Goiter and the Golden Medical Discovery

17. May 2009 William Davis (19)

Thick neck, or goitre . . . consists of an enlargement of the thyroid gland, which lies over and on each side of the trachea, or windpipe, between the prominence known as "Adam's apple" and the breast bone. The tumor gradually increases in front and laterally, until it produces great deformity, and often interferes with respiration and the act of swallowing. From its pressure on the great blood vessels running to and from the head, there is a constant liability to engorgement of blood in the brain, and to apoplexy, epilepsy, etc.

The causes of the affection are not well understood. The use of snow water, or water impregnated with some particular saline or calcareous matter, has been assigned as a cause. It has also been attributed to the use of water in which there is not a trace of iron, iodine, or bromine. . . The disease is often due to an impeded circulation in the large veins of the neck, from pressure of the clothing, or from the head being bent forward, a position which is often seen in school children.


Treatment

We have obtained excellent results in many cases, not too far advanced, by a method of treatment which consists in the employment of electrolysis. . . Many cases at the present time are operated upon with entire success.

Those who are afflicted with this disease and unable to avail themselves of special treatment cannot do better than to take Doctor Pierce's Alterative Extract, or Golden Medical Discovery, and apply over the skin around the tumor, night and morning, the following, which may be prepared at any drug store:

Resublimed Iodine--One dram
Iodide of Potassium--Four drams
Soft Water--Three ounces 


Apply to the tumor, twice daily, with feather or camel hair pencil.


From The People's Common Sense Medical Adviser by R.V. Pierce, MD; 1918.
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Comments (19) -

  • kris

    5/17/2009 11:43:00 PM |

    there are hundreds of centers for research on heart, cancer, aids etc. etc. Thyroid has been over looked for some strange reason by all of the medical authorities. This is a disease which incapacitates one socially, physically, mentally and economically. this disease is a silent killer which kills the patient slowly through using other diseases such as high blood pressure, cancer, cholesterol,memory loss,eczema, hypoadrenia and list goes on and on. the sad thing is that this is curable with simple and cheapest available medications and minerals. thyroid is one of the biggest overlooked, stubbornness by our medical system which is costing the governments and population billions economical and lots of grieve socially because this disease also effects one's decision making ability too. i and my family has suffered with hypothyroid conditions. we have been to many doctors but no help. every doctor failed to recognize the symptoms because of the stupid TSH test excuse. finally when i started getting heart problems problems despite the facts that i was in the gym 7 days a week and still gaining weight. i took some time off and started to educating my self through the internet and books. changed my family's doctors. now, every body in the family feels normal. no more quick temper, sleepless nights, weight gain, skin problems, cholesterol,blood pressure, menstrual irregularities, flu,hair loss, too much calcium in the blood, eczema to name a few. even my 8 year old dog is stopped shedding hair and is less scared of the thunder now after D3 and kelp. my 74 year old mother says that she never felt this way in her entire life. my university going son feels 100 times calm now. kelp, iodine, tyrosine, multi vitamins, liquid thermometer and dessicated hormones are not that expensive. my favorite doctors are Dr. david Derry (retired), Dr Star, Dr. william Davis, Dr. Lowe, Dr. Rind to name a few who have the balls and soul to say the way it is. I just want to say that thank you Dr. William and please keep it up.

  • Anna

    5/18/2009 3:27:00 AM |

    You know, now that I am "tuned into" hypothyroidism, I see people all the time that I think have a slight or even obvious goiter or enlargement of the thyroid gland, both in person and on TV.  And I don't mean fat necks, I mean a goitrous neck, often on relatively thin people (though not always).  One of the TV people that stood out to me was a reality show former model (with a really narcissistic personality) who has a clothing line.  I think her name was Kimora and her clothing line was Phat, but don't quote me -  I was watching her neck more than the show (I was channel surfing and her swollen neck caught my attention).

