Our poor children!

I don't even know what to say about this!

For the first time, an influential doctors group is recommending that some children as young as 8 be given cholesterol-fighting drugs to ward off future heart problems.

Mind you, there is little if any evidence that cholesterol medications prevent heart disease!

It is the strongest guidance ever given on the issue by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which released its new guidelines Monday. The academy also recommends low-fat milk for 1-year-olds and wider cholesterol testing.

Dr. Stephen Daniels, of the academy's nutrition committee, says the new advice is based on mounting evidence showing that damage leading to heart disease, the nation's leading killer, begins early in life.

It also stems from recent research showing that cholesterol-fighting drugs are generally safe for children, Daniels said.

Wow...."generally safe"? Really? Many adults that have been damaged (or died) from statins may disagree. Can we at least have a citation for the "recent research"??

Several of these drugs are approved for use in children and data show that increasing numbers are using them.

Oh well.....if more kids are using them, then I guess it's ok for most kids?

"If we are more aggressive about this in childhood, I think we can have an impact on what happens later in life ... and avoid some of these heart attacks and strokes in adulthood," Daniels said. He has worked as a consultant to Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co., but not on matters involving their cholesterol drugs.

Drug treatment would generally be targeted for kids at least 8 years old who have too much LDL, the "bad" cholesterol, along with other risky conditions, including obesity and high blood pressure.

For overweight children with too little HDL, the "good" cholesterol, the first course of action should be weight loss, more physical activity and nutritional counseling, the academy says.

Pediatricians should routinely check the cholesterol of children with a family history of inherited cholesterol disease or with parents or grandparents who developed heart disease at an early age, the recommendations say. Screening also is advised for kids whose family history isn't known and those who are overweight, obese or have other heart disease risk factors.

Screening is recommended sometime after age 2 but no later than age 10, at routine checkups.

We've been SOOOOOO successful with adults, now we have to work on the kids!

Read more here and for the New york Times article click here. (Registration required for NYT article.

We have GOT to get some sensible people in charge!

What if bad fat isn’t so bad?

I'm working, and don't really have time to do this....but I had to post this!!

MSNBC has an article out that is pro fat! It's written by Nina Teicholz and notes that

Suppose you were forced to live on a diet of red meat and whole milk. A diet that, all told, was at least 60 percent fat — about half of it saturated. If your first thoughts are of statins and stents, you may want to consider the curious case of the Masai, a nomadic tribe in Kenya and Tanzania.

In the 1960s, a Vanderbilt University scientist named George Mann, M.D., found that Masai men consumed this very diet (supplemented with blood from the cattle they herded). Yet these nomads, who were also very lean, had some of the lowest levels of cholesterol ever measured and were virtually free of heart disease.

Scientists, confused by the finding, argued that the tribe must have certain genetic protections against developing high cholesterol. But when British researchers monitored a group of Masai men who moved to Nairobi and began consuming a more modern diet, they discovered that the men's cholesterol subsequently skyrocketed.

Similar observations were made of the Samburu — another Kenyan tribe — as well as the Fulani of Nigeria. While the findings from these cultures seem to contradict the fact that eating saturated fat leads to heart disease, it may surprise you to know that this "fact" isn't a fact at all. It is, more accurately, a hypothesis from the 1950s that's never been proved. (Emphasis mine)

In the article, Ms Teiholz discusses how this theory became accepted as fact and the controversy that was heard at the time. She also talks about the findings of the Cochrane Collaboration, which did a meta-analysis of studies that met strict criteria.

"I was disappointed that we didn't find something more definitive," says Lee Hooper, Ph.D., who led the Cochrane review. If this exhaustive analysis didn't provide evidence of the dangers of saturated fat, says Hooper, it was probably because the studies reviewed didn't last long enough, or perhaps because the participants didn't lower their saturated-fat intake enough. Of course, there is a third possibility, which Hooper doesn't mention: The diet-heart hypothesis is incorrect.

Really, a very positive article! Check it out!


Maybe the tide really is changing?

Weigh In week 7

No change in weight this week....again!




