Why Statins Are Not Good for You and Why High Cholesterol Does Not Cause Heart Disease

As well as my abiding interest in alternative health, I also run a website specifically on hormone health, and one of my regular contributors is Jeffrey Dach MD. He has wide ranging experience and was originally trained in clinical medicine, worked as an Emergency Room doctor spent 25 years as a hospital based physican and is a member of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. He now runs his own clinic seeing a variety of patients so when he speaks I for one tend to listen.

He has sent me information on why he believes it is so important to get patients off statin drugs and I know a number of my readers are concerned about this and I do update you regularly, but Dr Dach has specific concerns that I want to share with you.

Jeffrey Dach illustrates his points with actual case histories so: “Case Number One, Martha who is 55 years old, healthy and no history of heart disease. Nonetheless, Martha has been taking a statin drug for “high cholesterol” under the care of “the top cardiologist” in South Florida for the past five years. Martha has also been under my care taking a bioidentical hormone program for menopausal symptoms, and doing very well. Every six months, we run a lab panel which always shows low cholesterol of 170, courtesy of her statin anti-cholesterol drug.

Every time Martha comes into the office to review her lab results, I print out a 2004 JAMA article by Judith Walsh, MD who reviewed thirteen statin drug clinical trials from 1966 to 2003 and from which Dr. Walsh concluded that cholesterol lowering drugs provide no health benefit for women. I give her this article and, at the same time, explain to her that no woman should be on a statin drug. Lowering cholesterol with a statin drug has no health benefit for women, that’s a fact, and public information readily available.

Every six months I recommend to Martha stopping the statin drug, and every six month, her cardiologist puts her back on the statin drug. This has been going on for three years now.
On her last visit she is sitting in my office recounting multiple health problems for which she sees numerous doctors: back pain, asthma, sinus infections, skin problems, and allergies. I suggested to Martha the possibility that many of her health problems are caused by the low cholesterol from the statin drug. Martha finally sees the light, goes home and tosses the bottle of pills into the garbage can.
About a week later, Martha called me and reported, “I feel so much better off that statin drug, thank you so much! “. Apparently, the statin drug was causing adverse health effects, and Martha was now feeling much better. This case illustrates the difficulty in convincing patients to stop their statin drug. It is difficult to counter the drug company propaganda, and convince these patients they are harming their health with the statin drugs. Many continue to believe in the myth that cholesterol causes heart disease, and they go on to become statin drug medical victims. I see them every day. When we have a success like Martha who finally gets off her statin drug, this is a cause for celebration.

In case you think the non-benefits of statins only apply to women, here is Case Number Two – Roger who is a seventy one year old retired executive, and an avid tennis player. He has no history of coronary artery disease and has always been healthy. Two years ago, his cardiologist said his cholesterol of 210 was “too high”, and prescribed a statin anti-cholesterol drug. A year later, Roger’s tennis game deteriorated, he found his timing and balance was off, and he lost every game to players who could never beat him before.

I suggested to Roger that the decline in his tennis game was most likely an adverse effect of the statin drug on his muscle and nerve function. He was losing his balance and coordination. I recommended stopping the statin anti-cholesterol drug. Sadly, many people – and their doctors – still believe that lower cholesterol means less heart disease.

In order to counter the drug company cholesterol propaganda, I gave Roger a copy of the book, Fat and Cholesterol are Good for You, by Uffe Ravnskov MD PhD. This book reviews the medical studies which supposedly show that cholesterol is the cause of heart disease, and reveals that they do no such thing. This is a medical myth. Neither cholesterol consumption nor cholesterol blood levels cause heart disease. Similarly, many medical studies demonstrate that anti-cholesterol drugs work very well to reduce blood cholesterol levels, however, this treatment does not prolong life and makes most people sick with adverse side effects.

Two weeks later, off the statin drug, Roger was back to his old self, prancing about the tennis court like a gazelle, and winning every game with ease.”

AnnA’s comment:
Statins have been shown to reduce the risk of all-cause mortality among individuals with clinical history of coronary heart disease, but it is the prescribing of statins as a ‘preventive’ for those without such history that is the issue here. They are routinely being given to people who are deemed at risk due to age and to lower cholesterol levels but there is so far no proof that they are of benefit for such people.

