The
Saturated Fat Myth
It's the deadly dietary advice that's been responsible for making generations of Americans fat and sick.
At this point, the fear of saturated fat should have gone the way of the horse and buggy. But its staying power is nothing short of amazing.
Now, an international group of cardiologists have said enough is enough.
They published a report that punches holes in just about everything you've been told where heart disease is concerned. And what they're saying you should be doing to keep your heart healthy is something you can begin right now!
What some top heart docs from the UK, Switzerland, and the U.S. want you to know is that to prevent heart disease and live longer, forget just about all the advice the mainstream has been feeding you for decades.
Starting with...the saturated fat myth.
"This idea that dietary saturated fats build up in the coronary arteries is complete unscientific nonsense," is what one of the researchers, Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist at the Lister Hospital in the UK, had to say.
This study confirms that eating real food containing saturated fat is not linked to heart disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes. These doctors also didn't find a connection between saturated fats and heart disease if you're healthy -- nor any benefit in cutting them out if you have heart disease.
And that's even if you've suffered a heart attack!
The next bogus concept these medical myth-busters tackled is the comparison of heart disease to a "clogged pipe." It doesn't work that way, they said
If that were true, the use of stents to prop open arteries would actually prevent heart attacks -- something studies show is not the case, the team said.
The group also tossed out of the window that sacred-cow concept known as LDL or so-called "bad" cholesterol. (Which is part of the house of cards that statin drugs are built on).
If you're over 60, said Dr. Malhotra, LDL cholesterol "is not associated with cardiovascular disease." Actually, it's low LDL in seniors that's linked to "all-cause mortality," he said.
That's something I reported in For Real Health over a year ago!
So what, then, is the real cause of heart disease? According to these doctors, chronic inflammation is the primary culprit.
And that inflammation is triggered, in part, by consuming not the hamburger... but the bun, the French fries and all the other processed foods loaded with refined carbohydrates. Think anything with white flour or sugar!
Other causes of inflammation include vegetable oils -- such as canola and corn oil -- that are recommended by the American Heart Association!
So, instead of putting fake cream in your coffee, eating fake eggs, fake butter spread, GMO corn and canola oils and other processed foods, here's what the group recommends you do to protect your heart:
It's the deadly dietary advice that's been responsible for making generations of Americans fat and sick.
At this point, the fear of saturated fat should have gone the way of the horse and buggy. But its staying power is nothing short of amazing.
Now, an international group of cardiologists have said enough is enough.
They published a report that punches holes in just about everything you've been told where heart disease is concerned. And what they're saying you should be doing to keep your heart healthy is something you can begin right now!
What some top heart docs from the UK, Switzerland, and the U.S. want you to know is that to prevent heart disease and live longer, forget just about all the advice the mainstream has been feeding you for decades.
Starting with...the saturated fat myth.
"This idea that dietary saturated fats build up in the coronary arteries is complete unscientific nonsense," is what one of the researchers, Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist at the Lister Hospital in the UK, had to say.
This study confirms that eating real food containing saturated fat is not linked to heart disease, stroke or type 2 diabetes. These doctors also didn't find a connection between saturated fats and heart disease if you're healthy -- nor any benefit in cutting them out if you have heart disease.
And that's even if you've suffered a heart attack!
The next bogus concept these medical myth-busters tackled is the comparison of heart disease to a "clogged pipe." It doesn't work that way, they said
If that were true, the use of stents to prop open arteries would actually prevent heart attacks -- something studies show is not the case, the team said.
The group also tossed out of the window that sacred-cow concept known as LDL or so-called "bad" cholesterol. (Which is part of the house of cards that statin drugs are built on).
If you're over 60, said Dr. Malhotra, LDL cholesterol "is not associated with cardiovascular disease." Actually, it's low LDL in seniors that's linked to "all-cause mortality," he said.
That's something I reported in For Real Health over a year ago!
So what, then, is the real cause of heart disease? According to these doctors, chronic inflammation is the primary culprit.
And that inflammation is triggered, in part, by consuming not the hamburger... but the bun, the French fries and all the other processed foods loaded with refined carbohydrates. Think anything with white flour or sugar!