Oh well, at least it's not a gain!!!

Joints are much better, but did have a really bad night Friday night! The pain in my left hand and arm woke me several times! (Now, those of you that don't know me, don't know I am legendary in what I can sleep thru!) Nothing seems to help, not naproxen, or ibuprophen, or acetaminophen, or aspirin!! This is quite upsetting, as I am reluctant to try anything stronger, and I know, if this is arthritis, that any doc will recommend stronger meds, especially the new ones for arthritis!! Oh well....time will tell!

Want to mention a few blogs today....on topics I'd like to write on. Why do it tho, when others do it so well?

Dr Mike has a post today, The Bad Fat Brothers, about the AHA's attempt to continue to demonise saturated fat and his Nominee for the Reckless Award.

Dr MD also has an interesting recipe posted. Low carb tortilla soup sounds really yummy. I've never had "regular", since I never heard of it until I started low carbing, but this sounds like a great soup!

Sparky's Girl has an interesting post about Ronald MacDonald.

Dr Briffa has an excellent post today about how Resistance exercise may help to protect us from diabetes.

Bamagal has a very good post about funding for youth suicide prevention programs. There is a link on the post to contact your lawmakers to encourage passage of this bill.

Fred Hahn posted about resistance training and how it can change you.

Dr Vernon posted an excellent response to an email yesterday. Be sure to check it out.

Have a good week!! I've got a lot going on, so I doubt I'll be posting often.

Women and the AHA

Women and heart disease.

I decided to evaluate the AHA's recommendations for the prevention and treatment of heart disease in women.

The AHA, in my opinion, is pretty much a joke. The continuously ignore good scientific findings and allow drug and device companies to steer the way to setting treatment standards.

The AHA recommends exercise. Of course they do, no one will argue that exercise isn't good for you!
"No time to exercise? That's OK. Don’t think exercise — think action. Standing is better than sitting; walking is better than standing. Increase your physical activity to at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week, even if you do it 10 minutes at a time."

Great to start, but most would argue that at least 30 min a day of some kind of physical movement would be the absolute least amount of exercise required.

And of course the AHA recommends not smoking. Everyone does. There is NO upside to smoking!

How To Love Your Heart

Only you can love your heart. There are some risk factors for heart disease you can control:

• High blood pressure. This condition can increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.
• Smoking. If you smoke, your risk of developing coronary heart disease is two to four times that of nonsmokers. Smoking is also a major preventable cause of stroke.
• High cholesterol. The higher your total blood cholesterol, the greater your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke..
• Physical inactivity. Lack of physical activity increases your risk of coronary heart disease and stroke..
• Obesity or overweight. If you have excess body fat — especially at the waist — you’re more likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke.
• Diabetes. Having diabetes increases your risk of heart disease and stroke, especially if your blood sugar is not controlled.

There are other risk factors to be aware of — talk to your doctor about how your age, race and heredity may affect your risk for heart disease.

Now, just what is a "healthy diet" according to the AHA? Well, check out their No Fad Diet. After drilling down a bit, I was able to find the guidelines:

• Whole grains and legumes: 6 servings.
• Vegetables and Fruits: 5 servings.
• Fat free or low fat dairy: 3 servings.
• Lean meat fish poultry and vegetarian protein: 2 servings.

What is 1 serving?

• Whole grains and legumes: 1 servings is generally 1 ounce. A cup of cereal, a slice of bread, 1/2c hot cereal, 1/2c whole grain pasta, 1/2c cookedstarchy vegetable (this surprised me!).
• Vegetables and Fruits: 1 serving is generally 1 medium piece of fruits, 1 cup raw and 1/2c cooked veggies or 3/4c fruit or vegetable juice.
• Fat free or low fat dairy: 1 serving is 1 cup milk, 1/2c cottage cheese (fat free or low fat only for milk & cheese) or 1 ounce hard cheese.
• Lean meat fish poultry and vegetarian protein 3 ounces lean meat, fish, poultry or 1/2c cooked beans or lentils.

