Green Health Spot

The Secret Weapon for Fibrocystic Breast Disease

2009-11-11T04:39:00-08:00

Fibrocystic breast disease is almost an epidemic in America. It's uncomfortable and worrysome because your breasts develop these weird knobby cysts that can feel like a breast cancer lump. In fact many women (and occasionally men) who develop fibrocystic breast disease are more likely to also develop things like breast cancer, ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids. This is because the underlying cause of fibrocystic breast disease and these other health concerns usually have the same origin which is an estrogen excess or dominance. Some women get such painful breasts that they can't be touched or the simple act of wearing a bra can be excruciating.

My recommendations for fibrocystic breasts include the following:

Avoid coffee, caffeinated products except for green tea
Avoid alcohol
Avoid eating or drinking anything hot in plastic containers
Take an excellent probiotic, this is important in fixing the underlying cause, allowing your body to eliminate the excess estrogens or xenoextrogens.
Avoid eating unfermented soy products like tofu, soy milk, meat substitutes and soy protein
Ensure you are taking a fiber to bind to the excess estrogens in your colon
Avoid antibiotics like the plague (unless of course you are in an acute situation but there are very few acute situations I would recommend antibiotics)
Avoid foods that your body has a sensitivity to (get tested if you don't know)
Increase your intake of broccoli and cabbage
Take a high quality product containing DIM (diindolemethane, a derivative of cabbage) AND Ca-D glucarate. These are imperative to your treatment.
Make sure you are not constipated, and I mean not at ALL constipated
Try a high quality bioidentical progesterone cream
Take at least 2000 iu's per day of a high quality vitamin D
Take at least 100 mgs of a high quality, highly absorbable CoQ10

But most of all, use the secret weapon. The secret weapon is iodine/iodide. For most women, 50 milligrams should do it for you. It is appalling how many women are deficient in iodine and iodide in America. It is almost an epidemic, like breast cancer and fibrocystic breast disease. The breast tissue is extremely sensitive to iodine and iodide and require both to function adequately. Usually people who are deficient in iodine and iodide also have toxic levels of halides. Halides are a family of chemicals which include fluoride/fluorine, chloride/chlorine, bromide and bromine. When deficient in iodine/iodide the body is more receptive to the halides and absorb them more easily. These halides bind onto the iodine/iodide receptors prohibiting further binding of iodine/iodide. Taking high doses of iodine/iodide is required to displace the toxic halides and allowing the body to properly do it's metabolism using the necessary iodine/iodide. Bromines are found in white bread products since they are used as an anti-caking agent. Splenda is a chlorine molecule bound to sugar and swimmers or people who still have water treated with chlorine are subject to iodine deficiency. Also, choose a fluoride free toothpaste and avoid drinking water with fluoride because of it's toxicity to the breasts, thyroid and your metabolism.

I always recommend people to get tested for halides. This gives you an understanding of what you need to do to get your health back on track. Find a doctor who can help you with this fibrocystic breast disease is tricky to treat but can be done easily by someone who know what she is doing. The results on your health will astound you. You might also find the added benefit of weight loss, a stronger immune system and better brain focus.

The Allergy Miracle

2009-11-09T16:25:55-08:00

It never ceases to astound me about the healing power of the body and the yet untapped understanding on how the physical body interacts with the energetic aspects of the body and cells. Case in point. In our office for the past 8 years or so we have been using a technique called NAET. NAET is a permanent allergy elimination technique that in one treatment can desensitize you to almost any food or environmental allergen. Compare that to hundreds of uncomfortable allergy shots that may or may not work. It's actually miraculous in some cases what NAET treatments can accomplish. It can get rid of food allergies that lead to asthma and eczema. You can digest and absorb vitamins and minerals better. You can survive a Spring without hayfever or antihistamines. Alcoholics, smokers and drug addicts can easily withdraw from the addictive substances and avoid falling off the wagon. What could be better?

The funny thing is that so few people know about NAET and how it can affect the body. NAET was designed by a Dr. Devi Nambudripad, a doctor in Southern California over 25 years ago. She combined acupuncture meridian understanding and a background in chiropractic to come up with a way to desensitize herself to foods that she was intolerant to. Thus NAET was born. I'm one of over 4000 doctors that she has personally trained to do NAET and given the incredible success I've seen with patients, I'm astounded that more people don't get NAET done for their allergies, addictions and food sensitivities. The only thing I can assume is that people don't know about it's efficacy and range of utility.

