Oh no, not another post from me?!! Well, I would simply like to answer some queries regarding my previous posts and clarify a couple of points.
I do not give medical advice and nothing in my posts constitutes medical advice - it is certainly not my place to offer any.
Whilst I don’t think that it is especially relevant, for those who seem to wish to know, my qualifications are to higher degree level (by research) in a classical science subject. I have taught Chemistry and Biochemistry at degree level.
The effectiveness of dietary change in terms of autoimmune disease reduction (and in some cases reversal) is nothing to do with my opinion. I am simply stating the scientific facts, with research dating back decades. Perhaps start with Dr Roy Swank and his work on MS.
Drugs have their place within the schemes of treatment, but if their use can be minimised or stopped, then so much the better.
Big Pharma undoubtedly produce some pretty effective products. However, like any other private industry, their primarily responsibility is to their shareholders. Profitability must be at or close to the top of the list and long term profits stem from repeat prescriptions, not cures. There is no altruism within the drug industry.
The Healthiest Diet: When it comes to “the healthiest possible” diet, there always seems to be a question mark coupled with the ideas that a) everybody is different and b) moderation is best. Whilst there are certainly small inter-individual variations as to the tolerability of certain foods (gluten being an obvious one), no two humans are ever that different in what they could eat. So when it comes to a whole food plant based approach, one size should fit all - it’s the equivalent of an infinitely stretchy jumper! Those with major digestive problems on this kind of diet can usually trace it back to gut flora issues or IBS/Crohns.
NRAS Dietary advice: I completely understand that people put their faith in disease associations (and there are many), which tend to be charities and aim to help people who are suffering. In the case of RA we have the NRAS. They are invaluable sources of much needed support and help, especially when no-one around you really understands what you’re going through. However, the one area in which that trust maybe somewhat misplaced is dietary advice. What the vast majority of dieticians and nutritionists are being taught, especially regarding good macronutrient sources, is outdated. The paradigm is changing and they have fallen way behind. Here is a perfect example, courtesy of the British Heat Foundation: A close friend recently popped into hospital for a spot of surgery. He was split open along his sternum and had his rib cage parted like a set of cupboard doors so that he could have his heart re-plumbed. All this simply for the want of a better diet, or more correctly better dietary guidance, earlier in his life. The irony is that when he was discharged he was handed a BHF leaflet on diet and lifestyle. The front cover, with a photograph of a rainbow assortment of fruit and veg, held much promise. But low and behold, there inside were the words that nobody with cholesterol or heart issues should EVER be told: “There is no limit on how many eggs you can eat.” Considering that just ONE egg contains the maximum recommended amount of dietary cholesterol, this statement beggars belief.
I’m certain that many, if not most of you, would find this hard to believe, so for those who (understandably) doubt the voracity of such assertions, take a look at the film “What the Health”. Whilst the health funding may be different in the UK, the underlying economics remain the same - we just pay though our taxes rather than up front.
Written by
paulipauli
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Fair dos. We all debate on here so its good you can put your point. I think we just get upset as often people come on to sell. So I'm glad you are just passing on your point x
I don't think he did, or at least not very clearly and precisely. Very coy, I thought. I'd expect to see degree subject and level achieved and the institution bestowing the degree.
The idea that eggs raise cholesterol has been disproven consistently and soundly by the science. I'm not trying to argue with you, I'm just very keen to see your evidence, as someone with similar credentials. If for no other reason that I love eggs, and enjoy them. Can you post links please? I have no idea what events preceded this post, Im just keen to learn.
There have been some recent studies which appear to show no correlation between egg consumption and serum cholesterol levels. Much depends upon when the levels were checked - it is often the fasting level which is measured, so one would not expect to see any real effect in that case - the levels should be looked at say 2, 4, 6 and 8 hour intervals to really see what consuming cholesterol does. Also, a number of rather flawed studies have drawn the "zero correlation" conclusion having selected participants with high average cholesterol levels - so the cholesterol increase from adding an egg or two to the daily diet becomes statistically insignificant.
In previous controlled feeding trials, the serum cholesterol levels of volunteers followed the Hegsted equation predictions when they were given eggs.
Pretty much any time we hear "a new study says" and it goes against decades of sound independent scientific research, alarm bells should ring. Yes, long standing well accepted ideas can be proved wrong and one should always be prepared to listen to the lone voice. However, there is a lot of money at stake for certain sectors of the agriculture industry and the have a strong track record of doing anything and everything to defend their market position. That includes funding scientists to carry out studies for them. Follow the money.....
