On the day some of the food barons have fallen into line with flawed government advice and agreed to reduce saturated in their products this link dropped into my inbox:
Both Eades and Kendrick (more to follow I'm sure) have deemed it important enough to post links individually.
To my mind it explains in the clearest and concisest terms (and easiest to follow) where dietary guidelines that have been promulgated for 40 years have got us to where we are now!
I visited my granddaughter's school open evening the other night and she took me proudly into the room where they study diet and hygiene. On the wall was the "pyramid" diet with carbohydrates prominently displayed along the bottom! We are teaching our children all the wrong things! If we continue to let our diet be led by carbohydrates the largest portion of our daily diet we will continue to have the levels of heart disease we have today.
Amen!
Isn't it sad that this debate is unlikely to be concluded in our generation's lifetime and dietary advice will continue to be confusing for younger people for some time to come. It is very hard to go against medical opinion when our lives are on the line and we do not have medical qualifications, but it seems that, if we disagree,we must become our own physicians, basing decisions on our own reading and research and what our bodies are telling us. Does this then impact on our doctors' willingness to provide care and treatment for aspects of our health where we are willing to follow their advice? These are difficult decisions and this is where I find myself at the moment. Having been unable to tolerate six cholesterol lowering drugs and prescribed the seventh drug to try, my body is telling me that it doesn't want to have its cholesterol level lowered. My GP and doctors at hospital are telling me that it needs to be lowered as I already have cardiovascular disease. My reading and research challenges my doctors' opinions. Where do I go now? I am not the only person in this quandary. Good luck to us all - we need it.
hi florence5 im the same as you ive had the failed by pass operation and 2 stents done i dont think my body likes the statins ive tried 3 with awful side effects my biggest problem ive had is my diizzy head when i walk its mild some days and others its really awful all the consultants and my gp say its not the statin well now ive stopped it now been 3 weeks no difference yet so im told by other people it takes time a gentlemen in canda has had the same problem as me and he took himself of statins and has got his life back with the help of proargi 9 he takes he swears by this my own gp wants me to go to a lipid clinic to see if they can help me i just wish i could get my head clear so i could go back to work its been over 2 yrs now take care now god bless
I do agree with you as I have stopped statin as well because of the confusing debates. I am better off without it. I may not have studied medicine but my body is quite "loud" when something is wrong, and statin was.
Hi Florence5. Ye I am the same has you have tried 6 statins decided to stop taking them, Gp said it is your choice. My Chol at that time was 4.6 after 5 months of changed diet ie natural foods plus nothing containing preservatives plus nothing low fat my Chol is now 4.2 also I have lost 18lbs now down to 12st. I still work as a carpet fitter take plenty of exercise ie off road biking, walking, etc. statins caused so much pain, why was I prescribed them, was so confused , I am 65 years of age very fit for my age yet suffered a TIA 18mnths ago. After following Mike Pollards advise re high carbs and excess sugars I feel great, I take 75mg of blood thinner Clopidogrel. also 200ml CO-Q10. When will the food industry and the Nhs come clean with the truth about high carbs and hidden sugars its criminal. My problems are due to artierial build up of plaque plus inflammation of artery walls. Regards Allyg.
This is the very fine line that many of you walk! Do you - don't you take statins. As someone who, at the moment, has not had any problems with heart disease but has been told her cholesterol is too high (6.8) but has also been told to go vegetarian and lose a stone (BMI 24!) I too, felt very confused! I was not told to go on statins as I was to follow the advice and go back in 6 months time for another test. I did not and have not.
As you have cardiovascular disease you are in a difficult position. Do you take the advice of the Drs and go on a low fat diet, take your various drugs for your heart and your statins and feel dreadful or do you take your life in your hands and plough your own furrow and feel that maybe you are not doing yourself any favours! I don't envy you. All I can say is, has your quality of life improved since your diagnosis or has it got worse? Perhaps you need to discuss it more with your Consultant and research your condition. Best of Health to you.
A mine field. I just wonder why, apart from the poor Brit who got slated by his peers, more attention is not being paid by our medics to this evidence. It's dispiriting to us poor guinea pigs.
Interestingly, Sweden has issued new guidelines on healthy eating, and has advised it's population to eat less carbohydrate.
Thanks all for your responses to my comments. It is disheartening to know that there are so many of us in the same position, but I am extremely grateful for the support of those on this site. I can imagine that I would have been in a state of total confusion and despair without it. Patch14, I think you have hit the nail on the head when you asked about quality of life. I did attend the Cardiovascular Risk Clinic ( in my area they don't split specialties, so lipids are included), where my side effects were initially dismissed as being all in the mind and then I was asked if I couldn't just put up with a few wee aches and pains!! With that attitude I don't think further discussion will be fruitful. Throughout this whole process I have come to value my quality of life above everything else and, like Allyg, I will continue to aim for that and the best health that I can achieve.
Want to know the risk of heart attack? (update May 2017)
Statins, cholesterol and lifestyle choices.
Is it safe to stay on atorvastatin whilst trying to conceive?
Atorvastatin and raised blood sugar 