So I'm taking this opportunity to tell you that despite the look of this odd and strange treatment, it's effectiveness is truly miraculous. The autistic kids I treat speak more quickly and have amazing presence, even in the most severe cases. In fact, autistic kids can be treated exclusively with NAET and recover without any other intervention. I personally use a few other tricks up my sleeve but for some kids it can be a god-send. Don't be put off by the muscle testing and the odd breathing technique that is involved with NAET. The only thing I can say is that you must experience it to see the amazing results. I usually warn my patients that although the treatment seems odd, the results are just phenomenal. Of course some doctors are better at doing the energy balancing than others but if you get a great doctor who practices NAET, you will see amazing turnarounds in your health.

Some examples of conditions to be treated with NAET:

Asthma
Eczema
Chronic Fatigue
Fibromyalgia
Alcoholism
Caffeine, drug or cigarette addictions
Chemical sensitivities
Sensitivities to atmospheric changes like heat, cold, altitude or humidity
Food sensitivities
Environmental allergies like pollen, dustmites, molds
Food allergies to foods like peanuts or strawberries
Diabetes
Yeast/candida
Depression
Repeated viral or bacterial infections
Any and all skin conditions
Brain fog and memory concerns
Blood pressure problems
Water retention
Anxiety
Digestive disturbances like IBS, colitis and Celiac's disease
Constipation or Diarrhea
ADD/ADHD
Autism
Eating disorders
Weight problems
Diabetes

So the list is long on how NAET affects the body. One single treatment is usually sufficient for a single allergy. Most people have multiple allergies to the various things that affect a chronic condition. For the very sensitive you may need to be treated for 30 or more treatments. The great thing is how effective the treatments are if you follow the directions of your doctor. No one should have any of the above health problem because there is always a way to get your body back into health if you change your diet, have the right nutrients and to balance your body's energy meridians using NAET.

Finding a doctor who is willing to look deeper to find the underlying cause is often the trick in our current medical system focused on drugs and symptom based treatment. Thinking outside of the box will go a long way toward prevention of illness and reducing our national health care costs.

Rethinking Cancer Screening

2009-10-21T13:54:41-07:00

This week in a surprise letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association or JAMA the researchers who did an extensive 20 year survey of cancer survivors and screening tests for breast and prostate cancer found that the screening did not significantly affect survival. What they found was that screening led to finding of smaller tumors, which a lot of us have, many of which are transient and not cancerous. This then leads to over-treatment of early cancers which may, in the long run, have little effect on how long one lives. The premise of early screening for breast and prostate cancers is that if you catch the cancer in an early stage you can then do something about it, thus preventing early death due to cancer if caught too late. Great in theory but not so great in practice. Because the PSA test for prostate cancer and the mammogram in breast cancer has drawbacks and risks, particularly for mammograms and ionizing radiation damage to breast cells.

In aggressive breast tumors the mammograms might not catch the tumor in time before it spreads, same for the PSA test in prostate cancer because they can grow and metastasize quickly. What we are learning is that some tumors don't need to be treated and the immune system can just get rid of them by itself. Meaning that some cancers can go away without treatment. We are catching early tumors with screening which leads to over-treatment because many may just go away. What we aren't doing is reducing the deadly cancers by our current screening techniques. All of this has lead the American Cancer Society, a long time advocate of mammograms and PSA testing to change their tune in recommendations of these tests.

I cannot describe how BIG this report is. It says a couple of major things. One is that the ACS and AMA are both rethinking what they are recommending for early detection of breast and prostate cancer. Mammograms have been a topic of debate in it's ability to CAUSE cancer due to the ionizing radiation it emits and how effective a yearly mammogram truly is in saving your life. Also, men are having their prostates taken out, perhaps unnecessarily.