If you are still thinking of taking statins, then take a look at this study published July 2010 in the Archives of Internal Medicine by Dr. Ray. He reviewed 11 statin drug clinical trials with 65,229 participants followed for approximately 244,000 person-years. The astounding results showed the statin drug group all-cause mortality was THE SAME as the placebo group and there was no benefit from the statin drugs. This article was published in the mainstream medical literature but don’t be surprised if your doctor hasn’t read it.

Risk of Steroid Treatment for Asthma in Children

Children experiencing an asthma attack who are treated with a short burst of oral steroids may have a brief and transient depression of immune response, according to a new study led by Université de Montréal. These findings, published in this month’s issue of Pediatric Allergy, Immunology and Pulmonology, have implications for asthmatic children who have flare-ups and who may be exposed to new contagious diseases.

Francine M. Ducharme, a Université de Montréal professor and pediatrician and researcher at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center sums it up. “There is no question that the administration of corticosteroids reduces the risk and duration of hospital admission in children with acute asthma and remains the most effective treatment for moderate and severe asthma exacerbations. However, the safety profile of these medications continues to raise concerns among parents and physicians. Concerns over their possible impact on the immune system stem from few rare reports linking or severe chickenpox infections linked with corticosteroid administration.”

The study is based on the immune response of children aged 3 to 17 years, who had arrived at the emergency department (ED) with an asthma attack. All subjects were given immune triggers (known as antigens) and the immune response between those who received corticosteroids versus those who did not were compared. “Several corticosteroid-treated children had a lower immune response, as measured by the amount of antibody produced, than non-treated kids,” says Ducharme.

However it seems that these findings indicate there may be a very transient immune suppression only in some children exposed to a new antigen at the same time as a corticosteroid administration. In other words your child needs to have an attack, steroids and a new antigen such as chicken pox within a six week period. This is reassuring as it does not apply to the majority of children who suffer asthma attacks, but before your child is prescribed oral corticosteroids you need to inform your doctor about any recent exposure to chickenpox in children who did not have chickenpox or the vaccine.

The researchers recommend that all children with asthma who have not had chickenpox should be vaccinated for this condition. Yet vaccinations are not the ideal route for everyone, and there are a number of well tried homoeopathic remedies which may be suitable for your child. Seek the advice of a qualified homoepath and to find one near you consult the register at www.homeopathy-soh.org/

Drug Free Treatment for Crohn’s Disease for 95% Relief

Inflammation in the bowel is not just painful, it is also the gift that keeps on giving. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are two of these relapsing conditions and affect millions of people worldwide. Now it seems that a simple, everyday, supplement could actually treat the disease without the need for drugs.

The debilitating symptoms of inflammatory bowel conditions include weight loss, diarrhoea, severe abdominal pain and cramping and gastrointestinal bleeding. This results in ongoing tissue inflammation that alters the functioning of the intestine, and is usually treated with immune suppressive drugs including steroids. The latter have a number of side effects from minor discomfort to potentially more serious conditions so anyone on regular steroid medication must ensure they are given frequent and regular health checks by their doctor.

The main drawback to all the medication for inflammatory bowel conditions is that they are not totally effective so after initial relief most patients relapse and get their symptoms back again.

Now there is some real hope for self treatment that is totally drug free in a recently published report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Northwestern Medicine researchers at the Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago. They have genetically tweaked a version of a common probiotic found in yogurt, sauerkraut and cheese. In their new animal study they have shown it is an effective treatment for inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis.

You may already be taking a probiotic as they are recommended for maintaining a healthy gut, especially after any form on digestive upset, to replace the “friendly bacteria” you will have lost. Indeed a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded that probiotics may shorten viral infections and diarrhoea in otherwise healthy children if administered at the beginning of the illness and may prevent diarrhea in children who are taking antibiotics, which often destroy good intestinal bacteria along with whatever infectious bacteria they are meant to combat. This of course also applies to adults!

Probiotics are live microorganisms (in most cases, bacteria) and you will find them in yogurt and they can be also be taken as supplements as well. The one most commonly found one in yoghurt is Lactobacillus acidophilus and the Northwestern team deleted a gene in the probiotic and fed this version to mice with two different models of colitis. After about 2 weeks of treatment, the new probiotic strain had virtually eliminated colon inflammation in the animals.

Moreover, it halted progression of the disease by a staggering 95 percent. This is hopeful not just for treating various autoimmune diseases of the gut, including inflammatory bowel disease, but also potentially for colon cancer as all these conditions can be triggered by imbalanced inflammatory immune responses.

