200 point drop in heart scan score 11. August 2007 William Davis (0) Some of the math-savvy will have noticed that we often report drops in CT heart scan scores on a percentage basis. Unfortunately, it this were a competition (which, of course, it is not), this would be unfair. A score of 50, for instance, that drops "only" 25 points would represent a 50% drop in score. But someone with a score of 1050 who drops his or her score the same quantity, or 25, will have dropped their score less than 5%. In other words, the magnitude of your starting score determines how large a percentage drop you achieve, even when the absolute, or real, quantity of plaque reversal is the same as someone who begins with a lower score. I qualify this discussion in this vein because of Grady's story. Grady, a soon-to-retire attorney, started with a heart scan score of 1151. On the Track Your Plaque program, he saw his score drop nearly 200 points--200 points! But, if we gauged Grady's success just on a percentage basis, he dropped his score only a measly 17% or so. (Imagine the headlines if this program were sponsored by a drug manufacturer. The Track Your Plaque program proudly has nothing to do with the drug industry.) Of course, the Track Your Plaque program is not a competition. It is an effort to help everyone possible, the more the better. Even if Grady failed to set a new Track Your Plaque record gauged on a percentage basis, he will have achieved an extraordinary advantage in health: the virtual elimination of the dangers of heart disease. With this drop in score, Grady's risk for heart attack plummets from a spine-chilling 25% per year to nearly zero. (I know of NO other program that can claim such a track record.)Grady's full story will be reported in the August, 2007 Track Your Plaque newsletter. To subscribe or to just view when it is posted, go to www.cureality.com website, click on the upper right hand corner What Does My Heart Scan Show? graphic, which then takes you to the page to view the newsletter. Or, Track Your Plaque Members can just go to the Library and click on newsletter archives.
How tough is the Track Your Plaque 60-60-60 target? 9. August 2007 William Davis (3) One of the basic requirements that stack the odds in your favor of stopping or dropping your CT heart scan score is to achieve basic lipid targets of 60-60-60. In other words, we generally see best results when LDL is reduced to 60 mg/dl, HDL raised to 60 mg/dl, triglycerides reduced to 60 mg/dl. Now, these are not absolute requirements. Someone can have a spectacular drop in heart scan score even with an HDL of 56, LDL of 71. But the "Rule of 60" provides a useful target that is easy to remember, packs real power, and is clearly beyond that achieved with conventional approaches.People often ask, "Just how tough is it to get to these targets?" It's really not that tough. Interestingly, whenever I tell my cardiologist or primary care colleagues that I advocate these 60-60-60 targets, they declare that it's tough, perhaps impossible, except for the most highly motivated. I agree that it requires motivation. A cigarette-smoking, TV-addicted, 70-lb overweight, chip- and pretzel-eating couch potato is not going to achieve them. On the other hand, you don't have to be a marathon running vegetarian to do it, either. Most people, in fact, engaged in the Track Your Plaque program achieve the 60-60-60 targets---or exceed them. It's not uncommon, for instance, for HDL to skyrocket to 80 or 90 mg/dl with many of our strategies. (Of course, if your starting HDL is 20 or 25 mg/dl, 80 or 90 is not possible with current technology.)But it certainly does require more than the "Take Lipitor and stick to your low-fat diet" approach that is the mantra repeated in the vast majority of medical offices across the U.S. For instance, reducing LDL to 60 mg/dl when starting at 170 mg/dl will require addition of oat bran and other soluble or viscous fibers; raw almonds and walnuts; perhaps the use of Benecol butter substitute; reduction or elimination of wheat products if small LDL comprises a substantial proportion of LDL particles. Reducing triglycerides requires the generous use of omega-3 fatty acids from fish oil. Attention to vitamin D must be a part of the effort. So, yes, it is not as simple as the conventional approach. But the results are far superior in reducing or eliminating heart attack and in dropping your heart scan score. But it can be done. We do it every day.
Vitamin D2 belongs in the garbage 8. August 2007 William Davis (15) It happened yet again. Mel came to the office. CT heart scan score: 799--quite high, enough to pose a real threat very soon. Thus, no time to lose in instituting an effective prevention program. We do the usual--identify the six causes of coronary plaque; begin fish oil, show him how to correct his plaque causes. You've heard it before. Vitamin D blood level in March: 17 ng/ml--severe deficiency. Vitamin D replacement needs to be a part of his coronary plaque control program. So I suggested 6000 units per day of an oil-based preparation of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Conveniently, there is a Vitamin Shoppe outlet across the street from my office. I just point and tell people to go across the street. Mel did just that. However, he also informed his primary care physician about his vitamin D deficiency. His primary physician promptly told him he needed to take a prescription form of vitamin D and not to bother with just a supplement. So Mel stopped his vitamin D capsules and started taking vitamin D prescription "medication." Mel figured, naturally, that if it requires a prescription, it must be better. Unfortunately, Mel and his doctor failed to pass the change in strategy onto us. So, four months later, Mel got repeat vitamin D blood level: 19 ng/ml. I've seen this too many times. The prescription form of vitamin D is nonsense. There's hardly any effect on blood levels of vitamin D3 at all. The body's conversion of this non-human form of D is extremely inefficient and therefore virtually useless. While it raises the blood level of vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) and thereby total D (D3 + D2), there is negligible effect on the real human and active form, D3. How and why this preparation got through the FDA process to obtain approval as a drug is beyond me, though I am not a defender of FDA practices and politics. This notion that "if it's a prescription, it must be better" is a fiction perpetuated by the drug industry. The same principle gets tossed around with fish oil, hormones like estrogens and testosterone, and others. Often, the principal difference between prescription and non-prescription is patent protection. Patent protection provides profit protection. Selling a product without patent protection can be risky business. It's certainly less profitable. As always, getting at the truth is sometimes the most difficult job of all. Prescription vitamin D belongs in the garbage. Vitamin D capsules (gelcaps) do the job and do it well, over and over, with reliable, consistent and substantial rises in blood levels of 25-OH-vitamin D3. I take 6000 units per day (3 2000 unit capsules) that cost me $5.99 for a bottle of 120 capsules, or about $4.50 a month. And nobody--nobody--pays me to say this. I say it because I believe it's true.
Angioplasty vs. Track Your Plaque 5. August 2007 William Davis (10) What does angioplasty have over the Track Your Plaque program?Well, first of all, the Track Your Plaque program has a lot to boast about. What other approach can claim to have reduced heart disease 30, 40, 51, and now 63%? That's as close to a cure that's ever--EVER--been achieved. Statin drug manufacturers can talk about an occasional 1, 2, or 5% reversal. We're talking 10 times more. The Track Your Plaque program also uses as little prescription medication as necessary. Fish oil, vitamin D, coenzyme Q10, niacin--some of the frequent tools used for plaque reversal in our program. Yes, we do use prescription medications, but only when there is truly a benefit and nutritional strategies have failed to achieve the goals we're seeking. We do not endorse shotgun prescription approaches conceived of by some marketing department at a pharmaceutical company.So what possible advantage can coronary angioplasty have? Why don't more people embrace a program like Track Your Plaque that has already proven itself enormously effective?Because angioplasty is easy. There's little worrying ahead of time. Just wait for the symptoms or other problem to appear, go to the hospital and get your procedure. You can live the free and easy life beforehand--no exercise, no diet efforts, no nutritional supplements. Just be sure to go to the hospital when suspicious symptoms strike. (Of course, you gamble that you survive the appearance of symptoms, a process 30-50% of people fail to survive.)That means you can eat all you want, drink all you want, save the money you otherwise might have thrown away on supplements, pocket the monthly costs of an exercise club membership, etc. Go to the hospital when you experience the sensation of an anvil on your chest or of suffocation, let the emergency room do their thing, meet your cardiologist, go to the catheterization laboratory, get two or three stents, go home the next day!Why bother with a prevention program, especially one that requires involvement, learning, and effort like Track Your Plaque? Because it's your way to stack the odds enormously in your favor of 1) surviving the appearance of symptoms, 2) avoiding the prospect of heart procedures, which are not as clean and easy as they often seem, 3) have a longer lasting durability than a stent which could buy you a couple of years before your next procedure or heart catastrophe, and 4) it's the right thing to do for the sake of the huge societal cost of heart disease. Many of you have the equivalent of a cure for heart disease at your fingertips. Unless you have a soft spot in your heart for hospitals, cardiologists, or the pharmaceutical or medical device industry, there isn't a choice.
