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Here's to Your Health:  the cholesterol myth?  |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 22 2009 : 11:35:06 AM
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i just wondered if there were any of you on here that believed, like i do, that there is a cholesterol myth?
my hubby and i have done research for quite some time regarding the subject. many think we are wacko, but i think it makes sense....
if you look at history, america hadn't had heart health problems until about the 1950's. before that time, when we ate butter, eggs, etc. as a normal diet, we didn't die from heart disease and "cholesterol."
during the 50's, vegetable oils became popular. margarine and vegatable based products were touted as more healthy compared to butter because they reduced cholesterol.
now, our body naturally produces cholesteral, it is a vital component to the brain to keep it healthy. our bodies naturally choose what level of cholesterol is right for us individually. (that is why some people have higher cholesterol than others and it is genetic.)
the thing is, when scientists were doing tests about cholesterol in the 50's, they performed the tests on rabbits. obviously the cholesterol would harm the rabbits. because rabbits are vegetarians and don't naturally eat foods with cholesterol. i believe this is why it would have a negative effect on rabbits.
so ever since this time, doctors have beleived cholesterol is a bad thing, that we need to have the lowest levels possible to be healthy. but i don't believe they think about the body taking care of itself naturally... that if you consume foods with cholesterol, your body will even itself out at some point. that it's ok for some people to have naturally higher levels of cholesterol.
i personally believe most vegetable oil based products contribute to heart problems. i've even heard dr. oz (from oprah) say this... our bodies have been consuming things like butter forever, so our bodies know how to break it down. but if we've only been consuming veggie oil based things (minus olive oil and coconut oil) since about the 50's, our bodies havn't been trained to break it down properly, so that causes problems.
there's alot more to this theory... i just wanted to know what you ladies thought about the subject. you can call me crazy if you want, but it's just something to think about. what if we didn't have to worry about cholesterol as much as we think? what if there were other answers? what if doctors don't know everything and there are other avenues to check before scaring everyone about cholesterol? this goes for everything out there, really...
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2009 : 11:40:54 AM
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i had forgotten i'd started a thread about this topic awhile ago... here's the link to that thread if anyone is interested:
http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/snitz/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=25258
sorry i made another thread... it is a topic i'm interested in and would like to know what people think about it.
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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nut4fabric
True Blue Farmgirl
885 Posts
Kathy
Morgan Hill
CA
USA
885 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 07:28:43 AM
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Elizabeth One thing to consider is that prior to the 60s people lived more active lives, walked more than drove for instance, less TV etc, less pollution, etc. And people did not go to doctors unless ill and generally did not live as long. Not saying that you aren't correct but there are other things to consider.
Kathy |
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16374 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16374 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 07:54:25 AM
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Yeah Elizabeth!!!!!
I've been doing my homework on this too. I'm with you! Lowering your cholesterol is like cutting out your lymph nodes when they're swollen. (They're just doing their job.) Your cholesterol (if it's "high" and the definition of HIGH is up for debate) is hard at work helping your system cope with a bad diet, bad oils, bad habits (lack of exercise), environmental toxins, chlorine in your drinking water, etc. Also as you age, it needs to go higher to keep you healthy. Billions of dollars have been made from cholesterol lowering drugs.
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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Caron
True Blue Farmgirl
535 Posts
Caron
Orange
Texas
USA
535 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 07:57:05 AM
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One article I read said the cholesterol numbers were created by a company who had created a cholesterol drug and needed to test it on humans. So they created "good cholesterol" numbers so low almost no one had them, thus giving them of plenty of subjects who seemed to have "high" cholesterol to test on.I don't know if that is fact, but I do know it's a billion-dollar money-maker for drug companies.
My blood work showed numbers only a few points above what is called normal (I was in the high end of the nornal range), yet my nurse wanted to put me on meds. I said no, and continue to say no.I see more danger than good to me taking meds for cholesterol right now.