In the study, the modified Lactobacillus acidophilus was found to calm over stimulated immune cells in the gut by mobilizing messenger immune cells, called dendritic cells. These cells then enhanced the production of other functional immune cells, known as regulatory T-cells. This resulted in a healthy new balance in the intestine and systemic inflammation was soothed away.

Dr Mansour Mohamadzadeh, associate professor of medicine at Feinberg and the lead investigator of the study, explained that the next step will be a trial testing the new form of Lactobacillus acidophilus in humans. In the meantime, keeping your gut healthy with a regular probiotic containing Lactobacillus acidophilus would probably be a sensible addition to your health regime.

Why You Shouldn’t Eat Fish in Montreal or any Major City

We are usually exhorted to eat more fish, and indeed if you can guarantee the source then it is a good idea, but a major problem could be about to hit us. This is based on a study from Montreal which shows that around one in four citizens there take some kind of anti-depressant and, according to new research, the drugs are passing into the waterways and affecting fish.

I don’t imagine Montreal is that different from other major cities that connect to a waterway, and we already know that synthetic hormones from HRT and the Pill find their way into our water system. The findings are internationally significant as Montreal’s sewage treatment system is similar to that in use in other major cities, and moreover, it is reputed to be the third largest treatment system in the world. Dr. Sébastien Sauvé at the University of Montreal’s Department of Chemistry has found that the drugs accumulate in fish tissues and are affecting the fish’s brain activity.

Sauvé has been looking at the chemical pollution of the water system for years and said “Montreal has a very basic sewage system and the chemical structure of anti-depressants makes them extremely difficult to remove from sewage, even with the most sophisticated systems available. We know that antidepressants have negative side effects on human beings,” Sauvé said, “but we don’t know how exactly how these chemicals are affecting the fish, and by extension, the Saint Lawrence River’s ecosystem.”

Research is at an early stage, and there is no evidence to date that the release of antidepressants into the water is affecting brain activity in humans but you might want to check that your fish comes from deep, deep water and not an inland source!

The Positive Side of Coffee

If you have forsworn the beverage as part of your New Year healthy eating plan you may want to rethink as new research is showing some benefits you won’t want to pass up on. Personally coffee, like butter, is something I have never given up on but have cut down to two cups a day because my health philosophy has always been everything you want in moderation.

Coffee is actually one of the richest sources of antioxidants there is and remains so however you drink it as its high antioxidant content of the coffee is still absorbed easily by the body. Antioxidants help to protect our cells from free radical damage caused by oxidative stress – a fact that is backed up by hundreds of intervention studies on polyphenols and polyphenol-rich foods including coffee.
According to Gary Williamson, Professor of Functional Food, School of Food Science and Nutrition at the University of Leeds, “Coffee is in my top 20 lifespan essential foods.” Many people can’t start their day without it and if you want a quick and high oxidant boost then look for Nescafe have even developed a special blend that is higher in antioxidants than their standard coffees so look for their Green Blend in supermarkets.

Other Caffeine Benefits:
A new review has indicated that antioxidant supplements may benefit couples who have difficulty conceiving naturally. The review provides evidence from a small number of trials that suggest the partners of men who take antioxidants are more likely to become pregnant so coffee could well play a part in that antioxidant increase.

Another new study also shows that caffeine energizes cells, boosting virus production for gene therapy applications. Now why would that concern you? Well it helps move research forward faster because if you give caffeine to cells engineered to produce viruses used for gene therapy then those cells can generate 3- to 8-times more virus, according to a recent paper published in Human Gene Therapy.

Lentivirus vectors are commonly used for transferring genes into cells for both research applications in the laboratory and, increasingly, for gene therapy procedures in clinical testing. The addition of caffeine should significantly decrease the cost of lentiviral production for research and clinical uses and James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief, and Director of the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia can certainly see the advantage. “It is ironic that the ingredient in beverages like colas and coffees that helps keep us awake and alert is also useful in jazzing up cells to produce more gene therapy vectors. An increase in vector production of 5-fold may prove critical in establishing the commercial viability of lentiviral based products.”

Why Cutting Tablets In Half Is A Dangerous Practice

You may have trouble swallowing large tablets, or not want to take all the dose of your medicine at one time, but now medical experts have issued a warning after a study found that nearly a third of the split fragments deviated from recommended dosages by 15 per cent or more.

