Blog About Heart Disease, Nutrition, Healthy Lifestyle and Prevention of Disease
Calcium is a chemical element that is essential for living organisms. Most of the calcium within the human body is found in teeth and bone. Small amount, about one percent of total body calcium, is dissolved in the blood. Undissolved calcium is metallic and hard and is difficult to break or cut with a knife. When […]
If you’ve had a blood sample drawn for assessment of lipid panel you probably already know if your cholesterol level is acceptable or not. You might also recall something about good and bad cholesterol and the ratio between these two. Of course there is only one type of cholesterol. The “good” and “bad” has to do with the lipoproteins […]
I became a bit puzzled the other day when I read a blog article written by Kim A Williams MD, a cardiologist at Rush University in Chicago and the next president of the American College of Cardiology. Doctor Williams describes how one of his patient’s history inspired him to change his dietary habits and adopt a cholesterol […]
Time makes us fat. It’s not a myth, it’s a biologic fact. When we get old we get fat. In December 1863, William Banting, an English undertaker who went to great lengths to treat his own obesity, wrote in his now famous Letter on Corpulence: … For I have been generally informed that corpulence is one of the natural results of […]
For years, measurements of blood cholesterol have been used to assess the risk of heart disease. We have been intensively educated about the role of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), commonly nicknamed the bad cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), often called the good cholesterol. For many different reasons, lowering LDL-C has become a primary goal in cardiovascular prevention. There is strong evidence […]
Many people believe that visiting the doctor regularly will prevent problems. Diseases may be diagnosed and cured early, before they cause harm. We have our cars checked on a regular basis. Why shouldn’t the same apply to our bodies? But are general health checks really helpful? Putting it differently; could health checks possibly be harmful? Will they lead to unnecessary diagnostic and […]
There is a lot of confusion about the term ketosis among medical professionals as well as lay people. It is important to understand when and why nutritional ketosis occurs, and why it should not be confused with the metabolic disorder we call ketoacidosis. Ketosis is a metabolic state where the liver produces small organic molecules called […]
Current medical knowledge is to a large extent based on results from scientific studies. Traditionally, these results are published in peer-reviewed medical journals. Before being accepted, a scientific paper has to go through critical assessment by expert reviewers who will assess the paper’s suitability for publication. The peer review process is intended to guarantee standards of quality and […]
It’s about two teams of eleven people, chasing, kicking and heading a ball, larger than their heads. It’s about crowded stadiums, beautiful green grass pitches and noisy supporters. It’s about tactics, team work and individual brilliance. It’s about excitement, surprises and endless twists. It’s name is football, fútbol, soccer or whatever, depending on where in […]
For many years, lowering blood levels of low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) has been a key target for individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and healthy people at increased risk for developing such disease. Statin drugs play a key role for risk reduction and are prescribed to millions of people worldwide. Apart from lowering blood cholesterol, […]
One of the biggest questions facing clinical cardiology today is the decision on when to treat healthy people with statin drugs. Data from randomized clinical trials show that such treatment may be beneficial for individuals with high risk of developing cardiovascular disease. However, statins are not without side effects, therefore we have to be sure […]
What is loneliness? Think about it for a second. Can you put it into words? If you can, I guess you will associate it with sadness and isolation. But, although loneliness is usually associated with social isolation, it is important to discriminate between these two things. Social isolation refers to a lack of contact with […]
Most of us know that the risk of heart disease can be modified by lifestyle. For more than fifty years, that’s what we’ve been taught by the people we trust, scientists, medical professionals and public health officials. But the doubters have always been out there, and they ask questions. How do these people know what’s […]
Diets low in carbohydrate and high in fat (LCHF) have become increasingly popular lately. Many experts in the field of epidemiology and cardiovascular disease have expressed grave concern and warned that this change in dietary pattern may increase the risk of heart disease. Some have argued that LCHF poses a threat to public health in […]
Today, whole grains are under fire. Grain based foods are the new demons. The so-called “experts” tell us to consume them, but what do they know? Talk about guidelines, official recommendations, and widely held mainstream dietary belief. It’s all a big lie, isn’t it? Well it is, if you believe some of the books that have […]