Biscuits and Gravy 19. October 2012 William Davis (5) Biscuits and gravy: the ultimate comfort food . . . one you thought you’d never have again! The familiar dish of breakfast and holiday meals is recreated here with a delicious gravy that you can pour over piping hot biscuits. Because it contains no wheat or other unhealthy thickeners like cornstarch made with “junk” carbohydrates, there should be no blood sugar or insulin problems with this dish, nor joint pain, edema, acid reflux, mind “fog,” or dandruff—life is good without wheat! While the gravy is also dairy-free for those with dairy intolerances, the biscuits are not, as there are cheese and butter in the biscuits, both of which are optional, e.g., leave out the cheese and replace butter with coconut or other oil. Makes 10 biscuitsGravy:2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil1 pound loose sausage meat2½ cups beef broth¼ cup coconut flour½ cup coconut milk (canned variety)1 tablespoon onion powder1 teaspoon garlic powder½ teaspoon sea saltDash ground black pepperBiscuits:1 cup shredded cheddar (or other) cheese2 cups almond meal/flour¼ cup coconut flour¾ teaspoon baking soda½ teaspoon sea salt2 large eggs4 ounces butter, melted (or other oil, e.g., extra-light olive, coconut, walnut)To make gravy:In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté sausage, breaking up as it browns. Cook until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink.Turn heat up to medium to high and pour in beef broth. Heat just short of boiling, then turn down to low heat. Stir in coconut flour, little by little, over 3-5 minutes; stop adding when gravy obtains desired thickness. Pour in coconut milk and stir in well. Add onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Add additional salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and set aside. To make biscuits:Preheat oven to 325° F. In food chopper or processor, pulse shredded cheese to finer, granular consistency. Pour cheese into large bowl, then add almond meal, coconut flour, baking soda, and salt and mix thoroughly. Add the eggs and butter or oil and mix thoroughly to yield thick dough. Spoon out dough into 10 or so ¾-inch thick mounds onto a parchment paper-lined baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly browned and toothpick withdraws dry. Ladle gravy onto biscuits just before serving.
The Perfect Carnivore 2. October 2012 William Davis (19) People who carry the gene for lipoprotein(a), Lp(a), tend to be:--Intelligent--The bell curve of IQ is shifted rightward by a substantial margin. --Athletic--With unusual capacity for long-endurance effort, thus the many marathoners, triathletes, and long-distance bikers with Lp(a). --Tolerant to dehydration--Tolerant to starvation--Resistant to tropical infectionsIn other words, people with Lp(a) have an evolutionary survival advantage. More than other people, they make clever, capable hunters who can run for hours to chase down prey, not requiring food or water, and less likely to succumb to the infections of the wild. In a primitive setting, people with Lp(a) are survivors. Evolution has likely served to select Lp(a) people for their superior survival characteristics. But wait a minute: Isn't Lp(a) a risk for heart attack and stroke? Don't we call Lp(a) "the most aggressive known cause for heart disease and stroke that nobody gives a damn about"? Yes. So what allows this evolutionary advantage for survival to become a survival disadvantage?Carbohydrates, especially those from grains and sugars. Let me explain. More so than other people, Lp(a) people express the small LDL pattern readily when they consume carbohydrates such as those from "healthy whole grains." Recall that the gene for Lp(a) is really the gene for apoprotein(a), the protein that, once produced by the liver and released into the bloodstream, binds to an available LDL particle to create the combination Lp(a) molecule. If the LDL particle component of Lp(a) is small, it confers greater atherogenicity (greater plaque-causing potential). Thus, carbohydrate consumption makes Lp(a) a more aggressive cause for atherosclerotic plaque. The situation can be made worse by exposure to vegetable oils, such as those from sunflower or corn, which increases production of apo(a). Also, more than other people, Lp(a) people tend to show diabetic tendencies with consumption of carbohydrates. Eat "healthy whole grains," for instance, or if a marathoner carb-loads, he/she will show diabetic-range blood sugars. I have seen long-distance runners or triathletes, for instance, have a 6 ounce container of sugary yogurt and have blood sugars of 200 mg/dl or higher. The extreme exercise provides no protection from the diabetic potential. Because carbohydrates are so destructive to the Lp(a) type, it means that people with this pattern do best by 1) absolutely minimizing exposure to carbohydrates and vegetable oils, ideally grain-free and sugar-free, and 2) rely on a diet rich in fats and proteins. The perfect diet for the Lp(a) type? It would be a diet of feasting on the spoils of the hunt, devouring the wild boar captured and slaughtered and eating the snout, hindquarters, spleen, kidneys, heart, and bone marrow, then eating mushrooms, leaves, nuts, coconut, berries, small rodents, reptiles, fish, birds, and insects when the hunt is unproductive. Capable hunter, survivor, consumer of muscle and organ meats: I call people with Lp(a) "The Perfect Carnivores."