    On the rare occasion when I have a chance to talk about thyroid conditions with someone who has  what looks like a slight goiter to me (if we are talking about health or I mention my low thyroid condition), I don't ask outright or suggest they look like they have a goiter, but invariably they say they don't have a thyroid problem because their doctor suspected it, checked it out, and the lab says it's fine (I don't mention what I see on their neck, of course, but my tongue is black and blue later from biting back how my doctors missed my thyroid condition for so many years  Smile  ).  

    Between people reducing salt (iodized salt); eating processed soy ingredients on a regular basis (soy's a goitrogen - thyroid inhibitor);  constantly stressing (running on adrenaline, burning the candles at both ends - which skews all the other hormones); and the poor state of thyroid treatment with conventional medicine, it's not surprising to see goitrous necks commonly around town on a regular basis.

  • Anne

    5/18/2009 3:47:00 AM |

    This book can be found online at Project Gutenberg www.gutenberg.org/etext/18467

  • Materialguy

    5/19/2009 1:04:00 AM |

    Dr. Davis, Your goiter blog posting brought to mind the issue of evolution of the medical profession from "art and craft" to "science based.......".

    I can better understand a comment read long ago. It said that until about the 1930's and the advent of sulfa drugs, you stood less than a 50% chance of benefiting from a visit to the doctor's office.

    Somewhere in the past, we did pass that threshold (I hope), and I wonder what decade would you attribute that to, and what thing or things put it over the mark.

  • pooti

    5/19/2009 12:54:00 PM |

    Dr. Davis, can you comment on why you are using images of people from istockphoto to represent the faces from your TESTIMONIAL sections on the TYP website?

    Isn't that unethical? I mean, these are supposedly "real" accounts from "real" people, using the TYP program. If they are real, then why do you feel the need to use stock photo images as the pictures of them?

    You can find my links to these cases on todayiatea.blogspot.com/2009/05/dr-davis-heart-scan-blog-and-russian.html or simply go to www.todayiatea.blogspot.com and search for the May 17th post.

  • Dr. William Davis

    5/19/2009 10:50:01 PM |

    Pooti--

    Simple.

    In past, when I approached people to allow us to use their photos, they would not grant permission. Most cited reluctance to let everyone know they had heart disease. Same with their names. This happened time and again. Obviously, we cannot go against their wishes for both ethical reasons and the HIPAA privacy act. In fact, posting private health information is a violation of the law which can even lead to jail time. The government means business.

    In short, we gave up trying to obtain permission to allow people to use their real names and photos. So the photos and names are fake. The stories are very real, though all--ALL--potentially identifying information has been changed. If, for instance, someone's Lp(a) is really 167 nmol/L, we might say it's something like 157 nmol/L, so that nothing can be personally tagged.

    This is just the reality of this project. Unlike weight loss testimonials in which people are thrilled to have their before and after pictures posted, such is not the case with heart disease.

    Does anyone here volunter to be the first to allow your photo and name, along with details of your health, to be posted?

  • pooti

    5/20/2009 2:12:05 AM |

    Dr. Davis I have a serious problem with this unethical behavior. You can not LEGALLY nor ETHICALLY call it a "testimonial" if you've changed every fact and nothing about the entire story is actually based on truth. The most you can call each of these examples (note they are not "testimonials") is a "recreation based on similar patient accounts" (i.e. fictional account). You would then need to follow that with your disclaimer that individual results may very dramatically among each person.

    Dr. Davis I think you do your patients a disservice. You can tell "stories" of success. But you cannot call them Testimonials. It's misleading advertising practises. In short it's called lying for gain.

