Mama Mia, that’s a spicy meatball! Back in 1969, that meatball may have required some plop-plop, fizz-fizz according to Alka Seltzer, but it neither led to high cholesterol nor a prescription.
Lately, did you notice that whenever you visit a doctor, the answer to every question – even when it’s not asked, is to prescribe a pill? The standard of care for anyone with cholesterol touching 200 or more is to immediately dispense a statin such as Lipitor. This is simply a con. A long con. Because statins, as reported, do the following:
- Raise your blood glucose. Say hello to Type 2 diabetes.
- Destroy ALL your body’s cholesterol, including the good cholesterol coating your nerve endings. Remember saying hi to diabetes above, well now you can add neuropathy, complicated by diabetes, to the list of side effects since your nerve endings are stripped of their protection.
- Decrease memory function.
- Increase fatigue.
- Cause muscle pain.
The long-term ill effects of statins make this a lucrative, long-con for physicians and the pharmaceutical industry. Statins weren’t around until the 1980s. Mi famiglia all lived into their 90s without the use of this drug. My family also was not subjected to hydrogenated oil, high fructose syrup or the latest killer and coincidentally, key elevator of your LDL – palm oil, palm fruit oil and palm kernel oil. This is the “legal” replacement to soon-to-be banned hydrogenated oil. Don’t get fooled if it’s organic either. That simply means that it is non-GMO and it was cultivated without the use of deadly pesticides. It still elevates your LDL.
Here’s the bottom line: Your cholesterol is manageable if you actually knew the truth about what was in the food you ate! Hidden culprits are tropical oils including palm and coconut; while soybean and canola are processed in a manner that creates what is deceptively termed “naturally occurring trans fats.” This is a nice way of saying it will raise your LDL and clog your arteries. With all this going against you, doctors push the gene card and say it’s hereditary and that you need a statin to avoid a heart attack. THIS IS NOT TRUE. It’s not your fault. You may be eating saturated fats hiding in mayonnaise, salad dressing, bread, breadcrumbs, cookies, cereal, health bars, tofu burgers and all otherwise perceived health foods.
Have you eliminated saturated fats? Do you understand what saturated fats are and where they are hidden? The FDA does not mandate labeling to help you know.
Have you lost even 5% of your total body weight? Your cholesterol will see that benefit.
Have you been exercising? This helps too.
But instead of applying this RCA (root cause analysis) approach, doctors downplay the root cause (animal sources + saturated fats + overweight + inactivity) and fail to reference the clinical studies showing that according to a recent article from CNN, “Out of 100 people taking primary preventive statins for five years, “the best estimates are that one or two people will avoid a heart attack, and none will live longer, by taking statins.” Source: https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/18/health/statins-guidelines-conflict-study/index.html.
Mangia wisely, per favore (please). Stick as closely as you can to whole, real foods. Plant-based is even better. Read and understand the labels on anything you are eating that has been processed, especially organic and vegan options that you might assume are good for you. Palm oil and coconut oil will RAISE YOUR LDL. It’s in most processed foods So, don’t fall for the con. Mangia bene and vivere bene.
A PERSONAL NOTE TO THE DOCTOR I VISITED LAST MONTH: Shame on you for trying to push a statin as a preventative therapy when my history indisputably proved that my cholesterol was not captive to my heritage. I dropped my cholesterol 30 points in 6 months by adopting a healthier lifestyle informed by food FACTS – debunking your notion that anything short of a pill could lower my numbers. Uncle Funzi would not have taken kindly to that kind of disrespect…and you won’t be seeing me for a follow-up,