Other causes of inflammation include vegetable oils -- such as canola and corn oil -- that are recommended by the American Heart Association!
So, instead of putting fake cream in your coffee, eating fake eggs, fake butter spread, GMO corn and canola oils and other processed foods, here's what the group recommends you do to protect your heart:
- Stop
worrying about fat and eat more "real food," such as nuts, olive
oil, oily fish, lots of veggies and "very little refined carbs and
sugar."
- Do
whatever it takes to cut down the stress in your life. It's known that
stress can raise levels of the hormone cortisol, which, in turn, creates
inflammation.
- Make
walking a part of your daily routine, trying to get at least 20 minutes a
day.
Dr. Malhotra says that he follows his own advice, which is
basically built on the groundwork of "the most beneficial components of
the Mediterranean diet" -- something that includes lots of extra virgin
olive oil.
As expected, the team has been attacked by the mainstream, most especially by the former chair of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee, Dr. Frank Sacks.
He called the report "misleading," and full of "obsolete methodology."
But of course, that's to be expected. You can't try to undo a half-a-century of bad advice without taking a beating!
As expected, the team has been attacked by the mainstream, most especially by the former chair of the American Heart Association's nutrition committee, Dr. Frank Sacks.
He called the report "misleading," and full of "obsolete methodology."
But of course, that's to be expected. You can't try to undo a half-a-century of bad advice without taking a beating!
The Shingles Vaccine Isn’t All It’s Promised To Be
By Melissa Young at Health Science Institute
Of all the drug commercials that seem to play nonstop on TV, the ones that try to scare us the most are for Merck's shingles vaccine Zostavax.
The drugmaker has used almost every trick in the book, from spooky music to actors wearing makeup so they appear to have shingles blisters all over them. The most recent ad warns that anyone who had chicken pox has shingles "lurking inside," waiting to "surface any time."
It's enough to make you want to run right out and get a shingles shot!
But now, thousands who did just that are coming forward, hoping to tell about the consequences in a courtroom. They think Merck should be held legally responsible for a vaccine they say has harmed them more than coming down with shingles ever could.
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Shingles in a syringe
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Chris Juday took his doctor's advice three years ago and went to a local pharmacy to get a shot of Zostavax.
A week later, he spiked a fever and noticed a rash developing on his stomach that quickly spread across his back. It was something that looked just like...chicken pox.
And it was! Specifically, it was a type called varicella pneumonia (also known as chicken pox of the lungs).
In fact, chicken pox is known to be a possible side effect of the shot. And right around the time Chris got the vaccine, the FDA sent Merck a letter saying that "shingles" needed to be added to the package warnings as well.
But Chris is just one of thousands who have suffered not only chicken pox, but eye injuries, dizziness, high blood pressure, severe nerve pain and cases of shingles after getting Zostavax shots.
In some cases, lawsuits have been filed by family members who claim that the shot caused the death of their loved ones.
The vaccine is a weakened live virus, so the label also warns that if you get the shot, it's possible to actually give someone chicken pox -- especially if they're very young, very old or weakened by an illness.
But that may be the least of your worries. Because the other ingredients in this vaccine should be enough to make you think twice before rolling up your sleeve.
Zostavax also contains a dose of MSG, added as a "stabilizer." That's right -- one of those additives you try to avoid like the plague when buying processed food.
If you read the Merck information sheet, you'll see it listed as "monosodium L-glutamate," but it's the same brain-damaging chemical. In this form, however, the MSG is being shot right into you, which is likely to be much more dangerous than consuming it in some chips or soup.
Also contained in Zostavax, which we broke the news to eAlert readers about several years ago, are cells, "including DNA," of a 14-week old baby boy who was aborted in 1966. Now, don't expect to see that fact on the release form you sign, the Zostavax commercials or anywhere else for that matter.
Fetal cells are also used in the Merck chicken pox shot for kids. That "cell culture" originally came from a healthy 16-week-old baby girl who was aborted in 1961. This is one of the deepest and darkest secrets of the vaccine industry.
On top of those frightening and horrific ingredients, there's something else Merck doesn't want you to hear. And that's the fact that the shot just doesn't work very well.