    BTW, Heidi Diaz aka Kimkins did the same thing on her website and she has a class action lawsuit going against her right now. You may argue she lied about more than her testimonials and testimonial photos. However...you are doing no better. And so you have now corrupted your message as a healer.
    Not good, doctor. Whomever it was who advised you to take this path on your website should be given the boot and a big fat "your fired." It's indefensibly poor advice.

    www.todayiatea.blogspot.com

  • i.pooticus

    5/20/2009 2:30:11 AM |

    BTW, Dr. Davis? I can tell you that if I were one of your patients, and you helped me reduce my atherosclerotic plaque buildup in my arteries by 63%, I would be your best advertising. Not only would I allow you to use my story and my image to help others realize this type of incredible result, but I would be a marketers' dream child.

    In advertising and marketing - rule 101 is to convert an interested prospect into a client, and from a client into repeat client, and from a repeat client into an advocate.

    An advocate is someone who takes your success personally and will go beyond the norm in order to help ensure your success. In other words they have a personal interest in your success. So they do things like speak highly of you every place they can. They recommend you to friends. They send you members of their family. They are gold. Priceless beyond measure.

    That is a universal truth, regardless of the industry. Hell, look at Farah Fawcett and she has the most physically embarrassing problem in the world and she's out there shouting from the roof about it. So I really fail to see how your patients whom you have helped so dramatically, could possibly resist an appeal to use their true testimonial in order to help others live...

  • Anna

    5/20/2009 3:31:30 PM |

    pooti,

    These are interesting points that you bring up, and perhaps worthwhile exploring.  

    There are numerous reasons why someone might allow their story to be told, but not want to be personally identified on the WWW.  At the same time, he/she might be very open with family, friends, neighbors, etc., but that's at his/her discretion.  That's the way I am about some health issues, very open when it feels right, but clammed up on other occasions.  It's my choice.  

    I can't help feeling this issue is more of a molehill than a mountain...but obviously you feel differently.

  • Michael

    5/21/2009 6:02:58 AM |

    @Anne,
    Well spotted! The clothes line is called Baby Phat.
    Follow the link below and click on the thumbnail of the front view, zoom in all the way by double clicking on the image and observe the inept Photoshopping round her neck to hide the goitre!
    http://idn.efashionsolutions.com/asset/imageset/id/BP-D2G00134_H09_zoom
    Had Google this one after your description.

  • Anna

    5/22/2009 12:20:56 AM |

    Michael,

    Here's a photo of Kimora Lee that is probably not Photoshopped and shows the front neck swelling more noticeably (at least I hope it isn't Photoshopped, because I've never seen her on the TV show with the skinny arms that appear in the fashion shoots).

    www.babyphat.com/landingpages/landing.php?page=maternity&dept=plus

    Google Kimora Lee goiter and the search results show I'm not the only one speculating that she has a goiter...oh jeeze, I need to get a life.  I  can't believe I'm googling celebrity necks now Wink.  But I see necks like this ALL the time around town, on women of all sizes.  It's like a traffic wreck, so hard NOT to sneak a peek!

  • pooti

    5/22/2009 12:34:37 AM |

    Anna, with all due respect, it really doesn't matter so much what either of us think about it. Dr. Davis actually risks his license by making these types of claims without proper designation of them as "dramatizations" or "actors" or "advertorials". Because the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) clearly outlines the rules for the use of Consumer Testimonials and Endorsements:

    Part B is the relevent portion but they skirt dangerously close to the other rules as well:

    http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/guides/endorse.htm

    §255.2 Consumer endorsements.

    (a) An advertisement employing an endorsement reflecting the experience of an individual or a group of consumers on a central or key attribute of the product or service will be interpreted as representing that the endorser's experience is representative of what consumers will generally achieve with the advertised product in actual, albeit variable, conditions of use. Therefore, unless the advertiser possesses and relies upon adequate substantiation for this representation, the advertisement should either clearly and conspicuously disclose what the generally expected performance would be in the depicted circumstances or clearly and conspicuously disclose the limited applicability of the endorser's experience to what consumers may generally expect to achieve. The Commission's position regarding the acceptance of disclaimers or disclosures is described in the preamble to these Guides published in the Federal Register on January 18, 1980.

