Stop Calling Lipids (HDL &LDL) ‘Cholesterol’ !!

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Glyn and Liz

Lazy unscientific professionals are using the word ‘cholesterol’ when talking about LIPIDS (LDL and HDL). Once YOU realise that raised blood lipids is about sugar damage, you can step away from any statin salesman by challenging their use of the wrong term. Like this….

“Cholesterol? Don’t you mean Lipids, Doctor? In which case shouldn’t we look at sugar-damage to my LIPID circulation. How does poisoning my liver with a statin help? Isn’t low-cholesterol going to make me very forgetful? Won’t my other organs be equally deprived of essential fatty nutrients? Did you not study Biochemistry at Med School, Doctor?”

Learn the script because the statin pushers have been schooled to see statin toxicity as part of the illness they’re supposed to fix. This creates additional marketing opportunities for more pills! Giving people toxic drugs and selling a cure for the side-effects would be seen as unethical in most professions.

Now their problem is that not all patients are mystified and misinformed, and some have become educated enough to study, review and understand the published research in the professional journals.

This text is linked to my video interview by Dr Sara Pugh explaining how this toxic medical mess occurred. Don’t blame Doctors, although they should know better. Blame the lack of due diligence over the financial arrangements of the members of our regulatory and advisory bodies.

Two wicked women?

Posted on February 21, 2016 by Glyn and Liz

lizwainwright:

‘All the things in here are reminders of some very happy times.’ She handed Lynda a photograph album. ‘Would you like to look at this while I make us some lunch? It’s photos and mementoes of Ted and me.’
Later they sat on the sofa and looked through the album together.
‘You made him so happy Rose. Ted told me it was the best thing that ever happened to him, meeting you.’
‘Sheila didn’t think so. I feel very guilty sometimes, that I took her husband away from her.’
‘It wasn’t just because of you that he left her. It wasn’t because of me encouraging him, either, though they all still think I was to blame.’
Rose saw how bitter Lynda felt about that. ‘Have they still not forgiven you for taking Ted’s side?’
She looked at Rose, this little woman full of compassion, and all the strength of spirit which had held her together over the years, suddenly seemed to melt away.
‘They don’t do forgiveness, John and his Mother – not where I’m concerned anyway.’ She shuddered. ‘Sheila hates me, always has done. And John, half the time he looks at me as if he’s wondering why the hell he married me. There’s no love there for me, Rose, not in that house.’
‘There’s Carolyn and Steve, and your grandson. I thought you said Carolyn was much closer to you since she had the baby.’
‘She was at first, but now it’s like it always was before. It’s her and her Dad lined up against me, or her and Sheila. Steve tries his best for me, but if he stands up for me it only causes trouble between him and Carolyn. That seems to be what I’m good at, Rose, causing trouble. Even Dan says that.’
‘Dan Heywood?’
‘Yes. We had a row before I came here. You know I’ve always thought it was Dan that I really loved, but I’m not even sure of that any more. Dan told me I just needed something to dream about. And I suppose he was right. This is one of things I used to dream about, coming here. Oh, I’m so glad I could come here, Rose.’
‘So am I. I’d always wanted you to see you again and share this with you.’
Rose looked at this younger woman who had once been so full of energy and hope, and was worried. Lynda was clasping her hands tightly in front of her, trying to hold on to her self-control. She took a deep breath.
‘No-one wants me, Rose. There’s no-one there who loves me, or ever will. I looked round last Sunday and realised that. And I couldn’t take it. I felt so lonely, so cold and lonely. I had to get away.’
The tears begin to stream down her cheeks, and Rose was shocked to see this resilient young woman crumple as if all the strength had been taken from her. Held in Rose’s loving arms, Lynda cried like a child.
She cried almost all of the next two days, and Rose and Janet quietly took care of her. They reassured her that it was all right to stay in her room, or go for walks alone. These two strong, older women had both known what it was like to reach breaking point – they understood Lynda’s needs, and prayed she would come through this crisis in her life.

REALLY GOOD CARROT CAKE & GLUTEN FREE!

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Glyn and Liz

lizwainwright:

LYNDA COLLINS: REALLY GOOD CARROT CAKE – which happens to be GLUTEN FREE

Great if you need a large cake for a party or celebration, or you can freeze it. Borrowed the recipe from my writer Liz W. Easy to make once you’ve organised all the ingredients.

INGREDIENTS LIST: Butter Soft brown Sugar Orange zest Walnuts Carrots Ground or crushed flaked Almonds White Gluten Free SR flour 5 Large eggs Baking Powder Salt Ground Cinnamon   Ginger and Nutmeg Topping: Icing sugar Butter Vanilla essence Philadelphia cream cheese.

TIN Need a non stick tin approx 30cm x 21cm x 5cm. Grease with unsalted butter and line with a double layer of grease-proof paper.   Sprinkle very lightly with flour.    OVEN Gas 4 or Electric 180 – depends on your oven!   I set my fan oven at 170 and turn it down to 160 once the cake has risen and is quite brown (i.e. after 20- 25 mins.)