While Merck claims that Zostavax is 51 percent effective in preventing shingles, other research has found that prevention number to be as low as one in 175. And the older you are, the less likely the shot is to do anything for you.
But there's another way to lower your risk of suffering an attack of shingles. And this one really does work!
HSI panel member Dr. Allan Spreen advises a daily dose of 500 mcg of vitamin B-12 to keep the condition at bay. And if you do suffer an outbreak, a shot of B-12 can be a very effective treatment.
And there's something else about B-12 you should know. It won't give you shingles, chicken pox, or nerve pain... harm your eyes... or kill you.
I'm sure that Merck wishes it could say the same thing about Zostavax.
Of all the drug commercials that seem to play nonstop on TV, the ones that try to scare us the most are for Merck's shingles vaccine Zostavax.
The drugmaker has used almost every trick in the book, from spooky music to actors wearing makeup so they appear to have shingles blisters all over them. The most recent ad warns that anyone who had chicken pox has shingles "lurking inside," waiting to "surface any time."
It's enough to make you want to run right out and get a shingles shot!
But now, thousands who did just that are coming forward, hoping to tell about the consequences in a courtroom. They think Merck should be held legally responsible for a vaccine they say has harmed them more than coming down with shingles ever could.
----------------------------------------------
Shingles in a syringe
----------------------------------------------
Chris Juday took his doctor's advice three years ago and went to a local pharmacy to get a shot of Zostavax.
A week later, he spiked a fever and noticed a rash developing on his stomach that quickly spread across his back. It was something that looked just like...chicken pox.
And it was! Specifically, it was a type called varicella pneumonia (also known as chicken pox of the lungs).
In fact, chicken pox is known to be a possible side effect of the shot. And right around the time Chris got the vaccine, the FDA sent Merck a letter saying that "shingles" needed to be added to the package warnings as well.
But Chris is just one of thousands who have suffered not only chicken pox, but eye injuries, dizziness, high blood pressure, severe nerve pain and cases of shingles after getting Zostavax shots.
In some cases, lawsuits have been filed by family members who claim that the shot caused the death of their loved ones.
The vaccine is a weakened live virus, so the label also warns that if you get the shot, it's possible to actually give someone chicken pox -- especially if they're very young, very old or weakened by an illness.
But that may be the least of your worries. Because the other ingredients in this vaccine should be enough to make you think twice before rolling up your sleeve.
Zostavax also contains a dose of MSG, added as a "stabilizer." That's right -- one of those additives you try to avoid like the plague when buying processed food.
If you read the Merck information sheet, you'll see it listed as "monosodium L-glutamate," but it's the same brain-damaging chemical. In this form, however, the MSG is being shot right into you, which is likely to be much more dangerous than consuming it in some chips or soup.
Also contained in Zostavax, which we broke the news to eAlert readers about several years ago, are cells, "including DNA," of a 14-week old baby boy who was aborted in 1966. Now, don't expect to see that fact on the release form you sign, the Zostavax commercials or anywhere else for that matter.
Fetal cells are also used in the Merck chicken pox shot for kids. That "cell culture" originally came from a healthy 16-week-old baby girl who was aborted in 1961. This is one of the deepest and darkest secrets of the vaccine industry.
On top of those frightening and horrific ingredients, there's something else Merck doesn't want you to hear. And that's the fact that the shot just doesn't work very well.
While Merck claims that Zostavax is 51 percent effective in preventing shingles, other research has found that prevention number to be as low as one in 175. And the older you are, the less likely the shot is to do anything for you.
But there's another way to lower your risk of suffering an attack of shingles. And this one really does work!
HSI panel member Dr. Allan Spreen advises a daily dose of 500 mcg of vitamin B-12 to keep the condition at bay. And if you do suffer an outbreak, a shot of B-12 can be a very effective treatment.
And there's something else about B-12 you should know. It won't give you shingles, chicken pox, or nerve pain... harm your eyes... or kill you.
I'm sure that Merck wishes it could say the same thing about Zostavax.
