Confused again.

[Stevenf]

I challenge anybody to read this (and the comments) and not be totally confused.

independent.co.uk/life-styl...

This confusion is a nightmare for people like me who have cardiovascular disease and want to make the right choices.

[Stevenf]

To answer may own question I think the only thing we can do in the face of this onslaught of information and misinformation from doctors, researchers, drug companies, empire builders, internet stars and crusaders is to follow the old cliche of following a balanced diet and not overeating.

[Andyman in reply to Stevenf]

100% agree I think that is the only right course along with the important ingredient exercise.

[Penel]

I like to try to read the original study whenever possible. Unfortunately this research paper is difficult to understand unless you are a biologist!

circ.ahajournals.org/conten...

Bear in mind the subjects were rats, and although the results were surprising, it has yet to demonstrated in humans. It could be a while before the first human heart infusion with olive oil, if ever.

Having olive oil on your diet has been shown to be a healthy choice in several science studies, along with a wide variety of fresh food.

[fenbadger in reply to Penel]

i agree to both.

1 about reading a valued peer reviewed study.

2 healthy balance diet. And we all know deep down what that is, don't we?

It won't GUARANTEE zero health problems but will go a long way towards it.

pretty well all my own health problems are self inflicted and you can't repair a knee replacement in later life. You need to lead a healthy lifestyle from the start. . . (note the recent figures on child tooth decay - frightening and self inflicted, this time with the parents in control)

[pauline19]

What gets me mad is that other studies of the "Mediterranean Diet" have shown that it really only helps if it's been lifelong. And no huge plates of pasta. ATP which comes from the most simple sugars (not table sugar but molecular sugar--D-Ribose) has been found to reverse heart failure as well. But heart failure per se doesn't *get* everyone, or the other way round. And the doc they quote ought to read ALL the journal articles because grass fed dairy has been found also to "reverse" heart failure. They call it Butter Oil but there's a more technical name....

Anyway, you can buy D-ribose and Butter Oil from amazon if you want to try those "cures".... I'm sure they help, in some way....

[Penel in reply to pauline19]

Hi Pauline

I'd be interested in reading any studies on the Med diet you know about, as what I've read suggests that being on it for 6 months should have an effect (strictly no pasta!).

I eat grass fed butter, usually Kerrygold, and get it from my local supermarket. I'm aware that it contains Omega 3, but haven't read about it reversing heart failure.

[pauline19]

I'll go looking for that study today, heaven knows where I saw it but I'll look. Yes I eat Kerrygold too. I saw somewhere (Mercola? Maybe?) refer to all other butters as Monsanto butter! Ha! Loved that one, but it's horribly sad really. I remember reading some time ago that Denmark (?) Norway?, had literally outlawed butter and that there was a huge black market for it. This would've been 2-3 years back. At the time my family was eating Lurpak, which is TOTALLY gone from US grocers now. Not sure why. Two years ago a Dr did a urine panel in me (checking for poss. cause for interstitial cystitis among other things) call an Organic Acids Test. I was profoundly sick. The medical director of the lab, a research chemist and MD asked me how much olive oil did I consume daily? None. I hadn't kept down ANY food in over a year and had become a skelaton. He said that it looked as if I drank olive oil as a BEVERAGE. That the organic acid metabolites of olive oil were literally off the charts. 18 mos. previous I used maybe a teaspoon a day of EVOO. No more than that. He told me that I must burning body fat? No, I was literally skin and bones, had zero body fat left as measured by a major research hospital, who had candidly told my husband to ready himself for my death, which they said was imminent. Yeah well, now we have been told that 4 times in 3 years. And now I weigh 140 lbs, 60 more than I did then. Anyway, I'm going to be inpatient at the National Institutes of Health for a week in November and that's one of the things we think they're curious about. Not sure where you are, but in the US, to become a study subject at NIH is a pretty big deal (when I pull that letter out of my purse the MDs back away like it's a loaded gun! They want NO PART in the care of a person 'unusual' enough to "Win a Free Trip!" to NIH, haha.)

[Penel in reply to pauline19]

Sorry to hear about your health problems. I'm in the UK, but have heard of NIH and have seen their name on various reports. I hope they will be able to help you.

Denmark had a butter tax, but it was repealed after about a year. Norway had a bad year in 2011 for the production of butter, and there did end up being a black market because of the shortages! Sweden has now advised it's inhabitants to avoid processed carbs, which is a step in the right direction.

Good luck for November.

[pauline19 in reply to Penel]

Hi Penel--this is the study which I read recently. Pubmed is an aggregator of all medical studies published worldwide, all in one place (actually put together by NIH as well. I'm assuming the link that I have will work for you in the UK as well. Pubmed is great, you can put any search term in at the top and out spit all the studies! And ANYONE can use it, no firewalls.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/251...