OK....so let's try a menu:
Breakfast:
1 6oz container fat free, sugar free yogurt
1 cup sliced strawberries with 1 tsp sugar.
2 slice whole wheat bread with 2 tsp "light tub margarine"

Mid-morning snack:
4 reduced fat or light vanilla wafer-type cookies
10 grapes

Lunch:
Cheese toast made with 1 oz shredded cheddar cheese and 1 whole wheat English muffin.
1/2cup baby carrots
1/2cup fat free or light ice cream

Afternoon snack:
1/2 medium banana

Dinner:
1 serving pork tenderloin with cranberry salsa (recipe included)
1 baked sweet potato with 2 tsp "light tub margarine"
1/2cup green beans cooked in 1 tsp olive or canola oil.

As you probably already guessed, this isn't my choice of a diet, but the AHA's choice. This is the sample recipe they give for a 1200 cal/day diet.

My totals, when I entered everything in Fitday, come out a little higher.










Here are the totals:

Not too bad,
Fat: 42g (27%) with 12g saturated, 10g poly and 15g mono.
Carbohydrates: 202g (55%) with 24g fiber
Protein: 64g (18%)

Well within their guidelines for fat and carbohydrate, under 30% for fat and 45-60% carbs. I'm not sure of the protein level, but it seems low to me.

OK....so we know we're within the guidelines for fat/protein/carb intake....how about the guidelines for grains, fruits and vegetables, dairy and protein?

Let's see:
Grains: 2 slices whole wheat bread, whole English muffin (we'll count as 2) and 1 serving sweet potato that's 5 servings. (6 is the recommended amount)
Fruits and vegetables: strawberries, banana, green beans, grapes and carrots = 5 servings (5 is the recommended amount)
Dairy 3 servings: yogurt, cheese and ice cream. 3 servings (3 is the recommended amount)
Lean meat/fish/poultry: 2 3oz servings. hmmm...3 oz pork is one serving. Yogurt and cheese both contain protein, so maybe that counts for the other serving? (2 is the recommended amount)

OK....below their recommendations on grains, but others are OK.

Now, I must go off on another track at this time. Trans fats. There is absolutely no excuse (in my opinion) for anyone, let alone the AHA, to recommend any food that may contain trans-fats without a warning or notation or something!

Most commercial breads contain at least trace amounts of trans-fats. Cookies, commercial ice cream and tub margarine often contain trans-fats! But not one word about checking labels.

OK....back to the sample menu.

How about RDA, How does it add up?






Shocking, isn't it? RDA is met or exceeded, for only Carbs, fiber, protein, Vitamins A & C, and Manganese. Phosphorus and riboflavin are close with 97 & 99% RDA, so I'll give them those two also. But, it is deficient in every other parameter! Look at Vitamin D! Zinc! B12!

OK....so the RDA is based on more than 1200 calories, which I agree are too low for the average woman.

Let's take a look at their recommendation for a 2000 calorie diet:
Breakfast:
1 omelet made with egg substitute, mushrooms, spinach and milk and canola or olive oil cooked in 2 tsp "light tub margarine".
1/2 whole wheat English muffin with 1 tsp "light tub margarine" and 1 tablespoon light sugar preserves.
6 oz low sodium tomato or fruit juice.

Mid-morning snack:
1 6oz container fat free, sugar free yogurt
1/2cup raspberries

Lunch:
Sandwich with 2 slices whole wheat bread, 3 oz fat free, reduced sodium deli roast beef, lettuce, tomato and mustard
1oz baked potato chips
1/2cup blueberries with 1 tsp sugar
8oz fat free milk

Afternoon snack:
1 medium banana

Dinner:
1 serving bistro chicken with asparagus (recipe included)
1 cup cooked summer squash with 2 tsp "light tub margarine"
1/2 cup couscous (98% fat free, reduced sodium)
1 whole wheat dinner roll with 1 tsp "light tub margarine"
1/2 c fat free or light ice cream with 1/2 cup sliced peaches and 1/4 cup sliced almonds.

Sounds like a pretty reasonable menu. Again with the tub margarine and packaged foods, and I don't get adding sugar to berries! They're sweet enough!