Milk From Large Organic Dairies
May Not Be as Organic as Promised
When the Washington
Post visited Aurora Organic Dairy in Colorado, the company that provides
organic store brands to corporations like Wal-Mart, Target and Costco, a few
problems were evident right off the bat. For starters, the farm is massive,
housing 15,000 cows, "making it more than 100 times the size of a typical
organic herd," the Post noted.
Further,
organic standards require that cows have free access to certified organic
pasture for the entire grazing season, but there are large loopholes in the
requirement.
As Aurora
spokeswoman Sonja Tuitele told the Post, "The requirements of the USDA
National Organic Program allow for an extremely wide range of grazing practices
that comply with the rule." The Post
investigation indeed revealed that Aurora Organic Dairy appears to be
stretching the limits of the rule:
" …
During visits by The Washington Post to Aurora's High Plains complex across eight
days last year, signs of grazing were sparse, at best. Aurora said its animals
were out on pasture day and night, but during most Post visits the number of
cows seen on pasture numbered only in the hundreds.
At no
point was any more than 10 percent of the herd out. A high-resolution satellite
photo taken in mid-July by DigitalGlobe, a space imagery vendor, shows a
typical situation — only a few hundred on pasture."
The Post
even had samples of Aurora's organic milk tested for "a key indicator of
grass-feeding" (its fatty acid profile), which revealed the milk matched
conventional, not organic milk. Adding to the problem, farmers are allowed to
hire their own inspectors in order to be certified USDA Organic.
Half of the Organic Milk Sold in the US May Come From CAFOs
It's very
much a buyer beware market when it comes to organic dairy. Theoretically,
choosing organic milk makes sense, but this holds true only if the farmers are
giving the cows actual free access to pasture. Mark Kastel, co-director of the
nonprofit Cornucopia Institute, told the Post that right now, "About half of the organic milk sold in
the U.S. is coming from very large factory farms that have no intention of
living up to organic principles." It's
a widespread problem.
When the
Post visited seven other large organic dairies in 2015 (these located in Texas
and New Mexico), they found the cows were primarily kept on feedlots, not
pastures. Cornucopia also noted that aerial photography, backed up by satellite
imagery, from 14 "industrial scale" organic livestock operations
revealed "few if any animals" out on pasture.
Why Grass Fed Dairy Is Supreme
There are
a number of reasons to seek out grass fed dairy products. For foodies, the
seasonal variations in flavor are a huge draw. For the health-conscious, milk
from cows raised primarily on pasture has been shown to be higher in many
nutrients, including vitamin E, beta-carotene and the healthy fats omega-3 and
CLA.
On an
environmental level, grass fed dairy has a considerably reduced footprint
compared to the way most dairy is produced on CAFOs. When cows eat grass, it's
a closed-loop system that, as Maple Hill Creamery put it, "bypasses the
considerable resources used to produce the [genetically engineered] corn,
soybeans or grains to feed dairy cows."
Farms
producing grass fed dairy products are able to naturally regenerate the soil
and maintain ecological balance without relying on chemical fertilizers and
pesticides. And on an ethical level, cows are designed to eat grass.
When they
eat corn and grain, not only does the quality of their milk degrade but they
live in a state of chronic inflammation, which increases their risk of
infection and disease. When a cow eats grains in a CAFO instead of the grasses
they were designed to eat it causes adverse health events for the cows and that affects the milk and the meat they produce.
Cornucopia's Organic Dairy Scorecard
Getting
your raw milk from a local organic grass fed farm or co-op is best, but if
you're considering milk from another source, check out Cornucopia's Organic
Dairy Scorecard. The Cornucopia
Institute is an organic industry watchdog whose core constituencies are family
farmers across the U.S. and consumers concerned about the availability and
quality of organic foods. Their goal is to empower you to make informed
purchasing decisions.
You might
be surprised to see many big-name organic brands that rank near the bottom of
the list, even receiving a "zero" rating. In this case, it's not
worth your money to pay for an "organic" product that's likely no
better than conventional.
You can view the
list of organic brands and how they scored at:
Until
next time, stay healthy and happy
JD
Roma
The information on this blog is provided for
educational purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical
care, and medical advice and services are not being offered. If you have, or
suspect you have, a health problem you should consult your physician
(preferably a Naturopath).
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