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Heart disease prevention
Question:
Earlier this week, i gave several seminars at one of my clients on heart disease and prevention. Would like to share some of the material. It is very provocative and goes against a lot of current thinking. I know this is a bit OT, but very worthwhile. Below are some general points i discussed that hopefully will stimulate some of you to research this important topic further 1. Animals generally do not get heart attacks Animals generally do not have the vitamin deficiences that humans have. Most notable is Vitamin C , which many species of animals produce in their own bodies. Human beings cannot produce a single molecule of Vitamin C. The body reservoir of Vitamin C in humans is ten to one hundred times lower than the Vitamin C levels in animals. Vitamin C contributes in many ways to prevention of heart disease by contributing to the optimum production of collagen molecules which stabilize the blood vessel walls. A stable blood vessel wall does not allow atheroschlerotic deposits to develop. Did you ever notice the plentiful vitamins and minerals on the back of a dog food bag. Many, many vitamins and trace minerals. Why are these manufacturers so interested in keeping your pets healthy. The reason is simply that the pet business is a huge industry and they have a vested interest in keeping your pet well. If animals had vitamin deficiecy issues, they would be constantly sick like we are and it would represent a significant expense to maintain their health care costs. If Fido stays well, you will replace Fido when he dies, buy him dog food, toys, leashes, and all the other goodies to keep the industry prosperous. Now compare Fido’s food to ours. Of course ours is more palatable, but much less nutritious and devoid of the important cardiprotective vitamins and minerals 2. Europeans: Less Heart Attacks the European diet is no more healthy than the American diet, yet in many European countries, less heart disease. the reason are higher blood levels of Vitamins C, E, and A, consumption of wine and olive oil rich in bioflavanoids and Vitamin E. Antioxidants as these and others will serve to protect the blood vessels from damaging environmental and dietary contaminants. In addition, the "average" European walks a lot more than the average American. There is a decreased dependency on the automobile. Obesity rates in European and most Asian nations is far less than the US. However, increasing Westernization, especially in Japan, China, and other nations is seeing a reversal of this trend 3. As a general rule, "thin" blood is generally better than "thick" blood. By thin blood, we mean making the blood less clottable. If the blood is less likely to clot, it is less likely to form clots that may cause heart attacks and stroke. Ways to keep your blood "thin" include herbs as garlic and cayenne, vitamins and minerals, taking a daily aspirin, and a variety of vegetables. in addition, a regular exercise regimen promotes optimal circulation of blood throughout the body. 4. Don’t trust everything your doctor says. They have incentives to write prescriptions and have no time, knowlege, or patience to sit down with you and discuss holistic health issues. There are ways to reduce cholesterol and BP, without medicine. Remember that a lot of medicines prescribed for BP have systemic affects. For example, beta blockers do more than just affect BP or heart rate. Anti-cholesterol meds can have adverse GI affects. In time, the body becomes resistant to some BP meds and it is not uncommon to be on 3-4 blood pressure meds in several years. In addition, there have been cancer links between some cardiovascular drugs and cancer. There is also a lot of evidence that these medicines affect the immune system and the ability of the body to repair itself and fight off disease. There is so much good information available on scientifically proven ways to control BP and cholesterol. Prescriptions should not always be used as a first line management tool and be wary of any physician whose first response is taking out the RX pad. Remember that the manufacturers of cardiovascular drugs stand to loose over $150 billion dollars a year if the consumer gets smart..so they will continue to propigate false information to make you think that their way is the optimal way to manage BP and coronary artery disease. 5. The dietary connection in heart disease is overstated. It has given rise to a multi billion dollar industry of fad foods and anti-cholesterol drugs. Many animals have significantly higher levels of cholesterol in their blood stream. Bears, for example, average cholesterol levels over 400 milligrams per decileter. Yet, bears are found to have substantially higher levels of Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants in their bloodstream. Cholesterol becomes a risk factor only in the event that the coronary artery walls are weakened by vitamin deficiency, diabetes, drug abuse, smoking, or other risk factors 5. Sugar/Eggs/Milk: VERY VERY BAD. There are no beneifical health effects of consuming processed sugar and you should make a conscious effort to avoid it or reduce your intake, In addition, humans are the only animals that eat eggs as a regular staple. In additon, we are the only animals that consume milk beyond infancy. Milk was not meant to be a beverage. It is food for the infant who cannot initially digest regular foods and provides the transfer of certain immunological factors from the mother to infant. There is a lot of good information available on the adverse health effects of eggs and milk. 6. Smoking. A very difficult habit to break indeed. Smoking in time decreases your lung capacity and reduces the amount of oxygenated blood circulating throughout your body. If you have predisposing factors toward heart disease, smoking may accelerate deterioration. In addition, nicotine is a powerful vasoconstricor and will exacerbate an already underlying BP problem. Smoking cessation is a wonderful accomplishment, although very hard. There are a lot of resources available to those that need help. We spend so much time worrying about our golf swings, equipment, watching the pro’s on TV. It is so much fun indeed. Yet, do we even spend a fraction of our time evaluating our health practices and coming up with goals that enhance our logevity , ultimatley giving us many more years out there on the course. Golf is no fun if you are out of breath after every swing or have angina every three holes. Take stock of yourselves, your lifestyle, and make some enhancements. Learn about holistic health issues and most importantly, and i mean most importantly, question everything your doctor says and prescibes…these guys are not gods and they have agendas other than your personal health and well being. Take the same amount of time in picking a physican that you would picking and being fitted for a new set of clubs…your life depends on it Eric