Track Your Plaque in the news 19. September 2012 William Davis (6) The NPR Health Blog contacted me, as they were interested in learning more about health strategies and tools that are being used by individuals without their doctors. The Track Your Plaque website and program came up in their quest, as it is the only program available for self-empowerment in heart disease. Several Track Your Plaque Members spoke up to add their insights. The full text of the article can be viewed here. How's Your Cholesterol? The Crowd Wants To KnowMainstream medicine isn't in favor of self-analysis, or seeking advice from non-professionals, of course. And anyone who does so is running a risk.But there are folks who want to change the course of their heart health with a combination of professional and peer support. Some are bent on tackling the plaque that forms in arteries that can lead to heart disease. They gather online at Track Your Plaque, or "TYP" to the initiates."We test, test, test ... and basically experiment on ourselves and have through trial and error came up with the TYP program, which is tailored to the individual," Patrick Theut, a veteran of the site who tells Shots he has watched his plaque slow, stop and regress.The site was created in 2004 by Bill Davis, a preventive cardiologist in Milwaukee, Wisc. Davis is also the author of Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight and Find Your Path Back to Health, which argues that wheat is addictive and bad for most people's health. Davis recommends eliminating wheat from the diet to most new members of Track Your Plaque."The heart is one of the hardest things to self-manage but when you let people take the reins of control, you get far better results and far fewer catastrophes like heart attacks," Davis tells Shots.Doctors typically give patients diagnosed with heart disease two options: take cholesterol-lowering statin drugs, or make lifestyle changes, like diet. It's usually far easier for both parties — the doctor and the patient — to go with the drugs than manage the much more difficult lifestyle changes, Davis says."Doctors say take the Lipitor, cut the fat and call me if you have chest pain," he explains. "But that's an awful way to manage care."TYP has members submit their scores from heart CT scans, cholesterol values, lipoproteins and other heart health factors to a panel of doctors, nutritionists and exercise specialists. Then they receive advice in the form of an individualized plaque-control program. But the online forum, where users share their results with other members and exchange tips, is where most of the TYP action happens.The community currently has about 2,400 members who pay $39.95 for a quarterly membership, or $89.75 for a yearly membership. Davis says all proceeds go towards maintaining the website.Ilaine Upton is a 60-year-old bankruptcy lawyer from Fairfax, Va., and a TYP member. At a friend's suggestion, Upton decided to get a heart CT scan in July. Her score was higher than it should have been (22 instead of 0), so she decided to get her blood lipids and cholesterol tested, too, and sent a sample off to MyMedLabs.com.She learned that her LDL particle count was over 2,000 ("crazy high," she says), and she posted her results on TYP. Davis advised her that a low-carb diet would reduce it, so she decided to try it.Since July, she says she has had "excellent results" with the program, and her LDL counts are coming down."It would be nice to have a [personal] physician involved in this, but [my insurer] Blue Cross won't pay if you are not symptomatic, and I am trying to prevent becoming symptomatic," says Upton. "I feel very empowered by this knowledge and the ability to take better control of my health by getting feedback on the decisions I make."
Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake 5. September 2012 William Davis (1) This is about as decadent as it gets around here!Here’s a recreation of an old-fashioned coffee cake, a version with a delicious chewy-crunchy streusel topping.I’ve specified xylitol as the sweetener in the topping, as it is the most compatible sweetener for the streusel “crumb” effect and browning.Variations are easy. For example, for an apple pecan coffee cake, add a layer of finely-chopped or sliced apples to the cake batter and topping.Additional potential carbohydrate exposure comes from the garbanzo bean flour and molasses. However, distributed into 10 slices, each slice provides 7.2 grams “net” carbs (total carbs minus fiber), a perfectly tolerable amount. Be careful not to exceed two slices!Yield 10 slicesCake:2½ cups almond flour½ cup garbanzo bean flour1 tablespoon ground cinnamon1 teaspoon baking sodaSweetener equivalent to ¾ cup sugarDash sea salt3 eggs separated3/8 teaspoon cream of tartar1 tablespoon vanilla extract4 ounces butter, meltedJuice of ½ lemonTopping:½ cup almond flour¼ cup pecans, finely chopped1 tablespoon ground cinnamon½ cup xylitol1 tablespoon molasses6 ounces butter, cut into ½-inch widths, at room temperaturePreheat oven to 325º F. Grease bread pan.In bowl, combine almond flour, garbanzo flour, cinnamon, baking soda, sweetener, salt, and mix.In small bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. At low speed, blend in egg yolks, vanilla, melted butter, and lemon juice.Pour liquid mixture into almond mixture and mix thoroughly. Pour into microwave-safe bread pan and microwave on high for 3 minutes. Remove and set aside.To make topping, combine almond flour, pecans, cinnamon, xylitol, and molasses in small bowl and mix. Mix in butterSpread topping on cake. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick withdraws dry.
Recipe: Peanut Butter and Jelly Macaroons 16. August 2012 William Davis (3) If you miss peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, you’re going to absolutely love these peanut butter and jelly macaroons!Not everybody loves the taste or texture of coconut. This issue is solved by the first step: toasting shredded coconut, then reducing them down to a granular consistency. This yields a macaroon consistency without the dominant coconut taste, replaced instead with the flavors of PB & J.I’ve specified liquid stevia as the sweetener, but this is easily replaced by your choice of sweetener. Note that, regardless of which sweetener used, they vary in sweetness from brand to brand and the quantity required to equal the ½ cup of sugar equivalent can vary. It always helps to taste your batter and adjust sweetness. Also, I used Swerve in this recipe, the erythritol-inulin mix that enhances texture, but its use is optional.As written, each macaroon contains just over 3 grams “net” carbohydrates (total carbs minus fiber), meaning you can have several before doing any damage!Makes 24 macaroons3 cups shredded unsweetened coconut2 tablespoons vanilla extract1 teaspoon almond extract¼ cup coconut flour¼ cup dried unsweetened cherries (or other unsweetened berries) 2 tablespoons coconut oil¼ cup natural peanut butter, room temperature2 egg whites½ teaspoon liquid stevia or sweetener equivalent to ½ cup sugar2 tablespoons SwervePreheat oven to 300° F. In large bowl, combine coconut, vanilla and almond extracts, and mix. Spread mixture on baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very lightly browned. Be careful not to burn. Remove and cool. (Leave oven at 300° F.)When cooled, using food chopper, food processor, or coffee grinder, pulse coconut mixture until coconut reduced to consistency of coffee grounds. Pour back into bowl. Stir in coconut flour. Place cherries or other berries in food chopper, food processor, or coffee grinder and pulse until reduced to small granules or paste. Remove with spatula and add to coconut mixture. Set aside. Place egg whites in bowl and whip until frothy and stiff peaks form. In small microwave-safe bowl, combine coconut oil and peanut butter and microwave in 10-second increments until warm (not hot) liquid. Stir in egg whites, followed by stevia and Swerve, and blend thoroughly.Dispense dough onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet using a 1 Cureality | Real People Seeking Real Cures Toggle navigation Home Blog Home Archive Join Now Log in The Big Squeeze 20. June 2008 William Davis (5) Some colleagues of mine brought this scary phenomenon to my attention last evening.As insurance and Medicare reimbursement to doctors and hospitals fall (Medicare is enacting a series of substantial cuts, which will be followed by the private health insurers), you would expect the use of hospital procedures to drop. Makes sense, right? Less money paid per procedure, less incentive to do them. Unfortunately, that's not how it's playing out in the real world. Your neighborhood interventional cardiologist or cardiothoracic surgeon is accustomed to a level of income and lifestyle. That lifestyle is now threatened