Plaque is like money 3. August 2007 William Davis (0) In case anyone missed this in the June, 2007 Track Your Plaque Newsletter, I'm again posting how we calculate the annual rate of score increase, should it occur.For instance, say your score in January, 2005, is 100. In November, 2006, you undergo another scan and the score is 140. Obviously, your score has increased an undesirable 40%. But what is the annual rate of score increase, the amount of increase per year?In this example, the annual rate of score increase is 19%--not anywhere near as bad as the 40% that can scare the heck out of you.Obviously, the best rate of heart scan score increase is a negative number, i.e., a drop in score from, say 100, to 60. You might even eliminate the need for this calculation altogether if you drop your score. Nonetheless, whenever there is a score increase over an uneven period of time, a fraction of year(s), this is the method we use to annualize the calculation. The equation we use is a modified form of the annual compound interest equation using continuous compounding, since that’s how coronary atherosclerotic plaque grows--just like money. The difference is, of course, is that while you might want more money, you certainly don't want more plaque. You will need a calculator for this calculation, one with an exponential “y to the power x” function. For ease, calculate "1/t first, then use it as the “x” exponent on your yx function and "(score 2 / score 1)" as the "y".Annual rate of plaque growth (APG) = ( score 2 / score 1 ) 1/t - 1Multiply the result by 100 to yield a percent.“Score 1” is your 1st heart scan score, “score 2” is your 2nd (or any subsequent heart scan score); “t” is the amount of time between the two scans expressed in years in decimal form. Time between scans should be expressed in years or fractions of years. To obtain the time interval in fractions of years, simply divide the number of months between scans by 12 (e.g., 18 months / 12 = 1.5 years ; 22 months / 12 = 1.83 years).It’s not as tricky as it looks. For example, if your first heart scan score is 300 and your next scan 16 months later (or 16/12 = 1.33 years) is 372, then:Annual rate of plaque growth (APG) = ( 372 / 300 ) 1/1.33 - 1 = 0.175Multiply 0.175 x 100 = 17.5% annual rate of plaque growthSome scan centers will do the calculation for you as part of a repeat scan. However, the equation can be used if you're left on your own, or if you go to a different scan center. If this is too much effort, perhaps it's just another reason to add to the list of reasons to drop your heart scan score!
Triglycerides: What is normal? 1. August 2007 William Davis (2) In The Track Your Plaque program, we advocate decreasing triglycerides to 60 mg/dl or less. That's the level of triglycerides that minimize the presence of triglyceride-containing undesirable lipoproteins causing plaque, such as small LDL, VLDL, and the after-eating persistence of IDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein, a bad player). (The enzyme, cholesteryl-ester transfer protein, or CETP, is responsible for exchanging one triglyceride molecule for one cholesterol molecule between HDL and other lipoprotein particles. Thus, an excess of triglyceride availability permits CETP to operate unrestrained, creating more undesirable lipoproteins. This was the basis for Pfizer's now defunct CETP inhibitor, torcetrapib.)Of course, this triglyceride target is far below that of the conventional guidelines. The Adult Treatment Panel-III of the National Cholesterol Education Panel suggests a triglyceride level of 150 mg/dl is okay. In my view, a level of 150 mg/dl is highly abnormal, permitting the persistence of multiple lipoprotein particles and virtually guarantees plaque growth. In short, triglycerides of 150 are awful. Curious thing: Successful participants in our program, i.e., people who achieve desirable weight, reduce processed carbohydrate junk foods and saturated fat sources, and aim for the 60-60-60 targets for conventional lipids, commonly end up with triglyceride levels of 25-50 mg/dl. We have seen many people drop their heart scan scores just by achieving a triglyceride level of 60 mg/dl or less. So achieving a lower level below 60 is not necessarily a requirement for coronary plaque regression. But it makes me wonder if a triglycere level of 30s or 40s is the level for perfect health. These are levels ordinarily regarded as impossibly low. When colleagues see the numbers we readily and routinely achieve, they declare that the numbers are spurious, temporary, or just flukes. "No way you can do that all the time!" This level also seems to, in virtually all cases, eliminate the triglyceride-containing undesirable lipoproteins small LDL, IDL, etc., and allow full conversion of HDL into the healthy, large fraction. Should we move the Track Your Plaque triglyceride target to below 45 mg/dl or even lower? I don't think so, but it makes me wonder.
The processed food battlefield 31. July 2007 William Davis (4) If you have any remaining doubts that the processed food industry is a cutthroat, go-for-the-jugular, organized effort to extract every possible penny from your pocket, even at the expense of health, take a gander at a quote from Marion Nestle's wonderful book, Food Politics.In Nestle's description on how food conglomerate, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), conspired to fix prices on some basic agricultural compounds, she quotes an ADM executive captured on videotape and presented in court:"We have a saying at this company . . . our competitors are our friends and our customers are our enemies."In other words, ADM's competitors help establish what prices should be charged for basic foodstuffs, while its customers are the ones to do battle with. Food is a necessary commodity. You and I only need so much of it. So how does a 40 billion dollar food manufacturer extract greater and greater profits and grow their market? Motivate people to eat more. It's that simple. Eat less? Are you kidding? Eat spinach, green peppers, beets, and other low-margin products? Get real. Why not take 8 cents worth of wheat flour, add some sugar, food coloring, and some other enticing flavorings like high fructose corn syrup? Put it all in a cleverly illustrated package, maybe even develop an entire story line about the product, complete with clever slogans and songs and . . . ouila! You now have a food that sells for many, many times its intrinsic value. How to make the health nuts happy? Easy: Add some fiber. Now it's healthy! And it's now part of a "balanced diet". What if it's full of corn starch, wheat flour, and sugar of the sort that make HDL cholesterols plummet, fan the flames of small LDL, increase inflammatory measures like C-reactive protein, push people closer and closer to diabetes, and make them fat? Then be sure it's low in saturated fat! It might even qualify as "Heart Healthy" by the American Heart Association! Processed foods have no role in the Track Your Plaque program. If you want to see your CT heart scan score skyrocket, go to your grocery store and stray into the aisles outside of the produce aisle. But stick to the produce aisle and watch your wallet grow, your health improve, your appetite shrink, all while food processor profits plummet.
