including:
Suppressed immune system
Increased cancer risk
Diabetes
Liver damage
Muscle degeneration
Anemia
Cataracts
Neuropathy
Other than low testosterone, the most well-known side effect of statins is memory loss. Early death may be a possibility too, as a study in the American Journal of Cardiology followed 300 adults, determining that:
T hose taking a statin with the lowest LDL cholesterol levels had the highest mortality and those with the highest LDL cholesterol had the lowest.
A senior research scientist at MIT, Dr. Stephanie Seneff, has b ecome world renowned for her work connecting statin use with Alzheimer’s. She believes statins handicap the liver’s ability to make cholesterol, prevent cells from making important antioxidants (coenzyme Q10), inhibit the transport of fatty acids and antioxidants (via LDL cholesterol,) and cause vitamin D and hormone deficiencies.
Monitor Triglycerides NOT Total Cholesterol
John Gofman, a University of California Medical Student, discovered in 1950 that there were circulating fat-like substances in the blood, called Triglycerides. He concluded that Total Cholesterol was a dangerously poor predictor for heart disease. Triglycerides that circulate in blood are created in the liver from excess carbohydrates. The majority of us have never been informed that our carbohydrate intake determines our triglyceride levels. Furthermore, that this marker is a much better predictor for heart disease than Total Cholesterol. As researchers from Harvard Medical School found:
T hose with High Triglycerides and Low HDL Cholesterol have a 6 times greater risk of heart attack, than those with Low Triglycerides and High HDL Cholesterol.
Ironically, our attempts to lower fat intake to prevent heart disease have contributed to increases in carbohydrate food sources, which has increased triglycerides and put us at a higher risk of heart disease.
The best markers of heart health appear to be the Triglyceride-to-HDL ratio, and the composition of LDL cholesterol particles. Although it’s often referred to as ‘bad’ cholesterol, many are unaware that an adequate amount of LDL cholesterol is absolutely necessary, as it’s primary role is to transport cholesterol to the brain. LDL cholesterol particles are benign when they’re big and fluffy, but become dangerous when small and dense. The second slice of irony is that the consumption of plant and vegetable oils (canola, corn, soybean, safflower) are what morphs your LDL cholesterol particles into the small dense variety. Meaning the saturated fats that we were instructed to replace were substituted with vegetable source fats and oils that raise the 2nd critical biomarker for heart disease!
The high carbohydrate and low-fat recommendations over the last 50 years have raised triglycerides, lowered HDL cholesterol, and converted big fluffy benign LDL cholesterol particles into small dense harmful ones. This has increased heart disease, obesity, and other diseases of degeneration and it all stems from the avoidance of animal protein and fat.
“Man is a food dependent creature. If you do not feed him he will die. Feed him improperly and parts of him will die.”
― Emanuel Cheraskin (1916-2001)
M istake #5
Choosing The Wrong Fats
When you think about it, calorie restriction and low-fat eating go hand in hand. Fat has 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates only have 4. Reduce the food with the most calories, and you will lose weight. At least that’s how most believe it’s supposed to work.
Lowering our intake of saturated fat to prevent heart di sease and restrict calories nearly tripled obesity over the last 40 years! Less fat meant more carbohydrates overall, and less animal source fats meant an increase in polyunsaturated plant source fats (PUFAs). Butter became margarine, coconut oil became canola oil, and sugar was added to replace