INGREDIENTS (in order of preparation )    300 g / SALTED BUTTER – soften by leaving to stand in a large bowl with the grated ZEST OF AN ORANGE mixed into it.                 160 g fairly finely ground/ chopped WALNUTS     400 g grated CARROT     250g SUGAR (soft brown sugar ) 5 LARGE EGGS lightly whisked in a bowl    150 g GROUND ALMONDS or ground up flaked almonds.

Mix together in a bowl – 200 g GF WHITE SELF RAISING FLOUR    2 teaspoons BAKING POWDER     One and half teaspoons ground CINNAMON   ¼ teaspoon of GROUND NUTMEG 1& ¾ teaspoons GROUND GINGER   Pinch of SEA SALT METHOD: Prepare all the ingredients in bowls.   Cream the butter and zest together well. Add the sugar and beat till light and fluffy.   Add the eggs gradually (3 or 4 lots) and as you add some egg, also add a dessertspoon of the flour, mix and beat well before adding the next one.   Then FOLD IN the remaining flour mix, followed by the ground almonds, carrot, and walnuts.   Spoon into the tin, smooth out and bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes , then turn down the temperature to 160 and cook for about another 15 minutes The cake is ready when golden brown and springs back when touched (check by sliding a thin knife in the centre to make sure it’s not under-cooked)Leave in the tin to cool for 5 or 10 minutes before turning out on to a wire tray.

TOPPING    25 g UNSALTED BUTTER– beat till soft and creamy Add 100g FULL FAT PHILADELPHIA CREAM CHEESE and cream together with a Teaspoon of VANILLA EXTRACT.   Beat in 150g ICING SUGAR.   Beat the mixture till light and fluffy.   Cover and leave in thefridge for an hour before spreading on the cake. Perhaps spread on half the cake at a time if not all to be eaten on same day. Decorate with walnut pieces.

The Secret

Posted on February 17, 2016 by Glyn and Liz

lizwainwright:

‘Can you not find somebody else?’
‘No. I’ve got this feeling, Mum, I can’t explain it, but he’s the one.’
‘The Heywood family aren’t our sort.’
‘I know, they’ve got money. But that’s not why I want Dan.’
‘I know it’s not, love, but I hope you’ll change your mind. Geoff Heywood’s all right but Dan’s mother would make your life hell. She’s a Buchanan, and takes after her father. Dan Heywood’s not for you.’
‘He is.’
Doreen Collins was again silent, struggling to make a hard decision.
‘You remember I told you I used to work at Kirkwood House, cleaning for them when you were a baby.’
‘Yeah. So what?’
‘They put the fear of God into me, her family. They wanted nothing to do with us – and she still doesn’t because there’s something I know about the Heywoods.’
‘What?’
‘It’s a secret and you must promise me you won’t tell anyone, ever. Promise.’
So Lynda made that unbreakable promise and listened to the secret that didn’t seem important at the time.

Let’s Talk Statins

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Glyn and Liz

For over a decade I’ve been reviewing all the research I can find on sugar, fats and cholesterol. This has involved writing review papers in bio-science and medical journals, and presenting at conferences and giving talks. I studied bio-chemistry in the 1960s and revived my interest to look at age related illnesses and related medical issues. This interest was sparked off by a 6 day period of taking statins, and realising very quickly that something was seriously amiss with this ‘preventative’ approach to my health.
I am not clinically trained and do not to advise individuals about their ills. However, I do try to help people, when asked, to become more aware of the biological science and principle behind age related illnesses as we move from maturity to seniority! Three themes keep recurring in this bio-science adventure: sugar damage, low-fat damage and statin damage.
Statin users who ask me questions are often concerned about what they have read and maybe they have started to feel unwell since commencing medication. To those who have no pre-existing illness and are taking statins to keep themselves well (like I did some years ago) I ask “ Why are you taking a medication that makes you feel unwell and has only a dubious statistical link with reducing heart attacks?” When I was offered statins I was told there would be a 30% reduction in risk over the next 10 years. I was not told that the absolute risk was in fact reduced from 4% to 3% (1 % reduction compared with 3% produced the dramatic figure 30%). This is not impressive given the real toxicity and documented risks that statins carry! Starting from a position of health, over the 6 days I spent taking on 40mg Simvastatin, I started with 5 new disturbing ailments. My old 1960s biochemistry books showed these were all likely linked to cholesterol and lipid deficiencies in my body. I stopped taking them and recovered fully within a week. Day 7 is still in the packet which I keep with my notes.

