Talk about health

It's cholesterol time again.

I make no apologies for returning to the theme. Mainly because the drug industry is constantly trying to enlarge the number of people to take their products. Researchers seem to be spending their time to find another aspect of heart health that could possibly benefit from taking the cholesterol-lowering drugs - The STATINS.

I'm no fan of lifetime medications unless they have either been proved safe and relatively free from side effects or are the last resort for people who otherwise have little hope. The statins don't fall into either category, in my opinion. On the surface, they really do lower cholesterol. the more you take the lower it gets.

Surely, that is a good thing? Well, perhaps. In theory lowering high cholesterol to a 'normal' measure is the preferred action. It may lower the risk of heart attack. But, the fact is that 50% of heart attacks happen to people with 'normal' cholesterol.

That makes me just a little sceptical about the benefits or otherwise of statins. And today, I've read a research report that tells me that of those people who take statin therapy, half stop taking them after one year of treatment. Here is a family of drugs that should be taken for the rest of your life to have the desired effect (provided you belive what that is!) and half of the patients don't take it after a year.

Those 50% of patients will therefore be catapulted back up towards the top of the 'at risk' table.

Anyway, this research decided that the reasons for not continuing taking the statins was not because of the side effects, but because of a lack of information as to what the drugs were supposed to be doing. And a lack of communication with the doctors concerned. And little follow-up information when they returned for repeat prescriptions and check-ups.

It seems laughable that people are put on these drugs presumeably to save their lives and return them to health, then they are more-or-less abandoned to their own devices. No information, no follow-up, no education as to the best way to live their lives after consultations.

This episode adds to my belief that it's about time that each one of us takes charge of our own health as far as possible. You have to begin with diet, exercise, relaxation - in other words prevent illness by looking after yourself. If illness strikes you, get some independent information about the disease and the possible avenues of treatment. Then you'll have a better understanding of what the doctor or health professional is trying to achieve and why.

I've spent many years in conventional health and was probably a little brainwashed into believing it was the one and only way to go. But, no more. The research I've mentioned here just proves to me at least, that picking or creating a disease then prescribing a drug to treat it is not enough. The back-up, the information on side effects and toxicity, and the alternatives are of paramount importance to the patient.

Don't, whatever you do, rely on just one opinion. Look around. There's lots of information out there. Admittedly, some of it is a little suspect. So, be careful where you look and what you do about it.

If you want to know more about cholesterol, for instance, I have a booklet all about it. It tells you why you need some cholesterol, what the statin drugs do, their side effects, the alternatives ( and there are many to choose from) and much more. You will see what you need to do and how you can do it - all in everyday language, easily understood and put to good use.

Just visit http://www.healthexplored.co.uk and click on shop to find the Cholesterol publication. ordering is easy and secure and you will get the download digital copy by return - 24 hours a day. Or to get the fr ee newsleter and tips booklet, just subscribe to the newsletter.

The publicity given over to cholesterol and its link with heart disease is vast. The consequence of that is many people think cholesterol is the only thing to worry about. And to get it down to as low a level as possible with drugs means a long and healthy life.

Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you it doesn't follow. Sure, high cholesterol is on the list of possible causes and doing nothing to get it down may prove damaging to your health. But the facts are that more than half of heart attack victims have normal cholesterol.

You should realise that cholesterol is essential to good health. The healthiest person on the planet has cholesterol. It's there to do a whole raft of things to help you maintain health. It's only when levels rise above normal that something should be done, and not necessarily with drugs. Drugs have side effects, so may cause more problems. Low cholesterol is not a good thing either. If you've got rid of much of it you lose the benefits to your health and you could well be heading for a different problem entirely.

So, first off, try non-drug ways of lowering cholesterol. There are a few that you can try. They are usually successful and will save the worry of side effects.

But, there are other markers that will give you an idea of your risk of heart disease.

They include your fasting insulin level. Raised insulin can point to increased risk of heart disease. Therefore, getting it back to normal is a good thing.

On the cholesterol theme, instead of just taking a total cholesterol measure, ask for a figure for both your total and HDL cholesterol. Then divide the HDL reading by the total value. The percentage should be higher than 24%.

If your doctor does a reading for triglycerides as well. Divide that number by the HDL and that should be below 2.