OK so here are the numbers:










Again, my numbers are a tad higher, but again, the guidelines for fat, protein and carb is pretty much on track. Carbs are actually a little low (based on 45-60% of calories from carbs).

Here's the nutrition stats:








And the %RDA:






And, once again, we see some serious deficiencies, especially in Vitamin D, Vitamin A and Folate!! Better than the 1200 calorie example, but still deficient in important nutrients.

So. This is the AHA's idea of a healthy diet?

Even though Folate is very important for women, and Vitamin D is now being implicated in several diseases and disorders (including cancers and heart disease), this diet is below the RDA. And look atcalcium! We hear how important calcium is, but this diet is barely adequate.

So. You follow this "No-Fad Diet" and what happens? Because your carb intake is high, you'll likely have high triglycerides and small denseLDL. Your HDL will likely be low due to the artificial foods and lack of saturated fats. Because you're eating processed foods that likely contain at least HFCS or trans-fats, (not to mention a slew of other chemicals!) you'll have higher levels of inflammation. And because you're deficient in some key vitamins and minerals, you'll have less protection against not only heart disease, but also cancers anddegenerative diseases!!! You're also probably well on your way to developing insulin resistance and possibly even diabetes. If you're already diabetic, you're probably finding it hard to keep your sugars in good control.

And then what?

For the high cholesterol readings, especially the low HDL, they'll tell you to cut saturated fats even more, watch cholesterol intake, and maybe even be given drugs to lower your cholesterol. Drugs, I might add, that show NO benefit to women.

For the inflammation, you'll also be given anti-inflammatories and possibly be pushed into taking statins as they have a strong anti-inflammatory effect.

And for the diabetes and insulin resistance, you'll be given prescriptions and told to eat less and exercise more.

What about taking vitamins? minerals? anti-oxidants?
"The American Heart Association doesn't recommend using antioxidant vitamin supplements until more complete data are available. "
“Our study does not suggest that taking folic acid, B₆ or B₁₂ primarily to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD) would be worthwhile. Women who are taking them solely for that purpose may want to discontinue,”
"The possibility that magnesium deficiency has a role in the development of coronary heart disease is only an interesting and provocative hypothesis."

In summary, The American Heart Association, which is "a national voluntary health agency whose mission is to reduce disability and death from cardiovascular diseases and stroke". is recommending the intake of a diet that is deficient in several key nutrients.

Statins. Even though there is NO evidence that statins do anything for women, or even that lowering cholesterol naturally benefits women, the AHA continues to recommend statins for women. There are articles on the AHA website that extol the virtues of statins:
Statin drugs lower heart disease risk in postmenopausal women
"Treatment with a cholesterol-lowering statin can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease and possibly death in postmenopausal women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), investigators report in the rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association."

American Heart Association's Guidelines At-A-Glance for Preventing Heart Disease and Stroke in Women

• ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers are recommended for all high-risk women.
• High-risk women should be prescribed statin therapy even if their LDL cholesterol levels are below 100 mg/dL.
• Niacin and fibrate therapies are given a strong recommendation for high-risk women with specific cholesterol abnormalities.

In the 12 guidelines, 6 of them, fully half, recommend some kind of medication. Only two are diet related, and says "In addition to a heart-healthy diet, supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids and folic acid may be considered in some high-risk women." and "Smoking cessation, regular physical activity, a heart-healthy diet and weight maintenance are given a strong priority in all women." It specifically excludes the use of antioxidants too! "Hormone therapy and antioxidant vitamin supplements are not recommended for CVD prevention for women at any level of risk." Now I can see the HRT, but antioxidants!?!?

Nothing about limiting processed foods. Nothing about avoiding HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) and trans-fats that are present in many processed foods.

For more information about statins and their effects, I strongly recommend Dr Graveline's website.
For information about lowering blood sugar levels, I would check out Dr Mary Vernon, Dr Michael Eades and Dr Mary Dan Eades. Also nutritionists Jonny Bowden.
For information on the truth about dietary and blood cholesterol, and the "risk" of heart or other diseases, see Dr Michael Eades, Joseph Mercola and Uffe Ravnskov.
The Weston A Price Foundation is a great source of information on the benefits of natural foods vs the dangers of industrial foods.