I do have high blood pressure, and do take meds for that because I have so far not been able to bring it down on my own.I'm not against all meds, just agree this cholesterol craze doesn't seem right to me.
Caron
"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation".
Farmgirl #254
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MaryJane
Queen Bee
16374 Posts
MaryJane
Moscow
Idaho
USA
16374 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 08:38:48 AM
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In 2008, the US Department of Agriculture reported that our consumption of dairy since 1970 has gone down 20%, vegetables up 15%, meat and eggs up 11% (mostly poultry and fish because red meat is down 0.25 and eggs are down also), fruit up 26%, refined sugar down -0.5 but corn sweeteners up for a total of 17% in that category, grains up 42% with 90 percent of those being refined. BUT salad and cooking oil and the animal fats found in cream cheese and sour cream went up 59% total!!!! It's the fastest-growing food category. Sour cream, cream cheese, salad and cooking oils are WAY up--mostly cooking oils because dairy as a whole is down. Lard and butter are way down. Why would cholesterol be on the rise if the culprits are eggs, butter, and meat--all categories that went down since 1970?
MaryJane, Farmgirl #1 Plowin' Thru ~ giving aprons a good wrap for 45 years and counting ~
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 09:21:45 AM
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kathy - great points! our world has changed SO much since the 50's and 60's and there are so many factors to consider as far as disease, heart problems, and length of life. i'm sure all of those things you mentioned are contributing factors to heart health and i'd like to research some of those things, too.
Caron - i can't believe the docs wanted to put you on meds even though you were within the healthy range! i think the first time i had the cholesterol tests done (i was in the navy and had no choice) they just wanted to put me on meds just because they could. they told me to go talk to my regular doctor about putting me on meds, he took one look at my numbers, and said "your numbers aren't even that high! why do they want to put you on meds? your numbers look healthy to me..." i agree with you that they'd create numbers that are about impossible to be within... just to sell a product. sad.
maryjane - it's lovely to see you on the boards! thank you so much for relaying those statistics.... and looking at them, it DOESN'T make sense why cholesterol would be on the rise. sometimes, i think, looking at history and the status of things is a better indicator of what's really going on. if these things don't match up with what we are being told, it makes the whole situation questionable (this goes for lots of information we hear every day).
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 10:10:09 PM
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I'm so glad to see this thread! So I know I'm not the only wacko out there who doesn't buy into the 'Cholesterol myth." And I'm a nurse. I've been refusing to go on cholesterol meds for years. I'm from an entire family of people with elevated cholesterol with good ratios, no hypertension, no heart disease, no diabetes and most live to be at least 90 and many to over 100. And we've been living that long for hundreds of years. We have the geneaology to prove it. Did you know there is a whole sub-set of people out there like us that the researchers can't figure out what to do with? It's true. Why don't these people fit the mold they've created.
I also want to know if the meds are so wonderful and do such a great job, why are so many people still having heart attacks, angioplasty and stents? Those numbers don't seem to me to be going down at all. Of course I'm sure that can be explained away by saying people are more aware and get treatment sooner. But....aren't the medications supposed to be preventing it in the first place??? Did you ever wonder why a few years ago the glucose number were lowered to put people into a 'pre-diabetic' range or they came up with something called 'insulin resistance'? Maybe because the drug companies had all these really fun new drugs for diabetes that were really expensive and not enough people to sell them to?
I work in two doctors offices and I see patients everyday come in with medication lists that are a page long. Now, it doesn't take much to figure out that some of those things must be working against each other. And then there's the expense. Don't even get me started on healthcare and what I think about that whole debacle.
My, that was quite the rant, wasn't it. Sorry.
Marcia
It's not about being perfect, but enjoying what you do. Set aside time to be creative.
Robyn Pandolph
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22941 Posts
Alee
Worland
Wy
USA
22941 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 10:31:03 PM
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I worry about all the medications that doctors prescribe these days. I am not sure if it is because doctors are being trained to prescribe the "magic" pill in school, the drug companies lobby and campaign to the doctors to convince them to use the pills, or if the "quick fix" mentality that we see so often today has forced the doctors to prescribe more pills to keep their patients happy.