    (b) Advertisements presenting endorsements by what are represented, directly or by implication, to be ``actual consumers'' should utilize actual consumers, in both the audio and video or clearly and conspicuously disclose that the persons in such advertisements are not actual consumers of the advertised product.

    (c) Claims concerning the efficacy of any drug or device as defined in the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. 55, shall not be made in lay endorsements unless (1) the advertiser has adequate scientific substantiation for such claims and (2) the claims are not inconsistent with any determination that has been made by the Food and Drug Administration with respect to the drug or device that is the subject of the claim.

  • Michael

    5/22/2009 3:30:46 AM |

    @Anna,
    spot on! But it's still a "goitre" for me and the rest of the world. Same as "centre" and "metre". One cannot honour Yankee spelling!

    @Pooti,
    It's a bit over-the-top to compare Dr Davis with Heidi Diaz! Can you state, hand on heart, you're not a drug company troll?? Just wondering.

  • Michael

    5/24/2009 2:08:00 AM |

    BTW, having looked up Pooti's website, he does not appear to be a drug company troll.
    While I'm on Dr Davis' side here, I think that no harm is done shining a light on the issue of before & after stories. But on balance, I think Pootie is over-reacting here. For example change 160 to 157 is not falsifying the data within the error range of the measurement. However, labelling stock photos as such would probably be a good idea.

  • bovinedefenestration

    5/31/2009 10:13:08 AM |

    I'm with everyone that thinks Pooti is overreacting. All that need to be put on the site is something along the lines of "photographs and medical details have been changed in the interest of patient privacy". Maybe even throw something in about HIPAA. It happens all thin time with things involving medical information - the stories are real, but the details have been altered a bit to protect the privacy of the people involved. I don't see anything wrong with that. I'd have to think long and hard before putting my real face, name, and medical conditions on the internet. I did it once before in a place, much to my eventual detriment.

  • Rizwan ali

    8/3/2010 12:43:05 PM |

    i am regular visitor of your site and you are writing very nice so keep posting university admission

  • kashif ali

    8/3/2010 12:56:04 PM |

    The heart scan is a rapid assessment tool for the identification of hemodynamically significant cardiac abnormalities in the ICU. Like the evaluation focused on trauma ultrasound for the concept, but directed at the center instead of the abdomen. Often called calcium scanning provides a score that can be used to determine the risk of a coronary event. Unlike an electrocardiogram (which mostly shows the results of recent heart attack) and thallium stress test (which appears only advanced blockages of 70% or more.) Is an excellent way to determine if a person has coronary artery disease.

  • buy jeans

    11/3/2010 7:00:05 PM |

    there are hundreds of centers for research on heart, cancer, aids etc. etc. Thyroid has been over looked for some strange reason by all of the medical authorities. This is a disease which incapacitates one socially, physically, mentally and economically. this disease is a silent killer which kills the patient slowly through using other diseases such as high blood pressure, cancer, cholesterol,memory loss,eczema, hypoadrenia and list goes on and on. the sad thing is that this is curable with simple and cheapest available medications and minerals. thyroid is one of the biggest overlooked, stubbornness by our medical system which is costing the governments and population billions economical and lots of grieve socially because this disease also effects one's decision making ability too.

  • Max

    2/15/2011 7:00:55 AM |

    Really you’re doing great job nice blog with very useful templates. Thanks for sharing it with all.Rebreathing Bag

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All posts by william-davis

Calcium reflects total plaque

4. December 2006 William Davis (0)




People frequently ask, "Why measure coronary artery calcium? My doctor said that calcium only tells you if there's hard plaque, and that hard plaque is stable. He/she says that calcium doesn't tell you anything about soft plaque."

Is that true? Is calcium only a reflection of "hard" plaque? Is hard plaque also more stable, less prone to rupture and causes heart attack?