Response:
<clip Finally, some advice that has merit on RSG, and we can all use it. You know, Eric, that you’ll still get some arguments. Good stuff though. ___, o | / . "Someone likes every shot" bk
Response:
Earlier this week, i gave several seminars at one of my clients on heart disease and prevention.
Don’t you think that tension, over-analysis of swing mechanics, lack of short-game practice, infexibity and bad backs, adversely affect most golfers playing ability much more than their heart condition?
Response:
Ways to keep your blood "thin" include herbs as garlic and cayenne, vitamins and minerals, taking a daily aspirin, and a variety of vegetables.
Advocating taking a daily aspirin indicates to me that you have absolutely no medical knowledge. Remember folks, aspirins for those with trouble such as ulcers can be fatal and as we have been recently informed,under 16’s should not take aspirin. Also, recent European reseasrch presented has found no benefits from taking vitamins or from drinking wine ….tomatoes etc etc and this week the "oily" fish theory was also questioned. Nobody should ever give or take medicaladvice over the net andwhat is right for one person may not be right for another. We generally know ourselves what we should be doing and what we shouldn’t
Response:
4. Don’t trust everything your doctor says. They have incentives to write prescriptions and have no time, knowlege, or patience to sit down with you and discuss holistic health issues.
I don’t have any strong opinions (or the qualifications to weigh in) on any of the other issue you raised, but on this one, I most certainly do. There was a time, not so long ago, when doctors were, in a real sense, "healers." But as each of them were forced to accept the realities of today’s insurance industry, these "healers" have more and more become "businessmen" (and businesswomen). As such, they seem less concerned today with the real health-related "quality of life" issues, and more programmed to find ways to write prescriptions, recommend procedures, etc. The best doc I ever had was one in Dallas. Very much like an old country doctor, although he was from Canada. I recall once when I had an upper respiratory infection, among other treatments, he suggested I boil some water and pour a cup of brandy into it, lay a towel over my head to form a "tent" and breathe in the vapors. An alcohol-heavy vapor like that, he said, would kill any bacteria in my lungs. Made sense to me, and I’ve done it ever since whenever I’ve had an upper respiratory infection. Of course, when it’s a viral infection, it doesn’t help. But it doesn’t hurt, and if it *is* a bacterial infection, it speeds the recovery process by quite a bit. Today’s doctors would rather send you to a hospital or clinic to have tests done, x-rays taken, tubes run down you, etc., etc., all in the name of "proper medical procedure." About five years ago, such a thing happened to me. After a routine checkup, the doc recommended a series of tests on me, a horrifying (and expensive) experience, which eventually led to my having an angiogram, where they stick a little camera up your major artery through where it meets your crotch to look inside your heart. Get this: You’re awake during the whole procedure. Talk about scary! The results? No arterial blockage whatsoever. The surgeon gave me a clean bill of health, and said he wasn’t sure exactly what prompted my other doc to order the procedure. Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the motivation. It’s all about money. Ever since MDs have been forced to accept co-payments at a lower rate than they’d always charged in the past, they have to find other ways to recover the lost revenue. I’d be interested to learn what kind of kickbacks doctors get these days from pharmecutical companies for writing prescriptions for one brand over another. The whole medical field is full of scam artists, and the American public is being ripped off. Funny, but my grandparents never had to deal with such nonsense, and despite living in an era where "technology" hadn’t advanced to its current state, they all lived to a ripe old age. I should be so lucky. What any of this has to do with golf, I’m not sure. Randy
Response:
Earlier this week, i gave several seminars at one of my clients on heart disease and prevention. Would like to share some of the material. It is very provocative and goes against a lot of current thinking. I know this is a bit OT, but very worthwhile. Below are some general points i discussed that hopefully will stimulate some of you to research this important topic further
So are you telling us that someone paid you to come "share" this made-up crap with them? I guess there really are suckers born every minute. I just hope none of them up and quits their blood-pressure meds and end up having a stroke or dying. Brent Hutto
Response:
question everything your doctor says and prescibes…these guys are not gods and they have agendas other than your personal health and well being. Take the same amount of time in picking a physican that you would picking and being fitted for a new set of clubs…your life depends on it
So don’t believe anything your doctor says but do believe medical advice you read on a newsgroup and a GOLF newsgroup at that. Sounds like a plan… Brent Hutto
Response:
Today’s doctors would rather send you to a hospital or clinic to have tests done, x-rays taken, tubes run down you, etc., etc., all in the name of "proper medical procedure."
