Cholesterol Expert Dr. William Davis shares Cholesterol management news and commentary at CholesterolNetwork.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986 http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986 http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/73047/learn-fasting Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:13:00 -0400 Dr. William Davis Curious thing about fasting: It teaches you how to eat.   Fasting means going entirely without food and just making do with (plenty of) water. A fast can be as brief as 12 hours or as long as weeks, though the most common duration is between 18 and 72 hours.   I advocate brief periods of fasting for its many health benefits, such as reduction of blood pressure and blood sugar, reduction of inflammatory responses, weight loss, and... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/73047/learn-fasting http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/68337/cardiovascular Thu, 23 Apr 2009 13:46:08 -0400 Dr. William Davis Vitamin K2 is emerging as an exciting player in the quest to reduce risk for heart disease. (Also see my previous post, Vitamin K2: Newest heart-healthy supplement?)   If you believe the observations coming from the Rotterdam Heart Study and others that suggest that there is up to 57% less heart attack in people who consume vitamin K2 from diet, how can you go about getting more from the foods you choose?   The Rotterdam Heart... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/68337/cardiovascular http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/57159/indulgences Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:30:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis Maggie had been doing well on her prevention program, enjoying enviable cholesterol levels. In fact, Maggie had nearly been within the intensive targets we use to tip the odds in favor of completely shutting off, even reversing, coronary plaque. I call this set of targets The Rule of 60: HDL 60 mg/dl or greater, LDL 60 mg/dl or less, triglycerides 60 mg/dl or less. (By the way, this can be achieved in many people with little or no prescription... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/57159/indulgences http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/48507/jupiter-crestor Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:56:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis The JUPITER study has been the subject of countless headlines reporting the unprecedented reduction in heart attacks with the cholesterol drug, Crestor®. The study has received gushing pronouncements of the inestimable value of statins by my cardiology colleagues.   Pharmaceutical giant, AstraZeneca, sponsored this study of nearly 18,000 people (men 50 years and over, women 60 years and over). Participants took 20 mg per day Crestor... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/48507/jupiter-crestor http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/44908/hdl-cholesterol Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:26:00 -0400 Dr. William Davis Funny thing: When people come to the office or hospital and have cholesterol panels drawn, if the situation is unhappy─e.g., stress at home, financial struggles, or hospitalization (usually an unhappy occasion)─HDL cholesterols drop, sometimes precipitously. They can often drop 20 or more mg/dl.   Agnes, for example, was proud of the fact that she'd raised HDL over the past year from 42 mg/dl range all the way up to 71 mg/dl. She did... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/44908/hdl-cholesterol http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/20776/fiber-good-bad Mon, 25 Feb 2008 10:32:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis Ray had the usual protuberant belly overhanging his beltline of someone who was over-reliant on processed starches, particularly wheat and other foods that raise blood sugar. After all, he ran a sandwich bakery. He sheepishly admitted that he ate the products of his own production line every day while at work, even bringing a few sandwiches home.At 5 ft 10 inches, 201 lbs, he wasn't terribly overweight, but all the excess was in his... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/20776/fiber-good-bad http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/20087/fish-oil-raise Wed, 06 Feb 2008 09:48:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis Katie had an LDL of 87 mg/dl, HDL of 48 mg/dl, triglycerides of 201 mg/dl. By conventional standards, not too bad. Reading about the heart health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, Katie added fish oil. With the preparation she bought, 4000 mg per day provided 1200 mg the omega-3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Three months later her LDL was 118 mg/dl, HDL 54 mg/dl, triglycerides 92 mg/dl.  In other words, LDL cholesterol increased by 31 mg. What... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/20087/fish-oil-raise http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/19804/real-stand Thu, 31 Jan 2008 15:54:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis Walking the supermarket aisles, you may have noticed lately that many products are now sporting "omega-3s" on the label.   Omega-3 fatty acids serve a number of important health purposes, including reduction in heart attack and stroke, reduction of triglycerides, anti-inflammatory effects, and other significant health benefits. In the 11,000-participant Italian GISSI-Prevenzione Trial, for instance, death from heart... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/19804/real-stand http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/19572/ldl-stupid Sun, 27 Jan 2008 11:54:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis  The recent fuss with the Enhance Study that failed to demonstrate a difference in carotid plaque with Vytorin® (simvastatin and Zetia®) vs. simvastatin alone has raised some serious questions about LDL cholesterol. Some have argued that statin drugs exert benefits through means other than reducing LDL cholesterol, while others have argued that statin drugs fail to provide the benefits in survival that most previously believed... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/19572/ldl-stupid http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/19326/burn-dead Fri, 18 Jan 2008 09:46:00 -0500 Dr. William Davis The makers of Vytorin®, Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, recently issued a controversial press release about the Enhance Study that compared the effects of Vytorin® (a combination of simvastatin and ezetimibe, brand name Zetia®) vs. just simvastatin.   No substantial difference was observed with the addition of Zetia®, perhaps even a negative effect. The news has triggered a media frenzy. The New York Times... http://www.healthcentral.com/cholesterol/c/7986/19326/burn-dead