Sunday, January 28, 2007

I love eggs!!! I eat a fair amount of them. Poached, fried, hard boiled, deviled, egg salad, and so forth. I usually buy large eggs. When I was a kid we only had medium eggs, but even mom switched to large many years ago. We bought our eggs from the local egg farm. The farm was just at the end of our street, and the old guy that owned it (just him and his wife) would sometimes let us watch the egg sorter in action!! What he sold us as "medium" were comparable to "large" in the food stores. When the egg farm closed (they retired), we started buying eggs at the local food store and I think always got large.

Well, I bought some jumbo eggs a few weeks ago because the "large" were tiny. These jumbos looked like large to me. Well, when those ran out I asked my son to pick up another dozen and he again got the jumbo. Boy were those things big!!! I almost choked when I saw the size of the eggs!! Of course I was thrilled! I have 1 or 2 eggs with 1 slice bread when I eat them for breakfast. More egg, more yummy!

I have never, until this current dozen, seen a double yolk egg. I know they exist, but I have never seen one. Out of the 10 eggs I've cracked so far, 4 of them were double yolk!

The last 3 eggs I've opened out of this dozen

The ones I cracked today I also broke one of the yolks, so those will go to the dogs. I was making poached/dropped eggs, and broken yolks aren't good. The one that's a single was a bit smaller than the others, but not by much!

Dropped eggs cooking

Ready to eat. That's whole grain oatmeal bread by Pepperidge Farm with butter.
A little bit of salt and freshly ground pepper. Yummy!

My sister had her procedure done and is doing well. There was some question as to whether there was plaque or not. They knew she had scar tissue, but we weren't sure whether they suspected plaque or not. Well, after the procedure it was confirmed that it was scar tissue only. They only opened one artery, the one that was partially blocked. The other one was 100% blocked, but had good collateral circulation, and they were afraid they'd do more harm than good in attempting to open the artery.

I guess this supports my theory about good genes along with bad ones. My mom's side of the family has rampant diabetes. As far back as my great grandmother and her siblings, right through to my current generation, of which I am the youngest, almost all were diagnosed with diabetes. I even have a niece, the next generation, that has been diagnosed.

My sister definitely takes after mom's side of the family as far as body build is concerned. My brother takes after my dad's side, but is also diabetic, so has apparently inherited the "weak" pancreas. But, so far none, including my generation, have developed coronary artery disease. NONE.

One aunt had CHF (congestive heart failure) as a result of a viral infection when she was young. This aunt eventually died of CHF. But she'd never had a heart attack or stroke, and was well into her 80's by the time it got her.

What's the one thing they worry about most with diabetics? Yep, heart disease. So, there's no heart disease in my mom's family, despite most being diagnosed with diabetes, and most of those prior to age 50 (some under 40!).

Is it because they are well controlled???? I don't know, but I suspect not. My sister's latest A1c was 6.2 or 6.3. This means her average blood sugar was in excess of 135. That's average. She doesn't take her blood sugar readings very often, on the advice of her doc, but the ones she does record are usually 140-150. The last time we talked she had one that was over 180! (and of course had no idea what may have caused the spike!) She's also on 2 medications. One med she's at max dose, the second one she's very close to max.

Average daily blood sugars
relation to A1c levels

I don't call that well controlled.

My brother is currently 55. He was diagnosed less than 10 yrs ago when they discovered he had severe peripheral neuropathy (PN). He is disabled from the damage. He presented to the doc when he started having trouble walking due to the PN. I have no idea what his numbers are, but he went on insulin immediately and is still taking it. He's thin, but has always eaten a very high carb diet, including frequent large portions of spaghetti.

I don't call that well controlled.

The rest of the family I don't really know about, at least as far as how well controlled they are, but some are overweight and some aren't. One cousin, a few years older than me, has been slim all her life, loves to exercise, and has been diagnosed for a few years. She's in her early 60's.