{snip} Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the motivation. It’s all about money. Ever since MDs have been forced to accept co-payments at a lower rate than they’d always charged in the past, they have to find other ways to recover the lost revenue.
{snip} Get real, Randy. Sure, there are less-than-scrupulous doctors just as there are less-than-scrupulous people in any other profession. But the majority of them are making an honest effort to do the best they can for their patients. Doctors don’t like it any more than you or I that insurance companies have such a stranglehold on health-care in this country. The insurance companies make it harder, not easier, to do advanced testing. With most doctors, the tests are not about co-pays, they’re about things like "extraordinary procedures, "state-of-the-art", "standard practice", "best practice". The insurance companies have pretty specific criteria for most procedures. Doctors want information, and they need to jump through hoops justifying their reasons. Tests are used to confirm or reject. They are used to discover and explain. They are used for a variety of reasons. You seem to imply that information is secondary and income is the real motivation. That’s just not true. Doctors primarily use testing to 1) get the best info available on your medical condition, 2) to err on the side of "too much information." Doctors – for the most part – are reasonably intelligent, highly-trained, and skilled human beings. That makes their "best guess" about your condition better than most people’s, but they’re not perfect. If your doc says "It doesn’t look like anything serious. I don’t think you need that $800 test." and sends you home where you die of some weird lung infection, what do you suppose happens? Neither the patient’s family, their attorneys, nor their juries give a damn about why he did it. They don’t even care that doc’s diagnosis may have been reasonable. They will only care that doc knew additional testing might have confirmed or denied his diagnosis. That’s guaranteed. So, rather than condemn all physicians as greedy, money-grubbing charlatans, perhaps we should spread some of that animus around the insurance industry, the legal profession, engineering – all those bio engineers do pretty well, and I’m sure lots more. We also need to take observe the patient who takes no responsibility for his own well-being, and who needs to hold someone else accountable for any unpleasantness in his life. Regardless of the facts. My $.02 Dave
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Earlier this week, i gave several seminars at one of my clients on heart disease and prevention. Would like to share some of the material. It is very provocative and goes against a lot of current thinking. I know this is a bit OT, but very worthwhile. Below are some general points i discussed that hopefully will stimulate some of you to research this important topic further 1. Animals generally do not get heart attacks Animals generally do not have the vitamin deficiences that humans have. Most notable is Vitamin C , which many species of animals produce in their own bodies. Human beings cannot produce a single molecule of Vitamin C. The body reservoir of Vitamin C in humans is ten to one hundred times lower than the Vitamin C levels in animals. Vitamin C contributes in many ways to prevention of heart disease by contributing to the optimum production of collagen molecules which stabilize the blood vessel walls. A stable blood vessel wall does not allow atheroschlerotic deposits to develop. Did you ever notice the plentiful vitamins and minerals on the back of a dog food bag. Many, many vitamins and trace minerals. Why are these manufacturers so interested in keeping your pets healthy. The reason is simply that the pet business is a huge industry and they have a vested interest in keeping your pet well. If animals had vitamin deficiecy issues, they would be constantly sick like we are and it would represent a significant expense to maintain their health care costs. If Fido stays well, you will replace Fido when he dies, buy him dog food, toys, leashes, and all the other goodies to keep the industry prosperous. Now compare Fido’s food to ours. Of course ours is more palatable, but much less nutritious and devoid of the important cardiprotective vitamins and minerals 2. Europeans: Less Heart Attacks the European diet is no more healthy than the American diet, yet in many European countries, less heart disease. the reason are higher blood levels of Vitamins C, E, and A, consumption of wine and olive oil rich in bioflavanoids and Vitamin E. Antioxidants as these and others will serve to protect the blood vessels from damaging environmental and dietary contaminants. In addition, the "average" European walks a lot more than the average American. There is a decreased dependency on the automobile. Obesity rates in European and most Asian nations is far less than the US. However, increasing Westernization, especially in Japan, China, and other nations is seeing a