I worry about the long lists of possible side effects, some of which are worse than the disease! My mom almost died because a doctor didn't check her prescription list before adding something in. After a while of taking it, she went to get a refil and our pharmacist caught the conflict. He was terrified for my mom! I guess it worries me that enough isn't known.
I like the idea of eating GOOD food and keeping our bodies in motion. I know there are things out there that really do need medical assistance- but I doubt I will ever go on cholesterol medicine.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Aug 23 2009 : 11:00:28 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Alee
I worry about all the medications that doctors prescribe these days. I am not sure if it is because doctors are being trained to prescribe the "magic" pill in school, the drug companies lobby and campaign to the doctors to convince them to use the pills, or if the "quick fix" mentality that we see so often today has forced the doctors to prescribe more pills to keep their patients happy.
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
www.allergyjourneys.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com
I think it's a little bit of all of the above. No matter what's wrong with us--the American public in general--we want a quick fix, usually in the form of a pill. We don't want to be told that our weight problem is because we have bad habits, over eat and don't exercise. Or that we can't breathe now because we smoked for 50 years and always thought we could quit whenever we wanted to.
Then we have 'Big Pharma', the pharmaceutical companies. They lobby, they advertise, they have really expensive drugs to sell. I think the adds from the drug companies need to be taken off the air. It's awful. Sadly, some of the most heavily advertised medications are not the ones that actually work the best. A perfect example of that is Detrol LA, the bladder med. It's probably the least effective of any of those meds and it's $$$.
Drug reps come into our offices pushing the latest and the greatest new stuff. I will say this, the one doc I work for tells them to take their coupons and their gimmicks and go back to their respective companies and tell the powers that be that if they really want to help, they need to lower the cost of their drug so people can afford it. He's right.
Man, what is wrong with me? This is almost as bad as the Grass Fed Beef thing the other day. I need to go to bed. After all, tomorrow I get to see more of those patients with the long lists of medications.
G'night. I promise I'll be quiet for a while.
It's not about being perfect, but enjoying what you do. Set aside time to be creative.
Robyn Pandolph
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kristin sherrill
True Blue Farmgirl
11303 Posts
kristin
chickamauga
ga
USA
11303 Posts |
Posted - Aug 24 2009 : 9:22:24 PM
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I was told by my doctor several months ago after having blood tests done that my cholesterol was "a bit high" and i needed to be on cholesterol meds. I told her no, I would not be taking any meds. It wasn't but a little over 200. I'm ok with that. My mother has high cholesterol and has for years. She's never taken meds for it.
I eat real butter, raise and eat pork and render lard to use in a lot of my baking, milk goats and drink the milk raw, make cheese, eat real eggs, grow most of our food. I just really do not trust doctors. I believe they work for the pharmeceutical companies and are made to push these drugs. Another reason is, I could never afford these meds. My husband is diabetic and his meds alone run almost $200 a month. He was told he needed to be on cholesterol meds also but he refused.
And last week I went to the pharmacy with the little lady I care for who is 92. She got her Lipitor refilled and a sleeping pill refilled and it cost her $311. She's 92, for Pete's sake! And she has other meds she takes, too. How do people afford all these drugs? She's been taking these for years.
I'm with ya'll on this one. It's not for me.
