Higher cholesterol levels in both men and women are linked to a longer life

This study was published in the Journal of Internal medicineVolume 254, Issue 4, pages 353–362, October 2003

Study title and authors:
Total cholesterol and mortality in the elderly

E. Casiglia, A. Mazza, V. Tikhonoff, R. Scarpa, L. Schiavon, A. C. Pessina

Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Padova, Italy

This study can be accessed at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2796.2003.01200.x/full

The objective of the study was to evaluate whether cholesterol levels are associated with death rates  and to verify whether or not this is true for both genders. The study lasted 12 years and included a total of 3,257 subjects aged 65–95 years.

The study found:
(a) Women with the highest cholesterol levels had a 34% lower death rate than women with the lowest cholesterol levels.
(b) Men with cholesterol levels over 4.66 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) and a Body Mass Index above 25 had a 28% lower death rate than men with cholesterol levels below 4.66 mmol/l (180 mg/dL) and a Body Mass Index above 25.
(c) Men with cholesterol levels over 4.66 mmol/L (180 mg/dL) and a Body Mass Index above 25 had a 38% lower death rate than men with cholesterol levels below 4.66 mmol/l (180 mg/dL) and a Body Mass Index below 25.

The results of the study indicate that higher cholesterol levels in both men and women are linked to a longer life.

Low vitamin D levels associated with higher rates of cardiovascular and cancer deaths

This study was published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2011 Dec;94(6):1471-8

 

Study title and authors:

Prospective association of vitamin D concentrations with mortality in postmenopausal women: results from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI).

Eaton CB, Young A, Allison MA, Robinson J, Martin LW, Kuller LH, Johnson KC, Curb JD, Van Horn L, McTiernan A, Liu S, Manson JE.

Center for Primary Care and Prevention, Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Pawtucket, RI, USA. charles_eaton@mhri.org

 

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22030222

25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is the major circulating form of vitamin D and is currently considered the best indicator of vitamin D levels in the body.

This study aimed to determine whether 25-hydroxyvitamin D (vitamin D) levels were associated with cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality in 2,429 postmenopausal women.

The study found:
(a) Women with the lowest vitamin D levels had a 25% increased death rate compared to women with the highest vitamin D levels.
(b) Women with the lowest vitamin D levels had a 27% increased risk of cardiovascular disease deaths compared to women with the highest vitamin D levels.
(c) Women with the lowest vitamin D levels had a 39% increased risk of cancer deaths compared to women with the highest vitamin D levels.

The results of this study show that low levels of vitamin D are associated with increased rates of deaths from all-causes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer.

Vitamin D is only found in foods from animal sources (University of Bristol). The richest sources include lard, eggs, liver, fish, marine oils, organ meats and butter.

Links to other studies:
Can lard and other fatty foods offer protection from peripheral arterial disease?
High vitamin D levels associated with a 40% reduction in colon cancer - Best sources of vitamin D = High fat foods & sunshine

Patients hospitalised with a stroke with low cholesterol have a 117% increased risk of death compared to patients with high cholesterol

This study was published in the Journals of Gerontology. Series A Biological Sciencies and Medical Sciencies 2004 Mar;59(3):293-7

Study title and authors:

Low cholesterol levels are associated with short-term mortality in older patients with ischemic stroke.

Zuliani G, Cherubini A, Atti AR, Blè A, Vavalle C, Di Todaro F, Benedetti C, Volpato S, Marinescu MG, Senin U, Fellin R.

2nd Department of Internal Medicine, University of Ferrara, Italy. gzuliani@hotmail.com

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15031316 

The study evaluated the association between cholesterol levels and 30-day death rates in 490 older patients admitted to hospital with ischemic stroke.

The study found that those with the lowest cholesterol levels, under 4.1 mmol/l (158 mg/dL), had a 117% increased risk of death compared with those with the highest cholesterol, over 5.2 mmol/l (201 mg/dL).

