Chapter 12: An Alternative Hypothesis for the Kidney Disease, Obesity and Diabetes Epidemics
Could a dramatic change to the national diet have stoked the obesity, diabetes, and kidney disease epidemics? Author Gary Taubes argues that it is possible, at least biochemically, citing the effects that dietary carbohydrate can have on the fat storage hormone, insulin. In Good Calories, Bad Calories, he writes: “insulin… is the one hormone that […]
The Cochrane Collaboration on the Pros and Cons of Statins
For the “gold standard” in published research, scientists and journalists “in the know” turn to The Cochrane Collaboration. Here is the group’s mission: “The Cochrane Collaboration is an international not-for-profit and independent organization, dedicated to making up-to-date, accurate information about the effects of healthcare readily available worldwide. It produces and disseminates systematic reviews of healthcare […]
How to Be a Better-Educated Patient – Part I
Part 1 The debate over the efficacy of (and potential dangers of) Lipitor and other statins is, if nothing else, sprawling. It touches on issues of endocrinology, metabolism, cardiology, biochemistry, nutrition, and lipidology. Some people spend literally decades researching the primary science. Journalist Gary Taubes, for instance, researched and interviewed experts for eight years […]
Chapter 11: The Food Pyramid and The Diseases of Civilization
Research suggests a powerful link between dietary factors and the so-called “diseases of civilization.” In other words, some element or elements of the Western diet seem to trigger not just obesity and diabetes but also related ailments, like renal disease. Dr. Peter Cleave, in his book, The Saccharine Disease, suggested that these diverse metabolic ailments […]
Questions to Consider about Gynecomastia
Not every case of gynecomastia is caused by medication side effects. However, studies that have examined the relationship between antipsychotic drugs like Risperdal and gynecomastia certainly provide suggestive and compelling evidence. Consider these questions during the rest of this blog series: Why would a company like Johnson & Johnson (and its subsidiary, Janssen) […]
The “Benign Cholesterol Hypothesis”: Fascinating Implications
Authorities like Dr. Dwight Lundell, Dr. Peter Attia, Gary Taubes, Dr. Ronald Krauss, and other doctors and journals cited above subscribe, in some fashion, to an alternative idea about the relationship between cholesterol and health that could be called “the benign cholesterol hypothesis.” What if these non-mainstream critics are right? The implications are at once […]
More Problems with the Malevolent Cholesterol Hypothesis
The problems with “malevolent cholesterol” hypothesis keep stacking up. They do not end with criticisms of the idea that lowering LDL (or cholesterol) will lower cardiovascular risk. Consider the main target of drugs like Lipitor – LDL – what everyone calls “the bad cholesterol.” As we have discussed, LDL is not cholesterol but rather a […]
Chapter 10: A Peculiar Twist Hidden in the Numbers
Interestingly, adjusted for inflation, government dialysis treatment reimbursements have declined since the 1970s. When the program began, the federal government paid $135 per treatment (approximately 80% of the cost). In 1995, that number (adjusted) had fallen to just $122. Why is that important? It leads to a peculiar observation. As the federal government’s largess, as […]
I Have Gynecomastia
“I Have Gynecomastia” The following confessional passage, from the Gynecomastic.org website, speak volumes about what it is like to live with gynecomastia and why this condition causes so much psychological trauma for so many men and adolescents: “I have had man boobs for most of my life. I am 22-years-old, weigh about 206 pounds, and […]
How to Be a Better-Educated Patient Part III
Part 3 Our discussion about Lipitor and cholesterol begs a key question: what should a concerned patient do? Here are a few rules of thumb: 1. Be skeptical and think critically. Just because you see a study scary-mongering about a particular nutrient, treatment, drug, or therapy does not (necessarily) mean that you should […]