The study is rather limited, but shows probably that their group maybe didn't adhere very well to the MD? Hard to say, but my personal hunch is maybe that since women present very differently with CVD than men, esp. in actual heart attack situations that maybe that's what's at work with the Med diet as well? One interesting thing that my geneticist told me, due to my concern about my brother and Dad having their first MIs very young was that cardiovascular disease in the male parent would likely be repeated in the male children and vice versa, mom to daughters. Therefore, my Mom's AFIB will likely land on me, just as my brother had an early heart attack like my Dad. But again, that leaves out the epigenetic factor, where your diet choices (brother ate doughnuts daily bringing on insulin dependent Type 2 Diabetes etc etc, Dad made similar choices--ice cream DAILY, though he was always slim, but he ended up on insulin too) and environment as well, toxins in food supply, loads of estrogen metabolites in water supply due to the majority of women being on the Pill, messing about with the food supply.....loads of variables that no single factor can ever be pointed to. I live right outside Washington DC where it's news 24/7 and have stopped watching "health reports" on Fox/CNN etc because these newsy things always ignore genetics which is where the real science is going. It's all trendy, flavor-of-the-month health stuff. And it might be generally helpful, but not specific to you and you wouldn't know for sure....

When I see a new doc, I try to see how much they understand and are on board with genetics. I rattle off what I know about MY genetics by NAMING the particular Single Polymorphisms (SNPs, like Snips) and if they don't immediately start talking then I know they can't help me. I went to all the trouble of getting a referral to genetics to create a "road map" so I wouldn't be led down blind alleys by well meaning docs who really just want to bill me to death. It's paid off to some extent. I can say, "nope, I don't have that risk, it's not Myasthenia Gravis" or whatever and move on. The FDA clamped down on 23andme the big private saliva gene testing company here in the US saying they were "giving medical advice" etc. but my whole family had it done in the first week they went live, and then went further and further.

My thinking is always that the one asset the patient has OVER the doctor is Self Knowledge. They don't KNOW your body like you know your body, so the more you know the further you get. You help them help you if you know what your genetic risks are.

Sorry, I've thread hijacked again! You're all so nice to tolerate my posting whole books here!

[pauline19]

Another nugget for UK readers about the government here: if you are anything but an Amish farmer here, the government will literally bring a SWAT team after you if you dare to let unpasteurized milk pass your lips! And if you BOUGHT it, then they throw you and the farmer into prison--thats how much in bed with Corporate Farming and Big Corn they are! You cannot cross state lines with milk products without risking the organized crime RICO statutes being used against you.

[Penel in reply to pauline19]

What a terrible state of affairs. In the UK it's not very easy to get unpasteurised milk, but the seller just needs to advise you about the possible health risks. We can buy it at our local market and it is amazing.

[sandybrown]

Please explain balanced healthy diet, Thanks.

[fenbadger in reply to sandybrown]

The right mix of protein carb fat vitamins and minerals. Each country's health professionals differ but agree in basics. A bit of meat, or nuts and pulses if you're veggie. Fresh fruit and veg. No unnecessary sugar or fat.

Dairy is good (for calcium and more) but again there are substitutes.

There's really too much for this forum nut try a healthy eating web page. Where in the world are you? I know here in the UK the NHS choices website is pretty comprehensive.

I tend to believe most people don't want to admit to knowing what a healthy diet is - because its boring and don't like to be told to cut down or cut out cakes burgers and booze. It doesn't have to be.

[Stevenf in reply to fenbadger]

I am fully supportive of the above. I also think it is important to cut down but not eliminate carbs. I think that most of our lifestyles tend to be too sedentary for them. Also we cannot ignore much of the evidence that a little alcohol can do you good.

[fenbadger in reply to Stevenf]

Yup. But little always seems to lead to a lot. Its calories are empty. there are 400 in a pint and alcohol slows the metabolism so whatever else is in the system stays there.

It does thin the blood which may be beneficial.

This is all a bit simplistic though. And don't forget MODERATE exercise is also part of a healthy lifestyle.

There is no instant miracle cure.

[Mariangel]

Hi Stevenf. I know how daunting sometimes can be to get the right info, and do the right thing when there is loads of info in the media, many choices, stories but noting just right for you. I am a cardiovascular nurse and also promote a better, healthier and happier lifestyle through introducing changes in diet, exercise and daily routine. If you want to have professional and personal assessment, Inbox me. this is my WS: myangelstaminaclub.flp.com/