Actually, calcium is a means of measuring total plaque, both soft and hard. That's because calcium comprises 20% of total plaque volume. Within plaque, there may be areas that are soft (labeled "lipid pool" in the diagram). There are also areas made of calcium (shown in white arcs within the plaque). Even though this is just a graphic, it's representative of what is seen when we perform intracoronary ultrasound of a live human being's coronary artery. In other words, this cross section contains both "soft" (lipid pool) as well as "hard" (calcium) elements.

Is this artery "soft" or "hard"? It's both, of course. The artery compostion can vary millimeter by millimeter, having more soft or hard elements. The artery can also change over time in either direction. Thus, "soft" plaque may indeed be soft today, only to be "hard" in 6 months, and vice versa.

The essential point is that measuring just "soft" plaque provides limited information. What the CT heart scan does is provide a gauge of total plaque, soft and hard, and it does so easily, safely, precisely. If your score increases, the lengthwise volume of total plaque has also grown. If your score decreases, the total amount of plaque has also decreased.

Don't mistake marketing for truth

2. December 2006 William Davis (0)
We're all so inundated with marketing messages for food. Unfortunately, many people confuse the messages delivered through marketing with the truth.

For instance:

Pork: "The other white meat." Pork is a high-saturated fat food.

"Bananas: A great source of potassium." Bananas are a high glycemic index (rapid sugar release), low fiber food.

"Pretzels: A low-fat snack." A high glycemic index food made from white wheat flour. It makes you fat and skyrockets blood sugar.

Jif peanut butter: "Choosy moms choose Jif." Do they also choose hydrogenated fats?

Hi-C: Upbeat jingles like "Who put the straw in my Hi-C fruit drink, a new cool straw that wriggles and bends? Who put the straw in my Hi-C fruit drink, with Vitamin C for me and my friends? Who was that man, I'd like to shake his hand, he made my Hi-C cooler than before!" What about the 25 grams of sugar per 4 oz serving? And the high fructose corn syrup that creates an insatiable sweet tooth, raises triglycrides 30%, and exagerates pre-diabetes?


Marketing is not reliable, unbiased information. If Ford boasts that their cars are superior to GM, do you say "Well then, I need to buy a Ford?" Of course not. Take marketing for what it is: A method of persuading people to buy. It may or may not contain the truth. It's a big part of the reason Americans are the fattest people on earth and are experiencing an explosion of chronic diseases of excess.

Tattered Red Dress

1. December 2006 William Davis (0)
"Are you taking your health to heart? Perhaps you understand the importance of eating a diet low in cholesterol or getting 30 minutes of exercise a day. But do you know your own risk of developing cardiovascular disease?


It’s time to take your heart health personally. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of American women — and that means it is not “someone else’s problem.” As a woman, it’s your problem.

That’s where the Go Red Heart Checkup comes in. This comprehensive evaluation of your overall heart health can help you now and in the future. By knowing your numbers and assessing your risks now, you can work with your doctor to significantly reduce your chances of getting heart disease tomorrow, next year, or 30 years from now!"


So reads some of the materials promoted by the American Heart Association Red Dress campaign to increase awareness of heart disease in women. The effort is well-intended. There is no doubt that most women are unaware of just how common coronary disease is in females.

But I've got a problem with the solutions offered. "Know your numbers"? Eat healthy, don't be overweight, be active, don't smoke. That's the gist of the program's message--nothing new. In 2006, why would some sort of screening effort for detectin of heart disease not be part of the message? Why isn't there any message about the real, truly effective means to detect hidden heart disease in women--namely, heart scanning?

Does a 58-year old woman with normal blood pressure, LDL 144, HDL 51, 20 lbs overweight have hidden heart disease? I've said it before and I'll say it again: You can't tell from the numbers. She could die of a heart attack tomorrow without warning, or maybe she'll be dancing on our graves when she's 95 and never have experienced any manifestation of heart disease. The numbers will not tell you this.