Finally, it seems that a major part of ageing and poor health is due to the ravages of excess iron that causes free radical damage and is said to be a more important measure of heart disease risk than cholesterol. Now it is possible to have a test for ferritin. This is an iron reading and a raised level will determing your risk of heart disease.

Even if you don't want to get involved in all this testing and mathematical calculation, you can do something to lower your risk of heart disease.

Get plenty of exercise on a regular basis. Make it part of your daily routine.

Work on changing your diet to remove processed foods and fast foods and increase fresh fruit and vegetables. Cook them yourself.

Get enough good quality sleep most nights. Seven or eight hours is average.

Get a handle on your stress levels. Too much stress can be a killer. So, try to identify what causes the stress and then work on reducing it. Relaxation is the key and there are lots of ways to achieve it. One will work for you.

Vitamin D has come to the fore as an absolutely essential thing for good health. So review how much you take regularly in food, and how much susnshine you get daily (5 to 15 minutes is good). Then consider whether you might add fish oil to your supplement list to help bolster levels.

To sum up, cholesterol is important but not to the exclusion of everything else. You can do some simple things to help your health without resorting to medication. That is the starting point. Leave the drugs until you absolutely must. You'll feel better for it.

Why not check out my site at http://www.healthexplored.co.uk and sign up to my newsletter. I have books on cholesterol and stress that you might find useful. Both explain the basics and discuss how alternative therapies and other non-drug approaches can help. You might be surprised to find how you can vastly improve your health without drugs - just some basic changes to lifestyle and perhaps one or two alternatives.

I hadn't intended to talk about the subject of today's article when I was planning what to say. (You're probably suprised that planning came into it!) But as happens occasionally, the media created a bit of a splash in the UK yesterdayand changed my thoughts. And it's all about what causes cancer. The answer, according to a report out? - meat, specifially bacon and red meat.

So, there you have it. Don't eat bacon ever again and cancer will be banished across the land. At least, that is what the papers and TV stations would have us believe. It's a great headline - short and to the point and easy to remember. From a marketing point of view it's a winner. Sadly, from your health's point of view, maybe not so clear cut.

My advanced years and development of a sceptical muscle lead me to suggest all is not so simple or straightforward. Your body is a complex and wonderful thing where the causes of illness and disease are usually the coming together of a series of factors - not just one.

And what about the research that produced this wonderfully simple cause and effect revelation? What groundbreaking scientific expose revealed the answer so simply?

Apparently the authors looked over research done by other people during the past ten years or so. They did nothing new! And it wasn't every piece of relevant research either. They seem to have discounted quite a bit of the available research to narrow down the volume of work. Is it my twisted view that says they might have ignored work that didn't correspond to their feeling of what the outcome should be? Perhaps.

They chose the work to be reviewed and they did nothing new.

How about the results? No bacon and no red meat. Well, not quite. You're allowed 500g of red meat per week. Being a believer in moderation in all things, I feel that is reasonable as a general rule. The problem is that to take that to the conclusion that cancer and meat-eating is a direct link doen't ring true with me.

There are many other factors involved from smoking to overindulgence in both food and alcohol, pollution, stress, genetics and much more. To pick out one and give it the emphasis of this report seems a little extreme.

Then, to put all the blame on the consumer is wrong. The supermarkets are crammed with an array of processed meat including bacon, cooked meats, all kinds of smoked meat and the rest. Is the curing and smoking process at fault? If they are killing the population as this report states, should the government not be curbing manufacture and sale of these products. Instead, there is silence from that quarter. Not a word from the people who normally try to limit our enjoyment and freedom at every turn. Strange, isn't it?

My view, for what it's worth is to take on board the warning and perhaps cut down on our consumption of such products. Be more aware of what goes into producing them and initiate some new research into the links between meats processing and cancer - to resolve what they might be if there are any.

It's all too easy to be carried away by the headline. But, take a step back and have a closer look at the details of the story. It isn't that I want to dismiss it completely, more that it needs to be put into perspective. Perhaps there is truth in the conclusions. However, it's too soon to say one way or another.

What do the government experts say? So far, nothing at all. Perhaps it is just another report in a plethora of conflicting health stories. Wait and see. That's my opinion. And don't panic!

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