Linls to other studies:
Low cholesterol levels lead to a 20.2% increase in death rates in those who have had a stroke
High cholesterol levels are associated with a 22% DECREASE in stroke incidence
A direct association between falling cholesterol levels and mortality in men and women aged between 31 and 65 years old

Trend of increased kidney cancer risk with statins

This study was published in Expert Opinion on Drug Safety 2012 Apr 16

Study title and authors:
Statin use and the risk of kidney cancer: a population-based case-control study.

Chiu HF, Kuo CC, Kuo HW, Lee IM, Lee CT, Yang CY.
Kaohsiung Medical University, Institute of Pharmacology, College of Medicine , Kaohsiung , Taiwan.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22502740

The objective of the study was to investigate whether the use of statins was associated with kidney cancer risk. The study included 177 kidney cancer cases and 708 controls aged 50 or over.

The study found that those who were prescribed statins had an 8% increased risk of kidney cancer compared to those that did not take statins.

The author of the paper, Professor Hui-Fen Chiu, advises; "there is a trend of increased kidney cancer risk" and "it is prudent to continue monitoring cancer incidence among long-standing statin users".

Men taking gemfibrozil have a 117% increase in cardiac deaths

This study was published in the Annals of Medicine 1993 Feb;25(1):41-5

Study title and authors:

Efficacy of gemfibrozil in dyslipidaemic subjects with suspected heart disease. An ancillary study in the Helsinki Heart Study frame population.

Frick MH, Heinonen OP, Huttunen JK, Koskinen P, Mänttäri M, Manninen V.

First Department of Medicine, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Finland.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8435186

The study examined the effects of gemfibrozil (a cholesterol lowering drug) on death rates in male patients who had symptoms and signs of possible coronary heart disease. The study included 626 patients, average age 49, who were followed for five years.

The men were given either:
(i) 600 mg gemfibrozil twice daily.
(ii) Placebo.

The study found:
(a) The men taking gemfibrozil lowered their cholesterol levels by 8.5%.
(b) The men taking gemfibrozil had 61% more deaths than the men taking a placebo.
(c) The men taking gemfibrozil had 117% more cardiac deaths than the men taking a placebo.

The results of the study show that taking the cholesterol lowering drug gemfibrozil results in lower cholesterol levels and higher cardiac death rates and higher total death rates.  

Food Addiction

While listening to an Underground Wellness podcast this morning about Food Addiction, much of what they talked about really hit home. I mean, that’s really what I’ve been working on, isn’t it? Yes, there are forces beyond my control pushing me to indulge that addiction but blaming everything from the fact that fast food is everywhere, treats are constantly around at work or even that you can’t even sit down to watch TV without being bombarded by the food industry gets me nowhere. It has to start with me and with taking responsibility for myself.


I have made great strides and accomplished a great deal over the past year. Shedding 50 lbs. and maintaining that loss for over four months is a huge accomplishment. I am very proud of that. At the same time, I know I have more work to do. I have a pretty good handle on the most obvious outside pressures. I’m pretty strong in the face of junk food and wheat based products – those choices are clearly black and white to me. I know it’s just not worth it and that there are better options. Where I’m struggling is in the gray area – the things that are a problem for me, but are not seen as an issue to most. Those trigger foods include coffee (caffeine in general), heavy cream (in coffee), artificial sweeteners (xylitol and stevia), chocolate, and even nuts.

The problem is that all of the above have actually been recommended or justified by many of the respected voices in the low carb and/or Paleo community which I follow. I started up with coffee again to try Bulletproof Fasting – many people see metabolic advantages from this type of approach and I thought I’d try it. I did like it a lot and I’m not ruling it out completely. But, I know for me, dependence on caffeine is counterproductive to evening out my natural energy levels. It doesn’t matter how high quality the coffee. Even putting aside the caffeine issue, I find myself craving a stop at Starbucks for a decaf Americano with heavy cream. It probably has some caffeine, but no sugar. Still, I crave the creaminess… There is definitely something there. Even high fat dairy with very little casein or lactose has a pull on me. Many people can handle this just fine (it’s a “maybe” food in the Primal world); I am not one of them, sadly.