I'm glad the American Heart Association has seen fit to invest its sponsors' money in a campaign to promote prevention. I wish they hadn't fallen so far short of a truly helpful message. Perhaps the sponsors (like Pfizer, maker of Lipitor) will benefit, anyway.

Panic in the streets

29. November 2006 William Davis (0)
Several days ago, I wrote about a local prominent judge in my neighborhood who was unexpectedly found dead in bed of a heart attack at age 49.

As expected, I've received multiple calls from patients and physicians who want heart catheterizations. For instance, an internist I know called me in a panic. He asked that I perform a heart catheterization in a patient with a heart scan score of 768. I've been seeing this patient for about a year. He's without symptoms, even with strenuous exercise; stress tests (i.e., tests of coronary bloow flow) have been normal.

I remind patients and colleagues every day, day in day out: Having a heart scan score revealing some measure of coronary plaque is not a sufficient reason by itself to proceed with procedures. Fear of suffering a fate like the unfortunate judge is also not a reason to proceed with procedures.

Increased awareness of the gravity of heart disease is a good thing. Some good can come out of a needless tragedy like this. The lesson from the judge's unfortunate experience: he needed a CT heart scan. I'm told that the judge's doctor advised him that a heart scan was a waste of time. I hope that appropriate legal action for negligence is taken by the judge's family against this physician.

Not doing a heart scan is wrong. That's the lesson to learn. The lesson is not that everybody with coronary plaque needs a procedure. Had the judge undergone a simple heart scan, intensified prevention could have been instituted and he'd still be alive with his wife and children today.

The indications for procedures are unchanged by your heart scan. If a stress test is abnormal and indicates poor flow to a part of the heart, that would be a reason. If symptoms like chest discomfort or breathlessness appear, that's an indication. If there's evidence of poor heart muscle contraction, that's a reason to proceed with a procedure. But just having coronary plaque is not a sufficient reason.

Heart scan curiosities 1

27. November 2006 William Davis (3)
Heart scans often reveal more than coronary plaque. From time to time, I'll show some curious findings that people have displayed during routine heart scans.

This 65-year old man had a relatively low heart scan score of 73, but showed an impressive quantity of calcification of his pericardium, the usually soft-tissue sack that encases the heart. The calcified pericardium is the white arcs that surround the heart in the center of the image.



Thankfully, because he's without any symptoms of breathlessness, excessive fatigue, or leg swelling, he won't need to have it surgically corrected. When the pericardium becomes rigid and encircles the heart, it can literally squeeze the heart, a condition called "constrictive pericarditis". The surgery is pretty awful.

This man's calcified pericardium likely resulted from one or more viral infections over his lifetime.

Annual physical

26. November 2006 William Davis (0)
A judge who lives in my neighborhood was found dead in his bed this week from a heart attack. He was 49 years old. His teenage kids found him and performed CPR, but he was cold and long-gone by then.

A close friend of the judge told me that he'd passed an annual physical just weeks before.

This sort of tragedy shouldn't happen. It is easily--easily--preventable. Had this man undergone a heart scan, a score of at least 400 if not >1000 would have been uncovered, and appropriate preventive action could have been taken. The conversation could have centered around the strategies to correct the patterns that triggered his plaque and how he could reduce his score.

Of course, hospitals make use of stories like this to fuel fear that brings hordes to their wards for procedures. Would the judge have required a procedure to save his life, had his heart disease been diagnosed at his annual physical? Not necessarily. Hospitals and cardiologists would try to persuade you that procedures have an impact on mortality. This is simply not true. In fact, the mortality benefits of procedures are questionable except in the midst of acute illness (e.g., unstable chest pain symptoms or heart attack).