You’re absolutely right diet plays a big part in health. Lots of people eat and drink themselves into very poor health later in life which is miserable for them and expensive for the healthcare system.
Auto immune diseases like RA are affected by diet to some extent and we all know if we severely deprived ourselves of food as some of the fasting diets suggest our symptoms would probably be eased a bit but who can do that long term. Most sufferers try to have a healthy diet, keep their weight down and take as few drugs as possible in order to live some kind of normal life.
It’s not the cholesterol in eggs that’s the real problem, it’s what people eat with them! Eggs are a good source of vit d, b12 and selenium amongst other things and dietary cholesterol isn’t that big of a deal for a vast majority. It’s the dietary fatty acids that people should be aware of as these affect blood cholesterol most - so watch the butter, sausages and bacon that goes with that egg and most will be ok..... my family ‘enjoy’ living with familial high cholesterol and my 85 year old aunt has managed to naturally keep her cholesterol below 6 without restricting egg intake but is very watchful of fats - A cholesterol level of 6 is low for us.... mine sits around 7 and goes up to 8.4ish if I’m not careful... as does that of two of my sisters and one brother - 10mg of statin taken 3 X a week keeps me the right side of 5.
Basically know yourself, know your family history/trend (if possible) re these conditions as gene disposition plays a big role in what might work for you and know your dietary facts - act accordingly and, alongside the medical support you are accepting, you may, or may not, have a positive effect through diet intervention upon you health and wellbeing - oh did we mention stress, personal resilience and social-economical factors in all of this or shall we just brush over these???
There are certainly genetic factors at play with most chronic disease susceptibility, but these are generally very modifiable. There are certainly other life factors which can come into play, as you wisely pointed out, with stress being of particular concern.
Despite some media headlines and the deeply flawed (industry backed/funded) research behind them, the scientific reality hasn't changed - as you stated, saturated fat intake has a big impact on the development of atherosclerosis and everything that goes with it. There has been some work showing that egg consumption doesn't affect circulating cholesterol levels. However, these few studies were cleverly designed. The selection criteria for the participants and the time and method of cholesterol measurement delivered data which could only have ever shown a zero correlation.
Many decades of work showed conclusively that as dietary cholesterol increases, so does blood cholesterol. The Hegsted equation allows one to predict with accuracy the serum cholesterol level following ingestion of cholesterol and/or saturated fats. Now, one may argue, perhaps fairly, that the odd "blip" of dietary cholesterol won't cause much of a problem. The real issue is when it is consumed several times a day, resulting in a consistently high blood cholesterol level. The problem for all of us is that we don't know what hand we've been dealt in the genetic poker game. Thus perhaps it is best to err on the side of caution, since as a close friend recently discovered, a few decades of less than healthy eating can get you a free stay in a luxury chest-opening establishment.....
So, although eggs contain some useful things, they can all be obtained very easily from other sources - brazil nuts are good for selenium. The added benefit of not eating eggs is a reduction in your carbon/environmental footprint - most of the (South American) soya meal (not great for rainforests) imported into the UK goes to feed hens. Just saying...
I am on board with healthy eating and actually am borderline vegan - the dreaded egg being the one thing... I am still taking medication though relatively low dose and have little damage. I walk a minimum of 5 miles a day and stretch, play golf a couple of times a week but admit to sedentary times - I reckon I earn them!
I looked at the research you previously posted... My concerns are around the idea of a starchy diet with no oils. Omega oils seem to be essential and I wonder if we would get enough via a plant based diet - I currently take a premium fish oil supplement? I do however, make my own mixed nut butter which I have on wholewheat homemade bread most days - is this enough? The other premium requirement for me with major concerns for my eye health is lutein (the reason behind the eggs), I understand that it is also found in Kale (yuk - but ok blitzed in a soup) - any suggestions?
More research for me... and then I am once more, going to adjust my eating habits for a while and maybe do a plant based juice fast for a couple of days to kick start it.
I am not prepared to pay into any dietary programme.
I’m allergic to seafood and most fish oils make me unwell so I use flaxseed oil capsules instead and they seem to do me well.... my ophthalmologist noticed when I reduced the dose as my dry eye got worse again - reversed when I uped the dosage once more!
I know nothing about Luteins so will be very interested about what you find out here regarding those.
Hi there - you sound like a sensible level headed person! There are always one or two "areas of concern" which people wonder about and you're right, Omega oils are one such. In particular, it's Omega 3 (or the lack of it!) which worries most people. The standard line from most dieticians is to eat oily fish. This sounds fine until one takes a look at what comes with the package. Fish bioaccumulate a whole host of environmental pollutants, including (but not limited to!) mercury, cadmium, PCBs, pesticides and even microplastics. This is not a recommended cocktail for anyone. I have not looked into which components make it through to the fish oil, so I can't comment.