You may think it not important, but there can be serious clinical consequences for tablets that have a narrow margin between therapeutic and toxic doses. There is a particular concern about the practice in nursing homes where many residents are on complex regimes for a range of health conditions, including Parkinson’s, congestive heart failure, thrombosis and arthritis.

Researchers from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Ghent University in Belgium, asked five volunteers to split eight different-sized tablets using three techniques commonly used in nursing homes. It was not good news: 31 per cent of the tablet fragments deviated from their theoretical weight by more than 15 per cent and 14 per cent by more than a staggering 25 per cent. Even the most accurate method produced error margins of 21 per cent and eight per cent respectively.

The end result is tablets are often unequal sizes and a substantial amount of the drug can be lost during splitting. The study involved four volunteers – only one of whom was a nurse in order to replicate common nursing home conditions. Between them they split tablets into 3,600 separate quarters or halves using a splitting device, scissors and a kitchen knife. The eight different tablets were different shapes and sizes, three were unscored, three had one score line and the others had two.

If splitting tablets is something you regularly do, then the best advice is to invest in a splitting device as it gave the most accurate cut. However it still produced a 15 to 25 per cent error margin, but still lower than using a knife or scissors.

The researchers recommended that manufacturers offer more options such as liquid formulations and a wider range of tablet doses. Also that staff in nursing homes should receive training to enable them to split tablets as accurately as possible.

Warfarin and Supplement Interactions – and What About Food?

Way back in 1988 I was Editor of a book called The Medicine Chest which was a straightforward examination of the interactions between drugs, supplements and foods. It had a lot of good advice that hasn’t changed much over the years so I was surprised to receive a ‘news’ item that warned that Warfarin when taken with vitamin E and large doses of vitamin C can decrease effect of the drug.

I was not surprised at the effect because I was writing about it over 20 years ago, but that it was news came as a surprise. However, it never hurts to repeat a good piece of information and scientists never turn up a chance for a grant to research something we already know.

This time it is researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah who want to point out the dangers. Warfarin is a commonly prescribed drug used to prevent blood clots from forming and given to people with certain types of irregular heartbeat, those with prosthetic heart valves, and those who have suffered a heart attack.

The study consisted of interviews with 100 atrial fibrillation patients to determine their understanding of potential interactions between supplements and medications such as Warfarin. This is not really a study about interactions but of people’s understanding of them and generally people do not know enough about how supplements, and everyday foodstuffs react with their medication.

In this study more than half were unaware of potential interactions and they also found that of the 100 most-used supplements (vitamins, glucosamine/chondroitin, fish oil and coenzyme Q10) 69 percent interfere with the Warfarin’s effectiveness.

Warfarin and herbal and dietary supplements “compete” in the liver and this competition changes the way the blood thinner works — either intensifying its active ingredients, thereby increasing the risk of bleeding, or by reducing its effectiveness, increasing the risk of stroke.

All true, and the lead researcher is urging that doctors do a better job of teaching patients about the dangers of mixing Warfarin with these products. Now I entirely agree with him, but what he doesn’t mention is that this particular drug is also seriously affected by certain foodstuffs and other drugs.

Given what the average doctor knows about nutrition I hold out little hope they will also pass on this advice so that instead of increasing or decreasing their drug prescription they could suggest changes to their patients diet. In addition, the effectiveness of Warfarin is impacted by other drugs – particularly antifungals, barbiturates and beta blockers which all decrease the drugs effectiveness.
Conversely, antibiotics, some diabetes drugs, gout medicines, tricyclic antidepressants and asprin and paracetamol – among others – all can increase the drug’s effectiveness, making it more potent.

On Warfarin? Avoid These:
Warfarin is affected by large doses of vitamin E, vitamin C, bioflavanoids and calcium and a large intake of fats or oils. If the diet is also high in vitamin K rich foods this can cause an imbalance in the body which could decrease the anticoagulant effect.

Vitamin K is needed to allow your blood to clot normally, to protect your bones from fracture and postmenopausal bone loss, to prevent calcification of the arteries and provide possible protection against liver and prostate cancer.

Vitamin K is a fat soluble vitamin and only a small amount is able to be stored in the body. It is destroyed by light and acids and alkalis such as vinegar or baking soda. A deficiency of it can lead to increased blood clotting time, easy bruising and excessive bleeding.