My general problem with screening tests is that was are looking for cancers. By this time, cancers are already there. What would be better is to educate the general public on what to do to prevent cancers from happening. Like ensure you get your vitamin D levels checked, to keep your CoQ10 levels up, to deal with earlier signs of hormone imbalance etc. Breast thermography which is FDA approved as an adjunct to mammograms can tell years before an actual tumor forms that there are problems in the breast. Here are some easy tips on preventing breast cancer. Another article I wrote on keeping your system balanced. The body is a complex organism and we generally have many warning signs that things are wrong before we get cancer. Start listening to your body. Don't forget to read how obesity is linked to cancer.

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What Not to Eat When Fighting a Cold

2009-10-16T05:59:00-07:00

This week we've been discussing what to eat or drink to help support your immune system. Today we're going to talk about what NOT to eat or drink to keep your immune system healthy. These tips can make the difference between keeping you healthy during the flu season this year or bringing you down for the count. You will find these tips to be really useful during the holidays when we are inundated with sweets, candies and treats, starting with Halloween in just a few weeks. Each of these things listed below have particular negative influences on your immune system and can just push you over the edge and into your sick bed.

Soda, sweetened drinks or fruit juices. Yes, fruit juices. The amount of sugar, even natural sugar can put you over the edge if you are drinking a lot of fruit juice. The soda and sugared drinks are obvious because the amount of high fructose corn syrup in those sodas can suppress your immune system for hours after drinking one. So you are then unable to fight off the invading bacteria or virus. Also, bacteria LOVE sugar and carbohydrates. They thrive and reproduce on the high sugar in your system. If you are diabetic, you know this because the high sugar in your blood leads to an increase risk of infections. You can however drink diluted fruit juices without much problems.
Sweetened coffee drinks. Well if soda and fruit juices are out, this is a no-brainer. Those Frappicinos have an incredible amount of sugar, calories, caffeine and fat in them. They make you gain weight and cause your immune system to tank when you are on the edge. The milk also can lead to increased mucous production.
Alcohol, especially mixed drinks. Alcohol compromises your immune system partially because of the stress it puts on your liver to detoxify the alcohol. Mixed drinks and beer have a high amount of carbohydrates and simple sugars which we've already mentioned to be terrible for your immune system.
Candy-Halloween candy, sorry to be such a killjoy but it's true. Halloween candy with it's concentrated sweetness and processed sugar are also a no-no. Your immune system and your waist line will thank you for this.
Donuts, cakes, cookies, pies, pastries...same reason as above. Believe me, this is really hard for me too.
Milkshakes, milk, ice cream and concentrated dairy products-produces too much mucous, many are allergic and for many people, it's hard to digest.
Cheese-for the same reason as milk and milkshakes but since it's not sweet, I thought I would give it it's own category.

Remember on the first signs of a sore throat, fatigue, achiness, cough or other cold symptom. Get a lot of rest, don't exercise and avoid eating or drinking the immune depressing foods listed above. You'll get over your cold a lot quicker and in a lot of cases you can probably kick it off to enjoys these delectible items on another day.

If you catch a cold, here are some tips to help you get over it more quickly. Don't forget our beloved Elderberry too for flus.

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Better than Chicken Noodle Soup

2009-10-15T05:38:00-07:00

This Winter all you cooks out there should consider a better version of the chicken noodle soup for your and your family. This is easy to make (more so if you have a pressure cooker) and delicious. All ingredients are assumed to be organic and fresh (except the mushrooms which are more potent if dried and then reconsituted in some warm water).

Serves 6

2 Tablespoons butter

2 thinly sliced brown onions, skins removed

All cloves from one garlic bulb with skins removed

2 carrots diced

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh ginger

1/2 cup thinly sliced or chopped reconstituted dried shitake mushrooms

2 Tablespoons finely chopped rosemary

6 cups beef, chicken or vegetable broth

Instructions:

Melt butter in a heavy bottom stock pot, add onions and garlic to saute on medium high heat. Add carrots when onions are soft, continue to saute until slightly carmelized. Add mushrooms, broth, rosemary and ginger. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes until all vegetables are soft. Salt and pepper to taste. Great for loosening up a tight chest, soothing cough and an all over feel-good tasty soup. Give it a try.

To reconstitute the dried mushrooms add warm water to the mushrooms enough to cover, soak for 10 minutes, squeeze dry and slice. You may add the mushroom water to the stock/broth for added flavor and benefits.