by shrinking reimbursement. True to the Law of Unintended Consequences, rather than reducing use of procedures, diminishing procedural fees are prompting a good number of practitioners to do more. In other words, if each heart catheterization pays less, why not do more of them, along with more stents, pacemakers, defibrillators, and the like? If four heart catheterizations per day pays less, why not do five to make up the difference? Voila! Income protected. Of course, it comes at the cost of more work. But I will give one thing to my colleageus: They are a generally hard-working bunch who rarely balk at 12-16 hours days in the hospital.How do you do more procedures? Easy. Just lower the bar on who to do a procedure on. Use more aggressive criteria for pacemaker implantation. Interpret the always-fuzzy nuclear stress tests weighed more towards abnormal. Use scare tactics: "You never know--that chest pain could be the last warning you're going to have!" Because the criteria for performing procedures is "soft" in the real world, it is easy to bend the criteria any way you want. It's too early to measure the full impact of this unintended consequence of reduced reimbursement. But don't allow yourself to become a casualty in the reimbursement war. Remain vigilant. Recognize that, despite the fuzziness at the edges, there are still rational reasons for performing heart procedures. Always be armed with information and the right questions. Never submit unquestioningly or without satisfactory answers to your questions. Tim Russert's heart scan score 210. . .in 1998 18. June 2008 did work when everybody in the house salted their food liberally and Mom had to buy a new canister every few weeks.)Iodine deficiency is common and increasing in prevalence, given the widespread avoidance of iodized salt. So what happens when you become iodine deficient? Here's a partial list:--Weight loss is stalled or you gain weight despite your efforts.--Heart disease risk is escalated--Total and LDL cholesterol and triglyceride values increase--Risk of fibrocystic breast disease and possibly breast cancer increase (breast tissue concentrates iodine)--Gingivitis and poor oral health increase (salivary glands concentrate iodine)(Naturopathic doctor Lyn Patrick, ND, has written a very nice summary available here.)So how do you ensure that you obtain sufficient iodine every day? You could, of course, eat something from the ocean every day, such as coastal populations such as the Japanese do. Or you could take an inexpensive iodine supplement. You can get iodine in a multivitamin, multimineral, or iodine drops, tablets, or capsules.What is the dose? Here's where we get very iffy. We know that the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), the intake to not have a goiter, is 150 mcg per day for adults (220 mcg for pregnant females, 290 mcg for lactating females). Most supplements therefore contain this quantity.But what if our question is what is the quantity of iodine required for ideal thyroid function and overall health? Ah, that's where the data are sketchy. We know, for instance, that the Japanese obtain somewhere between 3,500 and 13,000 mcg per day (varying widely due to different habits and locations). Are they healthier than us? Yes, quite a bit healthier, though there may be other effects to account for this, such as a culture of less sweet foods and more salty, less wheat consumption, etc. There are advocates in the U.S., such as Dr. David Brownstein in Michigan, who argues that some people benefit by taking doses in the 30,000 to 50,000 mcg per day range (monitored with urinary iodine levels).As is often the case with nutrients, we lack data to help us decide where the truly ideal level of intake lies. So I have been using and advocating intakes of 500 to 1000 mcg per day from iodine capsules, tablets, or drops. A very easy way to get this dose of iodine is in the form of kelp tablets, i.e., dried seaweed, essentially mimicking the natural means of intake that also provides iodine in all its varied forms (iodide, sodium iodate, potassium iodide, potassium iodate, iodinated proteins, etc.) This has worked out well with no ill effects.The only concern with iodine is in people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis or (rarely) an overactive thyroid nodule. Anyone with these conditions should only undertake iodine replacement carefully and under supervision (monitoring thyroid hormone levels).Iodine is inexpensive, safe, and essential to health and weight management. If it were a drug, it would enjoy repeated expensive marketing and a price tag around $150 per month. But it is an essential nutrient that enjoys none of the attention-getting advantages of drugs, and therefore is unlikely to be mentioned by your doctor, yet carries great advantage for helping to maintain overall health. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12345678910...123124Older posts a> 4. June 2008 William Davis (30) There's no doubt that low thyroid function results in fatigue, weight gain, hair loss, along with rises in LDL cholesterol and other fractions of lipids. It can also result in increasing Lp(a), diabetes, and accelerated heart disease, even heart failure. But how do we distinguish "normal" thryoid function from "low" thyroid function? This has proven a surprisingly knotty question that has generated a great deal of controversy. Thyroid stimulating hormone, or TSH, is now the most commonly used index of the adequacy of thyroid gland function, having replaced a number of older measures. TSH is a pituitary gland hormone that goes up when the pituitary senses insufficient thyroid hormone, and a compensatory increase of thyroid hormone is triggered; if the pituitary senses adequate or excessive thyroid hormone, it is triggered to decrease release of TSH. Thus, TSH participates in a so-called "negative feedback loop:" If the thyroid is active, pituitary TSH is suppressed; if thyroid activity is low, pituitary TSH increases. An active source of debate over the past 10 years has been what a normal TSH level is. In clinical practice, a TSH in the range of 0.4-5.0 mIU/L is considered normal. (Lower TSH is hyperthyroidism, or overactive thyroid; high TSH is hypothyroidism, or underactive thyroid.) The data from a very fascinating and substantial observation called the HUNT Study, however, is likely to change these commonly-held thyroid "rules." The association between TSH within the reference range and serum lipid concentrations in a population-based study. The HUNT Study In this study, over 30,000 Norwegians without known thyroid disease were enrolled. TSH levels and lipid (cholesterol) levels were measured.In this large and extraordinary observation, increasing TSH levels were associated with increasing levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and decreasing HDL. At what level of TSH did this relationship start? At TSH levels as low as 1.0!In other words, there were perturbations in standard lipid measures even with TSH levels ordinarily regarded as "normal," even "perfect."A subsequent observation from the HUNT Study was even more recently published:Thyrotropin Levels and Risk of Fatal Coronary Heart Disease: The HUNT StudyAbstract:Background Recent studies suggest that relatively low thyroid function within the clinical reference range is positively associated with risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD), but the association with CHD mortality is not resolved.Methods In a Norwegian population-based cohort study, we prospectively studied the association between thyrotropin levels and fatal CHD in 17 311 women and 8002 men without known thyroid or cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus at baseline.Results During median follow-up of 8.3 years, 228 women and 182 men died of CHD. Of these, 192 women and 164 men had thyrotropin levels within the clinical reference range of 0.50 to 3.5 mIU/L. Overall, thyrotropin levels within the reference range were positively associated with CHD mortality (P for trend = .01); the trend was statistically significant in women (P for trend = .005) but not in men. Compared with women in the lower part of the reference range (thyrotropin level, 0.50-1.4 mIU/L), the hazard ratios for coronary death were 1.41 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.96) and 1.69 (95% CI, 1.14-2.52) for women in the intermediate (thyrotropin level, 1.5-2.4 mIU/L) and higher (thyrotropin level, 2.5-3.5 mIU/L) categories, respectively.Conclusions Thyrotropin levels within the reference range were positively and linearly associated with CHD mortality in women. The results indicate that relatively low but clinically normal thyroid function may increase the risk of fatal CHD. In other words, the findings of this substantial observation suggest that the ranges of TSH usually regarded as normal contribute to coronary events, cardiac death, as well as lipid patterns. While several other studies have likewise shown a relationship of higher TSH/lower thyroid function with lipid abnormalities and overt heart disease, no previous study has plumbed the depth of TSH to this low level and to such a large scale. I believe that these findings are enough cause to begin thinking seriously about monitoring thyroid function more seriously to uncover "borderline" TSH increases in the "normal" range. While higher TSH levels predict cardiovascular events, does thyroid replacement at these levels reduce it? Critics will say it's a big leap, but I think that it is worth at least considering. Stay tuned for a lengthy Special Report followed by a full booklet on these issues on the www.cureality.com website. Copyright 2008 Wiliam Davis, MD Talking heads 4. June 2008 William Davis (0) Tne Philadelphia NBC affiliate's website carried this commentary from a colleague of mine:Mark from the Lehigh Valley is curious about scans that can detect heart disease.He asked, "I am in my early 50s. My father had a heart attack in his 40s. I am healthy with no symptoms of heart disease, should I consider a heart scan?""Well, Mark, occasionally family history needs to be considered