reversal of this trend 3. As a general rule, "thin" blood is generally better than "thick" blood. By thin blood, we mean making the blood less clottable. If the blood is less likely to clot, it is less likely to form clots that may cause heart attacks and stroke. Ways to keep your blood "thin" include herbs as garlic and cayenne, vitamins and minerals, taking a daily aspirin, and a variety of vegetables. in addition, a regular exercise regimen promotes optimal circulation of blood throughout the body. 4. Don’t trust everything your doctor says. They have incentives to write prescriptions and have no time, knowlege, or patience to sit down with you and discuss holistic health issues. There are ways to reduce cholesterol and BP, without medicine. Remember that a lot of medicines prescribed for BP have systemic affects. For example, beta blockers do more than just affect BP or heart rate. Anti-cholesterol meds can have adverse GI affects. In time, the body becomes resistant to some BP meds and it is not uncommon to be on 3-4 blood pressure meds in several years. In addition, there have been cancer links between some cardiovascular drugs and cancer. There is also a lot of evidence that these medicines affect the immune system and the ability of the body to repair itself and fight off disease. There is so much good information available on scientifically proven ways to control BP and cholesterol. Prescriptions should not always be used as a first line management tool and be wary of any physician whose first response is taking out the RX pad. Remember that the manufacturers of cardiovascular drugs stand to loose over $150 billion dollars a year if the consumer gets smart..so they will continue to propigate false information to make you think that their way is the optimal way to manage BP and coronary artery disease. 5. The dietary connection in heart disease is overstated. It has given rise to a multi billion dollar industry of fad foods and anti-cholesterol drugs. Many animals have significantly higher levels of cholesterol in their blood stream. Bears, for example, average cholesterol levels over 400 milligrams per decileter. Yet, bears are found to have substantially higher levels of Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants in their bloodstream. Cholesterol becomes a risk factor only in the event that the coronary artery walls are weakened by vitamin deficiency, diabetes, drug abuse, smoking, or other risk factors 5. Sugar/Eggs/Milk: VERY VERY BAD. There are no beneifical health effects of consuming processed sugar and you should make a conscious effort to avoid it or reduce your intake, In addition, humans are the only animals that eat eggs as a regular staple. In additon, we are the only animals that consume milk beyond infancy. Milk was not meant to be a beverage. It is food for the infant who cannot initially digest regular foods and provides the transfer of certain immunological factors from the mother to infant. There is a lot of good information available on the adverse health effects of eggs and milk. 6. Smoking. A very difficult habit to break indeed. Smoking in time decreases your lung capacity and reduces the amount of oxygenated blood circulating throughout your body. If you have predisposing factors toward heart disease, smoking may accelerate deterioration. In addition, nicotine is a powerful vasoconstricor and will exacerbate an already underlying BP problem. Smoking cessation is a wonderful accomplishment, although very hard. There are a lot of resources available to those that need help. We spend so much time worrying about our golf swings, equipment, watching the pro’s on TV. It is so much fun indeed. Yet, do we even spend a fraction of our time evaluating our health practices and coming up with goals that enhance our logevity , ultimatley giving us many more years out there on the course. Golf is no fun if you are out of breath after every swing or have angina every three holes. Take stock of yourselves, your lifestyle, and make some enhancements. Learn about holistic health issues and most importantly, and i mean most importantly, question everything your doctor says and prescibes…these guys are not gods and they have agendas other than your personal health and well being. Take the same amount of time in picking a physican that you would picking and being fitted for a new set of clubs…your life depends on it Eric
See six feet under on HBO. Still the end result. Eat drink and be merry and back to golf 
Response:
