Dr. Malcolm Kendrick and vitamins

#21

I’m not sure there is a family history. My mom was told her LDL was high at 5.0 mmol/L. She then told me her mother had been on medication for high cholesterol. But realizing how the medical professionals tend to misunderstand about cholesterol, and think at all times must LDL be kept low (when more recent research has shown low LDL to be unhealthy, with detrimental effects) I am not so sure about the validity of those doctors’ judgement of my grandmother’s so-called high cholesterol.

As a sidenote, my LDL was 1.37 mmol/L, which I now am beginning to regard as too low. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons I ended up with chronic inflammation and cancer.

My mom did discover calcification of an artery in her heart (I don’t know though what her CAC score was, or if the doctor even told her). She was told, however, that despite this calcification her heart was working fine. She was told to reduce intake of saturated fat, and almost ended up replacing it with low fat products, containing vegetable and seed oils, until I shared with her more recent research regarding cholesterol, and she luckily discarded that idea, and went back to eating full fat cheese and butter. That those who point the finger accusingly at saturated fats can’t see how excessive carb and sugar intake is a much more likely reason, is beyond me.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #22

It’s a valid question, but nobody knows, since most of the research was done on a carb-eating population.

On the other hand, my bias is towards the notion that a proper human diet does not require us to take supplements, unless we have a known problem that makes a supplement necessary.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #23

As far as cooking is concerned, it actually makes more nutrients available than we can absorb from the raw meat. It also aids in breaking down the proteins and making them easier to digest.

And I hate to keep harping on grazing practices, but if you are fortunate to live near a farm that practices regenerative agriculture, their meat is going to be far more nutritious, especially as the topsoil recovers and begins to grow.

#24

What do people in your family die of? If it is old age, then drink and be merry. If it is ASCVD OR CVD then look at ApoB as a starting point. Assess with your doctor once the results are known. If say it’s cancer, then determine if was genetic-based cancer. Ask the question if they suggest screening, "What types of cancer screens reduce mortality and what’s my chance of dying if I am screened or if I am not screened? Cancer Inc. loves to talk about 5-year survival rates. Yet it means not a lot. Here is a prime example of timeline bias. 2 people were diagnosed with the same form of cancer. One is diagnosed at age 63 and dies at age 70. 2nd person is diagnosed at 67 and also dies at age 70. Who had the better life?

#25

Yes ffskier, all my grandparents died of cancer, in their 80s. I am not going to live that way, as you suggest, constantly thinking about and assessing my risks. It is a risk stepping outside your door, and it is a risk walking on the pavement (a driver could lose control of his/her car and drive over your foot) It is a risk just waking up in the morning and heading outside, anything could theoretically happen to you. Anything as remote to your mind as say, coming across an angry rhinoceros that has escaped from the zoo (James and the Giant Peach). The ego wants constant safeguarding and complete control over everything. But nothing is in our control, ultimately. Life is too short to try and constantly protect yourself against any potential disease by constant risk assessment, clouding your mind with dour statistics, accepting preventative medications that greatly reduces quality of life, no thank you. It tends to be those who’ve stared into the face of mortality who finally accept life is a gift, everyday to be cherished and not dissolved in fear, doubt and a frantic desire to control things that are out of our control, out of our hands. I choose life and happiness.

#26

Yes and no. You make some very valid points. I agree there are no certainties with life. But if you could take concrete action that could significantly reduce your risks of dyeing prematurely, than why would you not take the action(s)? I am assuming you decided to change your diet and avoid eating carbs as you believe this would mitigate some type of risk? In winter some people decide to put on snow tires on their vehicles as they believe it potentially reduces the risk of getting into an accident or getting struct in the snow. Some judge risk differently. I am certainly not advocating moving into a plastic bubble, but rather know what your risks are so that you may decide to adjust accordingly or you may not. 80% of the population will die from about 4 different things of which some risk can be reduced.

#27

I started keto to treat my lipoedema. I was later also diagnosed with lymphedema (bilateral leg swelling) due to varicose. The compression tights I was given has taken care of that swelling. I stumbled over keto reading it could be beneficial to treat both conditions, and it is, in that it for me has significantly reduced the lipoedema pain, but also my muscle and joint pain, in other words, it has significantly reduced inflammation. I migrated quite early on from keto to carnivore and I still don’t know why, I just like the simplicity and the food more. So that was my reason. Would I have embarked on keto without a lipoedema diagnosis? The answer is no.
As to assessing risks and weighing benefits, I don’t know if this WOE is safe long term. It might be, it might not be. And if it lowers the risk of some illnesses, it might raise the risk of others. Everything is essentially a two-edged sword. I understand the desire, and intellectual pull towards safeguarding. We assess risk/benefits all the time. But my desire is to spend less time with the doctors (call me crazy) and be on only 1 medication in a few years. At the moment I am on 2. I believe there is no optimal WOE or lifestyle and likewise no optimal state of health. So it’s about making the best out of what we have, and try to be as healthy as we can be, but a big, essential part of that is managing to reduce stress. The best food in the world is not going to help, if an individual struggles with either a negative mindset, or abounding stress. So, I particularly like Dr. Malcolm Kendrick’s advice on how to be more healthy: Get out there into the sunshine.

#28

Well said.

(B Creighton) #29

Hi Bob, I personally would not worry about Lp(a) unless you know yours is genetically misshapen. Studies do show a 2-4 times greater chance of heart disease for such people. Apparently, the protein coating of the particle can sometimes have a little spur or hook, which is more likely to get the particle embedded into the artery walls - which seems to be the main cause of atherosclerosis. For most people though who have normally shaped Lp(a), high counts don’t seem to particularly correlate to CVD.

While I believe Dr Kendrick may have hit upon a contributing factor, I still believe the main driver of atherosclosis is glycated and oxidized LDL. I kinda doubt most Americans are that deficient in vitamin C. However, C would also help prevent oxidation of LDL.