Heart Scan debate 29. July 2007 William Davis (4) A few years back when the book form of Track Your Plaque was first released, I did a bunch of radio and interviews to raise awareness of the book and of CT heart scanning in general. I'd forgotten about this interview I did for National Public Radio (NPR), in which I debate Dr. Graboys from Harvard. Though I've had this debate countless other times, usually on a less formal basis, I didn't know what to expect at the start of the interview. After all, I knew of Dr. Graboys' reputation as a respected Harvard cardiologist. So I was expecting that at least he would argue that, being relatively new at the time, CT heart scanning was largely unproven in large clinical trials. (This was not entirely true then, however, as at least 1000 trials had already been performed, many of them involving thousands of participants. However, despite that much validation, the concept of CT heart scanning had still not entered the consciousness of most practicing physicians. After all, heart scanning is not part of the "crash and repair" equation that most have invested their career in.)Heart Hawk re-discovered the debate, still on the NPR website. So here it is. When I re-listened to the debate, I was surprised at how little Dr. Graboys had to offer. He argues that examining left ventricular function should suffice as an important measure of mortality. In other words, if you have experienced a drop in the strength of heart muscle, that can be used to stratify your risk of death. I tried to convey to the audience (NOT convince Dr. Graboys to believe, as most of my colleagues are stubbornly adherent to their way of thinking until someone tosses a big carrot in front of them) that CT heart scanning provides a means to detect coronary atherosclerosis years, even decades, before questions of mortality (death) became necessary. Heart scanning identifies disease in its early stages so that a program of prevention can be followed and tracked. Dr. Graboys expressed concern that heart scanning devices could be mis-used to increase hospital procedures. He's absolutely right here. By that same line of thinking, say your crooked auto mechanic on the corner scams most of his customers by doing unnecessary car repairs. Does this mean that we should ban all auto mechanics from repairing cars? I hope not. I believe it does mean that we should all be educated on distinguishing scams from an honest businessman. Same with heart scans. The key is not to ban heart scanning. We should try to educate the public and physicians to prevent these sorts of scams and decisions based on ignorance from occurring. Nonetheless, make your own judgments. CLICK HERE to listen (this is a .ram file so you will need the free RealPlayer to play)
Break the addiction 28. July 2007 William Davis (8) "But, doc, I can't lose my cereal! Pretzels--you've got to be kidding me! I eat 'em every night! I can't do it. I'll be hungry all the time!"This is a discussion I have every day. The usual suspect: A 50-some year old with HDL in the 30s or 40s, small LDL, borderline high blood sugar approaching the pre-diabetic cut-off, highish blood pressure, excess tummy. They usually struggle with energy, feelings of sleepiness, use lots of caffeine to stay alert even in the middle of the day after a sufficient night's sleep. Not as obvious as the tremulous, pinopint-pupil drug addict, but I recognize it nonetheless: The processed food addict. Breaking this addiction can be as difficult for some people as breaking a smoking addiction. Instead of nicotine cravings, they get insatiable hunger. Just 3 or 4 hours without their processed food "fix," and they are ravenous to satiate their impulse. Most give in and go right back to the vicious cycle.But break the cycle--eliminate processed foods like breakfast cereals, whole wheat crackers, pretzels, cookies, granola bars, fruit drinks, low-fat salad dressings, bran muffins . . .70+% of the foods in your supermarket---and you will make an interesting discovery:You no longer crave these foods. Just think about it: The addictive properties of processed foods are a food manufacturer's dream. What other product besides cigarettes has an addictive quality that ensures you come back for more... and more and more. It it just too creepy that much of the processed food industry is, in reality, owned by the tobacco industry (Altria, previously known as Phillip Morris) and RJ Reynolds. Perhaps that is the modus operandi of these corporations: Identify products that have an edge, foods or other products that possess an addictive quality. This is not true of cucumbers, for instance. What a lousy investment a cucumber grower would make!Be smarter than Phillip Morris. Outsmart the people looking to empty your pocket and corrupt your health. Break the addiction. Hang around the produce aisle of your grocery and use the farmer's market or your local equivalent. Look for locally grown foods. Try to keep your food as unprocessed as possible. You will be impressed with the results.
Are we done here? 27. July 2007 William Davis (4) Les' doctor consulted me because his CT heart scan score had increased 40% from 893 to 1259 over 18 months.Judging by his appearance, Les was a 59-year old guy trapped somewhere in the 1980s. The only reason he'd undergone two heart scans was from the prompting of his wife, who was quite savvy. Among the steps we took was to have Les undergo a stress test. I explained to Les and his wife that stress tests are effective tests of coronary blood flow, but not of plaque. Therefore, there was somewhere around a 25-35% likelihood of an abnormality that suggested poor flow in one or more portions of the heart. Les passed his stress test easily. A bricklayer, Les was accustomed to heavy physical effort. "Are we done here, doc?" Les asked. Les' wife raised her eyebrows but, to her credit, kept quiet. She'd obviously been here before. I explained to Les that having normal coronary blood flow was just one aspect of the issue. "But I don't need a stent, right? I don't need a bypass. I already take Vytorin. So I need a cheeseburger once in a while. So what! Who doesn't? What else is there?"I continued. "Les, with a normal stress test, there's no denying you still have lots of plaque in your heart's arteries. The risk to you is that one of these plaques will 'rupture,' sort of like a little volcano erupting. Of course, it's not lava that flies out, but the internal contents of plaque. When that happens and the contents of plaque get exposed to blood flowing by, a blood clot forms. That's a heart attack."With a 40% increase in your score over 18 months, you are, in fact, at substantial risk for such a plaque rupture. Unless you're fond of hospitals and the thought of heart procedures, then we need to address that part of the issue."So it went. Step by step, with the quiet, strong support of Les' wife, we uncovered 7 additional causes of his heart disease. It wasn't the easiest process for us, but we did manage to educate Les on the simple steps he needed to take to 1) correct the causes of his coronary plaque, 2) how to use foods and stop fanning the flames of his plaque, and 3) how to live with this nasty specter hanging over him. Now, if we could only transform Les into an optimist . . .
