Tag: cholesterol

• The Myth of Good and Bad Cholesterol

  According to William Roberts, the long-serving editor or the Journal of Cardiology, the only direct atherosclerotic risk factor is high cholesterol. The goal for total cholesterol level is < 150 mg/dL [3.9 mmol/L] and for LDL cholesterol it is < 70 mg/dL [1.8 mmol/L].

  Atherosclerosis is not a disease of carnivores, and it is not possible to produce atherosclerosis in carnivores [dogs, cats, tigers, lions, etc.].

  We are not natural carnivores. We evolved to eat plants, fruits, and starches!

  It is generally accepted that HDL Cholesterol absorbs cholesterol in the blood and carries it back to the liver where if is then flushed it from the body. High levels of HDL cholesterol can lower your risk for heart disease and stroke.

  However, excess cholesterol can only occur in herbivores AND ALL animals have HDL Cholesterol. The purpose of HDL Cholesterol is NOT to flush the excess from the blood.

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  20 June 2026

• PCSK9 Gene – Reduces Cholesterol and Heart Disease Mortality

  High levels of cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol are associated with a higher risk of heart disease.

  Popular commentators frequently claim that cholesterol is irrelevant in causing heart disease and suggest that diets high in carbohydrate such as rice, potatoes, wheat (including whole-grain wheat), yams, millet and buckwheat are responsible.

  PCSK9 is a gene that reduces the life-time level of cholesterol. PCSK9 is an abbreviation for "proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 serine protease" gene which is why it is much more convenient to refer it as the PCSK9 gene.

  The authors' conclusion is the "data indicate that moderate lifelong reduction in the plasma level of LDL cholesterol is associated with a substantial reduction in the incidence of coronary events."

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  28 March 2024

• Validation of a Whole-food, Plant-based Diet

  Dr James Muecke is the Australian of the Year in 2020 which was awarded for his work as an eye- surgeon and his work in preventing blindness. He is trying to convince Australians to eat more meat, eggs and dairy. Australia is ranked number 2 in meat consumption, just behind the United States but in front of Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and New Zealand.

  Muecke states that we should be eating more eggs, cheese, meat and dark chocolate to minimise diabetes, its associated blindness (diabetic retinopathy) and diabetic neuropathy.

  Muecke has declared that we need to “Declare war on type 2 diabetes and cut back on sugar” in order to reduce the incidence of blindness.

  He believes that it is the introduction of sugary drinks and highly processed foods are the cause of diabetes – not a high-fat, high-protein diet as shown by numerous papers dating back to 1927.

  Dr Muecke was interviewed by Keith Wheeler for a FarmOnline National article. Wheeler summed up his article with, “Dr Muecke faces a challenge to defeat type 2 diabetes, but if people eat more meat and dairy it would be a good start. And dark chocolate. That’s the sort of report I like!”

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  Muecke refers to a 2019 article in the Annals of Internal Medicine, Unprocessed Red Meat and Processed Meat Consumption: Dietary Guideline Recommendations From the Nutritional Recommendations (NutriRECS) Consortium to support his beliefs.

  Walter Willett, the Harvard professor of epidemiology and nutrition, called the study “the most egregious abuse of data I’ve ever seen.”

  The publications produced by the NutriRECS organisation are concerned with proving that red meat consumption is healthy – or at least not detrimental.

  In a 30 minute address to the National Press Club on 1st December 2020, Dr Muecke said the Australian Dietary Guidelines were flawed, biased at critical multiple levels, conflicted by industry funding and borne out of weak and unreliable epidemiological data that was “certainly not as robust as we have been led to believe”.

  Muecke states that “There now being over 100 controlled clinical trials to support the fact that a very low calorie diet or low carbohydrate diet works to either prevent Type 2 diabetes or to put it into remission.”.

  There are no references given to these 100 controlled clinical trials.

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  7 January 2024

• Videos

  The Game Changers and These Athletes are Powered By Plants are two videos that demonstrate the impact that a whole-food, plant-based diet has not only on our own health but also for the environment and the animals that we share the earth with.

  The Game Changers features 3 very unwell people whose lives were essentially over at a relatively young age. Their transformation within a very short period of time are examples of what can be achieved by changing what we consume.

  In the video, How Foods Affect Hormones, Neal Barnard tells the story of Katherine Lawrence who was an Air Force officer working as an aerospace engineer in Iraq. In 2003, she was one of the first group of people in Iraq, building air bases.

  Cheese was one of her favourite foods, so when she returned from Iraq she devoured large quantities of cheese and cheese dishes.