Sometimes when giving talks I meet a statin user who is convinced that they owe their life to statins . The conviction normally comes straight from their medical advisors, who have been adamant about the claimed benefits. So I become curious about the impact on their general health. Taking care not prejudice them I enquire about general wellness, and listen carefully for comments about muscle aches, exercise tolerance, joints aches etc. Quite often I have collected a list known statin side-effects, which they understand to be “expected at my age”. If spouses are present it can be revealing to get a second slightly less subjective opinion, especially on mood and behavioural changes. The crucial question is how have these things changed since starting statins. Quite often many other medications have been added to deal with what we know to be predictable effects of not only statins but also elevated blood sugar and inadequate amounts of natural fats in the diet.
If they are healthy or concerned about the statin’s effects I suggest asking their GP for a ‘Statin Holiday’ after which they can assess the impact the statins were having. A supervised withdrawal might be advisable. A ‘holiday’ can help with in assessing other unpleasant medications too!
Normally I get one of two reactions when talking to medical practitioners. A small minority are too busy to think clearly about it and resent the implied criticism of their prescribing to guidelines. Thankfully the majority of cardiologists and GPs feel informed and are keen to undertake further reading. They’ve often puzzled over the patients’ responses and intolerance toward statins.
All too often the statin toxicity alarm bells do not sound until some permanent harm has accumulated.
(Highlighted links to further materials)

Atherosclerosis and Oxygen Perfusion

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Glyn and Liz

Everyone seems to know how oxygen is transported in our blood stream to the muscles, neurons and other tissues of the body it’s perfusion. Do they understand how it happens it though?

The scientist Richard Feynman would challenge this by saying ‘Having a name for a process is not the same as understanding or explaining it’. So I asked how ‘Oxygen Perfusion’ works at the molecular level and found that no one seemed to know.

The real reason for asking this question was a substance called cholesterol sulphate. After months of discussing and defending the magnificent benefits of cholesterol in the cells of our bodies, Dr Stephanie Seneff asked me ‘What do you know about cholesterol sulphate?’ ‘Very little!’ was my response, but this was the start of our amazing biochemical adventure reviewing all literature on the matter and, together with associates, publishing remarkable facts and ideas affecting our everyday health.

The body tissues are constantly returning sulphide into the blood stream. This sulphide was being picked up by red blood cells. The blood cells had oxidising enzymes called eNOS. The name eNOS looked misleading to Stephanie because its product nitric oxide or ‘NO’would be toxic the red blood cell. So could it be misnamed here? It looked capable of oxidising ‘sulphide’ to ‘sulphate’ and it was accompanied by an enzyme that could attach the sulphate to cell membrane cholesterol making our puzzle molecule cholesterol sulphate. Cholesterol’s sulphate was stable for transport, storing additional oxygen and energy – both of which could be released by releasing the sulphate converting it back to sulphide.

‘Cholesterol sulphate’ (C-sulphate) was reported to sit in the cell wall with its ‘sulphate’ end sticking out and vulnerable to transfer between the red blood cell and the endothelium wall of the capillary. Here we were looking at the solution to the ‘Oxygen Perfusion’ puzzle.

Hypotheses began to flow and papers were published. The work goes on:
C-sulphate provides sulphate to the glycocalyx coating the capillary walls.
C- sulphate on the blood cells prevents coagulation of the cells.
C- sulphate allows energy and oxygen (sulphate) to transfer safely into the tissues.
Last year we published a paper suggesting that the normal delivery of the cholesterol sulphate to for endothelial maintenance is likely to be a leading explanation and purpose behind Atherosclerotic plaques.
It may well be that only when such plaques become enlarged, damaged and infected, due to cholesterol sulphate deficiency, that they become thrombotic.

Cell Walls – Essential Role of Fats & Cholesterol

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Glyn and Liz

The outer and inner membranes protect and define the cells in the tissues of our bodies. They give them shape and strength. These membranes organise, support and protect the proteins (enzymes) that give function and purpose to the tissues and organs of our bodies.

Cell Membranes are made of fat (lipids) and cholesterol. To work and protect the cell there has to be at least 1 cholesterol molecule for every 4 fat molecules. Less cholesterol causes the membrane to become weak and leaky.
The maintenance of organs and tissues relies on a regular supply of fats and fat soluble nutrients. This supply comes from the large LDL lipid droplets which are recognised and absorbed by the LDL receptors on the cells. The recycling waste involves the return of smaller HDL lipid droplets to the liver via the blood stream.

As we age ours cells LDL receptors can become damaged by sugar leading to poor maintenance of the membranes. The cell has a shortage of lipids (fats) and cholesterol. Cell walls becomes leaky and prone to fail. LDL lipids are left unused in the blood stream. HDL lipids are not being returned.

As we age what we we required is a reduction in damage caused by excess blood sugars (glucose and fructose) together with an adequate supply of fats and cholesterol.

This is the basis of the success of the Low-Carbohydrate High-Fat diets in addressing the modern dietary health issues.

Published research on cell membranes and lipids is at complete odds with modern medical practices and much dietary guidance. Statins and low fat diets are misguided attempts to prevent fatty nutrients from entering the blood stream by blocking the production of mevalonate. Mevalonate is used to make steroids hormones, cholesterol, signalling molecules, dolichols and co-enzyme Q10 etc – a whole series of vital health promoting substances.

The Statin-Damage Triad is a modern health crisis progressively brought on by a combination of 3 lifestyle factors: Excess Blood Sugar, Low Dietary Fat intake and statin medications.

Links: The supporting references to published research are contained in my conference paper ‘The High-Cholesterol Paradox’ which was especially requested to make facts and history widely accessible.