More on the American Heart Association Check Mark program 11. June 2007 William Davis (3) Take a look at the list of foods on the American Heart Association's (AHA) Check Mark endorsement program (below). After I saw the list, I was convinced either that the people who designed the program are either startlingly ignorant, or the AHA simply does this for money.Many of these foods have nothing to do with health, heart or otherwise. In fact, many of these foods are prominent culprits that contribute to the American epidemic of obesity. There are cured meats with sodium nitrite (a potent cause of colon cancer). Some of these companies have been accused of unhealthy food manufacturing practices. Tyson Foods, for instance, has been in court many times defending their brutal factory farm practices and were the focus of a federal investigation for paying bribe money to USDA Secretary, Mike Espy. (Espy was acquitted but two Tyson executives were convicted, only to be later pardoned by then President Bill Clinton.)This is a smarmy list to be included on. 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Salisbury SteakHealthy Choice Simple Selections Sesame ChickenHealthy Choice Simple Selections Slow Roasted Turkey Breast with GravyHealthy Choice Simple Selections SpaghettiHealthy Choice Simple Selections Supreme French Bread PizzaConAgra Grocery FoodsACT II 94% Fat Free Butter Microwave PopcornACT II 94% Fat Free Butter Mini Bags Microwave PopcornACT II 94% Fat Free Kettle Corn Microwave PopcornHealthy Choice Bean & Ham SoupHealthy Choice Beef Pot Roast Microwavable Bowl SoupHealthy Choice Chicken & Dumplings SoupHealthy Choice Chicken Tortilla SoupHealthy Choice Chicken with Rice Microwavable Bowl SoupHealthy Choice Chicken with Rice SoupHealthy Choice Country Vegetable Microwavable Bowl SoupHealthy Choice Country Vegetable SoupHealthy Choice Fiesta Chicken SoupHealthy Choice Garden Vegetable SoupHealthy Choice Garlic & Herb Pasta SauceHealthy Choice Hearty Chicken SoupHealthy Choice New England Clam Chowder SoupHealthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Microwavable Bowl SoupHealthy Choice Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle SoupHealthy Choice Split Pea & Ham SoupHealthy Choice Traditional Pasta SauceHealthy Choice Vegetable Beef SoupHealthy Choice Zesty Gumbo with Chicken & Sausage SoupHunt's Family Favorites Seasoned Tomato Sauce for LasagnaHunt's Organic Crushed TomatoesHunt's Organic Diced TomatoesHunt's Organic Pasta Sauce Roasted GarlicHunt's Organic Whole TomatoesHunt's Tomatoes Crushed in Thick Tomato PureeHunt's Tomatoes DicedHunt's Tomatoes Diced in SauceHunt's Tomatoes Diced with Mild Green ChiliesHunt's Tomatoes Diced-Green Pepper, Celery & OnionsHunt's Tomatoes Petite DicedHunt's Tomatoes Stewed-No Salt AddedHunt's Tomatoes WholeHunt's Tomatoes Whole-No Salt AddedOrville Redenbacher's Mini Bags Smart Pop Butter Microwave PopcornOrville Redenbacher's Mini Bags Smart Pop Butter/Kettle Corn Microwave Popcorn Variety PackOrville Redenbacher's Mini Bags Smart Pop Kettle Corn Microwave PopcornOrville Redenbacher's Organic Kernal JarOrville Redenbacher's Organic Smart Pop Butter Microwave PopcornOrville Redenbacher's Original Kernal JarOrville Redenbacher's Original Kernal JugOrville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Butter Microwave PopcornOrville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Kettle Corn Microwave PopcornOrville Redenbacher's Smart Pop Movie Theater Butter Microwave PopcornOrville Redenbacher's White Kernal JarRosarita Diced Green ChiliesRosarita Green Chilies StripsRosarita Whole Green ChiliesConAgra Refrigerated FoodsHealthy Choice Deli Thin Baked Cooked HamHealthy Choice Deli Thin Honey HamHealthy Choice Deli Thin Honey Ham & Honey Roasted & Smoked Turkey Breast Variety PackHealthy Choice Deli Thin Honey Roasted & Smoked Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli Thin Mesquite Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli Thin Oven Roasted Chicken BreastHealthy Choice Deli Thin Oven Roasted Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli Thin PastramiHealthy Choice Deli Thin Smoked HamHealthy Choice Deli Thin Smoked Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli-97% Fat Free Honey HamHealthy Choice Deli-97% Fat Free Honey Maple HamHealthy Choice Deli-97% Fat Free Medium Cooked Roast Beef-20% MarinationHealthy Choice Deli-97% Fat Free Mesquite Smoked Honey HamHealthy Choice Deli-97% Fat Free Roast Beef-20% MarinationHealthy Choice Deli-97% Fat Free Smoked HamHealthy Choice Deli-97% Fat Free Virginia Brand HamHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Browned Chicken BreastHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Chicken BreastHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Golden Oven Roasted Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Honey Roasted & Smoked Turkey Breast with BrothHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Mesquite Smoked Chicken BreastHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Mesquite Smoked Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Smoked Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli-98% Fat Free Southwest Grill Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli-Honey Cured HamHealthy Choice Deli-Honey Roasted & Smoked Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli-Oven Roasted Chicken BreastHealthy Choice Deli-Oven Roasted Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Deli-Roast Beef-20% MarinationHealthy Choice Deli-Virginia Brand Cooked HamHealthy Choice Deluxe Thin-Sliced Baked Cooked HamHealthy Choice Deluxe Thin-Sliced Honey HamHealthy Choice Deluxe Thin-Sliced Honey Ham/Oven Roasted Turkey Breast Variety PackHealthy Choice Deluxe Thin-Sliced Oven Roasted Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Honey HamHealthy Choice Low Fat Smoked SausageHealthy Choice Pre-Sliced Sandwich Solutions Roast BeefHealthy Choice Pre-Sliced Sandwich Solutions Skinless Oven Roasted Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Pre-Sliced Sandwich Solutions Skinless Smoked Turkey BreastHealthy Choice Pre-Sliced Sandwich Solutions Virginia Brand HamHealthy Choice Virginia Brand HamHealthy Choice Zip Pack Cooked HamHealthy Choice Zip Pack Honey HamHealthy Choice Zip Pack Oven Roasted Chicken BreastHealthy Choice Zip Pack Oven Roasted Turkey BreastHebrew National 97% Fat Free Beef FranksConAgra Retail FoodsHealthy Choice Hearty 100% Whole Grain BreadHealthy Choice Hearty 7-Grain BreadCoolham Holdings, Inc. 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15% MarinationSpringer Mountain Farms All Natural 98% Fat Free Boneless Skinless BreastsFlorida's Natural GrowersFlorida's Natural Calcium & Vitamin D No Pulp Orange JuiceFlorida's Natural Growers Style Most Pulp Orange JuiceFlorida's Natural Home Squeezed Calcium & Vitamin D with Pulp Orange JuiceFlorida's Natural Home Squeezed with Pulp Orange JuiceFlorida's Natural Original No Pulp Orange JuiceFoodTech InternationalVeggie Patch California Veggie BurgersFoster Poultry FarmsFoster Farms 98% Fat Free Honey Roasted & Smoked Breast of TurkeyFoster Farms 98% Fat Free Oven Roasted Breast of TurkeyFoster Farms 98% Fat Free Oven Roasted Chicken BreastFoster Farms 99% Fat Free 100% Natural Boneless & Skinless Breast FilletsFoster Farms 99% Fat Free 100% Natural Boneless & Skinless Breast SteaksFoster Farms 99% Fat Free 100% Natural Boneless & Skinless Breast TendersFoster Farms 99% Fat Free Honey Roasted & Smoked Turkey BreastFoster Farms 99% Fat Free Oven Roasted Turkey BreastFoster Farms All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless & Skinless Chicken Breast Tenders (8% Marination)Foster Farms Fresh & Easy 99% Fat Free 100% Natural Boneless & Skinless Breast FilletsKirkland Signature/Foster Farms 99% Fat Free 100% Natural Boneless & Skinless BreastsKirkland Signature/Foster Farms