Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    

Oh yes, I second that request whole-heartedly.  This is a wonderfully
informed and informative conversation.
  

    
Wow, that was the fastest 2 weeks ever. I'd be delighted to stick
around a bit. After we finish up here, all of you are welcome to come
join me here: http://www.formspring.me/daryapino Ask me anything!
  

    
On statins, yes, some people have serious side effects, particularly
related to muscle problems. For the super healthy person with high
total cholesterol, I would definitely stay off the Lipitor. But for
others Lipitor is definitely the best choice. Everyone is different.

As for niacin, it does not lower cholesterol but raises HDL
cholesterol (more important in my opinion). Few drugs raise HDL, so
this is helpful to many people. You can also get niacin by eating
whole, intact grains.
  

    
@jmcarlin I think you have the absolute right attitude about sugar,
and that is exactly how I feel. I don't mind sugar in my food if I know
it is there and I enjoy it. But sneaky sugar makes me angry, and real
food doesn't need it. Added sugar is to mask the bad taste of fake
food.

@gail I doubt adding fiber while drinking will help anything, but I
haven't seen any data on this. Also, it is true that food calories have
a bigger impact after alcohol consumption, so yes, the less wedding
cake the better :) 

Drinking has other benefits, so it isn't all bad. For instance,
alcohol raises good HDL cholesterol about as much as exercise. It also
prevents clotting and can prevent heart attack/stroke. Too much alcohol
is of course a problem. It damages the liver and has been associated
with breast cancer (though this effect is removed with adequate B
vitamins). The current recommendation is one glass/day for females and
2 for males. That is wine, beer or spirits (though watch the sugary
cocktails).
  

    
@debunix I wouldn't use psyllium and don't recommend it. Enjoy your
treats in moderation and eat plenty of veggies, beans and grains the
rest of the time. You'll be fine :)

@loris Here is my review of Good Calories, Bad Calories
http://summertomato.com/book-review-good-calories-bad-calories/
  

    
"On statins, yes, some people have serious side effects, particularly
 related to muscle problems."

My wife is having bad muscle problems.  Cutting the statins ended the pain.
She's now more than a little conflicted.   Live longer, but be in pain for
much of it?
  

    
@rik How much does your wife focus on diet? A potentially delicious
way to solve cholesterol problems....
  

    
Darya, I think it is interesting that you found Good Calories, Bad
Calories hard to get into. I found it completely engrossing and even
took it to read on a plane flight. And I am not a scientist or a
nutritionist. I really loved his clarity and research. Mileage varies,
as they say. 

Thank you for the clarification on niacin and thank you for sticking
around for a while.
  

    
Darya, my wife is a very considerate eater, and consciously watches her
colesteral intake.  We're going to be talking about cutting way back on the
statins and keeping watch on her numbers.   One thing that doesn't help,
psychologically is that our doctors are younger than our children.   They
know a staggering amount of information but they don't have all that much
experience.    We suspect that the statin scrip was the automatic response
to her age, because her numbers weren't that far out of line.   We're on
Kaiser, and the doctors are all so young.
  

    
My doctor is advising red yeast rice, fish oil, and psyllium.
  

    

What is red yeast rice?
  

    

> What is red yeast rice?

Statin without the processing and without known dosage.

Red yeast rice contains naturally-occurring substances called monacolins.
Monocolins, particularly one called lovastatin
http://altmedicine.about.com/od/herbsupplementguide/a/redyeastrice.htm
  

    
I have also read Good Calories Bad Calories and I was fascinated as
well. I found it to be a great read for anyone interested in nutrition.
The research review he did was incredible and some things he writes
about are not only interesting but inspiring. He also lays out quite
clearly how bad science gets perpetuated and good science becomes
invisible when large scale money interests are involved, such as big
agro and big pharma.
  

    

RT @summertomato: RT @foodwishes: If you're a tomato plant, you do *not* want
to be born in San Francisco. / Oakland, on the other hand...




(Y'all should follow summertomato on twitter!)
  

    
@rik To control cholesterol, your wife doesn't need to worry about her
cholesterol intake. Instead she should worry about sugar and processed
foods, and be sure to get enough plant oils.

Here's a video where I explain the difference between dietary
cholesterol and blood cholesterol: 

http://summertomato.com/cholesterol-explained/

And here are some tips for improving blood cholesterol:

http://summertomato.com/how-to-raise-your-hdl-cholesterol/

She should also probably read Good Calories, Bad Calories that we were
discussing earlier.

Another fantastic health book is Eat, Drink and Be Healthy by Walter
Willett. That one is my favorite, easy to read and very accurate.
  

    
Warning to anyone who braves following me on Twitter, I have the sense
of humor of a 12 yr old boy....
  

    
And she likes sports.  But I filter for that stuff :^)
  

    
But you have to admit, the after parties are pretty cool ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UQSM5jo72k
  

    
Darya, I hope you stay around here for a while.
  

    
I'm happy to hang around a few more days. But seriously you should all
feel free to ask me anything at http://www.formspring.me/daryapino
whenever you have a question.

This has been a blast :)
  

    
Maybe if we ask questions at the blog we'll get blog posts in reply. 
I have more questions now than when I started.  Thank you so much for
participating here, Darya.  And hope you are able to complete your
not-quite-indentured servitude soon!
  

    
Great videos all!  Thanks for all the great info, Darya.
  

    
Wonderful discussion.  Thanks all!
  

    

I'm now following you on twitter.
  

    
Thank you so much! I'm following you, too.