more closely. If your father had coronary disease at a relatively young age at the absence of any known risk factor for heart disease for example diabetes, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, than your level of risk should be considered more closely," Dr. Kevin Shinal, a cardiologist, said."There are a number of studies available to access [sic] your level of risk. One such study is a calcium score. A calcium score is a form of a CAT scan that access [sic] the calcium burden or presence of calcium in your coronary arteries. It assigns you a score and score is translated into a level of cardiovascular risk," Shinal said.But the doctor warned because Mark doesn't have active symptoms, the scan probably wouldn't be covered by insurance.Was there an understandable answer in there? I certainly couldn't find it. Why pick on some yokel responding inarticulately to the local media's quest for content? Because this is, all too often, what the public hears: Ill-informed blather from someone who has little or no understanding of the issues. Maybe this doctor wanted his practice group to get some free publicity. "Doctor, could you just answer a few questions from viewers?" Unfortunately, it's not just local media who are guilty of consulting with know-nothings with only passing knowledge of an issue. National media are guilty of it, too. The need to fill airtime with content is better filled with talking heads who present a compelling story, whether or not it is accurate or insightful, rather than an expert with deep insight into a topic who might not present as pretty a story. I've seen this countless times. A good portion of my day, in fact, is occupied responding to patient questions based on the misinformation presented in some media report. My message of this brief rant: Be very careful of the messages delivered by the media, even if provided by some supposed "expert." In fact, I regard "experts" in health about as believable as politicians. Sure, sometimes they provide accurate information. But they often do not, or provide information with limited understanding. Or, worse, information intended to serve some hidden agenda. Were the media to ask me to respond to the question, however, I would say:"Yes, you should absolutely have a heart scan--yesterday! With your family history, there is no other way to accurately, easily, and inexpensively quantify the amount of coronary atherosclerosis in your heart's arteries. A stress test only uncovers advanced disease. A heart catheterization is overkill and absolutely not indicated in an asymptomatic man. Judging the presence of heart disease from cholesterol values is folly. "What's left? A CT heart scan. So, yes, you need a CT heart scan ASAP with no doubt whatsoever."But they didn't ask. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12...596061626364656667...123124Older posts
The Big Squeeze 20. June 2008 William Davis (5) Some colleagues of mine brought this scary phenomenon to my attention last evening.As insurance and Medicare reimbursement to doctors and hospitals fall (Medicare is enacting a series of substantial cuts, which will be followed by the private health insurers), you would expect the use of hospital procedures to drop. Makes sense, right? Less money paid per procedure, less incentive to do them. Unfortunately, that's not how it's playing out in the real world. Your neighborhood interventional cardiologist or cardiothoracic surgeon is accustomed to a level of income and lifestyle. That lifestyle is now threatened by shrinking reimbursement. True to the Law of Unintended Consequences, rather than reducing use of procedures, diminishing procedural fees are prompting a good number of practitioners to do more. In other words, if each heart catheterization pays less, why not do more of them, along with more stents, pacemakers, defibrillators, and the like? If four heart catheterizations per day pays less, why not do five to make up the difference? Voila! Income protected. Of course, it comes at the cost of more work. But I will give one thing to my colleageus: They are a generally hard-working bunch who rarely balk at 12-16 hours days in the hospital.How do you do more procedures? Easy. Just lower the bar on who to do a procedure on. Use more aggressive criteria for pacemaker implantation. Interpret the always-fuzzy nuclear stress tests weighed more towards abnormal. Use scare tactics: "You never know--that chest pain could be the last warning you're going to have!" Because the criteria for performing procedures is "soft" in the real world, it is easy to bend the criteria any way you want. It's too early to measure the full impact of this unintended consequence of reduced reimbursement. But don't allow yourself to become a casualty in the reimbursement war. Remain vigilant. Recognize that, despite the fuzziness at the edges, there are still rational reasons for performing heart procedures. Always be armed with information and the right questions. Never submit unquestioningly or without satisfactory answers to your questions.