Well said, Dave. Thanks. Peter – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Today’s doctors would rather send you to a hospital or clinic to have tests done, x-rays taken, tubes run down you, etc., etc., all in the name of "proper medical procedure." {snip} Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the motivation. It’s all about money. Ever since MDs have been forced to accept co-payments at a lower rate than they’d always charged in the past, they have to find other ways to recover the lost revenue. {snip} Get real, Randy. Sure, there are less-than-scrupulous doctors just as there are less-than-scrupulous people in any other profession. But the majority of them are making an honest effort to do the best they can for their patients. Doctors don’t like it any more than you or I that insurance companies have such a stranglehold on health-care in this country. The insurance companies make it harder, not easier, to do advanced testing. With most doctors, the tests are not about co-pays, they’re about things like "extraordinary procedures, "state-of-the-art", "standard practice", "best practice". The insurance companies have pretty specific criteria for most procedures. Doctors want information, and they need to jump through hoops justifying their reasons. Tests are used to confirm or reject. They are used to discover and explain. They are used for a variety of reasons. You seem to imply that information is secondary and income is the real motivation. That’s just not true. Doctors primarily use testing to 1) get the best info available on your medical condition, 2) to err on the side of "too much information." Doctors – for the most part – are reasonably intelligent, highly-trained, and skilled human beings. That makes their "best guess" about your condition better than most people’s, but they’re not perfect. If your doc says "It doesn’t look like anything serious. I don’t think you need that $800 test." and sends you home where you die of some weird lung infection, what do you suppose happens? Neither the patient’s family, their attorneys, nor their juries give a damn about why he did it. They don’t even care that doc’s diagnosis may have been reasonable. They will only care that doc knew additional testing might have confirmed or denied his diagnosis. That’s guaranteed. So, rather than condemn all physicians as greedy, money-grubbing charlatans, perhaps we should spread some of that animus around the insurance industry, the legal profession, engineering – all those bio engineers do pretty well, and I’m sure lots more. We also need to take observe the patient who takes no responsibility for his own well-being, and who needs to hold someone else accountable for any unpleasantness in his life. Regardless of the facts. My $.02 Dave
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Today’s doctors would rather send you to a hospital or clinic to have tests done, x-rays taken, tubes run down you, etc., etc., all in the name of "proper medical procedure." {snip} Well, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out the motivation. It’s all about money. Ever since MDs have been forced to accept co-payments at a lower rate than they’d always charged in the past, they have to find other ways to recover the lost revenue. {snip} Get real, Randy. Sure, there are less-than-scrupulous doctors just as there are less-than-scrupulous people in any other profession. But the majority of them are making an honest effort to do the best they can for their patients. Doctors don’t like it any more than you or I that insurance companies have such a stranglehold on health-care in this country. The insurance companies make it harder, not easier, to do advanced testing. With most doctors, the tests are not about co-pays, they’re about things like "extraordinary procedures, "state-of-the-art", "standard practice", "best practice". The insurance companies have pretty specific criteria for most procedures. Doctors want information, and they need to jump through hoops justifying their reasons. Tests are used to confirm or reject. They are used to discover and explain. They are used for a variety of reasons. You seem to imply that information is secondary and income is the real motivation. That’s just not true. Doctors primarily use testing to 1) get the best info available on your medical condition, 2) to err on the side of "too much information." Doctors – for the most part – are reasonably intelligent, highly-trained, and skilled human beings. That makes their "best guess" about your condition better than most people’s, but they’re not perfect. If your doc says "It doesn’t look like anything serious. I don’t think you need that $800 test." and sends you home where you die of some weird lung infection, what do you suppose happens? Neither the patient’s family, their attorneys, nor their juries give a damn about why he did it. They don’t even care that doc’s diagnosis may have been reasonable. They will only care that doc knew additional testing might have confirmed or denied his diagnosis. That’s guaranteed. So, rather than condemn all physicians as greedy, money-grubbing charlatans, perhaps we should spread some of that animus around the insurance industry, the legal profession, engineering – all those bio engineers do pretty well, and I’m sure lots more. We also need to take observe the patient who takes no responsibility for his own well-being, and who needs to hold someone else accountable for any unpleasantness in his life. Regardless of the facts. My $.02
Yes. These posts appear to be for the US posters here Anyway, isn’t this a golf talk forum?