All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless & Skinless Chicken Breasts (8% Marination)Fresh Express IncorporatedChiquita Apple BitesFresh Express American SaladFresh Express Hearts of Romaine SaladFresh Express Italian SaladFresh Express Triple Hearts SaladGFA Brands, Inc.Smart Balance Smart 'N Healthy Deluxe Microwave PopcornSmart Beat Healthy Fat Free Non-Dairy Slices - 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CinnamonPepperidge Farm Whole Grain Swirl Bread - Cinnamon with RaisinsPerdue Farms, Inc.Perdue Individually Frozen All Natural 99% Fat Free Chicken TenderloinsPerdue Tender & Tasty 99% Fat Free Individually Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken BreastsPerdue Tender & Tasty 99% Fat Free Individually Wrapped Boneless Skinless Chicken BreastsPerdue/Kirkland Signature Individually Frozen All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken BreastsPilgrim's Pride CorporationEat Well Stay Healthy Chicken Breast SaladEat Well Stay Healthy Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Chicken Broth)Eat Well Stay Healthy Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Thin Sliced Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Chicken Broth)Eat Well Stay Healthy Fresh Chicken Breast Tenderloins (15% Chicken Broth)Eat Well Stay Healthy Fully Cooked Rotisserie Skinless Chicken Split Breasts - Garden HerbGold Kist Farms 100% Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken BreastGold Kist Farms All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless BreastsGold Kist Farms/Kirkland Signature All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless BreastsHyVee/Country Pride 97% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Fillets with Rib Meat (15% Chicken Broth)HyVee/Country Pride 97% Fat Free Skinless Split Chicken Breasts with Ribs (12% Chicken Broth)HyVee/Country Pride 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins (15% Chicken Broth)Meijer Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins (15% Marination)Meijer Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Marination)Pilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Grilled Chicken Breast FilletsPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Grilled Chicken Breast StripsPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Italian Style Grilled Chicken Breast FilletsPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Key Lime Flavor Chicken Breast FilletsPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Kids Fully Cooked Breaded Chicken NuggetsPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Kids Fully Cooked Breaded Popcorn ChickenPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Lemon Herb Chicken Breast FilletsPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Savory Chicken Breast FilletsPilgrim's Pride Eat Well Stay Healthy Szechwan Chicken Breast TenderloinsPilgrim's Pride Fresh Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat Individually Wrapped (15% Chicken Broth)Pilgrim's Pride Fresh Chicken 100% Natural Boneless Skinless Breasts with Rib MeatPilgrim's Pride Fresh Chicken 100% Natural Boneless Skinless Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Chicken Broth)Pilgrim's Pride Fresh Chicken 100% Natural Breast TenderloinsPilgrim's Pride Fresh Chicken 100% Natural Breast Tenderloins (15% Chicken Broth)Pilgrim's Pride Fresh Chicken 100% Natural Skinless Split Breasts with RibsPilgrim's Pride Fresh Chicken 100% Natural Skinless Split Breasts with Ribs (12% Chicken Broth)Pilgrim's Pride Fresh Chicken Breast Tenderloins Individually Wrapped (15% Chicken Broth)Pilgrim's Pride Individually Frozen Fully Trimmed 99% Fat Free All Natural Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (15% Chicken Broth)Schnucks 99% Fat Free Chicken Breast TenderloinsSchnucks 99% Fat Free Skinless Chicken Breast FilletsSchnucks 99% Fat Free Thin Sliced Skinless Chicken Breast FilletsQuaker Oats Company/Tropicana Products, Inc., TheCrystal Wedding OatsOld-Fashioned Quaker OatsQuaker Cinnamon LifeQuaker Essentials Oat BranQuaker Essentials Oatmeal Squares - Brown SugarQuaker Essentials Oatmeal Squares - CinnamonQuaker Essentials Toasted Oatmeal - Brown SugarQuaker Essentials Toasted Oatmeal - Honey NutQuaker Honey Graham LifeQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Apple CrispQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Apples & CinnamonQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Cinnamon & SpiceQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Cinnamon RollQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Flavor VarietyQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Maple & Brown SugarQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Raisins & SpiceQuaker Instant Oatmeal - Regular FlavorQuaker Instant Oatmeal Bakery Favorites Variety Pack (Apple Crisp/Cinnamon Roll/Banana Bread)Quaker Instant Oatmeal Crunch - Apples & CinnamonQuaker Instant Oatmeal Crunch - Magicolor CinnamonQuaker Instant Oatmeal Crunch - Maple & Brown SugarQuaker Instant Oatmeal Crunch - Mixed BerryQuaker Instant Oatmeal Lower Sugar - Apples & CinnamonQuaker LifeQuaker Life Chocolate Oat CrunchQuaker MultiGrain Hot CerealQuaker Oat Bran Hot CerealQuaker Take Heart Instant Oatmeal - BlueberryQuaker Take Heart Instant Oatmeal - Golden MapleQuick 1 Minute Quaker OatsTropicana Pure Premium Calcium + Vitamin D No Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Fiber Some Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Golden No Pulp Grapefruit JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Grovestand Calcium + Vitamin D Lots of Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Grovestand Lots of Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Healthy Heart No Pulp Orange Juice with Omega 3Tropicana Pure Premium Homestyle Some Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Light 'n Healthy Calcium No Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Light 'n Healthy Calcium No Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Low Acid No Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Original No Pulp Orange JuiceTropicana Pure Premium Ruby Red Some Pulp Grapefruit JuiceR.A.B. Food Group LLCManischewitz Premium 100% Grape JuiceRader Farms, Inc.Rader Farms Nature's Three BerriesRed Gold, LLCSacramento Tomato Juice from Concentrate with Enhanced Tomato FlavorRuprecht CompanySommers 100% Organic Extra Lean Beef BurgersSal & Judy's Products, LLCSal & Judy's Heart Smart Italian SauceSealord North America, Inc.Sealord Deep Sea Dory FilletsSealord Orange Roughy FilletsSetton International Foods, Inc.Setton Farms Heart Healthy MixSimmons Foods, Inc.Member's Mark All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken BreastSmithfield Lean Generation CutsSLG: All Natural Pork TenderloinSLG: Marinated Hickory Sweet Center Cut Boneless Pork LoinSLG: Marinated Hickory Sweet Pork ChopsSLG: Marinated Hickory Sweet Pork Loin FiletSLG: Marinated Hickory Sweet Pork TenderloinSLG: Marinated Peppercorn & Garlic Pork TenderloinSLG: Marinated Pork Loin Fillet - Peppercorn & GarlicSLG: Self-Basting Boneless Pork Loin Center Cut ChopsSLG: Self-Basting Boneless Whole Pork LoinSLG: Self-Basting Pork TenderloinSmithfield Lean Generation DeliSLG Deli: 98% Fat Free Canadian Brand Maple HamSLG Deli: 98% Fat Free Cooked HamSLG Deli: 98% Fat Free Honey Cured HamSLG Deli: 98% Fat Free Tavern HamSLG Deli: 98% Fat Free Virginia Brand HamSmithfield Premium CutsSmithfield: Self-Basting Pork TenderloinSolis Brands, Inc.ZOIC Belgian Chocolate Nutrition DrinkZOIC French Vanilla Nutrition DrinkSpringerhill Ranch Meat ProductsSpringerhill Ranch Brand All Natural 98% Fat Free Beef Tenderloin SteaksSpringerhill Ranch Brand All Natural Ground Beef-98% Lean 2% FatStarKist Seafood CompanyStarKist Chunk Light Tuna in WaterStarKist Chunk White Albacore Tuna in WaterStarKist Gourmet Choice Albacore Tuna Fillet in