It is hard to know where to begin with this. Probably should start with the author's claims about the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. This is a degenerative disorder that is that is found in practically all long lived animal species including many that have an almost exclusively vegetarian diet (e.g. parrots, chimps, and gorillas). A…
It is hard to know where to begin with this. Probably should start with the author's claims about the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. This is a degenerative disorder that is that is found in practically all long lived animal species including many that have an almost exclusively vegetarian diet (e.g. parrots, chimps, and gorillas). A degenerative disorder is one that comes with age. Best evidence is that atherosclerotic plaques begin with a proliferation of smooth muscle cells in the middle layer of the arterial wall and, as they enlarge, push the thin endothelial layer into the lumen of the artery. If the endothelial layer is broken the blood is exposed to the underlying collagen and a cascade of blood clotting may occur. This can bring about the well known sequelae of atherosclerosis---heart attacks and strokes. The point is that, in this process, nothing is deposited on the inside of endothelial layer as is commonly believed by many---including, unfortunately, many physicians. Nowhere in this process does blood cholesterol or any other biological lipid play any role. The obsession with cholesterol started when chemical analysis of plaques revealed a significant amount of cholesterol; but this will be true of any cluster of cells since most of the cell components are derived from cholesterol and related compounds. The intense focus on cholesterol always reminds me of the famous joke about the drunk at midnight looking around beneath a streetlight for his car keys. A passerby asked him where he dropped his keys and he pointed to a spot some distance away down a dark alley. Then why are you looking here? Because the light is better. I wish Dr. Attia well in his search for the keys to longevity but I doubt he will find any in his drive to lower his cholesterol with multiple medications.
Then there is the issue of longevity. Over the years this has attracted a multitude of scam artists along with some well-intentioned researchers. But that would require extending this comment well beyond a reasonable limit.
I figure the years I have left are up to God. And though I do weight lifting, I run a few miles a few times each week, and try to avoid the food that most of us here think is garbage, I do all that to feel good with the time I have left. If I don't make it to 90, well that's alright. I'm trying now to avoid the obsession with health and diet that seems to afflict all old farts, because that obsession could make me feel like I'm trapped in a closet. It puts my focus on myself instead of on helping other people. And this article, with its suggestion that going for LDL-C as low as 10 is a good goal, makes me feel for the author and for Attia.
That says it all. If you could package that and sell it, you would die a rich woman. When my daughters asked me about the secret to happiness, I said "Always be grateful for what you have and never let the poison pill of envy into your heart or mind."
It is hard to know where to begin with this. Probably should start with the author's claims about the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis. This is a degenerative disorder that is that is found in practically all long lived animal species including many that have an almost exclusively vegetarian diet (e.g. parrots, chimps, and gorillas). A degenerative disorder is one that comes with age. Best evidence is that atherosclerotic plaques begin with a proliferation of smooth muscle cells in the middle layer of the arterial wall and, as they enlarge, push the thin endothelial layer into the lumen of the artery. If the endothelial layer is broken the blood is exposed to the underlying collagen and a cascade of blood clotting may occur. This can bring about the well known sequelae of atherosclerosis---heart attacks and strokes. The point is that, in this process, nothing is deposited on the inside of endothelial layer as is commonly believed by many---including, unfortunately, many physicians. Nowhere in this process does blood cholesterol or any other biological lipid play any role. The obsession with cholesterol started when chemical analysis of plaques revealed a significant amount of cholesterol; but this will be true of any cluster of cells since most of the cell components are derived from cholesterol and related compounds. The intense focus on cholesterol always reminds me of the famous joke about the drunk at midnight looking around beneath a streetlight for his car keys. A passerby asked him where he dropped his keys and he pointed to a spot some distance away down a dark alley. Then why are you looking here? Because the light is better. I wish Dr. Attia well in his search for the keys to longevity but I doubt he will find any in his drive to lower his cholesterol with multiple medications.
Then there is the issue of longevity. Over the years this has attracted a multitude of scam artists along with some well-intentioned researchers. But that would require extending this comment well beyond a reasonable limit.
I figure the years I have left are up to God. And though I do weight lifting, I run a few miles a few times each week, and try to avoid the food that most of us here think is garbage, I do all that to feel good with the time I have left. If I don't make it to 90, well that's alright. I'm trying now to avoid the obsession with health and diet that seems to afflict all old farts, because that obsession could make me feel like I'm trapped in a closet. It puts my focus on myself instead of on helping other people. And this article, with its suggestion that going for LDL-C as low as 10 is a good goal, makes me feel for the author and for Attia.
That says it all. If you could package that and sell it, you would die a rich woman. When my daughters asked me about the secret to happiness, I said "Always be grateful for what you have and never let the poison pill of envy into your heart or mind."