The easiest way to get a good source of omegas is flax seed. It's best to buy it ground and popped onto your porridge etc. Alternatively there are flax seed oil capsules available. This also has the advantage that you're reducing your environmental footprint by not having the fish/fish oil.
For information on lutein, take a look at one of Dr Michael Greger's videos on nutritionfacts.org - they're all free and thankfully short at about 7 mins. He has a specific one on lutein. As for eggs - he has a very good review of the research on cholesterol and eggs and the effects of dietary cholesterol. His website is a great resource.
Have fun with it. :-). Maybe try crispy kale... it's pretty good and I'm not a massive fan of kale myself!
Thank you for taking the time to respond and for the really useful link.
Dr M Gregor is very credible, he sites lots of trials and studies, he follows the medical journals and offers a lot of information for free. A Brilliant resource.
I have been telling my Rheumy that my vegetarian eating habits are the reason that my inflammatory markers are always low, even when I have a flare. To them I am an atypical Case.
I have downloaded his daily dozen checklist. Time to return to healthy eating for me. I will cut out oils and all animal products. Let’s see where that takes me...
Good morning - Dr Greger's website is a great resource and being funded only through public donation makes it even better! He and his team really do sort the wheat from the chaff.
As for being an "atypical" case, hmm... I wish you the very best of luck. If you feel the need of any help with the cooking/food side of things, just get in touch. My wife is brilliant with this style of cooking and would be happy to help.
Is it not somewhat simplistic to attribute every malaise to diet? Although diet can help for many illnesses sometimes no amount of celery juicing will help you get on top of it.
I have helped my RA with dietary changes but no two patients are the same. Having worked in Pharma & now for the NHS I think the future for most patients probably lies with immunology research & the newer drugs reflect that.
I'm going to totally honest this is drawing people and I remember the story about his wife from a couple of years ago. I think some others also do too. Please NRAS check the IP address this is a post from someone repeating claims who disappeared previously. This is so obviously trying to use negative comments to continue driving people towards a product. I'm shocked he/she/they have stopped mentioning the wife who appears not to post and that in itself is strange.
I'm going to get the cat to start posting for me 😂🐱 He also doesn't have RA, is a relative & can write in an authoritative manner about food (being fussy)🤔😂
So is ours fussy and it's a rehomed moggy. Last night nearly killed me as lying on the bathroom floor and was a bit put out to move as I needed the loo. X lol
What an excellent idea! One of my 2 is always nudging and pawing at my phone when I'm using it. Perhaps I should just let him loose and see what happens ............. Perhaps he really does have the definitive answer about RA!😳😳 If not, he certainly has a lot to say about everything else!😉😁
Ours ignores us as long as its got food (IAMS) and access to a warm window sill. B----y thing is a pain at times, never comes when called just strolls along the path in its own time to eat. Looks daggers when disturbed but never damages anything and is idle. I love her to bits !xx
Haha - love these cat tales! Don't they wrap us right around their paws! We rehomed our 2 from their previous owners. They are devon rex crossed with siamese, so bit of a handful. Lovely though. Very affectionate and follow us around like little dogs. One has the siamese yowl and has the most unbelievable range of vocal sounds and uses them constantly. Has conversations and always has to have the last word! Often sounds like he is saying actual works like no, don't, mum, hello! Very entertaining. The other one has developed a very odd way of vocalising. He does high-pitched yaps like a little dog interspersed with high squeals! I've honestly never heard anything like it and will try and record him one day!
