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 PART THREE IN A FOUR-PART POST*
One of the most discussed issues in America today is the theory of global warming, that is, the idea that man-made carbon gases are creating a greenhouse effect and that greenhouse effect is warming our planet. Please allow me to assure you right now that this article is indeed about alternatives to Lipitor, and not global warming. But in order to illustrate a point, let us suppose for a moment that you and I decided to have a debate about global warming, but before we began our debate, we decided that recorded history and trends in the earth's temperature were of no importance to the discussion, and that our debate would be limited to what is happening to the earth's temperature today. In addition to that peculiar rule of ignoring history in our debate, we decided that the debate would last twenty years. There were no other rules.
Let us also suppose that, unknown to you, I had invented a magical machine that could rid the earth's atmosphere of carbon. In this world of magical supposition, my motivation for winning our global warming debate had very little to do with saving the planet. I was only interested in selling my magical carbon-removing machine to every house in America and thereby making grotesque amounts of money. Indeed, large profits had been my motivation for intentionally framing our debate to exclude all previous history. I did not want people to be aware of any historical data that might indicate that there was no need for my magical carbon-removing machine.
Finally, let us suppose that throughout the twenty years of our debate, I did not really debate you at all. I simply wined and dined meteorologists. When the meteorologists wanted to go to trade shows and conventions in Hawaii and Belize, I paid for their trips. I took them golfing. I even paid the meteorologists large sums of money to be spokespersons for my magical carbon-removing machine. I showed the meteorologists the results of all kinds of controlled studies showing the benefits of my machine, and I was able to convince them that any danger to the environment that might be done by my machine was minor. Ten years into the period of our debate, people began to notice that trees and plants were becoming gradually weak and sickly, and eventually dying because they did not have enough of the carbon dioxide that was vital to them.
You may have already guessed that my magical carbon-removing machine is analogous to the magical cholesterol-removing pill, Lipitor, and regardless of Pfizer's claims to the contrary, I will insist that my analogy is totally valid. Pfizer does indeed wine and dine their doctors, they do indeed pay for doctor's trips to exotic places, Pfizer sales reps do indeed take doctors golfing, and doctors do indeed glibly accept Pfizer's assurances that the side effects of Lipitor are minor. Everyday more people are discovering that Lipitor is weakening them and Lipitor is indeed killing people. But the part of the analogy that I want to focus on is the idea that a debate can be framed in such a way as to completely ignore prior history.
The discussion about cholesterol-lowering strategies has been cleverly framed by Pfizer and other drug companies in order to make one think that LDL (bad) cholesterol just magically appeared in the American bloodstream in the late twentieth century. Of course, LDL (bad) cholesterol has always been in our blood, and I would suggest that rather than just popping a pill to artificially limit it's synthesis, we should examine the history and trends of heart disease and try to determine whether there are correlations between increased heart disease and changes in lifestyle. Regardless of the moronic stipulations of the supposed global-warming debate we described earlier, logic dictates that a proper solution to any problem must stem from the history of the problem. We have posted with this article a chart from the Center for Disease Control which graphically demonstrates the historical trends for heart disease in the U.S. Please refer to it when reading the following paragraphs.
When I correlate the historical trends in heart disease with the historical changes in the American lifestyle, there are four lifestyle changes that become statistically obvious and that require our attention: 1.) The increase in cigarette smoking throughout the first half of the 20th century 2.) The manufacture and increased consumption of partially hydrogenated oils, 3.) The decreased consumption of magnesium, and 4.) The trend towards a sedentary lifestyle. It is my theory that if a person were to change his lifestyle so that it were more reflective of a 19th century American lifestyle in these four listed areas, then that person can lower his LDL (bad) cholesterol, raise his HDL (good) cholesterol, and avoid ever introducing his body to the poison that is known as Lipitor. Here are four simple steps to good heart health.
1.) QUIT SMOKING CIGARETTES
Of course this change in lifestyle is largely an obvious heart-healthy step, but no discussion of heart health would be complete without mentioning it. Additionally, if we are going to discuss history and trends of heart disease in America, we cannot have a complete discussion without noting the impact that documented increases and decreases in cigarette smoking have had on documented increases and decreases in heart disease. The following time line will illustrate the impact.
1881 Machine is invented which automates cigarette manufacturing, drastically reducing cigarette prices
1890 American Tobacco Company reports annual sales of $25,000,000
1900 Center for Disease Control reports age adjusted death rates from diseases of the heart of approximately 160 deaths per 100,000 population
1903 American Tobacco Company reports annual sales of $316,000,000, an increase of more that 800% over 1890 sales
1950 Age adjusted death rates from diseases of the heart reach 307.4 per 100,000 population
1952 Reader' Digest publishes article “Cancer by the Carton” marking first nationwide publication of article on dangers of cigarette smoking
1953 Cigarette sales decline for the first time in over twenty years
1960 Age adjusted death rates from diseases of the heart reach all-time high of 559 per 100,000 population
1961 to 2004 As the percentage of the U.S. Adult population that smokes cigarettes diminishes from 50% to just over 23%, deaths rates from diseases of the heart diminish from 545.3 to 217.5 per 100,000 population
Even the most time-hardened smoker will have a difficult time in disputing the statistical correlations. Of even more significance is the fact that initial health concerns related to cigarette smoking centered more on lung cancer. The relation between cigarette smoking and heart disease is a relatively recent focus.