Don't be falsely reassured by passing a physical. A physical does nothing to screen you for heart disease. An EKG and stress test, if included, is a lame excuse for heart disease screening. Remember that a stress test is a test of coronary blood flow, not for the presence of coronary plaque. The unfortunate judge most likely had a 30% "blockage" that did not block flow, but ruptured and closed an artery off sometime in the night when he died. A stress test even on the day of his death would not have predicted this.

A CT heart scan would have uncovered it easily, unequivocally, safely.

A curious case of regression

25. November 2006 William Davis (0)
Randi came to me at age 43. Before I'd met her, she'd undergone two heart scans about one year apart. The initial score was 57--not terribly high, but very high for a 41-year old, pre-menopausal female. Recall that rarely do women have any heart scan score above zero before age 50. Randi's 2nd scan had yielded a score of 72, a 27% increase.

Randi even had her lipoproteins assessed and she had the dreaded Lp(a). So when I met her, we discussed the possible choices in Lp(a) treatment: niacin and estrogens as primary treatment, along with LDL reduction to rock-bottom numbers, along with adjunctive DHEA, almonds, ground flaxseed, and fish oil. Sandi was okay with the adjunctive treatments and was already slender and active (BMI <25), and did not show Lp(a)'s evil partner, small LDL. But Randi had no interest in estrogens, even bio-identical preparations, because of the usual uncertainties associated with estrogen replacement. She also proved to be one of the people truly intolerant to anything but the most minute dose of niacin, experiencing prolonged flushing and abdominal cramps with any dose >250 mg.

Randi even attempted a trial of the Mathias Rath concoction of high-dose vitamin C, lysine, and proline as treatment for Lp(a), but we saw no effect on Lp(a).

Unfortunately, this left Randi's Lp(a) essentially uncorrected. Another scan one year later: 90, another 25% increase. 18 months after that, another scan: 120, a 30% increase.

Now 47-years old, Randi had resigned herself to not being able to control her plaque. We'd run out of options. At that point, I'd started to have everyone's vitamin D blood level assessed and then replaced with vitamin D. I did this with Randi, too.

A year after her last scan, she underwent another. The score: 92, a 23% reduction--substantial reversal following a course of unrelenting progression.

Randi and I, of course, both rejoiced with this unexpected success. But it raised some interesting questions: How important is Lp(a) when vitamin D is normalized and small LDL is not a part of the picture? How consistent with regression be with this strategy over time? Would normalization of vitamin D have stopped plaque from becoming established in the first place?

I hope these issues will clarify over time. For now, I'm thrilled with Randi's success. She remains on her present, "incomplete", though successful program.

Note: I would not ordinarily advise a young woman to undergo serial heart scanning with this frequency. Randi had unusual access to a scan center through a relationship with the staff. I am nonetheless grateful for the lessons her experience have taught us.

Fortune teller

25. November 2006 William Davis (0)
Whenever your doctor uses your cholesterol values--total, LDL, HDL, triglycerides--to judge your heart disease risk, he/she is trying to act as your fortune teller.

In some states, fortune telling is illegal, a misdemeanor. The New York State lawbooks say:

A person is guilty of fortune telling when, for a fee or compensation which he directly or indirectly solicits or receives, he claims or pretends to tell fortunes, or holds himself out as being able, by claimed or pretended use of occult powers, to answer questions or give advice on personal matters or to exorcise, influence or affect evil spirits or curses; except that this section does not apply to a person who engages in the aforedescribed conduct as part of a show or exhibition solely for the purpose of entertainment or amusement.
(Source : Wikipedia)

Rather than occult powers, your physician claims to use "medical judgement" to tell your fortune. Except for that distinction, it might be construed as a misdemeanor.


Let's take three typical examples:

58-year old Laura has a high LDL of 195 mg/dl. Her HDL is 52 mg/dl, triglycerides 197 mg/dl. Does she have heart disease?

51-year old Jonathan has an LDL of 174 mg/dl, HDL 34 mg/dl, triglycerides 156 mg/dl. Does Jonathan have heart disease?

