Bits & Bites #10 - Statin Drugs, Cholesterol, Sugar, Stress and Heart Disease

Sunday 11 August 2013

This post is part of a weekly series sharing Bits of mishmash on health, my business and life in general, which I find inspirational, enlightening or enriching.
And Bites of delicious food I have enjoyed.

Vietnam House
Stand in front of a wall and walk towards it. If your belly touches the wall before the rest of your body, there's a great chance that you're Insulin Resistant (i.e. insulin becomes less effective at lowering blood sugar level because your body cells fail to respond to the normal actions of insulin).

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The Number One dietary contributor to heart disease is Sugar, which is a far greater danger to your heart than Fat. Sugar and Processed Carbs raise triglycerides, which is an important risk factor for heart disease.

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Fat raises LDL cholesterol, but it raises the harmless ones and lowers the harmful ones that actually cause heart disease.
Sugar on the other hand increases the harmful LDL molecules and decrease the harmless ones.
Further, high levels of sugar and insulin damage the harmful LDLs, making them far more like to start the process of inflammation.

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Cholesterol is synthesized in the liver through a pathway called the Mevalonate Pathway, also known as the HMG-CoA reductase pathway.
This HMG-CoA reductase enzyme is the one directly responsible for initiating the manufacture of cholesterol and the production of CoQ10.
Statin drugs essentially blocks the production of cholesterol and CoQ10.

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CoQ10 is a vitamin-like compound found in every cell on your body. CoQ10 is a powerful Antioxidant, combating oxidative damage from free radicals, protects your Heart and muscles and reduces blood pressure. Statin drugs deplete CoQ10. Depletion of CoQ10 can cause muscle pain, fatigue and weakens your heart.
How ironic that a drug that is supposed to prevent heart disease substantially weakens the very organ it's meant to protect!

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Our brain depends on cholesterol to function optimally. Cholesterol helps stimulate thinking and memory. Statins interfere with serotonin receptors in our brain.

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Statin drugs have many side effects, including:
  • muscle pain
  • weakness
  • fatigue
  • memory problems
  • sexual functioning.
A study by a researcher from University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine showed that a majority of doctors dismiss complaints of side effects from statins and do not report them to MedWatch, the FDA's system for reporting any undesirable experiences associated with the use of medical products or drugs. In other words, side effects are grossly under-reported.

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Stress contributes to every disease known. The main stress hormones are cortisol and adrenaline. An excess of stress hormones can create metabolic havoc and inflammation, and contribute to heart disease.
Stress causes the overproduction of platelets in the blood, which can clump together and create a clot called thrombus. When a thrombus blocks an artery to your heart, you have a Heart Attack.

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How you Deal with Stress is more important than the stress itself.
A stressful event that happens to you can't be changed. But how you React is within your control. And it's your Reaction - not the stressful event - that determines whether you damage your Health.

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When you support and nurture yourself, your Positive Self-esteem reflects itself in the Healing of your body.


(Source: The Great Cholesterol Myth, Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won't Prevent Heart Disease - and the Statin-Free Plan that Will, Jonny Bowden & Stephen Sinatra)

Prego
Drop me a mail at askfuiping@gmail.com if you have any questions or comments.
Have an awesome day!