  As a result she gained a substantial amount of weight and started getting pain in her abdomen that become much worse over time. A doctor performed a laparoscopy – the body is examined through a scope inserted into an incision below the belly button. This resulted in a diagnosis of endometriosis.

  According to the WHO, "there is no known way to prevent endometriosis. There is no cure, but its symptoms can be treated with medicines".

  Her doctor arranged for a hysterectomy, a life-changing operation preventing her from having children. While she was waiting for her operation she started a strict whole-food, plant-based diet with no added oils (important) to manage her pain which was becoming unbearable. When she had the operation 6 weeks later, her endometriosis had disappeared. Her doctor refused to believe that the diet caused the change, preferring to believe in a miracle despite evidence in peer-reviewed medical journals that an excess of estrogens can result in endometriosis.

  Neal also tells the story of remarkable story of Dr. Anthony (Tony) Sattilaro who in 1978 at the age of 48, was diagnosed with cancerous growths in his skull, right shoulder, prostate, backbone, sternum and genitals. At the time, he was the president of Methodist Hospital and was told that he had about one year to live. Through a chance meeting he cured himself of this incurable cancer within a year by eating a macrobiotic diet and adopting their lifestyle.

  After 10 years Tony decided he was cured and decided he could revert back to his old habits. Read about the conseqeuences - sometimes you only have one chance.

  See Dr Caldwell Esselstyn's video and angiogram to see how a severely constricted artery can be repaired - on a whole-food, plant-based diet with no added oils.

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  7 October 2023

• Wise Nutrition Coaching Home Page

  To Eat Fully Consciously Connects Us To The Miracle Of All Life

  The diets that are optimal for our health are also the best for the environment and for the animals that we share the earth with.

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  20 November 2022

• Advantages of a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet

  Many popular books, magazines and websites claim that we have bee following expert medical advice since the 1970s and we are unhealthier than ever. They declare that the idea that saturated fats and cholesterol cause heart disease is the greatest scientific deception of our times and that a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet is essential for our well-being.

  These views have become accepted as the truth. Instead of informing our society about healthy dietary choices, they are causing widespread harm.

  These views are based on myths, fabrications and a distortion of facts.

  However, standard medical advice has not been helpful in reducing the rising prevalence of obesity, diabetes and autoimmune diseases. This advice often contains guidance such as “everything in moderation” and that we need to be “practical” and “flexible”. Advice that is not very constructive.

  Fortunately, the diets that are optimal for our health are also the best for the environment and for the animals that we share the earth with.

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  18 September 2022

• Is It Healthy? What are we Comparing

  When we ask the question Is it Healthy?, we need to consider is it healthy compared to what.

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  1 January 2022

• The PURE Study Myths

  Dr James Muecke is the Australian of the Year in 2020 which was awarded for his work as an eye-surgeon and his work in preventing blindness.

  Muecke believes that we should be eating more eggs, cheese, meat and dark chocolate to minimise diabetes, its associated blindness (diabetic retinopathy) and diabetic neuropathy. Peripheral diabetic neuropathy is nerve damage of the limbs that is caused by diabetes. 50% of adults with type 2 diabetes have peripheral neuropathy. It can result in pain, numbness and an increase in sensitivity. Diabetes account for more than 80% of amputations.

  Muecke cites the PURE Study to justify his low-carbohydrate, high-fat, animal-based diet.

  The PURE Study is an observational study in 27 countries that examined 225,000 people. The study period is 20 years.

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  3 September 2021

• The French Paradox – The Myths

  “Everyone knows” about the French Paradox – that is, the French consume lots of saturated fat in the form of meat, butter, cheese and eggs and yet have a low risk of heart disease. This proves that the health advice regarding the role of fats and saturated fats in causing heart disease is wrong.

  The French Paradox has only been with us for a short period of time but it quickly resonated with the general population – we no longer need to be concerned about the amount of meat, butter, cheese and eggs that we consume.

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  1 October 2020

• Lyon Diet Heart Study

  The Lyon Diet-Heart Study was a

  “randomized, single-blind secondary prevention trial aimed at testing whether a Mediterranean-type diet, compared with a prudent Western-type diet, may reduce recurrence after a first myocardial infarction.”

  The study consisted of 605 patients who had recovered from a myocardial infarction at a hospital in southern France. The experimental group emphasised “more bread, more root vegetables and green vegetables, more fish, less meat (beef, lamb and pork to be replaced with poultry), no day without fruit, and butter and cream to be replaced with margarine” which was high in alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid).

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  23 June 2020