Yours sounds brilliant and very sure of her elevated position in the family 😄😄
You'd think it'd be grateful to be rehomed from the Cat Sanctuary must, must have seen us as mugs ! After it got spayed it returned home and swelled up the next day we returned to vet who said she was allergic to the suture material so I found myself saying it doesn't matter what it costs just get her better. !! thats when it thought "I'm onto a good thing here. " She was actually insured but because of the operation and drain had to live in a room with no steps so she couldn't jump up. And had boiled chicken to eat as so poorly. Then after a week or so we realised she was enjoying being poorly. Slept on the bed as could not be left alone, the moggy took up a sad pick me up look to get on bed. Even now it sits on the work surface in the utility to look at cupboard for food. Can sit in front of TV to get attention and now has been found to be able to undo bathroom door. So we shut it, she opens it to get to the heated floor. When I return I'm gonna be a pampered moggy. xxx PS If I ever need gyneo surgery I'm going to a vet from seeing her to operating theatre was about an hour, not a year or more on the NHS. lol
Wow - what a clever girl. Outhinking you at every step (just like ours)! Bless her - she does sound like she had a rough time after her op though. (See, she's got me at it already 😉)! I definitely think the life of a pampered puss is the way to go. Our chatty boy, Arthur, is an expert door opener - he can open a handle from inside or outside the door! He jumps up and hangs on it until it goes down and then when it gives, he either pushes it, or puts his paw through the gap and pulls it! There is one room upstairs we don't want him in so we hadto put a little bolt on outside of it to lock him out! He still has a go though. Now it looks like we've got a 'mad woman in the attic' and are keeping someone prisoner up there!! (I'm sure being a literature and not science type, you'll more than get that reference- haha)!!😁😁
My (sadly ex-) cat used to lie on the phone/fax at night because it was slightly warm and press pre-sets and make calls and send blank faxes.... (for younger readers these were a machine the size of a couple of packets of cereal, where you could pick up a handset to make a call, and feed in messages written on paper that were sent to people). I’m sure she would have had something to say about food.
Haha - excellent! They all have their own strange quirks. Why is it we always think they would complain about the food - usually quality or quantity?! 😄
They can (when they choose) have a way of making us feel very unworthy. He sounds like he was a character- you must miss him. As for faxes - always running out of paper just when you needed it!
My wife is happy to have her story told, but she hates thread and posts etc. It's simply not her thing. I'm in no way trying to "drive" anyone towards a "product" - I'm just relating what worked for her. To be honest in the end we were closer to a McDougall style diet in the end - and that's freely available to anyone.
I don't suggest that anyone takes my word for the success or otherwise of any dietary approach - people should always do their own research and do so diligently.
I'm sorry that I seem to have upset or annoyed you - not my intention, I assure you.
I think everything goes in hand, treatment, and lifestyle
I started omeprazole because of acid reflux but I got ill on them, dizzy ,stomach ache, headache, the GP has switched me to another brand but doesn't want me to take them every day because of other complications with taking them too long
I done it to myself my stomach issues
so I am trying to eat clean again to help myself too.
I was eating way to much chocs first problem
I had KFC more than once, ignored my stomach problems with eating it and continued having it, eating way to late in the evening and so on, so life style plays a big part too
I knew it was bad what I was eating but because my RA was feeling better thought I could return to eating in that manner, wrong!! my body has told me so
Examine the research very carefully - the funding, the methods used and the way in which data was included /excluded and processed. The basic tenet that consuming cholesterol raises serum cholesterol levels remains. Eggs are not magically different from other cholesterol containing items. Sustained levels of increased serum cholesterol increases the risk of developing CVD. The problem is that it is insidious - people trot through life blissfully unaware of the developing arterial damage since the process takes decades. For many the first sign of this damage is the first (sudden) heart attack and quite often it's their last.
Quite aside from cholesterol eggs are a source of choline, which (despite what those in the egg industry might have us believe) is not an essential nutrient since we synthesise it ourselves. So, this extra, exogenous choline enters our digestive system where it is converted by our gut bacteria (only in meat eaters) into trimethylamine which is then converted by the liver into it's N-oxide, TMAO. This little molecule causes the damage which directly leads to atherosclerosis. So, it's a double whammy for eggs.
So, no I don't eat eggs any more. There are also compelling environmental and animal welfare reasons to stop egg consumption, but perhaps that's a discussion for another forum on another day.
Apologies if I have done so - I'm simply trying to put the egg question into perspective. Various ag sectors (all of which having very deep pockets and serious political clout) have over the past few years been getting sympathetic scientists to carry out work which muddies the waters.
This has been particularly noticeable with the saturated fat vs CVD debate - several years ago an international dairy meeting looked at various methods to "neutralise" the poor public perception of saturated fat and dairy, including using "friendly scientists" to write papers and carry out studies to do this. Since then there has been a steady stream of skewed research, with each paper quoting the previous ones and then claiming there to be a "growing body of evidence" that saturated fat is OK.
The egg industry has been doing the very same thing.
These various sectors are playing the same game as the tobacco industry did for 4 decades, but they're even better at it! It's simply about keeping profits up and shareholders happy.
Well, thanks for your honest feedback. I would have to admit that sometimes my sentences do end up developing a life of their own! Verbosity is one of my weaknesses, so apologies if my musings are difficult to understand.
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