Response:
Please move this crap to alt.health.folklore. Food is nothing but chemicals in various forms such as milk. It isn’t milk per se, but too much or the wrong kind that might be unhealthful. We have endless Perfect Impact and Perfect Pedofile threads. We don’t need endless Perfect Health threads
Response:
Thanks for all your comments and personal e-mails on this subject. Some of you agree and some disagree, and quite intensely i may add. The bottom line is that golf is a physical activity and for many of us, a form of physical fitness. We do it for exercise, in addition to the fact that it is just plain "fun". Being "heart healthy" will be one way of assuring many more years of golf. i am not against doctors, hospitals, or medicines. In fact, i am very much a part of the medical establishement. But my message is simply that prevention is always better than treatement . With all the cost cutting going on, doctors are busier than ever and very few have the time to sit down with you and go over holistic medicine and postive lifestyle changes. I believe in questioning doctors and questioning the merits of certain treatments. It is our bodies, and if a mistake is made or bad judgement exercised, it is not like you can go to Walmart and buy a new part. eric
Response:
Rick, I sense you are somewhat cynical about some of the things i have said. The material i relate comes from continual research, seminars, and working with health care professionals across a variety of disciplines for many years. There are many materials and websites i could refer you to. As a start, i would refer you to a book by Dr. Matthias Rath entitled "Why Animals Get Heart Attacks But People Do". FYI, Dr. Rath is a world renowed physician and scientist who has done extensive research on cardiovascular disease prevention and treatment. I could refer you to many other publications, but i find this one to be absolutely fascinating and very readable. If you are truly interested in learning more about this area or investigating further some of the information i have related, please e-mail me personally with your address and i will be DELIGHTED to send you a copy of Dr. Rath’s book….i have an extra copy which i would be happy to share with you. In addition, i can send you research material on any other areas of which you have interest. My library is extensive to say the least. Rick, i am glad you are cynical. When it comes to what anyone says about our bodies and how to prevent or treat diease, we should question. There is a lot of good doctors and hospitals do, but the system is stressed bigtime in terms of finances and qualified personnel. And unfortunately, it is not going to get better. So it is up to us to look at prevention more than ever, rather than treatment. Eric
Response:
So are you telling us that someone paid you to come "share" this made-up crap with them? I guess there really are suckers born every minute. I just hope none of them up and quits their blood-pressure meds and end up having a stroke or dying.
Brent, Not only does someone pay me to share this "made-up" crap with them, but i get invited back by many of my clients year after year to do it again. What people like about this material is that they find it empowering, and it is just not the "same old stuff". I have nothing against the medical establishment, but it is not perfect and i do not particularly like the emphasis on treatment, rather than prevention. Medicines are often great, but there are other options also…i just want people to know that they have the right to ask questions and explore alternatives. I do not tell people what to do, that is the job of their doctors, but as a health educator i like to give people enough information so at least they are aware that options exist and they can ask intelligent, relevant questions. A few years back, my blood work showed a cholesterol of 220. A bit on the high side for sure. Immediatley, my physician wanted to start me on Mevacor. He simply wrote the prescription and told me "it would help". He didn’t tell me that Mevacor has potential GI side effects or that i should periodically get a liver function blood test done. What i didn’t like also, was that the physician didn’t give me alternatives. Like many physicians, he just assumed i would take the presciption and go my merry way, like most "good" patients do. this physician didn’t know that i was also a health care provider and thank goodness i was and knew that just abruptly handing over a prescription for a problem was an overly simplistic approach to a more complex problem. Needless to say, i didn’t keep this physican long and since have found one that is truly caring, empathetic, and more holistic in his approach. Brent, i am sorry you think i made this stuff up. Very sorry indeed, as my intent is to simply share information that might make a difference in the lives of others. This is entirely too serious a matter to be playing around with. Please do some independent research on your own and you will see that a lot of what i have said is readily verifiable. This forum is not the place for a deep discussion of this matter, i just wanted to share some highlights that i thought would be beneficial. If you wish to engage in a further dialogue, would love to it privately You feel free to write me personally at any time best wishes to you Eric
Response:
A few years back, my blood work showed a cholesterol of 220. A bit on the high side for sure. Immediatley, my physician wanted to start me on Mevacor. He simply wrote the prescription and told me "it would help". He didn’t tell me that Mevacor has potential GI side effects or that i should periodically get a liver function blood test done. What i didn’t like also, was that the physician didn’t give me alternatives. Like many physicians, he just assumed i would take the presciption and go my merry way, like most "good" patients do. this physician didn’t know that i was also a health care provider and thank goodness i was and knew that just abruptly handing over a prescription for a problem was an overly simplistic approach to a more complex problem. Needless to say, i didn’t keep this physican long and since have found one that is truly caring, empathetic, and more holistic in his approach.