It is not within the scope of this article to discuss the myriad of documented health problems associated with cigarette smoking. I will only mention that it is well-documented that smoking decreases HDL (good) cholesterol and that one large study, the Framingham Heart Study, showed that there was a 10% increase in coronary artery disease for each 4 milligram per deciliter decrease in HDL (good) cholesterol.
I must candidly state that I have never in my life smoked a cigarette, so I cannot in any way claim to understand the strength of the addiction that a lifelong smoker experiences. Certainly I must strongly encourage anyone who is addicted to cigarettes to do anything that they can to shake the addiction. The first step that any cigarette smoker should take in pursuing a heart-healthy lifestyle should be to quit smoking completely and altogether. That is the best option. But if you absolutely can not shake your addiction, then I would still strongly encourage you to follow the three remaining guidelines rather than casually introducing your body to Lipitor. If you follow the other three guidelines that I am about to suggest to you, and still are unsuccessful in controlling your cholesterol levels, then you should discuss the use of statin drugs with your physician.
2.) COMPLETELY ELIMINATE PARTIALLY HYDROGENATED OILS, ALSO KNOWN AS TRANS FAT OR TRANS FATTY ACIDS, FROM YOUR DIET
If we return to our historical model, we note that the Center for Disease Control records drastic increases in diseases of the heart beginning in the 1930s. Significantly, the large-scale introduction of partially hydrogenated oils into the American diet occurred at about the same time. Now we have numerous studies performed throughout the 1990s that have very solidly linked the consumption of partially hydrogenated oils to an increase in heart disease.
Partially hydrogenated oils are also referred to as “trans fat” or “trans fatty acids.” There are many things yet to be learned in the matter of how partially hydrogenated oils are metabolized, but we do know that they increase LDL (bad) cholesterol to levels similar to those produced by saturated fatty acids and also decrease HDL (good) cholesterol levels. The net effect of trans fatty acids (hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils) on the ratio of LDL (bad) cholesterol to HDL (good) cholesterol is approximately double that of saturated fatty acids. In other words, consuming 1 gram of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil will have the same negative effect on your blood cholesterol as consuming 2 grams of animal fat. Additionally, partially hydrogenated vegetable oils have a negative impact on health by increasing triglyceride levels. We should also mention here that some physicians have begun testing their patients for a lipoprotein known as Lipoprotein(a). Research indicates that elevated levels of Lipoprotein(a) correlate to an increase risk of heart disease. Some physicians are actually just as concerned about elevated Liproprotein(a) levels as they are about elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Research has also shown that consumption of partially hydrogenated olis will increase blood levels of Lipoprotein(a). Speaking of partially hydrogenated oils, I should mention that I have stumbled on an idea for a really healthy vegetable oil spread that we can put on bread and replace that nasty butter that everyone uses. This spread will be much better for your health than butter because it will not have all of the saturated fat. In order to make this healthy spread, we start with vegetable oil. It can be oil from corn, soybeans, safflower, sunflower, palm, palm kernel, or whatever oil is cheapest. We will heat the oil to a very high temperature and keep the oil under very high pressure. When the temperature and pressure are high enough, we will introduce some metal catalysts and hydrogen to the mixture. As a result, the hydrogen will bind with the oil molecules effectively removing the naturally occurring Omega 3 and Omega 6 essential fatty acids. When the hydrogenated oil returns to room temperature and pressure, it will take on a solid consistency and, since we have removed those pesky essential fatty acids, it will not go rancid and will have a very long shelf life. Then we will add water and an emulsifying agent so that we can evenly distribute the fat from the oil in the water. Then we can add artificial flavoring and artificial coloring to make the healthy spread look and taste like butter. I hope that you are thinking that my “healthy” spread sounds like it is indeed very unhealthy. In describing the manufacturing process of my healthy vegetable oil spread, I was describing the basic manufacturing process for margarine. If you are still willing to put margarine into your body after having the manufacturing process described, then there really is no need for you to read any further because you should be very comfortable with consuming a poison like Lipitor. As you well know, the manufacturers of this toxin that is commonly called “margarine” have marketed their product as being better for your health than butter. But now we know, through a number of studies, that people who consume margarine have a much higher incidence of heart disease than do people who consume similar amounts of butter. The reason that margarine is unhealthy is because it contains partially hydrogenated oils. Twelve years ago I purchased and listened to the audio version of Dr. Andrew Weil's book “Eight Weeks to Optimum Health.” When I think upon what I learned from those tapes, I have to say that Dr. Weil was far enough ahead of the curve regarding heart health that one would not be remiss in calling him prescient. I learned a number of things from those tapes, but what was most significant for me was the discussion that Dr. Weil had concerning partially hydrogenated oils and their negative effects on health. He instructed the listener to immediately search every cabinet in their kitchen and dispose of every product that contained these toxic oils, and then to begin reading every label of every potential purchase in the supermarket and to avoid the purchase of any product containing partially hydrogenated oils. If you do take my advice and rid your life of the toxin that is partially hydrogenated oil, I hope that you will take heart in the assurance that your job today is not remotely as difficult as my job was twelve years ago. When I followed Dr. Weil's advice twelve years ago, only one brand of the nine brands of whole wheat bread at the supermarket did not contain partially hydrogenated oils. Today, it would be very difficult to find a whole wheat bread that uses these toxins. Twelve years ago, the only cold breakfast cereal that I could find that did not contain trans fat was Post Grape-Nuts. Today I can not find a cold breakfast cereal that uses partially hydrogenated oils. Companies are beginning to forsake the use of partially hydrogenated oils, and for once we can actually thank the FDA for doing it's job. On January 1, 2006 the FDA began to require food manufacturers to list on their labels the amount of trans fat in their products. While I applaud the FDA for this move to improve America's health, I must also point out that there are two comical aspects to the FDA's requirement. The first is that nobody knows what “trans fat” is. The second is that companies are allowed to say that their products do not contain trans fat even though they actually do contain trans fat.