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Boost Your Immune System

2009-10-14T14:33:39-07:00

Dr. Oz recently did a great video on some foods to eat this winter to help boost your immune system. Elderberries was on this list of 5 superfoods. As we spoke earlier in the week, elderberries have been identified as having the ability to assist your immune system by binding to the H1N1 flu strain. This amazing bit of research has really helped those of us who want to help ourselves stay healthy this winter by staying ahead of the flu curve. On Dr. Oz's list of foods to eat include sardines for the vitamin D, Papapya carrot juice for the vitamin A and beta carotene, Miso soup for the antibody support, Elderberries for fighting the flu strains and garlic becuase it's anti-biotic in nature.

I'd add to the immune supportive food list:

Shitake mushrooms for their polysaccharides that stimulate the immune system. Mushrooms in general are good for your immunity but shitake mushrooms are easy to come by, delicious and highly immune supportive.
Manuka honey for ulcers, acid reflux, gastritis, strep throat, acne, wounds, burns, eczema, ringworm, wrinkles, MRSA Staph infections
Naturally fermented foods like sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, kim chee and yogurt for the probiotic to support digestive immunity (where most bacteria and viruses get their first start in your body)
Onions in all shapes, sizes and colors for draining mucous, fighting bacteria and viruses, coughs, heart conditions etc. My homemade cough syrup is great to have on-hand for your family, it works like a charm and is really easy to make.
Wild Alaskan Salmon for the vitamin D. This food has the highest value but add a supplement in the winter months and consider taking a cod liver oil with high vitamin D.
Liquid Life is an excellent fruit elixir to help boost immunity and protect your heart. There is the equivalent of 12 cups of green tea and 4 1/2 pounds of fruits and vegetables, of which there is a 1/2 pound equivalent of elderberry extract in each ounce. An added side benefit is that is can get rid of varicose veins after a couple of months of steady usage.
Green Tea helps your immune system in preventing cold/flus but also helps in cancer prevention and auto-immune prevention and it's great for your heart and cholesterol as well.

Vitamin D is one of the major supporters of your immune system, get your levels checked and take a supplement to get your levels up to at least 75. Here is Dr. Oz's video, you'll love it. If you get a cold or flu this winter, here are some tips to get your through it.

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Elderberries Rival Tamiflu Against H1N1 Swine Flu

2009-10-06T10:00:00-07:00

Hold onto your hats, nature has an answer to the Swine Flu aka H1N1 flu strain. No, it's not made in a lab and it doesn't have toxic side effects or warning labels like some influenza remedies. It's actually tasty and is one of the berries with the highest antioxidant properties of any known fruit. It's not expensive, it doesn't require a doctor's prescription and it doesn't have a possible side effect that you may get toxic epidermal necrolysis (read bad skin reaction that looks like your skin is peeling off). This special herb also does not have a large marketing budget or have their reps go to your doctors with samples and prescription pads. There are no sexy commercials to watch about this herb. But nontheless, our old pal the Elderberry does indeed seem to bind to the H1N1 flu virus and keep it from settling into the cell leading to infection.

A recent published study out of Isreal has identified Elderberry as an excellent weapon for people fighting the flu, including H1N1 flu. If Elderberry extract can bind to the flu virus and thus keep it from infecting the human cells, we who are hesitant to take medications with bad side effects are lucky to have an ally in our arsenal of immune support. I have recommended Elderberry Extract as a part of my cold/flu prevention protocol becuase of it's efficacy in getting the body to recover from most bacterial and viral infections easily. I also often recommend the use of Liquid Life for my patients as it's high antioxidant mix and potent immune support help mitochondrial function within the cell. Each ounce of Liquid Life has enough Elderberry extract to be equal to a half pound of the fruit. Liquid Life is actually one of the few supplements I personally take every day. Not only for detoxification, antioxidant and immune support but also because it's great in helping keep skin and hair from being ravaged by time.

We all want alternatives to medications whenever possible and especially if the meds can give us terrible side effects. Elderberry is one for the medicine cabinet!

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Why Is Obesity the Leading Cause of Cancer?