Yep, it sounds like the first physician you mentioned wasn’t a very good one. I can’t imagine my internist being so cavalier as to throw meds at someone with no consideration to the rest of the factors involved. However, having experienced one doctor with too narrow a perspective does not invalidate the entire medical community’s understanding of heart disease as you seem to imply. The generally accepted medical model of heart disease does not lead to automatic usage of certain drugs to the exclusion of lifestyle counseling and case-by-case evaluation of side effects and so forth. That’s a straw-man argument. Brent, i am sorry you think i made this stuff up. Very sorry indeed, as my intent is to simply share information that might make a difference in the lives of others. This is entirely too serious a matter to be playing around with. Please do some independent research on your own and you will see that a lot of what i have said is readily verifiable. This forum is not the place for a deep discussion of this matter, i just wanted to share some highlights that i thought would be beneficial. If you wish to engage in a further dialogue, would love to it privately You feel free to write me personally at any time
Sorry to be insulting but once you quoted serum cholesterol levels of bears and dogs it was obvious there’s no chance you know what you’re talking about. That’s patent nonsense. I know a great deal about heart disease and a little about health education but I wouldn’t consider spamming newsgroups with my own advice on the matter. Brent Hutto
Response:
1. Animals generally do not get heart attacks
I’m an animal who did get a heart attack. Of course I was older than most animals when it happened.
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Sorry to be insulting but once you quoted serum cholesterol levels of bears and dogs it was obvious there’s no chance you know what you’re talking about. That’s patent nonsense. I know a great deal about heart disease and a little about health education but I wouldn’t consider spamming newsgroups with my own advice on the matter. Brent Hutto
Brent, first off, all my material that i present at my corporate seminars is reviewed by a cardiologist friend for accuracy and relevance. He is a holistic practioner, so if you say that i don’t know what i am saying, you are also saying that a cardiologist with one of the top practices in my area doesn’t know what he is talking about either. He will be very flattered with your assessment, i am sure. A lot of what we know about heart disease started with research from animals. Whether it be medicines or surgery, we started with animals, drew general conclusions, and then moved on to humans. Many medical advances have ocurred because of things we have learned from animals . They have a lot of adaptive mechanisms animals that we don’t and understanding these mechanisms can potentially enhance our lives. I’m sorry you consider what i say spam, but i’m not selling anything or trying to jam my beliefs down anyone’s throats. I’m am also sorry you are so closed minded and feel the need to insult..you could have just ignored the post or gave some honest feedback, but there was no need to insult. My intent was good, and i’ll say again, if you take the time to research what i have said, you will find it to be readily verfifiable. I have no interest in trying to sell you on my ideas, so let’s let it drop. But e-mail me privatley if you wish and i would be happy to discuss further any of this material…it is indeed very interesting take care Brent. Eric .
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Uh, Eric? Encouraging golfers to prolong their lives and have better health habits, is not condusive to my plan of having them all fattened up, and arterially clogged, by age 40. Mind your own business.
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treatments. It is our bodies, and if a mistake is made or bad judgement exercised, it is not like you can go to Walmart and buy a new part. eric
I think this depends on how much money you have.
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Why animals don’t get heart attacks: – they don’t have to work – they don’t overeat – they don’t get drunk – they don’t take the car when they can walk – they don’t eat cheese, or bacon or eggs, or deep fried foods – they don’t watch the news – they don’t have to save for retirement – they don’t listen to their vets
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Earlier this week, i gave several seminars at one of my clients on heart disease and prevention. Would like to share some of the material. It is very provocative and goes against a lot of current thinking. I know this is a bit OT, but very worthwhile. Below are some general points i discussed that hopefully will stimulate some of you to research this important topic further 1. Animals generally do not get heart attacks Animals generally do not have the vitamin deficiences that humans have. Most notable is Vitamin C , which many species of animals produce in their own bodies. Human beings cannot produce a single molecule of Vitamin C. The body reservoir of Vitamin C in humans is ten to one hundred times lower than the Vitamin C levels in animals. Vitamin C contributes in many ways to prevention of heart disease by contributing to the optimum production of collagen molecules which stabilize the blood vessel walls. A stable blood vessel wall does not allow atheroschlerotic deposits to develop. Did you ever notice the plentiful vitamins and minerals on the back of a dog food bag. Many, many vitamins and trace minerals. Why are these manufacturers so interested in keeping your pets healthy. The reason is simply that the pet business is a huge industry and they have a vested interest in keeping your pet well. If animals had vitamin deficiecy