Kris
Happiness is simple. |
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CountryBorn
True Blue Farmgirl
1545 Posts
Mary Jane
New York
USA
1545 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2009 : 7:53:41 PM
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I am really surprised the Dr. gave a 92 yr. old a script for Lipitor. Usually at that age they don't bother with it because it doesn't help anyway. I definatly think we are over medicated. But I think a lot of the problems we face are of our own making. We are too heavy, people smoke when they know it's bad for their health. We don't get the real excercise we need. Like doing the real kind of work that people used to do(with the exception of farmgirls!)MaryJane so hit it on the head with the corn syrups that are added to everything. My Dr. said that is the biggest problem all these added sugars and hydrogenated oils and so many additives. All from store bought goods.Especially sweets, which I love. Also there is a big heredity factor involved. In some of our families cancer runs rampant, others it's heart disease(my family)strokes diabetes, high cholesterol and very important also high triglycerides which they are starting to think are worse than the cholesterol.Back in the 50's no one thought anything about cholesterol because they felt it had no significance,really didn't know much about it. My Dr. has always said moderation in eveything and I think that really is the key to better health.
MJ
There can be no happiness if the things we believe in are different from the things we do. Freya Stark |
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Celticheart
True Blue Farmgirl
811 Posts
Marcia
WA
USA
811 Posts |
Posted - Aug 25 2009 : 11:19:04 PM
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I see it everyday. You wouldn't believe the medications people are taking. Or the surgeries they have done. I have a couple of favorites in the surgery catagory. Remember ....I'm a nurse. My two favorites in the last year are 1) the woman trying to get a knee replacement--well her family is trying to get it for her--who does not currently walk and never will. Not even if she gets 10 new knees. And 2) the 53 yr old man scheduled for cataract surgery who has uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, hadn't seen a doctor in about 2 years, hasn't worked in forever(and never will) who told me, when I asked him for his phone number, that he lives in his car. I'm thinking he has a few problems we should probably deal with before we fix his cataract if we ever do. It's been 10 months and he still hasn't had that surgery. The most irritating thing about these is they are both Medicare and Medicaid. I live in one state and work in another and I would get to pay for BOTH of these people.
I know that sounds petty and small minded but I have to budget to be able to afford my eye exam and my glasses because I can't afford both of those in the same month, but they guy who lives in his car can get his cataract fixed....on me.
And today at the office we got a letter from Medicare requesting verification of a claim....for a urinalysis. It took 5 pieces of paper, an envelope and a stamp from them and who knows how many people on their end to make this request, plus a couple of people on our end, more paper and another stamp to ensure that this claim isn't fraudulent. A urinalysis in our office costs $5.00. Why would they even question a urinalysis done in a Urologists office??? I'm sure there's big money being made out there on fraudulent UA's. Oh well.
Oh....gotta go. Time to watch Glen Beck.
It's not about being perfect, but enjoying what you do. Set aside time to be creative.
Robyn Pandolph
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prairie_princess
True Blue Farmgirl
613 Posts
Elizabeth
Carpenter
WY
USA
613 Posts |
Posted - Aug 26 2009 : 08:18:54 AM
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oh my lord, i love you ladies!!! you sound JUST like me and my hubby....
marcia - another thing i heard not long ago that just had me fuming was doctors wanted to start putting KIDS on these cholesterol meds to PREVENT them from having issues..... AAAAAARRRGGGGG! these meds should not be used to prevent things... we should already be taking preventitive measures on our own, namely a healthy lifestyle consisting of good, healthy, non-processed foods and excercise.
alee - i was just discussing with my grandma the other day how she'd had a bad reaction to a combination of medications she was taking that her doctor hadn't even taken the time to check on... i think checking on meds people are taking should be higher on the list for doctors to prevent problems that shouldn't even occur.
i think it's so funny how all you gals apoligize for 'getting on your soapbox!' on all the forums. no apoligies needed here at maryjane's! i'm just glad to have found some people who actually have some of the same thoughts i do on these subjects.
and i agree with you, marcia.... i gotta go watch glenn beck, too.... he he he! i'm just sad because we don't have cable anymore and can't watch his show, have to watch what i can on his website or youtube. owell, at least there's still the radio and books!
"Only two things that money can't buy, that's true love and homegrown tomatoes."
- Guy Clark
"The man who has planted a garden feels he has done something for the good of the world."
- Charles Dudley Warner |
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Here's to Your Health: the cholesterol myth? |
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the cholesterol myth?