2009-09-24T14:44:15-07:00

A recently published article has reported that obesity is the leading cause of cancer in our country. It also said that scientist don't really know what the relationship between the two was but suspected it to be related to the estrogen being produced by the fat cells. I thought I would chime in with another theory. Environmental exposure and toxicity can lead to both cancer and obesity along with a plethora of other chronic diseases like cholesterol, blood pressure problems, diabetes and heart disease. Most chemicals that cause cancer or are harmful to the body metabolically in some way are stored in the fat cells. In fact recent research has shown that people can be reexposed to chemicals they had not been exposed to for years by their fat cells releasing their contents when working out vigorously or losing weight through dieting.

Imagine testing positive for cannibis in a drug test now while you are dieting when you actually haven't smoked a joint for 20 years. They call this reintoxication and it's a good example of your fat cells dumping into your bood stream it's contents during dieting or stress. Fat cells are for storage and many toxins are fat soluable which leads to years of accumulation of chemical exposures in your fat cells. My suspicion is that many people become obese not only because of poor diet and lack of exercise but also because of environmental exposure to many common chemicals that accompany the packaging and preparation of poor diet and being a couch potato.

Chemicals such as pesticides, plastics, solvents, formaldehydes, heavy metals etc are commonly found in pre-packaged foods, fast foods, microwavable or "easily" prepared foods. Also common problems with being overweight is that they can become so fatigued that they are unable to exercise appropriately and are less active than their thinner counterparts. So they are indoors more often leading to lower vitamin D accumulation which in and of itself leads to cancer of all kinds.

People who are obese have a tendency to have problems with eliminating toxins after daily expsoure due to poor diet or genetic factors. This toxic accumulation in the body is stored in the fat cells and lead to diminished antioxidant capacity in the body. The anti-oxidants and other nutrients help the body detoxify the chemical exposure but after a certain time the body's anti-oxidant load decreases due to the high need by the stored toxic load. All of this lead to a slower metabolism affecting the hormone balance and cellular metabolism. As activities in the body slow down so too do obese people feel tired and lethargic continuing the vicious cycle of a slower metabolism. When this is all coupled with poor diet and lack of movement and exercise and lack of sun exposure and low vitamin D levels then this becomes a recipe for disaster. Heart disease, diabetes, hypertension or high blood pressure, cancer all result from obesity, poor diet and toxicity.

A good friend of mine in her mid-80's recently went to a high school reunion. She observed that all the people left in her high school graduating class were very thin. Not a single overweight person left from her class. I don't think it is a coincidence that my 103 year old grandfather live to that ripe old age partially by being very thin as well. Obesity kills in many ways. The good news is that there are many ways to manage weight and to help your body detoxify. I've found that most people lose weight much faster if they focused on detoxifying their body system and enhancing their liver, kidney and colon function.

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Fructose, Aldehydes and Blood Pressure

2009-09-23T18:06:07-07:00

What do these 3 things have to do with each other? To answer this we turn to the fascinating world of biochemistry. Fructose is a common sugar found in fruit and chemically enhanced into something called high fructose corn syrup. Fructose (and to a certain extent glucose) is processed by the liver into an intermediary chemical called an aldehyde. I won't go into the nitty gritty on this one, in the interest of keeping everyone sane but aldehydes in excess make blood pressure go up.

Other disturbing ways to get aldehydes into the body is through the inhalation or consumption of formaldehyde containing products, as a by-product of alcohol consumption, as a by-product of yeast overgrowth or ingesting the artificial sweetener aspartame aka Nutrasweet. Formaldehydes are found in car exhaust fumes, smog, cigarette smoke and forest fires. It is also used industrially as a chemical fixative and preservative as a by-product of new clothing manufacturing and furniture manufacturing. Here is a list of common formaldehyde sources.

So if you are concerned about high blood pressure, you would do your health a great favor to isolate and remove sources of aldehydes from your diet and environment and reduce fructose (especially high fructose corn syrup) in your diet. More concerning than fruit juices (of which fructose is the main sugar), high fructose corn syrup in many packaged foods are a major concern for hypertension, diabetes and obesity in Americans. In addition, we have spoken in the past of high fructose corn syrup containing uncomfortable amounts of mercury. A long time ago it was thought that fructose was beneficial to diabetics since it was absorbed more slowly and had less of a blood sugar spike than glucose. Later they found that every cell in the body could metabolize glucose but only the liver could metabolize fructose leading to the production of an aldehyde molecule during the metabolism process. Many people who have livers that don't have enough resources to break down aldehydes can have resulting inflammation, brain fog, muscle aches and blood pressure problems. Fructose also seems to interfere with the heart's usage of magnesium, copper and chromium which can make worse the blood pressure problem, risk of heart disease and blood sugar control.

