Statins "unnecessary", don't fix heart disease -- but there are things that do

I have been following nutrition for years and one thing I have gleaned from many sites is that statins have serious negative side effects (muscle loss, increase suicide rate, etc.) while not really addressing the core causes of heart disease, only a symptom (high cholesterol). Many doctors suggest getting off statins completely, that's my take as well.

At the same time, I have also been following the development of new ways of removing the plaque in arteries that actually causes heart disease, and there are extremely effective ways of doing this detailed below, which I have done myself over a period of 2+ years with much success.

High LDL cholesterol is only a symptom
High cholesterol, which statins are prescribed for, is a symptom of something else. When the body is in a state of stress it jacks up cholesterol. Just lowering the cholesterol is not really addressing the reason why the cholesterol is high--so taking statins can be a false panacea, making a person think they are "fixing" their heart disease when in fact that are just slapping a band-aid on symptom.

How to actually remove the plaque that hardens arteries
Not only can you prevent a heart attack, you can rid your arteries of so much plaque and create so much space for blood flow that a heart attack isn't even a possibility--but running and swimming are. My guess is that in 10 years or so this will be commonplace, because it really is quite easy from a theoretical standpoint, though it takes persistence and time.

Some relatively simple supplements have been found to actually function to attack each of the different types of plaque very effectively. There is a ton of info on them on the net, but I can tell you from several years of doing these things (below) I have actually felt arteries that were hardened/stuck "pop" open when enough plaque was removed--many times in my legs, chest, neck, shoulders, etc. You can feel the circulation come back as more blood swims in. I'm not selling anything, just telling you straight up I don't think these things work, I know they work. I've done it. They key is, though, you have to keep doing this stuff for a while, like removing dozens of layers of paint, it is not an overnight process and you do have to shell out the $15 a bottle that they cost for many bottles, up to 50+. But noticeable results do come quick, it does work and can literally save your life.

 
Arteries get clogged with 3 things: cholesterol, calcium (calcifications), and fibrin (proteins).

Something called EPL (essential phospholipids) has been found to cause the cholesterol to literally melt off by lowering its melting temperature to body temperature. I'm not selling it but I have used it for a long time and I guarantee that if you keep taking this stuff over months and years (like 20+ bottles) you will see serious results and may even avert a heart attack.

To get even more serious on that plaque, rip off the calcifications as well using LipoPhos EDTA. You need an empty stomach for both of these supplements to let them go into the bloodstream. With LipoPhos EDTA, you need  to replace calcium and manganese afterwards, so just take it twice a week.

And if you really want to add the third blow to plaque in your arteries, take a third thing, the enzyme bromelain. Buy a huge bottle cheap at Vitamin Shoppe, throw down 3-4 at a time on an empty stomach. It will eat up the third thing that clogs arteries fibrin, which is made of protein and bromelain is a protein-eating enzyme.

Lipophos - Good                                           LipoPhos EDTA - better, one-two punch



That's really it--if you don't have calcifications, cholesterol, and fibrin in your arteries... you don't have plaque.



Statins articles
Mercola.com pools many of the studies on statins and has several articles on the topic, but there are hundreds of sites about the problems with statins. The thrust seems to be get the heck off statins.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/21/900-studies-show-statin-drugs-are-dangerous.aspx

Here's another link "Statin Insanity"
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/statin-insanity/#axzz20pBIvfbq

Your APOE Gene variant found to influence major biological traits including diet, muscle type, Alzheimer's, heart disease

In recent years the human APOE gene has become a hot topic for a number of reasons. You get one allele from each parent and each comes in three variants. These alleles correlate to a number of major biological traits. If you are among the 36% who have one of the less common APOE alleles (APOE2 or APOE4) it would be very beneficial to find out because your ideal diet and exercise will likely be very different from the typical regimens "work" for "most people" i.e. the other 64%. You can find out by doing a

APOE4 = 26% population population, thought to be the "oldest" allele, more slow twitch muscle fibers ex. marathon runners, higher carb/lower fat diets, handle fats well

APOE3 = 64% population"neutral" health wise, moderate fast twitch muscles ex. baseball, basketball, etc.

APOE2 = 10% population super fast twitch muscles ex. sprinters & boxers, special high risk for Alzheimers, suggested very high fat/low carb diet

APOE4 = "Ancestral Allele"?
Some scientists believe that APOE4 is the oldest allele. It seems to be very rare among highly agricultural populations and is thought to be a hunter-gatherer trait. One scientist calls it a "food collection" allele vs. a "food production" allele, viz. foraging for food in circumstances where supply is sporadic and unpredictable.

APOE4 = "Endurance" Allele?
A 2007 study by Williams & Folland  poinpoints the APOE4 gene as optimal for the slow-twitch muscle fibers required for endurance sports like marathon running etc., while APOE2 is optimal for fastest-twitch muscle fibers required for explosive sports like sprints boxing, etc. This seems logical insofar as the fastest-twitch muscles require sugar  (glycogen) to function whereas endurance muscle requires only oxygen.

APOE Spatial Variation in Geographic Distribution AfricaAPOE Gene varies widely across Africa. Since Africa is the cradle of humankind and APOE4 is the oldest allele, one might think that most Africans have APOE4. However, it is well known that many Africans excel at sprinting and other fast-twitch sports, which indicate APOE2 gene, the other extreme from APOE4. In fact, the 2007 study by Williams & Folland notes that West Africa is home to a higher percentage of sprinters but East Africa has more endurance athletes. This makes sense as East Africa (Ethiopia/Kenya/Tanzania/etc.) is the cradle of human civilization hence it would seem logical that it contains the highest percentage of the oldest allele APOE4.

Diet and the APOE4 Gene
There is extremely interesting discussion surrounding the question of what sort of diet suits the APOE4 gene since the risk of Alzhimer's is so high, but the topic is well worth investigating regardless of Alzheimer's risk. There is an "Alzheimer's Diet" which is super-high in fat, and indeed many recommend a high fat diet for APOE4, including Stefanie Seneff of MIT http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/ who has published studies on Alzheimer's like this one http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/EJIM_PUBLISHED.pdf

There is a book called the "APOE Gene Diet" but it after giving a brief outline of the different APOE Genes it its diet recommendations for the three types are so similar as to be meaningless, it is not a good source of dietary guidelines for APOE.


Some interesting sites on APOE

A study that seeks the genetic markers of elite endurance athletes and find APOE4 to be the endurance allele
http://jp.physoc.org/content/586/1/113.full

APOE4 - The Ancestral Allele

http://primale4.wordpress.com/

23andme.com
Gene Testing

Great short video about metabolic typing including geographic differences between people's metabolisms

http://metabolicme.com/

Orexin - a hormone that controls waking up, staying awake, and lose weight

For anyone trying to figure out why it is hard to wake up and/or stay awake... the hormone orexin may be part of your answer.

Orexin - a wakefulness and weight control hormone
Orexin is a hormone which stimulates wakefulness, in fact it is deficient in people with narcolepsy. It also appears to be absolutely necessary to keep weight under control--without it, mice in a study automatically became obese. So what stimulates the production of orexin?

Turns out protein (amino acids) stimulates orexin. Conversely, high sugars block orexin. However, protein also prevents sugars from blocking orexin, so protein is doubly necessary to keep orexin secretion going.

So eating enough protein especially if and when you eat carbs/sugars is the key factor in producing enough orexin to stay awake and keep weight under control.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/05/hormone-orexin-may-help-control-weight-gain-study-finds/

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/12/why-sugar-makes-us-sleepy-and-protein-wakes-us-up/