WaterStarKist Gourmet Choice Chunk Light Tuna in WaterStarKist Gourmet Choice Solid Light Tuna Fillet in WaterStarKist Low Sodium Chunk Light Tuna in WaterStarKist Solid White Albacore Tuna in WaterStarKist Very Low Sodium Chunk White Albacore Tuna in WaterSunrise Growers, Inc.Sunrise Growers California StrawberriesSwift Foods dba Swift & CompanyExtra Lean Ground PorkSwift Boneless Pork Sirloin CutletsSwift Natural Fresh Pork-Boneless Pork Center Cut Loin ChopsSwift Natural Fresh Pork-Boneless Pork Leg for London BroilSwift Natural Fresh Pork-Boneless Pork Top Loin RoastSwift Natural Fresh Pork-Pork Strips for BarbecueSwift Pork Center Cut LoinSwift Pork Sirloin Tip RoastSwift Pork TenderloinSwift Premium Guaranteed Tender Pork-Boneless Bottom RoundSwift Premium Guaranteed Tender Pork-Boneless Center Cut Loin ChopsSwift Premium Guaranteed Tender Pork-Boneless Pork Loin FiletSwift Premium Guaranteed Tender Pork-Boneless Pork TenderloinSwift Premium Guaranteed Tender Pork-Boneless Sirloin CutletsSwift Premium Guaranteed Tender Pork-Boneless Strips for BarbecueSwift Premium Guaranteed Tender Pork-Pork Top RoundSwift/Kirkland Signature Pork Sirloin Tip RoastTrader Joe's Butcher Shop - Pork Sirloin Tri TipTrader Joe's Butcher Shop Boneless Center Cut Pork Loin CutletsTrader Joe's Butcher Shop Natural Pork-Boneless Pork Loin ChopsTrader Joe's Butcher Shop Natural Pork-Pork Shoulder Boneless StripsTrader Joe's Butcher Shop-Pork TenderloinT. J. Kraft, Ltd.Hawaiian Pacific Ahi Tuna SteaksTaylor Packing Co., Inc.Century Farm 96/4 Extra Lean Ground BeefThe BakerThe Baker 7-Grain Sourdough Whole Wheat BreadThumann's IncThumann's All Natural Black Forest Brand HamThumann's All Natural Capless Roast BeefThumann's All Natural Oven Roasted Gourmet Chicken BreastThumann's All Natural Oven Roasted Gourmet Turkey BreastThumann's Buffalo Style Oven Roasted Chicken BreastThumann's Capless Roast BeefThumann's Golden Roasted Filet of Turkey - Rotisserie FlavorThumann's Golden Roasted Gourmet TurkeyThumann's Our Short Cut Deluxe Cooked Ham - Lower SodiumThumann's Oven Roasted Premium Chicken BreastTony Downs Foods CompanyMember's Mark 98% Fat Free Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in WaterTopco Associates, LLCFood Club Individually Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts-15% Seasoned Chicken BrothFood Club Individually Frozen Chicken Tenderloins-15% Seasoned Chicken BrothTumaro's Inc.Tumaro's Chipotle Chili & Peppers Healthy Flour TortillasTumaro's Garden Spinach & Vegetables Healthy Flour TortillasTumaro's Honey Wheat Healthy Flour TortillasTumaro's Jalapeno & Cilantro Healthy Flour TortillasTumaro's Pesto & Garlic Healthy Flour TortillasTumaro's Premium White Healthy Flour TortillasTumaro's Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil Healthy Flour TortillasTyson Foods, Inc.Tastybird Individually Frozen Chicken-Boneless, Skinless Breast Portions with Rib MeatTastybird Individually Quick Frozen Chicken-Boneless, Skinless TenderloinsTyson 100% All Natural Thin 'N Fancy Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (<3% Water)Tyson 100% All Natural Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (<1%/,2% Water)Tyson 100% All Natural Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs (15% Natural Chicken Broth)Tyson 100% All Natural Chicken Breast Tenderloins (15% Natural Chicken Broth)Tyson 100% All Natural Chicken Breast Tenderloins (<1% Water)Tyson 100% All Natural Premium Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Natural Chicken Broth)Tyson 100% All Natural Skinless Split Chicken Breasts with Ribs (12% Natural Chicken Broth)Tyson 100% All Natural Skinless Split Chicken Breasts with Ribs (>3% Water)Tyson 100% All Natural Thin 'N Fancy Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Natural Chicken Broth)Tyson Ice Glazed Chicken Individually Frozen 99% Fat Free Boneless, Skinless Breast Tenderloins (8% Seasoned Chicken Broth)Tyson Individually Fresh Frozen All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken Tenderloins (8% Water & Kosher Salt)Tyson Individually Fresh Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Chicken Broth)Tyson Individually Fresh Frozen Chicken Tenderloins (15% Chicken Broth)Tyson Individually Frozen 100% All Natural Individually Wrapped Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (15% Natural Chicken Broth)Tyson Individually Frozen All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast Tenderloins (8% Chicken Broth)Tyson Individually Frozen All Natural Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (8% Broth Glaze & 15% Seasoned Chicken Broth)Tyson Individually Frozen All Natural Extra Lean Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast with Rib Meat (8% Chicken Broth)Tyson Individually Frozen Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts with Rib Meat (15% Chicken Broth)Tyson/Kirkland Signature All Natural 99% Fat Free Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast (8% Water & Kosher Salt)Tyson/Tastybird Individually Frozen Boneless Skinless Breasts with Rib Meat (10% Seasoned Chicken Broth)Tyson/Tastybird Individually Frozen Chicken-Boneless Skinless Breasts with Rib Meat (10% Natural Chicken Broth)Tyson Fresh Meats, Inc.100% Pure Extra Lean Ground Beef 96/496/4 All Natural Extra Lean Ground BeefUnited Food Group, LLCMiller's 100% Pure Ground Beef - 4% FatMoran's All Natural 4% Fat 100% Ground Beef Hamburger PattiesMoran's All Natural 4% Fat Ground BeefTrader Joe's Butcher Shop 4% Fat Ground BeefWelch Foods, Inc.Welch's 100% Grape Juice (Purple)Welch's 100% Grape Juice (Purple) - Frozen ConcentrateWelch's 100% Grape Juice (Purple) - Pourable ConcentrateWelch's 100% Grape Juice Calcium (Purple)Welch's 100% Grape Juice with FiberWelch's Organic 100% Concord Grape JuiceWelch's Organic 100% Concord Grape Juice - Frozen ConcentrateWest Liberty Foods, LLCHoney Roasted & Smoked Breast of Turkey - 98% Fat FreeKirkland Signature All Natural Fully Cooked Sliced Turkey BreastOven Roasted Breast of Turkey Browned in Soybean Oil - 98% Fat Free
More on the American Heart Association 9. June 2007 William Davis (1) I'm very troubled by the American Heart Association's (AHA) willingness to lend its logo and stamp of approval to a multitude of garbage foods like Cocoa Puffs and Berry Kix cereals.So I contacted the AHA and spoke to the manager of the Food Certification Program, Ms. Linda Rupp. Ms. Rupp proved very helpful in helping me to understand.I originally called her to find out just how many products were turned down. In view of 768 products on the approved list, I wondered how many had been rejected to generate this "select" group.Unfortunately, she said that the number of products rejected was not tracked, though she did intimate that it was not a lot. Sometimes, she added, a rejected product will undergo a few "improvements" to help it achieve the criteria necessary for AHA approval.What exactly is considered in an application for the Food Certification Program?A food must have 1)total fat 3.0 grams or less, 2) saturated fat 1.0 gram or less, 3) 20 grams or less cholesterol, 4) 480 mg or less sodium, all per serving.She also pointed out that, given the fact that a food as useless and lacking in health qualitites as jelly beans could meet this criteria, the AHA employs a special "Jelly Bean Rule" that stipulates that 10% of the Daily Value of 6 nutrients (e.g., fiber, vitamins A and C, etc.) must also be contained in a serving.So those are the startlingly lax requirements to gain the privilege of affixing the AHA Heart Check Mark on your product and informing the public that your box of Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp cereal, or Berry Kix is "heart healthy."There is an epidemic of obesity in the U.S. I don't believe that the AHA endorsement helps. In fact, I believe that it has been a contributor to obesity.Pardon me while I eat this bag of M&M's for my heart.