I’ve also let a good deal of stevia and xylitol in to my diet lately in things like Bulletproof Ice Cream and baked items from Maria Emmerich’s site. I think a lot of people can do just fine with these types of things but I’m starting to realize they are holding me back. Using them is keeping the search for the sweet taste alive and is starting to dominate my thoughts again. That has led to me eating more chocolate, pretty much on a daily basis. I was sticking to 85% for a while, but relented to 72% most recently because the former is really just too bitter. I’ve always noticed that I get a really mild background kind of headache after eating even a tiny square of chocolate. Once I eliminate all the other triggers, usually I’m OK with sticking to a small square. But I think I need to get to a place of a clean slate once more before allowing that in…

Nuts are a pretty ubiquitous low carb sanctioned snack and have always been my saving grace. I don’t think I need to give them up completely, but I have to face the fact that they are not an unlimited indulgence.

Rereading what I’ve written so far, I can already see the little back doors I am unconsciously leaving for myself. I’m not changing it, just to show the thought process. My brain is rebelling at the thought of giving up the last of my unproductive habits. I didn’t even mention my dependence on whey protein shakes for a sweet, creamy fix. Because I don’t want to give it up. I am holding on to it for dear life. I need to make peace with the decision to stop these things. I tried a couple times with The Whole 30 and 21 Day Sugar Detox attempts, but it hasn’t stuck. I think I never really let go of my attachments. There is always something out there to help me justify these indulgences and make me feel like they are still OK for me. But I know myself best and I need to face the cold hard facts.

The Whole 30 program is probably the best option for me. I need to go bare bones, at least for awhile [there’s that back door again], to get myself back on the track to losing unneeded fat and getting to the healthiest place I can be for me, both mentally and physically. I have always chafed against their strict mentality – something about the hard core nature of their program rubbed me the wrong way. But now I think I understand it better – when you think of this from a food addiction perspective, it all starts to make more sense. As someone who struggled with substance abuse, I think Mellissa of The Whole 9 (amazing post, by the way) brought that experience to bear on their approach to food. There is no half-way when you’re dealing with addictive behaviors. It’s no different when it’s cocaine or it’s sugar. It’s a problem and abstinence is really the only path to kicking it for good.

At the same time, I live in the realm of reality and know that life will continue to be full of temptations and it’s scary to use words like “never” when talking about some of your favorite foods. That brings up all kinds of defense mechanisms that I’d rather not have to battle. So… my plan is to embark on another Whole 30 – I know I can do this for that amount of time. 30 days of nixing all my trigger foods and concentrating on meat and veggies – satisfying meals without all the snacking. To help me on this path, I’m enlisting the help of Well Fed – it’s a cookbook that is almost 100% Whole 30 compliant and full of amazing recipes and cooking ideas that are super helpful. I love the idea of the weekly cook-up – I spent a few hours over the weekend prepping things like burger patties, ground beef, chicken salad, and veggies for quick use throughout the week. It’s been great having “fast food” on hand. It makes good choices a no-brainer. I’ve also been taking an antipasto snack pack each day for lunch – it’s a baggie with various lunch meats, hard boiled eggs, cut veggies/tomatoes, pickles, etc. All types of yummy food that can be eaten right out of the fridge. Another great steal from Well Fed. Another strategy is to eat more veggies. I think I’ve been skimping on them of late, and will benefit from their filling affect.

Part of this journey is letting go of the resistance. When I expect something to be hard, it is. When I expect that I can do something, I accomplish it with ease. That is the attitude and intention I need to bring to this stage of the game. My plan is to set myself up for success. Over the next week, I’m going to phase out the trigger foods above, and start the official Whole 30 on June 1st. That will allow me to use up all the trail mix I made for myself and get breakfast taken care of with the protein powder until my budget can accommodate buying more of the whole foods I’ll use to replace those crutches. We’re also going out of town for the weekend, so starting after that is probably a good idea. I will report back again on June 1st, to officially set my intention and get this going. I’m very much looking forward to it!