Significant food sources include: green leafy vegetables including spinach, Brussels sprouts, Swiss chard, green beans, asparagus, broccoli, kale and also cauliflower, cow’s milk, eggs, fish liver oils, green vegetables, kelp, liver, molasses, polyunsaturated oils, tomatoes

Everyone responds differently to drugs, foods and supplements so if you have any concerns, or if your diet is high in vitamin K rich foods, then you should discuss with your doctor how this is affecting your medication.

Statins Update – News and Views

Statins are regarded as a lifesaver by some and a dangerous medication by others. I have written on this before and just by coincidence this week three separate news stories turned up on different aspects of these drugs.

Their primary use is to lower blood cholesterol levels by blocking the action of a chemical in the liver that is necessary for making cholesterol. So far so good, and they are used to maintain normal cholesterol levels and so lower the risk of chest pain (angina), heart attack, and stroke.
Unfortunately, in my view, they are over prescribed and used to simply alleviate anxiety about possible future health conditions and instead of promoting healthier lifestyle choices through diet and exercise. Here is the news – and you make up your own mind.

Statins 1: The Good News
Study results presented at the Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Nov. 7-10 in Philadelphia have indicated that long-term statin use is unlikely to increase cancer risk for bladder, breast, colorectal, lung, pancreatic, prostate, or renal cell cancer, but was associated with lower risk of melanoma, endometrial cancer and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

This was a decent-sized study that included 133,255 participants in the Cancer Prevention Study II Nutrition Cohort and they completed several questionnaires and were followed over a period of about 10 years. During that time more than 15,000 participants were diagnosed with cancer.

Statins 2: The Not So Good News
According to a study in the British Medical Journal statins significantly increase a person’s risk of cataracts, muscle weakness, liver dysfunction and kidney failure. Unlike the previous report, they also confirmed that the drugs lower the risk of heart disease and oesophageal cancer, but claims of other health benefits were unsupported.

Again this study is a respectable size, as researchers from Nottingham University examined data on more than 2 million patients between the ages of 30 and 84, seen at 38 different general practices, who had been prescribed statins.

The researchers confirmed prior data suggesting that statins increase patients’ risk of cataracts, liver dysfunction, kidney failure and a form of muscle weakness known as myopathy. They found that for every 10,000 women treated with the drugs, 23 would develop acute kidney (renal) failure, 39 would develop myopathy, 74 would develop liver dysfunction and 309 would develop cataracts. Men suffered an even higher risk of myopathy, but their risks of the other three conditions were similar to those suffered by women.

In a nutshell, the researchers found that only 434 people would need to be treated with the drugs for five years for one case of acute renal failure to develop. It would take only 136 treated for each case of liver dysfunction and 33 for each case of cataracts. Among women, 259 would need to be treated for each case of myopathy; among men, the number was only 91.

The risk of developing all conditions was highest during the first year of treatment, but continued throughout the course of the study. Risk of liver and kidney problems increased proportionally with the dose of statins being taken.

Further research involving statins and cancer has come from the large population-based Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) in the US. Their findings are that statins fail to reduce colorectal cancer in postmenopausal women.

Michael S. Simon, M.D., professor of oncology in the department of oncology at Wayne State University and Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, Detroit presented these study results at the previously mentioned Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference and according to him, the results from several case-control studies have shown a moderate reduction in colorectal cancer risk in people who use statins. However, a majority of the literature researching the association, including data from randomized controlled trials and cohort studies, show no association between statin use and reduced colorectal cancer risk.

Statins 3: Better News
The Nottingham researchers did find, however, that the risk of cataracts returned to normal within one year of stopping statin treatment, while the risk of liver and kidney problems returned to normal within one to three years. Additionally, they found no connection between statin use and the risk of dementia, osteoporotic fracture, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis or venous thromboembolism.

Unlike stated in Statins 1, these researchers found almost no data supporting claims they reduced cancer risk. The study “largely confirmed other studies that reported no clear association between statins and risk of cancers,” according to the researchers. The only cancer-fighting effect uncovered in the study was a slightly lower risk of oesophageal cancer, with eight cases averted for every 10,000 high-risk women treated. In other words, 1,266 high-risk women or 1,082 high-risk men would need to be treated with the drugs to prevent one case of oesophageal cancer.