So....apparently my family has a "bad" gene related to pancreas function. I've long believed that we are each born with a pancreas that has a certain limit. Eventually we will hit that limit and diabetes will develop. If we abuse our bodies with high carbohydrate intake, we will hit that limit sooner. The limit for one person following a reasonably healthy lower carb diet (few or no sweets, portion control, limited processed foods) may be 50 or 60 years. For another it may be 90 or 100 or even higher!!! And for some, it may be as young as 8 or 10.

Whatever your genetic background, limiting carbohydrate intake will help prolong the "life" of your pancreas. If you have "good" genes, you may never develop diabetes, if you have "bad" genes, you may already have diabetes or be on the road to developing it.

I think my family, or at least my mom's side, has "bad" genes as related to pancreas function.

But, apparently we have "good" genes in the heart disease area! Since none of my grandparents, and none of my aunts and uncles, and none of my cousins have developed heart disease, despite a common diagnosis of diabetes, I'd say we inherited some pretty good heart health genes!

My dad's side I don't know as much about, but they too lived mostly into their 80s and 90s, none that I know of having heart disease or diabetes. There is high BP and hemorrhagic stoke on that side, as well as complications of alcohol abuse. Several died of cancer, including at least half of my dad's siblings.

I am 52 and have no evidence of heart disease. I have had several chest scans that showed no calcifications, and have no symptoms of heart disease, artery disease or high blood pressure. I don't have diabetes, but I am insulin resistant and have had symptoms of hypoglycemia.

I know I inherited at least some of the body type from my dad's side. I think a lot as I'm built more like the aunts on that side of the family. I'm actually shorter tho, so I guess I got a smidge of height from mom too. I'm 5'8", most of my aunts were 5'10 and above. My mom was fairly tall at 5'7", but she was the odd one in her family, where most of the men were under 5'8" tall!

I have the build from my dad's side. Larger frame, good size hips and shoulders. I also, I believe, get my bad back from dad's side. My stomach issues, I believe are from mom.

Who knows. Maybe some day we'll be able to have our blood tested and know exactly which disease we are at higher risk for. Until then all we can do is do our best to take care of the bodies we were given. In my case I know that limiting carbs, without eliminating them, is the thing I must do to keep my body healthy.

I'll watch my carbohydrate intake because I don't want to develop diabetes.

I'll watch that my BP doesn't get elevated and also that my cholesterol levels don't get too low because I don't want weakened arteries or high BP that may lead to stroke.

I'll watch my alcohol intake as I seem to be at a higher risk of alcoholism due to family history.



Barbaro has another setback. This is sad. They haven't given up yet, but poor Barbaro isn't doing well. He's had another procedure done in an attempt to save his leg and his life.


A Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways

A Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways went overboard by treating their crying 3-year-old daughter in much the same way.

Julie and Gerry Kulesza and daughter Elly were removed from the flight in Fort Myers, Fla., when the girl refused to take her seat before takeoff, airline officials said yesterday. But her parents said they just needed a little more time to calm her down.

The Kuleszas, of Worcester, Mass., planned to fly to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, Fla., after a four-day visit with the girl's paternal grandparents. She was removed because "she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn't get in her seat" during boarding, AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.

Of course the parents are outraged! The airline has not only reimbursed the parents, but also given them free flights!!! What about the other people on the plane? Were they compensated too?


Mama dog. This is a great story posted on Gather.com about an amazing dog!

I first met Mama Dog two days before Christmas 2005. She showed up at my friend Brenda's house, cold, starving, badly beaten, and very very pregnant. Brenda immediately went and bought a bale of hay, and made a nice warm place for her in the garage. Brenda is very good with animals, and she was determined to nurse Mama Dog back to health.....

Update on my son. Went to the doc again last week, still no definite answers. It appears that the fracture is still unstable, so the doc has ordered another MRI. Depending on what that shows will be the deciding factor in whether the doc recommends surgery or not.

Weigh in day is tomorrow. I think I'll do well. If I haven't lost, I doubt I've gained. We shall see!!!