Tim Russert's heart scan score 210. . .in 1998 18. June 2008 did work when everybody in the house salted their food liberally and Mom had to buy a new canister every few weeks.)Iodine deficiency is common and increasing in prevalence, given the widespread avoidance of iodized salt. So what happens when you become iodine deficient? Here's a partial list:--Weight loss is stalled or you gain weight despite your efforts.--Heart disease risk is escalated--Total and LDL cholesterol and triglyceride values increase--Risk of fibrocystic breast disease and possibly breast cancer increase (breast tissue concentrates iodine)--Gingivitis and poor oral health increase (salivary glands concentrate iodine)(Naturopathic doctor Lyn Patrick, ND, has written a very nice summary available here.)So how do you ensure that you obtain sufficient iodine every day? You could, of course, eat something from the ocean every day, such as coastal populations such as the Japanese do. Or you could take an inexpensive iodine supplement. You can get iodine in a multivitamin, multimineral, or iodine drops, tablets, or capsules.What is the dose? Here's where we get very iffy. We know that the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA), the intake to not have a goiter, is 150 mcg per day for adults (220 mcg for pregnant females, 290 mcg for lactating females). Most supplements therefore contain this quantity.But what if our question is what is the quantity of iodine required for ideal thyroid function and overall health? Ah, that's where the data are sketchy. We know, for instance, that the Japanese obtain somewhere between 3,500 and 13,000 mcg per day (varying widely due to different habits and locations). Are they healthier than us? Yes, quite a bit healthier, though there may be other effects to account for this, such as a culture of less sweet foods and more salty, less wheat consumption, etc. There are advocates in the U.S., such as Dr. David Brownstein in Michigan, who argues that some people benefit by taking doses in the 30,000 to 50,000 mcg per day range (monitored with urinary iodine levels).As is often the case with nutrients, we lack data to help us decide where the truly ideal level of intake lies. So I have been using and advocating intakes of 500 to 1000 mcg per day from iodine capsules, tablets, or drops. A very easy way to get this dose of iodine is in the form of kelp tablets, i.e., dried seaweed, essentially mimicking the natural means of intake that also provides iodine in all its varied forms (iodide, sodium iodate, potassium iodide, potassium iodate, iodinated proteins, etc.) This has worked out well with no ill effects.The only concern with iodine is in people with Hashimoto's thyroiditis or (rarely) an overactive thyroid nodule. Anyone with these conditions should only undertake iodine replacement carefully and under supervision (monitoring thyroid hormone levels).Iodine is inexpensive, safe, and essential to health and weight management. If it were a drug, it would enjoy repeated expensive marketing and a price tag around $150 per month. But it is an essential nutrient that enjoys none of the attention-getting advantages of drugs, and therefore is unlikely to be mentioned by your doctor, yet carries great advantage for helping to maintain overall health. << Older posts Newer posts >> Newer posts12345678910...123124Older posts
Talking heads 4. June 2008 William Davis (0) Tne Philadelphia NBC affiliate's website carried this commentary from a colleague of mine:Mark from the Lehigh Valley is curious about scans that can detect heart disease.He asked, "I am in my early 50s. My father had a heart attack in his 40s. I am healthy with no symptoms of heart disease, should I consider a heart scan?""Well, Mark, occasionally family history needs to be considered more closely. If your father had coronary disease at a relatively young age at the absence of any known risk factor for heart disease for example diabetes, smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, than your level of risk should be considered more closely," Dr. Kevin Shinal, a cardiologist, said."There are a number of studies available to access [sic] your level of risk. One such study is a calcium score. A calcium score is a form of a CAT scan that access [sic] the calcium burden or presence of calcium in your coronary arteries. It assigns you a score and score is translated into a level of cardiovascular risk," Shinal said.But the doctor warned because Mark doesn't have active symptoms, the scan probably wouldn't be covered by insurance.Was there an understandable answer in there? I certainly couldn't find it. Why pick on some yokel responding inarticulately to the local media's quest for content? Because this is, all too often, what the public hears: Ill-informed blather from someone who has little or no understanding of the issues. Maybe this doctor wanted his practice group to get some free publicity. "Doctor, could you just answer a few questions from viewers?" Unfortunately, it's not just local media who are guilty of consulting with know-nothings with only passing knowledge of an issue. National media are guilty of it, too. The need to fill airtime with content is better filled with talking heads who present a compelling story, whether or not it is accurate or insightful, rather than an expert with deep insight into a topic who might not present as pretty a story. I've seen this countless times. A good portion of my day, in fact, is occupied responding to patient questions based on the misinformation presented in some media report. My message of this brief rant: Be very careful of the messages delivered by the media, even if provided by some supposed "expert." In fact, I regard "experts" in health about as believable as politicians. Sure, sometimes they provide accurate information. But they often do not, or provide information with limited understanding. Or, worse, information intended to serve some hidden agenda. Were the media to ask me to respond to the question, however, I would say:"Yes, you should absolutely have a heart scan--yesterday! With your family history, there is no other way to accurately, easily, and inexpensively quantify the amount of coronary atherosclerosis in your heart's arteries. A stress test only uncovers advanced disease. A heart catheterization is overkill and absolutely not indicated in an asymptomatic man. Judging the presence of heart disease from cholesterol values is folly. "What's left? A CT heart scan. So, yes, you need a CT heart scan ASAP with no doubt whatsoever."But they didn't ask.