally speaking
highly opposed to any and all supplements. But at the same time, he's
also pretty opposed to most of the new meds that come out which are
just variations of what is already out there and quite effective.
He'll explain what one of these new drugs is doing and how it is
working. Then he explains how you can accomplish the same task with a
couple over-the-counter items and some food adjustments. He explains
that we have a culture that is pretty lazy and we'd rather take a
pill, no matter how expensive or what side-effects it has, then adjust
our diet/exercise/sleep.
Again, the differentiation has to do with whether something systemic
in your body is broken or if it just needs some regulatory assistance.
--
Ken Norton
ken@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.zone-10.com
--
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