Posts Tagged Cholesterol Levels
Proof that green tea reduces “bad” cholesterol levels
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Health, News, Vitamins & Supplements on July 10, 2012
via: NaturalNews
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
By: Ben
[NaturalNews] Green tea has always been cited to improve a number of health benefits through its consumption. A recent study targeted LDL, or “bad” cholesterol and brought forth evidence that green tea reduces those levels. The question of how much and whether or not green tea should serve as a medical alternative remains to be seen; however, the overall benefits of green tea are difficult to ignore.
The study separated participants in two random groups: the first group who drank green tea and consumed green tea extract, and the second group that did not consume green tea. This study was staged for a period of time ranging from a few weeks up to three months, and the results showed that the former group who consumed high amounts of green tea had reduced levels of “bad” cholesterol. In fact, the participants who consumed green tea had a, on average, 7.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) reduction in total cholesterol levels compared to the participants who did not consume green tea. These participants also had their “bad” cholesterol levels dropped by 2.2 mg/dL.
Another study done by researchers at Western University of Health Sciences dissected the correlation between green tea and serum lipid levels, as well as low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. Over the course of three to 24 weeks, researches conducted 20 trials that resulted in lower LDL cholesterol levels. Specifically, the participants showed a five to six point reduction in their levels.
FDA finally admits cholesterol drugs need warning labels about risk for diabetes and memory loss
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Big Pharma & Medical Mafia, FDA, Health, News on March 5, 2012
Natural News
Monday, March 05, 2012
By: Elizabeth Walling
[NaturalNews] Nearly 32 million Americans currently take statin drugs to lower their cholesterol levels, but they are probably completely unaware that these drugs can come with side effects like diabetes and memory loss. Why don’t they know? Because until this week, the FDA didn’t require these drugs to carry a warning of these possible dangers.
On Feb. 28 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the need for new warnings for popular statin drugs like Lipitor, Zocor and Crestor. The new labels warn doctors and patients that statin drugs can cause hyperglycemia (i.e. high blood sugar levels) and increase the risk of developing diabetes.
The research linking cholesterol drugs with diabetes is well established. The connection was first reported in one 2008 study of nearly 18,000 Crestor patients. More research soon followed confirming the risk: one study in 2010 published in the Lancet, another in 2011 published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, and yet another in 2012 published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. That’s a whopping four studies in four years that all confirm statin drugs increase your risk of diabetes.
The FDA also added a warning that statins may cause memory loss and confusion in some patients. These side effects have been reported by some individual statin users, although no official research has been done to verify who is most at risk for memory loss while taking statins.
But the FDA says keep taking statin drugs despite risks
One can’t help wondering about the real purpose of these new statin warnings. The FDA recommends that doctors and patients discuss the risk of memory loss and diabetes, but they also say patients should keep taking these drugs. They don’t want you to throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak.
“We want healthcare professionals and patients to have the most current information on the risks of statins, but also to assure them that these medications continue to provide an important health benefit of lowering cholesterol,” says Dr. Mary Parks from the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Apparently, we need to keep millions of Americans on statin drugs, but we just want to make sure they are aware that side effects like diabetes and memory loss are normal. Patients don’t need to be alarmed if they develop diabetes or experience memory loss while on cholesterol drugs. Their drugs came with warning labels reminding them that this is normal. And, of course, since this was stated on the warning label, lawsuits are definitely out of the question.
It sounds like Big Pharma doesn’t want you to throw their corporate profits out the window just because of some pesky side effects. These warnings are more about protecting their wallets more than protecting patients.
Cholesterol scam: Disinformation slowly unraveling among health professionals
Posted by TheRedPillGuide in Health, News on February 22, 2012
Via: Natural News
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
By: Paul Fassa
[NaturalNews] The idea of cholesterol creating cardiac problems has caused obsessive cholesterol count blood testing for decades. Another outcome of this scare was obsessively avoiding fat, especially saturated fats.
The food industry responded with low and no fat foods from milk to cottage cheese and more. Processed foods promoted their low or no fat contents as though they were the healthiest foods in the freezer.
Healthy fats such as coconut oil and palm oil were spurned and replaced by very unhealthy trans-fat, processed and heated cooking oils. Relatively healthy whole butters were replaced by plastic margarines.
However, this myth of cholesterol dangers lurking in saturated fats waiting to clog your arteries and cause you to die of cardiac arrest is beginning to unravel.
Unraveling the myth of cholesterol
A meta-analysis of properly performed previous studies on heart health and saturated fats concluded there was no association between cardiac issues and saturated fats. This was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) on January 13th, 2010. (1)
Meta-analysis is a statistical method of proving or disproving varied epidemiological studies within a set topic. The AJCN meta-analysis covered studies involving 350,000 subjects who were followed for 5 to 23 years.
The trend set by the saturated fat high cholesterol disinformation a few decades ago has resulted in many Americans eating less fat and showing lower blood cholesterol levels. Yet, heart disease rates have continued to rise along with diabetes, pre-diabetes and obesity. (1)
Dr. William Davis explains in his article “A Headline You Will Never See: 60 Year Old Man Dies of Cholesterol” that cholesterol doesn’t kill “any more than a bad paint job on your car could cause a fatal car accident.” (1)
He explains the cause of most heart attacks and coronary problems is atherosclerotic plaque in the coronary arteries, which can build up and rupture or clog the arteries. He goes on to describe other factors that can cause plaque ruptures, including inflammatory pneumonia.