71-year old Marian has an LDL cholesterol of 135 mg/dl, HDL 84 mg/dl, triglycerides of 67 mg/dl.

None of the three have symptoms. They all feel well. Nobody is taking a statin cholesterol drug or other agent that would modify the numbers. Jonathan is around 30 lbs overweight. Nobody has an impressive family history of heart disease.

Can you tell who has heart disease and who doesn't? If you can, you're smarter than I am, because I certainly can't tell. But your doctor tries to divine your future by looking at these numbers.

Do they know something that we don't know? No. It's a crude odds game, a guessing game. A guessing game that frequently comes up on the losing end.

These are three real people. Laura, despite her high LDL, has no identifiable coronary heart disease. Jonathan has advanced coronary disease. These were his numbers just prior to his stent. Marian has a moderate quantity revealed by a CT heart scan score of 419.

Don't even try predicting your future from your cholesterol numbers--it simply can't be done. Every day, I see patients and physicians beating their heads over this dilemma. Telling your fortune using pretended occult powers is illegal. Telling your fortune using cholesterol numbers should be, too.

If you want to know if you have coronary plaque, that's the role of the CT heart scan. Plain and simple.

Heart scan score drops like a stone

23. November 2006 William Davis (2)
Matt was dumbfounded when he found out about his heart scan score of 317 in the summer of 2005.

Earlier that year he'd unintentionally lost 20 lbs. in the space of two months and was feeling awful. He was diagnosed with diabetes and put on several medications. He told me that the heart scan score was just adding insult to injury.

As you'd expect in someone with diabetes, Matt had a low HDL, increased triglycerides, and small LDL. Blood pressure and inflammation (C-reactive protein) were issues as well.

Matt's primary care physician had put him on a statin cholesterol drug as soon as he heard about Matt's heart scan score, so we kept this going. What Matt's primary care physician didn't know was that his "true" LDL had been much higher than the conventional calculated LDL had suggested, so the statin agent was a reasonable solution. (Matt was also not terribly motivated to make dramatic changes in lifestyle or food choices. The statin drug was a compromise.)

We added fish oil and vitamin D to his regimen. Though recent data have cast doubt on the value of treating homocysteine levels of around 12.5, Matt's much higher value of 28 was treated with vitamins B6, B12, and folic acid, with a resultant homocysteine of 7.6.

17 months into the Track Your Plaque approach, and Matt's repeat heart scan score: 244, a 23% reduction.

How's that for an early Christmas gift?

"You don't have a uterus. You don't need progesterone"

21. November 2006 William Davis (2)
I was talking with a hospital nurse recently who told me about her lack of energy, blue moods, and other assorted complaints. At age 49, she was exasperated. So I suggested that she ask her gynecologist about progesterone cream.

The gynecologist advised her, "You don't have a uterus. You don't need progesterone." He went on to explain that the only reason to take progesterone was to prevent uterine cancer caused by estrogen.

Then what about progesterone's weight loss benefits? It's effects on increased energy, improved mood, deeper sleep? These benefits, of course, have nothing to do with the uterus.

I've witnessed these benefits in women many times, both in the peri-menopausal period (which starts around your late 30's) and menopause.

Why talk about progesterone when our focus is heart disease and reduction of heart scan scores? Because if progesterone in a woman helps her feel better, more upbeat, and accelerates weight loss, she's more likely to succeed in her plaque-control program.

For additional comments on progesterone, read the Track Your Plaque interview with women's hormone expert, Dr. Nisha Jackson, Females, hormones, and weight control:
An interview with Dr. Nisha Jackson found at http://www.cureality.com/library/fl_04-008njacksonhormones.asp. Dr. Jackson also has a book available called "The Hormone Survival Guide to Perimenopause".







Or, read Dr. John Lee's pioneering books, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause: The Breakthrough Book on Natural Hormone Balance and What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause: Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty . (An edition that combines the two books is available, also.)