Live Young

Most Western doctors and researchers describe the ageing of the human body as being similar to the ageing of man-made machines. The damage can be periodically repaired leading to an extension of the machine's functional lifetime, just as is routinely done with cars.  But what if we could postpone the effects of ageing before any damage occurred? 


Aerobic exercise has been shown to prevent memory loss, heart disease, diabetes, depression and obesity. Weight training stops our muscles from shrinking as we get older. But what about our internal organs? Because we can't see them, we tend to only think of them when something goes wrong with them. But it's the internal organs that govern the body. They are the key to living young and having excellent health.


There is only one way of exercising the internal organs and that is through the practice of Qigong and Qigong self-massage.  Qigong is quite literally exercise for the internal organs. Not only does it protect the internal organs, it stimulates them and gets rid of energy blockages  which could lead to illness. The immediate effect is an increase in energy. The long term effect is a slowing down of the ageing process of the body together with prevention of injury and disease.

The Qigong forms I teach in my book and DVDs are the original Buddhist forms from the Shaolin Temple of Zen in China. These are Zen forms and they are practiced with this in mind. There is no need to understand any complicated Qi theory or to concentrate on one particular part of the body. The only instruction is to concentrate on the movement and the breath. That is all. The wisdom of the body knows what to do.  If the mind is too full up with ideas and theory then the wisdom of the body can never manifest.  


The Instant Health self-massage plays a crucial part in exercising the internal organs. It works on many different levels. The bamboo brush works on the surface level, helping to detoxify the body by cleaning out the lymphatic system, softening the skin, removing blockages,  acting as a natural battery charger for the body, and making the Qigong more effective through helping to open the meridian channels.

I have a new improved bamboo brush available from my website, if your brush has Shaolin Temple in black Chinese writing written on the handle then you have this new brush. This new brush is a  stronger design than the last brush and should last for many years. Most people are happy to keep using the bamboo brush. But to go to a deeper level in our Qigong, we need to use a metal brush.

The metal brush is nearly 2kg and if looked after properly will last a lifetime. It took me many years to find someone who could make  this specialised equipment to my specific specifications. The weight, length and number of metal rods needs to be correct so it can work effectively. But how does it work?

Before washing machines were invented, the way to wash our clothes was to beat them against a rock. Some people still clean rugs this way, they hang them on the line and beat the dust out of them. The metal brush works in a similar way. Not only does it detoxify the body, and work on the internal organs like the bamboo brush but the vibrations from the brush go into the very marrow of our bone; cleansing and detoxifying it.  Why is it important to cleanse the bone marrow?

As we get older, the production of  red blood cells start to slow down. This is a major factor in the ageing process. I have no evidence for this but I believe that use of the metal brush, reinvigorates the marrow of our bone so that the production of red blood cells continue at a similar speed as when we were younger.  

Most people who do intensive exercise, for example professional footballers, age quite rapidly and burn out when their in their thirties. Shaolin monks and disciples do as much exercise but do not age or burnout in the same way. This is because we practice Qigong and Qigong self-massage.

I know that many Western people have massage from other people when they need something fixing like an injury or they feel stress or tired. There's nothing wrong with this kind of massage but self-massage aims to prevent the body getting run down, the aim is to prevent disease before it happens.

Many people associate The Shaolin Temple with body conditioning for combat but the temple have a long tradition of self-massage. Here in the West, I know some people find self -massage strange.  All I  can say is that if you haven't tasted coca cola, I can write volumes about the taste but you will never understand until you have actually tasted it for yourself. Self-massage is a vital key to keep your body balanced, healthy and well. Try it and you will see.

Good health not only benefits ourselves but also our family and the rest of society.  It's easy to forget the importance of health when we are healthy. It's only when it's taken away from us do we realise that without we cannot have a rich and fulfilled life without it. So appreciate your health and invest in it by practicing Qigong and Qigong massage for a long and healthy life. 

Want to learn Qigong?  Click here. 
For more information on the massage brushes click here