Directory of health resources for healthcare professionals.

Cancer: In every study done on rodents, statins have caused cancer. A review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association states that “All members of the two most popular classes of lipid-lowering drugs (the fibrates and the statins) cause cancer in rodents, in some cases at levels of animal exposure close to those prescribed to humans.” Studies done on humans have not produced such dramatic results because cancer is a disease that takes a long time to develop, and most clinical trials done on statins have not gone on for more than two or three years. This same study made the following final statement: “the results of experiments in animals and humans suggest that lipid-lowering drug treatment, especially with the fibrates and statins, should be avoided except in patients at high short-term risk of coronary heart disease.” These studies have been conveniently forgotten, because millions of patients around the world are being put on cholesterol lowering drugs even if they have very few risk factors. Statins are also a drug that must be taken for life. One study done on humans, called the CARE trial found that breast cancer rates in those taking statins went up 1500 percent. Statins may get your cholesterol down, but at what price?

Heart Failure: The world has experienced an enormous increase in the incidence of congestive heart failure. The incidence of heart attacks has gone down slightly, but heart failure rates are going up. In Australia there are approximately 300 000 people currently living with heart failure, with 30 000 people being newly diagnosed each year. Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart becomes weaker and cannot pump blood around the body as well as it should. Over time the heart becomes enlarged, thickened, and continues to get weaker. It becomes much less efficient at pumping blood.

Statins deplete the body of Co Enzyme Q10; the heart is a muscle, and heavily relies on Co Q 10 for energy. Without Co Q10, the mitochondria in the cells making up the heart cannot produce enough energy, leading to muscle weakness. The higher your dose of statins, and the longer you take them, the more likely you are to end up with heart failure. Ironically, virtually all patients with heart failure are placed on statins, supposedly to protect them against heart attacks, even if their cholesterol is normal.

*23/53/5*

Vaginal spermicides (foams, jellies, creams, film)

These substances kill sperms on their way to meet an egg and must be put into the vagina before intercourse. They are unsafe as a sole method of contraception and should be used along with a sheath or a diaphragm. Follow the instructions for the brand you intend to use. Most are active for only 1-3 hours.

Advantages

• Easy to use.

• Can be bought without a prescription.

• Work well if used together with a barrier method.

Disadvantages

• Not reliable except when combined with a barrier method.

• Can be messy as they melt and run out of the vagina.

• Put some men off oral sex. If this is a problem insert the spermicide just before intercourse.

• May have medical side-effects.

Research shows that liver function is altered and blood pressure lowered in some women using spermicides. They are absorbed from the vagina, especially if left in place for long periods.

• You can’t bath or have a wash on a bidet for six hours after sex.

The cap (diaphragm)

This is a dome-shaped barrier made of latex rather like a sheath. It has to be used with a spermicide to be safe. It is a good method for many women but it has to be supplied by a doctor, who will measure the woman for the correct size. For best results it must be used properly.

Advantages

• It is cheap and easy to use.

• It is nearly as safe as the Pill.

• There are no medical or health side-effects.

• It can be used to hold back menstrual flow to make for more pleasant love-making during a period.

Disadvantages

• It is not suitable for the woman who dislikes handling her genitals.

• It interferes with sensation in some women, especially those who enjoy the front wall of their vagina (around the G-spot) being stimulated during intercourse.

• It has to be put in well before sex and this removes the spontaneity for many women who find such ‘premeditated’ preparation un-sexy.

• It is easy to forget that it is in place for a day or two.

• It has to be supplied by a trained person in the first place.

• It should ideally be checked every six months by a trained person to see that the fit has not changed. This is especially important soon after a baby.

• It is easy for small holes, invisible to the naked eye, to develop which render the barrier ineffective.

• It interferes with sensation in those men who like to feel their partner’s cervix hitting against the tip of the penis.

How to use it

Place 3 or 4 inches of spermicidal jelly on the inside of the cap and spread some around the rim too. Insert the cap in the way that you have been taught and do so well in advance of intercourse. If you don’t have sex within 3 hours use more spermicide in the vagina. Don’t remove the cap for at least six hours after intercourse. If you have sex more than once during this six hours use more spermicide without removing the cap.

Look after the cap well. Remove it gently after intercourse ensuring that you don’t damage the dome with your nails. Wash it with plain, warm water and leave it out to dry. Never use perfumed soap or detergent to wash it. Never use Vaseline or disinfectant or you will spoil it. Hold it up to a good light every month and look for obvious holes. If there is any sign of damage, get a new one. Never wear a cap for more than twenty-four hours without removing and washing it.

The sponge

This is a disc of spermicide-impregnated sponge that the woman places in the vagina before intercourse.

Advantages

• Fairly easy to use.

• A good, non-permanent, barrier method.

Disadvantages

• All the disadvantages of absorbing spermicides into the bloodstream.

• Must be left in place for six hours after intercourse.

• It has to be thrown away after a single use and so is expensive.

• It can be felt in the vagina by the man’s penis or fingers.

• It is rather unreliable (75-85 per cent effective only) and so is really only suitable for couples who want to space their children rather than those who want to be absolutely sure about fertility control.

*12/72/5*

Hanging around the house in your underwear stinking of cheap booze and cigars, eating artery-clogging fast food, and yelling at the television-not exactly the picture of a man primed to defy death by squeezing every last drop out of life. But as it turns out, neither is focusing solely on improving your emotional outlook or adopting an outlandish cure or two.

“Let’s put it this way: You’ll never be able to cut open a vitamin E capsule, sprinkle it over a hot-fudge sundae, and not have to worry about the sundae,” says Dr. Lichtenstein. To beat heart disease, “you may have to make major fundamental adjustments that become habitual. Accept that taking care of your heart is going to be a lifelong project.” But it’s really not as difficult as you might think it is. Here’s how it’s done.