A simple nutrient that can help the body break down aldehyde accumulation is N-acetyl Cysteine which helps the body produce glutathione, a high powered anti-oxidant. Other things that I often use to help the body produce glutathione is Amino ICG, a purified whey protein and Liquid Life which helps the cells deal with the depleted glutathione levels.

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Cholesterol Fact or Fiction?

2009-09-14T14:27:00-07:00

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Have we all been suckered by the cholesterol propoganda of the last few decades? Do you know why cholesterol is "bad" for you? Do you know why in the US we need to keep our total cholesterol down under 200? Is there a cholesterol level that is too low? And what about all those cholesterol lowering drugs? Do they help?

High cholesterol leads to high blood pressure and heart disease and premature death, right? Cholesterol has had a poor public relations run until recently. Is it possible that those early studies that most doctors still believe were only part of the story? If Lipitor and other statin drugs are so effective, why is heart disease still the number 2 killer of all Americans?

Here are some facts you might not know about cholesterol and it's function in the body.

Cholesterol is made by the body, the liver to be precise.
Cholesterol is incorporated into every cell wall of every cell your body has.
Cholesterol is the mother of the sex hormones in your body including estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol etc.
Cholesterol is incorporated into your bile acids to help you digest and absorb fat in your diet.
Cholesterol acts as an antioxidant and protests us against free radical damage.
Cholesterol is needed for proper function of serotonin receptors in the brain. Low cholesterol levels can lead to depression and suicidal tendencies.
Breast milk is rich in cholesterol and helps baby brains and nervous system to develop properly.
Cholesterol plays an important role in keeping the digestive tract healthy. Low cholesterol vegetarian diets can lead to leaky gut syndrome due to the poor health of the digestive system.
Cholesterol is a precursor to vitamin D which is essential to prevention of cancer, immune support, keeps your bones healthy, keeps your nervous system health and tons of important functions that scientists are just started to fully understand.

For these reasons and because I don't believe in tampering with Mother Nature, I rarely use cholesterol lowering herbs or advocate cholesterol lowering drugs. For more details on how cholesterol is actually important for your body's functions, read this great article by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, MD.

And what about all those cholesterol lowering drugs like Lipitor that people are on nowadays? Do they help improve your lifespan? Dr. Jerome Hoffman, MD from UCLA who is a professor of clinical medicine asks us this question about using statin drugs to lower cholesterol.

"What if you put 250 people in a room and told them they would each pay $1,000 a year for a drug they would have to take every day, that many would get diarrhea and muscle pain, and that 249 would have no benefit? And that they could do just as well by exercising? How many would take that?"

Of course he's referring to the efficacy of statin drugs. The old adage is that there are Lies, More lies and there are Statistics. Pfizer, the maker of Lipitor, the number one selling drug may have pulled a fast one on all of us. In it's ads that proclaim that there is a 36% reduction of heart attacks actually breaks down in the fine print. That 36% reduction in heart attacks actually means that in the large study they did 3% of people on placebo or sugar pill had a heart attack during the study compared to the whopping 2% on Lipitor. So for every 100 people on Lipitor it can save 1 person from a heart attack. But what about the other 99 people taking the drug?

My argument is that cholesterol is a natural function of the body and it makes me very uncomfortable for so many people taking cholesterol lowering drugs and eating low fat diets when we clearly don't have good pharmaceutical answers to preventing heart disease and that you may be lowering your cholesterol level too low leading to a whole host of problems for your body and brain. No sex drive? Maybe it's low cholesterol. Depressed? Check your cholesterol. Not menstruating? Maybe your cholesterol is too low. Generally I've found in my practice that total cholesterol under 150 is way too low. If your HDL is a good percentage of that total cholesterol number you may be also be experiencing fertility concerns as well.

So think long and hard befor you start on cholesterol lowering drugs, there is definitely more to the story.

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