As of last week:

Week 3 weigh in

Another pound gone!!! Yippee!!!

I've been following plan all week, didn't have any falls or mis-steps. I am now very comfortable in my size 18 jeans. I'd love to buy a few more pairs, but I refuse to until I get down 1 more size.

Went back to the doctor's with Brian today. It was very busy and we ended up being there for about 3hrs. Once again they took XRays, and once again there's no sign of this stabilizing. He has to have another MRI to see if there's any spinal cord or nerve root damage going on.

Brian has weakness in both hands. One of the tests the doc does is to have him gram his fingers (2 fingers) and squeeze as hard as he can. Without a lot of effort the doc can remove his fingers from Brian's grip. The doc thinks the weakness might be one of the effects of the initial injury, but it's not getting any better. He stated that if anything, Brian should have some shoulder pain, but he doesn't. He's ordered another MRI to compare with the first and see if there is anything new or worse. He also stated that if he had seen the first MRI himself he would have said Brian needed surgery!!!

This is a bit disconcerting, as we were told in the ER that the "attending orthopedic" saw the MRI and declared everything fine....pristine is actually the word they used, "his spinal cord is pristine". Now we find that it was, in fact, the radiologist that read the films.

So....once again we wait. This time to see what, if anything, the MRI shows.

The President is giving his State of the Union speech right now. I'm half listening as I write this. To me it doesn't sound as much like a SOTU speech as it does a campaign speech!!! I'm going to bed soon and will listen to the commentary on MSNBC.

Some interesting news online lately!!!

The company I work for has a web-site for Case Managers. Canopy Central is a page that's available to all, and is where the user's log in browser is redirected to when they sign into our product (Canopy). One of the things we have on that page is news articles related to medicine. I have a bit of an influence here and have been able to get a few of these articles posted there. All I do is send an email to our Marketing Director (who happens to be the woman I car pool with) and she puts the articles I send on our Canopy Central page. (Actually a link with a short description of the article).

Here's some of what's on Canopy Central today:

Carbs may explain ethnic variations in cholesterol. Ethnic differences in levels of HDL, the "good" cholesterol, may be due, at least in part, to diet, a new study from Canada suggests. 01/22/2007
This is an excellent article in that it, for once, takes other things into consideration when determining how cholesterol levels are related to heart disease. Surprise surprise, it looks like carbohydrate intake is the important factor!!!

U.S. Cancer Deaths Drop Again. Cancer Deaths Down Second Straight Year, Though Still No. 2 Killer 01/18/2007
The numbers are dropping and the cures are increasing. Always good news.

The Cure for Diabetes. What if the American Heart Association endorsed the trans-fat diet? Problem, right? 01/11/2007
This is a repost of the article about Dr Mary Vernon and how she treats diabetics.

This is another article I've sent to be put on our Canopy Central page:

An Old Cholesterol Remedy Is New Again.
An interesting article about using Niacin to improve blood lipid levels.

Let's see....anything else?

Oh yea!!! My latest order of ChocoPerfection dark arrived today!!


So, I'm going to stick with what I've been doing. Following my plan and taking my supplements and weighing myself once a week.

KILLING THE MESSENGER - CHOLESTEROL

I found this blog as a result of a link on a message board. This article is very well written and should be read by all who have been or are worried about their cholesterol levels.

In her blog, Kate wrote:

I believe in a healthy cholesterol reading. I mean, I really think that 350-400 is too high.
And even then, I don’t think other factors should be ignored. In lowering a dangerously high level, I took steps to help myself in other ways, as well. So my body wouldn’t keep raising my cholesterol. The main thing I did was lose weight.
But this post is for those people who really do not have a “problem”

My sister-in-law went to the Dr. for a checkup and was told hers was 210.
She was put on Lipitor. She had no idea why, just did it because he’s her doctor and he knows best. Her insurance paid it so great. No problem there. But is this the answer to a problem that isn’t a problem at all? She was otherwise healthy.
Or so she thought.

To read the rest of the post, CLICK HERE.