Know your risk. It’s true. Some guys have all the luck (thanks for the reminder, Rod Stewart). And some guys have higher risk factors than others. For example, you’re at risk for heart disease if a first-degree male relative (like a brother or your dad) under age 55 or a first-degree female relative (like a sister or your mother) under age 65 has suffered a heart attack. If you have both, naturally you’re at a higher risk. Got diabetes? High blood pressure? High cholesterol? Low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol? Do you smoke? All six? Your risk is higher still. “Those are your major risk factors, and once you have your cholesterol measured, some kind of decision can be made about just how much risk you have. But you really can’t tell until you’ve had your cholesterol checked,” Dr. Lichtenstein says.

Cut your total cholesterol. You’ve heard it so many times, you’re starting to think LDL stands for “lower, dummy, lower.” But bear with us. Reducing the “bad” LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol generated by your diet and raising your “good” HDL cholesterol with exercise can dramatically cut your risk for heart disease. As you probably know, LDL is called the bad cholesterol because it can penetrate artery walls, narrowing vessels and choking off blood. What you may not know is that research has shown that vascular disease patients who cut their total cholesterol by about 20 percent reduced their heart attack risk by two-thirds, says Dr. DiBianco.

“This helped convert soft, vulnerable plaques into more stabilized plaques that are less likely to break off and clog arteries,” Dr. DiBianco says. According to the American Heart Association, your goal should be to try to keep your total cholesterol under 200 milligrams per deciliter. Borderline high cholesterol is 200 to 239 milligrams per deciliter, while high cholesterol is over 240 milligrams per deciliter. One of the best ways to lower your cholesterol is to eat less saturated fat, the kind found in meat and dairy products, says Dr. DiBianco.

Bring down your blood pressure. Here are some more numbers that can help add up to a healthy heart and a longer, more active life. When checking your blood pressure-once or twice a year should do-look for a reading of 120/80 millimeters of mercury (pronounce it “120 over 80″ just like they do on your favorite hospital drama). That’s considered normal. A reading above 140/90 should be of concern. And when your blood pressure is over 160/100, it’s definitely too high, says Dr. Pickering.

Stop smoking. If you don’t want to give up cigarettes for your own heart’s sake, do it for your sweetheart’s sake. A seven-year study of 353,180 women and 126,500 men who had never smoked found that those who lived with smokers had a roughly 20 percent greater risk of death from heart disease.

*86/36/5*

The Family Perspective

I would be hard pressed to think of a patient whose family life had no direct bearing on the way her disorder developed. Volumes have been written on the role of family dynamics in anorexia and bulimia.

Some patterns that have been identified in certain eating-disordered families include an overemphasis on appearance, social isolation, emotional rigidity, and the inability to resolve conflicts. However, there is no such thing as a “typical” eating-disordered family. The same dynamic that triggers an eating disorder in one person may allow another to thrive. In Chapter Eleven we’ll learn more about the family’s influence on eating disorders, and how family therapy can be a vital component of treatment.

The Sociocultural Perspective

To sociologists, eating disorders result from the extreme value our culture places on thinness. Through advertisements, TV programs, and magazines, thinness has become a kind of social currency, a means of exchange between people. The hidden message: Thin wins.

The other side of the coin: Fat is failure. Chubby children suffer cruel teasing by their schoolmates-teasing that can become the trigger for an eating disorder. Fat people are the targets of jokes and whispered comments. Some find the doors to advancement closed. The cultural pressure to be thin can make feelings of insecurity, self-doubt, or unworthiness much worse.

Other trends stoke the fire. The modern changes in women’s place in society and the lack of models showing how to fulfill those roles add to the problem. A girl whose mother was “just a housewife” may suddenly find herself, at adolescence, expected to become a “superwoman,” adept at juggling career, family, and personal needs. Some women may lack the skills to cope with-or resist-these demands, including the demand that one must be thin. By submitting to these pressures, they hope to show they are worthy, that they can set and reach goals, and that they deserve respect.

*18/35/5*

Devoutly religious, Theresa Giffin says that her relationship with God has been her salvation from a lifetime of weight problems.

“I had tried everything available to lose weight,” she notes. “I took pills. I fasted. I got a tummy tuck. I did it all. And each time, I’d regain what I lost—and more.”

But for Theresa, prayer succeeded where pills, fasts, and surgery had failed. It happened one day when a coworker left a 2-pound box of chocolates on her desk.

Theresa took one piece, but she knew that wouldn’t be enough. “It was my very favorite candy, and I thought I wouldn’t be able to stop,” recalls the 51-year-old nurse from Fall Creek, Oregon. “So I whispered a little prayer: ‘God, you know that I want to eat this whole box of candy. You have to help me!’”

In an instant, Theresa’s desire for chocolate vanished. “It had no smell, no taste,” she says. “It was like a piece of cardboard to me.”

Theresa joined Weigh Down Workshops, an international program that advocates weight loss through prayer. She credits this approach with her weight-loss success.

Now, every time temptation hits, Theresa says a little prayer. In little more than a year, she lost 87 pounds. j pi

WINNING ACTION

Create your own intervention. When you feel that overwhelming surge of emotions sending you off on a binge, stop it in its tracks. Like Theresa, you can pray. Or you can do what I do: Before I start stuffing myself with food, I say to myself (or sometimes out loud), “Stop, slow down, and think!” Usually, that’s enough to help me switch gears, so I can do something—anything—else.

*72\89\8*