Exercise and blood pressure 7. June 2007 William Davis (0) Stan did everything right. He followed the Track Your Plaque "Rule of 60". He was slender, had run a marathon a few months earlier, in fact. He included fish oil at therapeutic doses. He replenished vitamin D to a blood level of 57 ng/ml 25-OH-vitamin D3. Though ambitious and hard-working, he was a generally happy, optimistic person. Yet his CT heart scan score increased 28% in one year, from a starting score of 379 to 485. What did he do wrong? Well, Stan did nothing wrong. But I suggested to him that one "hole" in his program could be exercise-induced high blood pressure. I've witnessed this effect many times. Blood pressure normal or "borderline" high while seated and relaxed, sky-high with exercise. So we put Stan on a treadmill. Starting blood pressure: 123/76. Blood pressure with exericse (13 mets): 220/78--sky high. That's why Stan's heart scan score went up. A good pressure with this level of exercise: 150/70, but certainly no higher than 170/80. If blood pressure is high with exercise, it's probably high with emotional upset, anxiety, being in a hurry, etc., also, all the irritations and pressures of life. We'll see in future how much of a role reducing Stan's blood pressure will play in gaining better control over his heart scan score. A practical difficulty will be in assessing the adequacy of blood pressure control in Stan, since its full potential only becomes evident with exerise. It means that future blood pressure assessments are more likely to be on a treadmill. It would also explain why Stan's thoracic aorta was mildly enlarged and his aortic valve was mildly leaky when I met him, both potential consequences of intermittent high blood pressure.
Cheese and vitamin K2 6. June 2007 William Davis (5) If you've been following the Track Your Plaque conversation, you know that, contrary to prevailing opinion among many cardiologists, there is an emerging notion that coronary calcification is an active process, a true part of the disease. Vitamin D3 is an important aspect of this question. So is vitamin K2. Not to be confused with K1 that plays a role in blood coagulation, K2 has an important role in calcium metabolism. Thus, vitmain K2 deficiency is related to osteoporosis and to coronary calcification. Getting K2, like getting D, is difficult from food sources. The choices for K2 sources includes:--Natto--generally, an impalatable choice. I've had it and it was intolerably gooey and weird-tasting. It is, nonetheless, the most concentrated food source of K2.--Pate--Though liver products have the potential for containing many other unhealthy things, like pesticide residues, since the liver acts as a filter for the blood.--Fermented cheeses--Since K2 is a product of fermentation of cheese, as it is in Natto. For years, we've advised people to avoid or minimize cheese because of saturated fat or cholesterol content. I think that there's reason to re-think this advice based on the emerging data. How can you tell the difference between fermented and non-fermented cheese? First, look for the holes in the cheese. The holes are the remnants of gas pockets created during fermentation. Second, look for the word "cultures" on the label, meaning organisms for fermentation were added. If "processed cheese" is anywhere on the label, this is a dairy product that has been chemically coagulated and is not fermented. Fermented cheeses are generally "gourmet" cheeses, not eaten a pound at a time on a pizza, but meant to be eaten in small portions. How much fermented cheese is necessary for its presumed inhibitory benefits on coronary calcification and osteoporsis? Are some fermented cheeses better than others? These issues remain unsettled. Stay tuned.
Vitamin D disappointment ahead 5. June 2007 William Davis (9) Anyone following the Track Your Plaque conversation know that we are rabid fans of normalizing blood vitamin D blood levels (25-OH-vitamin D3).A wonderful report on vitamin D was aired this morning on the NBC Today show. The interviewed guests did a good job of describing the health effects of vitamin D, thought the focus was on some new data on the use of vitamin D for breast and prostate cancer. I learned that shiitake mushrooms have some vitamin D--I didn't know that! (They contain 260 units per 4 mushrooms.) Unfortunately, the closing comments from the guests, among whom was nutritionist and author, Joy Bauer,MS, was that you should get vitamin D from your multivitamin or your calcium with vit D. That is absolutely wrong. When you check blood levels of vitamin D, as we do in everybody we see, you quickly learn what works and what doesn't. Vitamin D in multivitamins is very poorly absorbed, if at all. Likewise, about 90% of the D in most calcium preparations is not absorbed. The vast majority of tablet or powder preparations, such as those in calcium tablets, are not absorbed to any significant extent. Take all you want and you remain vit D-deficient with osteoporosis, growing coronary plaque, low HDL, and exposed to risk for prostate and colon cancer. If you take vitamin D in supplement form, it must--MUST--be in an oil-based capsule. The tablets are simply much too poorly and erratically absorbed to be reliable. There's nothing more frustrating to take, for instance, 4000 units of vitamin D in tablet form, only to have a blood level of 12 ng/ml--severe deficiency. Take the same 4000 unit dose in capsule form and blood level skyrockets to 58 ng/ml. And it's no more expensive.One other thing: If you want to waste time and money, take the prescription vitamin D prescribed by many doctors. This is vitamin D2, also known as "ergocalciferol". Why use the synthetic vitamin D2 when D3 is the form your body needs? Because the D2 is patent-protectable and profitable to the drug manufacturer, similar to using Premarin (horse estrogens) when human preparations would suffice--or be superior. I saw a woman today taking 50,000 of prescription D2 once per week. Her blood level of 25-OH-vitamin D3? 17 ng/ml--severe deficiency. Don't waste your time with this garbage.
In search of truth 4. June 2007 William Davis (2) I am continually amazed at the amount of time and energy we all expend in the search for truth. Rely on your hospital and you will be steered towards strategies that, at worst, aim to increase your use of hospital procedures. At best, they steer you towards physicians who are often under their employ. How about your doctor? This is a source of immense frustration. Doctors remain interested in treating the catastrophic illness. They remain lukewarm towards prevention and self-empowerment. Thus, supplements are dangerous, everything requires a doctor's endorsement. Drug companies? That's like relying on a used car salesman for truth. Exagerration, slick talk, and plain deception might be better descriptions of what you can count on from the drug manufacturers. The internet? Perhaps, if you're selective. WebMD? An obvious voice-box for the drug industry. Just look at the proliferation of drugs ads that accompany each report. In fact, the majority (80%) of WebMD's revenues come from drug manufacturers. The profit motive has created a mountain of good information. It has also created a sea of mis-information, all created to provide personal financial enrichment. But I continue to be optimistic that the internet will also become a forum for truth, particularly through its capacity for networked interaction among participants. As our collective wisdom permits us to more effectively separate the wheat from the chaff in looking for the truth, I believe that we will zigzag towards a system of healthcare that is self-empowering, self-directed, and resorts to hospitals and procedures only in the most dire circumstances, saving billions of dollars every year.