issues, they would be constantly sick like we are and it would represent a significant expense to maintain their health care costs. If Fido stays well, you will replace Fido when he dies, buy him dog food, toys, leashes, and all the other goodies to keep the industry prosperous. Now compare Fido’s food to ours. Of course ours is more palatable, but much less nutritious and devoid of the important cardiprotective vitamins and minerals 2. Europeans: Less Heart Attacks the European diet is no more healthy than the American diet, yet in many European countries, less heart disease. the reason are higher blood levels of Vitamins C, E, and A, consumption of wine and olive oil rich in bioflavanoids and Vitamin E. Antioxidants as these and others will serve to protect the blood vessels from damaging environmental and dietary contaminants. In addition, the "average" European walks a lot more than the average American. There is a decreased dependency on the automobile. Obesity rates in European and most Asian nations is far less than the US. However, increasing Westernization, especially in Japan, China, and other nations is seeing a reversal of this trend 3. As a general rule, "thin" blood is generally better than "thick" blood. By thin blood, we mean making the blood less clottable. If the blood is less likely to clot, it is less likely to form clots that may cause heart attacks and stroke. Ways to keep your blood "thin" include herbs as garlic and cayenne, vitamins and minerals, taking a daily aspirin, and a variety of vegetables. in addition, a regular exercise regimen promotes optimal circulation of blood throughout the body. 4. Don’t trust everything your doctor says. They have incentives to write prescriptions and have no time, knowlege, or patience to sit down with you and discuss holistic health issues. There are ways to reduce cholesterol and BP, without medicine. Remember that a lot of medicines prescribed for BP have systemic affects. For example, beta blockers do more than just affect BP or heart rate. Anti-cholesterol meds can have adverse GI affects. In time, the body becomes resistant to some BP meds and it is not uncommon to be on 3-4 blood pressure meds in several years. In addition, there have been cancer links between some cardiovascular drugs and cancer. There is also a lot of evidence that these medicines affect the immune system and the ability of the body to repair itself and fight off disease. There is so much good information available on scientifically proven ways to control BP and cholesterol. Prescriptions should not always be used as a first line management tool and be wary of any physician whose first response is taking out the RX pad. Remember that the manufacturers of cardiovascular drugs stand to loose over $150 billion dollars a year if the consumer gets smart..so they will continue to propigate false information to make you think that their way is the optimal way to manage BP and coronary artery disease. 5. The dietary connection in heart disease is overstated. It has given rise to a multi billion dollar industry of fad foods and anti-cholesterol drugs. Many animals have significantly higher levels of cholesterol in their blood stream. Bears, for example, average cholesterol levels over 400 milligrams per decileter. Yet, bears are found to have substantially higher levels of Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants in their bloodstream. Cholesterol becomes a risk factor only in the event that the coronary artery walls are weakened by vitamin deficiency, diabetes, drug abuse, smoking, or other risk factors 5. Sugar/Eggs/Milk: VERY VERY BAD. There are no beneifical health effects of consuming processed sugar and you should make a conscious effort to avoid it or reduce your intake, In addition, humans are the only animals that eat eggs as a regular staple. In additon, we are the only animals that consume milk beyond infancy. Milk was not meant to be a beverage. It is food for the infant who cannot initially digest regular foods and provides the transfer of certain immunological factors from the mother to infant. There is a lot of good information available on the adverse health effects of eggs and milk. 6. Smoking. A very difficult habit to break indeed. Smoking in time decreases your lung capacity and reduces the amount of oxygenated blood circulating throughout your body. If you have predisposing factors toward heart disease, smoking may accelerate deterioration. In addition, nicotine is a powerful vasoconstricor and will exacerbate an already underlying BP problem. Smoking cessation is a wonderful accomplishment, although very hard. There are a lot of resources available to those that need help. We spend so much time worrying about our golf swings, equipment, watching the pro’s on TV. It is so much fun indeed. Yet, do we even spend a fraction of our time evaluating our health practices and coming up with goals that enhance our logevity , ultimatley giving us many more years out there on the course. Golf is no fun if you are out of breath after every swing or have angina every three holes. Take stock of yourselves, your lifestyle, and make some enhancements. Learn about holistic health issues and most importantly, and i mean most importantly, question everything your doctor says and prescibes…these guys are not gods and they have agendas other than your personal health and well being. Take the same amount of time in picking a physican that you would picking and being fitted for a new set of clubs…your life depends on it Eric
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Nobody should ever give or take medicaladvice over the net andwhat is right for one person may not be right for another. We generally know ourselves what we should be doing and what we shouldn’t
I think this is more OnT than one would believe at first! — bill-o