Category: General

There has been much debate about optimal cholesterol levels. On the one side there those who say cholesterol does not matter and one should include inflammation along with the importance of cholesterol and other markers. And then there are those who only target the cholesterol. Like most things that are debated in medicine the reality is somewhere in between. I believe the moderate view is the correct one. All factors must be considered especially advanced serum biomarkers such as lipoprotein a, C-reactive protein, PLA2, and homocystine to name a few. I do not think there is any debate on diet lifestyle, though conventional providers do not talk about this and typically provide statin prescriptions that may or may not target a given LDL level. The guidelines changed to targeting certain levels based on risk to prescribing certain doses based on risk. Recently they changed back again to some degree targeting LDL levels. Statins have been popular but now even more so it is the primary therapy. The Role LDL Cholesterol Plays After 20 years I can tell you that cholesterol does matter, both HDL and LDL, and triglycerides are all individual risk factors. I have monitored patients who have made...

What is EDTA chelation therapy? In medicine, chelation is used to rid the body of excess or toxic metals such as lead or calcium (as in hypercalcemia). For example, a person who has lead poisoning may be given chelation therapy in order to bind and remove excess lead from the body before it can cause damage. In the case of EDTA chelation therapy, the substance that binds and removes metals and minerals is EDTA (ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid), a synthetic, or man-made, amino acid that is delivered intravenously (through the veins). EDTA was first used in the 1940s for the treatment of heavy metal poisoning. EDTA chelation removes heavy metals and minerals from the blood, such as lead, iron, copper, and calcium, and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in treating lead poisoning and toxicity from other heavy metals. Although it is not approved by the FDA to treat heart disease, some physicians and alternative medicine practitioners use EDTA chelation as a way to treat this disorder. How does chelation therapy work? There a numerous ways in which chelation may work. The effects on humans may be a sum of all the mechanisms of...

Steve Parcell, ND Lipoproteins are a better measure of risk, and lipoprotein testing represents a new era in preventive cardiology. Just measuring LDL and treating it (while still somewhat effective) may not be enough for ultimate heart attack prevention, because it does not reflect lipoprotein size, density, or particle number. LDL and HDL are just not enough when it comes to evaluating your risk of a heart attack. This is particularly true if the small, dense LDL particle number is elevated. From here on I will refer to LDL particle number as LDL-P. Most of the cholesterol in your blood is not just freely floating around. Rather, it is in the form of a little ball called a lipoprotein. Apolipoproteins are the protein component of the lipoprotein. They play an important role in what cholesterol does in your body. There are six major classes of apolipoproteins, and several subclasses. The apolipoproteins determine what the lipoprotein will do and also determine the difference between HDL and LDL. The big red blob in Figure 3-3 is the apolipoprotein component of the lipoprotein. The apolipoprotein tells the cholesterol particle what to do and where to go, as well as determines if it’s going...

Fish oil contains both DHA and EPA. These are essential fatty acids for human health. They can be made from plant-based oils that contain alpha linolenic acid in foods such as nuts, flaxseeds, and leafy greens. But the conversion is not always easy to do in the human body.  Evidence is accumulating supporting a better effect from DHA over EPA for cardiovascular protection. DHA is more effective at lowering blood pressure and improving endothelial function. It is more effective for raising HDL and decreasing platelet adhesion and aggregation. Both EPA and DHA decrease triglycerides (TG) by approximately 14-35% depending on the TG levels and dose of EPA/DHA used.  Cholesterol comes in little particles called lipoproteins. Little ones cause problems, big ones are more protective and associated with less risk of stroke and heart attack. DHA is more effective for altering lipoprotein size because it is a more potent inhibitor of cholesterol ester transfer protein activity, an enzyme involved in lipoprotein particle size. In animal and human studies, DHA was more effective than EPA in reducing  blood pressure. DHA was also shown to be able to lower heart rate whereas EPA was not able to do this. Fish Oil and Trimethylamine...

Do Men Go Through Menopause?. By Steve Parcell, ND By the time men are between the ages of 40 and 55, they can experience a phenomenon similar to menopause, called andropause.  Alternative names for Andropause have been suggested including the Male Menopause, Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male (ADAM) and Partial Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male (PADAM) .  Unlike women, men do not have a clear-cut benchmark such as the end menstruation to mark this transition. Andropause is defined as a time in the life of men when hormones decline. Most of us know that testosterone declines as we age but many people do not realize that other important hormones can be affected. Somatopause is a decline in growth hormone levels. Somatopause signifies the gradual decline in growth hormone production by the adult pituitary gland in both men and women that begins at approximately age 30 and continues at a steady rate throughout life. Growth hormone is secreted by the anterior pituitary gland. A very busy gland, the anterior pituitary also secretes thyroid stimulating hormone (promoting thyroid activity), adrenal corticotropic hormone (promoting adrenal activity) and other hormones. When levels of these hormones go down cognition (brain function), energy level, libido (sex...