On the first issue, let us be absolutely clear: trans fat is partially hydrogenated oil. The minuscule amount of trans fat that occurs naturally in beef and lamb and dairy products is inconsequential and not worthy of discussion in this context. If a label on a product states that the product contains any trans fat, then you can be certain that the product contains the man-made toxin called partially hydrogenated oil, and you can be certain that the product is bad for your heart. On the second issue, let us again be absolutely clear: if a product lists partially hydrogenated oil as one of it's ingredients, then it contains trans fat. I was initially confused when the FDA labeling requirement was put into effect. Allow me to explain. After the FDA began insisting that food manufacturers disclose the amount of trans fat in their product, I began to see products that had labeling that stated that the product had zero grams of trans fat, and yet the product ingredients listing indicated that the product contained partially hydrogenated oil. I eventually came to understand that the FDA allowed companies to claim that their products contain zero grams of trans fat if the product contained less than one gram of trans fat per serving. Based on this information, I look at the trans fat content on a product label merely as a source of amusement. I look at the ingredient listing of the product in order to determine the heart-healthiness of the product, and I encourage you to do the same. If a product contains partially hydrogenated oils, it is bad for your health and should not be eaten under any circumstances. Reading labels is a good thing, but perhaps the more difficult aspect of eliminating partially hydrogenated oils from your diet involves the decisions that you must make when eating out. It has been a number of years since I have eaten a french fry. I do not eat french fries because there is a high likelihood that a restaurant french fry is fried in partially hydrogenated oil. The french fries prepared at McDonald's and Burger King taste great, but they are fried in partially hydrogenated oil. Pies are off limits. My son can attest to the fact that I make an awesome apple pie. As a maker of awesome apple pies, one thing that I know is that it is impossible to make a good pie crust without either Crisco or lard. I am not interested in consuming lard, and Crisco is partially hydrogenated oil. There are a number of foods that you will need to avoid, but you will find that the effort and small sacrifice will be rewarding. I am healthy today because I stopped eating trans fat twelve years ago. There are some doctors and other anti-social types that apparently have a great deal of time on their hands and they are encouraging congress to pass laws to make the use of partially hydrogenated oils illegal. While I am not adverse to the idea of totally eliminating a toxin from our food supply, I am also a believer in free enterprise. Don't wait for a federal law. It is not necessary. Stop buying any product that is made with partially hydrogenated oils. Companies do not make what people do not buy. Just ask the Coca-Cola company where they currently bottle New Coke. Our next post will deal with the two other lifestyle changes concerning magnesium consumption and our sedentary ways. *NOTE TO READER: BECAUSE OF THE LARGE VOLUME OF INFORMATION INCLUDED, WE HAD TO CHANGE THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES ON LIPITOR TO A FOUR-PART POST. THIS POST DEALS WITH TWO LIFESTYLE CHANGES AS ALTERNATIVES TO LIPITOR AND THE FINAL POST WILL DEAL WITH TWO OTHER LIFESYLE CHANGES. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CONFUSION.
Part One of Four: THE MARKETING AND DANGERS OF PFIZER'S LIPITOR; A FOUR PART SERIES
Part Two of Four: LIPITOR: THE POISON THAT CAUSES CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE
Part Three of Four: LIFESTYLE CHANGES THAT ALLOW YOU TO AVOID LIPITOR
See Also: IF YOU CAN'T ARGUE WITH THE FACTS, JUST SCREAM "CONSPIRACY THEORIST" AT THE TOP OF YOUR LUNGS
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