It is a lot to take in, and you are going to have to assess your own risk of potential heart disease and high cholesterol against the other health risks associated with these drugs. As ever, adopting a healthier lifestyle is an essential first step to dealing with high cholesterol before resorting to any drug regime.

Being Bi-Lingual Could Avert Alzheimer’s by 5 Years

There are many suggested ways to delay or even avert Alzheimer’s and they usually revolve around staying mentally active. Now new research from Canada has found more dramatic evidence that speaking two languages can help delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms by as much as five years.

The latest study examined the clinical records of more than 200 patients diagnosed with probable Alzheimer’s disease and found that those who have spoken two or more languages consistently over many years experienced a delay in the onset of their symptoms by as much as five years. Dual language capability is not uncommon in Canada where many speak both English and French and the science team are not claiming that bilingualism in any way prevents Alzheimer’s or other dementias. What they are saying is that it may contribute to cognitive reserve in the brain which appears to delay the onset of Alzheimer’s symptoms for quite some time.

The lead investigator is Dr. Craik who is also co-editor of The Oxford Handbook of Memory and he clarified that the brains of people who speak two languages still show deterioration from Alzheimer’s, however their special ability with two languages seems to equip them with compensatory skills to hold back the tell-tale symptoms of Alzheimer’s, such as memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with problem-solving and planning.

The researchers found that bilingual patients had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s 4.3 years later and had reported the onset of symptoms five years later than the patients who spoke only one language. Interestingly, there was no apparent effect of immigration status, and there were no gender differences.

The current study adds to mounting scientific evidence that lifestyle factors – such as regular cardiovascular exercise, a healthy diet, and keeping mentally alert – can play a central role in how the brain copes with age-related cognitive decline and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

“Although a great deal of research is being focused on the development of new and more effective medications for Alzheimer’s disease, there are currently no drug treatments that show any effects on delaying Alzheimer’s symptoms, let alone delaying the onset of these symptoms by up to five years,” said Dr. Freedman, head of Neurology and director of the Sam and Ida Ross Memory Clinic at Baycrest.

That being the case it might be time to dust off the Linguaphone records, or sign up for a language class at your local adult education centre. Chinese ought to be difficult enough to stir the brain cells into action!

Food is the major source of human antibiotic exposure

I have often spoken — indeed quite recently — about the dangers of the overuse of antibiotics and you may have patted yourself on the back and thought ‘well I hardly ever have them’ — but I bet you do.
The problem is that you are probably not even aware of it — particularly if you are a meat eater. A new study has shown that what you ingest from your diet is an important factor in the levels of toxicity in your body.

In a conventional, Western, diet you are taking in the antibiotics and hormone growth promoters that are routinely fed to cattle and intensively farmed salmon and chicken and through the pesticides used in modern intensive farming. This can leave you with quite a high level of toxic chemicals in your body — if you are a wholly organic vegan, you can skip the next bit but everyone else might find it of interest.

In order to test the theory that vegetarians are healthier, scientists recruited 25 people to stay at a Buddhist temple for five days, living the same lifestyle as the monks residing there. This lifestyle included adhering to a strictly meat-free diet and I imagine was also fairly stress-free, unless they were suffering severe withdrawal symptoms from their iPhones and computers..

The researchers took urine samples from all participants both 48 hours before and immediately after their five-day retreat and it was tested for antibiotics and their metabolites, as well as six chemicals produced by the body upon the breakdown of phthalates.

What are phthalates I can hear you cry? They are industrial chemicals used in the manufacture of pesticides and soft plastics and have been proven to interfere with our bodies hormonal systems, producing defects of the reproductive, nervous and other bodily systems. Because it is difficult to detect phthalates in urine, the researchers instead had to test for its metabolites.

All six phthalate metabolites were detected in every participant both before and after the study, but levels of levels of all drugs had dropped dramatically. and five metabolites had significantly dropped over the course of the study. That is in just five days — which is quite impressive.

These findings suggest that food is one of several sources through which humans are exposed to phthalates. The researchers found that participants who had eaten more beef, pork and dairy prior to the study started out with higher phthalate levels than participants who had eaten less of those foods.

The good news is that it is relatively easy to reduce the level of drugs and toxins in the body by switching to a diet that contains less meat and more vegetarian sources. I am not suggesting you give up meat altogether, but one idea for a healthier diet is certainly to have at least one or two meals a week that are meat-free.

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