American Heart Association stamp of approval 2. June 2007 William Davis (8) The American Heart Association (AHA) has a program called the Heart-Check Mark, an "approval" process that permits a food manufacturer to affix the AHA logo and stamp of approval on various food products. A company simply makes application to the AHA. The application and product details are reviewed and then approved or turned down. To date, 106 companies have obtained the AHA stamp of approval on 768 products. What kinds of products are on the approved list? Here's a sample:--Honey Bunches of Oats--Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats --Cocoa Puffs cereal--Cookie Crisp cereal ("The great taste of chocolate chips in every bite!")There are 764 others. If you doubt this, just go to the store and take a look at the product containers. What the heck is going on here? Most of us with any judgment know that these products are pure sugar. They may contain "no more" than 15-40 grams sugar per sugar, but the principal products--corn, wheat, fructose--mean that these products are, in effect, nearly pure sugar. Yet they carry the AHA stamp of approval. What do products like this cause? It's a long list but the major effects include:--Obesity--Diabetes--Drop in HDL--Rise in triglycerides--Small LDL particles--Heightened inflammation (i.e., C-reactive protein)--Mental cloudinessNeed I go on? Why are products like these and many others deserving of the AHA heart-check approval? Because they lack high fat and saturated fat (3.0 grams, 1.0 grams respectively, by AHA criteria). In other words, just lacking these ingredients means that, to the AHA, they qualify as "heart healthy." By that same line of reasoning, many candy bars are "heart healthy", as are many cookies and cupcakes. What's the reason behind this extraordinary absurdity? Is the AHA stupid? There may be many reasons, but one very suspicious fact becomes immediately obvious when you realize these endorsements product a substantial revenue source for the AHA, since companies must pay for the right to use the heart-check approval mark. Also, just look at the major contributors (millions of dollars) to the AHA: ConAgra, General Mills, Kraft, etc.) You get the picture.Does this make the AHA evil? Not necessarily. But it seriously erodes credibility. it also should make you very leery of any advice that comes from such an agency that is reluctant to bite the food manufacturer hands that feed it.In my view, we simply cannot rely on the AHA for genuine, unbiased heart health advice.
"Your heart scan score means nothing" 1. June 2007 William Davis (7) Charles was visibly confused. He'd gotten his CT heart scan after hearing one of the local scan center's ads on the radio. His score 2773, obviously in the 99th percentile for any age. "Do you think the score means anything? My primary doctor said that it was meaningless because it was all in the deep wall of the artery. He said that it has nothing to do with risk for heart attack. As long as I feel good, he says don't do anything."What exactly did his doctor mean, in the "deep wall of the artery"?What the doctor is referring to is the fact that some people with a long history (many years) of diabetes or kidney failure (also for many years) tend to develop calcium deposits in the media, or muscular layer of arteries. The media is the tissue thin layer just below the intima, the most inner layer of arteries that we usually associate with atherosclerotic plaque and the layer that is most prone to calcium accumulation that we score on heart scans.Aging, generally into your late 70s, 80s, and onwards, also increases the likelihood of medial calcification. Lastly, longstanding deficiency of vitamin D encourages medial calcification.Is there any way to distinguish intimal vs medial calcification on a heart scan? No, there is not. Having read many thousands of CT heart scans, I can tell you that there is no practical way in 2007 to tell the difference. Then how did this doctor "know" that Charles' calcium was "deep walled" or medial? Simple: He didn't. This was yet another example of ignorance based on old thinking. Unfortunately, he did Charles a serious disservice by dismissing his heart scan score that predicted a 25% per year risk for heart attack. Interestingly, whether calcium is intimal as in atherosclerotic plaque, or medial, both are strongly associated with risk for heart attack. In other words, if calcium is confined to the intima, heart disease risk is present. If calcium is limited to the media, risk is still present. In all practicality, the only difference we make of the intima vs. media argument (that is, when the distinction has been made by some other means like intracoronary ultrasound, the test that is truly necessary to distinguish the two patterns) is that medial calcification may be more powerfully related to vitamin D deficiency. Thus, someone with heavy medial calcification may require closer attention to maintaining a perfect year-round blood level of 25-OH-vitamin D3. But that's the only practical difference.
Vitamin D toxicity? 30. May 2007 William Davis (3) "My primary care doctor said to stop the vitamin D because it's toxic. So I stopped it and I just take a multivitamin. He said that a multivitamin and two glasses of milk a day was all I needed."So proclaimed Eleanor to me. This happens around once every week by doctors frightened of the vitamin D. So I reminded Eleanor that, before starting vitamin D supplementation, her blood level of 25-OH-vitamin D3 had been 17 ng/ml--severe deficiency. On 4000 units per day (oil-based gelcap), her blood level had been 37 ng/ml--still deficient, below the desirable range of 50-60 ng/ml. That's the dose Eleanor's doctor had declared "toxic."When exactly does deficiency develop? There's not full agreement on this, but Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University, among the most experienced and insightful authorities on vitamin D, states that toxicity is more likely when blood levels exceed 150 ng/ml (Nutr Clin Pract. 2007 Jun;22(3):297-304).In other words, Eleanor and her doctor should not be concerned with toxicity, but with the persistent levels of deficiency she is suffering. Some authorities call the behavior of vitamin D "bi-phasic": Deficiency is toxic, excessive levels are toxic. We're really just trying to achieve a middle ground in vitamin D levels that are above deficiency but below toxicity. In reality, deficiency is exceptionally common. In fact, it's the rule around here (northern U.S.), with >95% of everybody we check severely deficient in winter, mildly-moderately deficient in summer. Very few people approach normal levels year round without supplementation. Toxicity, on the other hand, is exceedingly rare. I have seen it once in a woman who was taking a toxic dose of 50,000 units a day on the instructions of her (mis-guided) doctor. Thankfully, no ill-effects developed from this little "experiment."So, it's not toxicity that is the overwhelmingly common worry, but deficiency, severe and sustained.
Non-profit hospitals 30. May 2007 William Davis (0) Take a look at your local hospital and you're likely to notice several curious things:1) It is likely non-profit, meaning it enjoys a non-profit status with the Internal Revenue Service and enjoys the tax benefits of not paying taxes on profits. This provides an advantage to tax-protected hospitals. 70% or more of hospitals in the U.S. are "non-profit."2) Non-profit or no, many hospitals operate under the guise of a religious affiliation, e.g., St. Mary's Hospital, Trinity Hospital, All Saints', Jewish Hospital, etc. 3) Executives in non-profit hospitals can make capitalistic salaries. One CEO of a Milwaukee hospital took home $3.7 million dollars in salary last year. That's not including the very substantial perks and business interests in the spin-off businesses the hospital owns, including pharmacies, drug and medical device disitributors, even a venture capital division. "Non-profit" does not have to mean that executives within the operation can't benefit handsomely. That same hospital system spends over $10 million dollars in a year in local marketing for TV ads, print advertising, etc. Ads are slick and professionally produced. Make no bones about it: These are "non-profit" for tax purposes only . They are for-profit in every other sense of the phrase, including rich rewards for the insiders.Guess how those fat executive salaries and large marketing budgets are paid for? That's right: the 12-inch incision in your chest; the four stents, defibrillator, and repeated nuclear stress tests; the revolving door of hospitalization after hospitalization that typifies the "heart patient" experience. See the hospital for what it is: In the 21st century, it is no longer a charitable operation worthy of your volunteer time and donations. It is a business no different than Home Depot, IBM, or--Enron. Yes, they do perform needed services, as well. But the perverse equation that often determines who needs hospitalization and who doesn't, who needs a heart procedure and who doesn't, is not always based on necessity but on financial return. Just ask the CEO.