I stopped eating wheat when I read Gary Taubes's book Good Calories, Bad Calories.  However, I haven't noticed any changes.  My blood sugar is still a little high, and my weight is about the same.  Could you cite a study that shows that blood sugar and weight often go down when you stop eating wheat.

Yes, yes!  Great post!  However, I think there is a huge mssing link here, and that is the source of wheat.  Sure, wheat (or gluten in many cases) causes problems.  I totally agree.  But my theory is that people who drop weight and improve their health by eliminating wheat were not eating the ocassional slice of home-made sourdough.  Nope.  I'd be willing to bet that most of the "wheat" elimination that leads to a better lipid profile and decreased body fat is from the elimination of packaged and processed foods like cereals, bars, crackers, store breads and buns, and other snack foods.

Avoiding wheat due to a sensitivity or allergy is one thing.  But gorging oneself on processed foods and so-called healthy whole grain products only to later marvel at the results of a "wheat" elimination diet is a bit ridiculous.

Eat from the earth.  And if for you that means no wheat, then great!  Just don't go eating all that "gluten free" stuff.  One can still eat a ton of junk without eating wheat.

I love that you're pursuing this matter.   It's not just wheat, though.  It's all the gluten grains related to wheat: barley, rye, spelt, kamut, etc.  In those of us sensitive to gluten, even the tiny bits of gluten in most processed foods cause problems.  So do oats, even gluten-free oats, in some Celiacs.

Keep up the anti-wheat campaign, but please add the other gluten grains to your target.

Dr. Davis,
I started the gluten-free diet 2 months ago after reading all your blogs. The one thing I did not think it would influence is thyroid. You stated so confidently that it influences Hashimotos, I wondered how you came to that knowledge---articles, research, personal observation?
For 8 years my TPO antibodies have been very high in 700-800 range even with meds and good T4, T3 numbers. All tests came back negative for celiac although with high IGA. I have never been able to get Hashimotos numbers down, so would love to know how/where you heard about this. I will report back if after being wheat free my IGA and TPO numbers go down.
Warmly,  Catherine

Fantastic post.


I have been looking into a lower wheat (or gluten?) diet for a bit now, and recently purchased The Paleo Diet for Athletes. As soon as a finish In Defense of Food, that is next on my list.

A quick question if you have a second. Maybe you can simply directly me to a page with the answer, as I have not been able to clearly find it.

Is the key avoiding grains as a group, or would eating gluten free products be partially sufficient?

Do you have any references you could post for those claims?

In answer to several questions to clarify what I mean by "wheat":

1) For celiac disease or marked wheat sensitivity, including "wheat addiction," all grains that immunologically cross-react with wheat should be eliminated--barley, spelt, oats.

2) For those with extreme carbohydrate sensitivity--meaning diabetics, pre-diabetics, or marked small LDL, then even spelt, bulghur, sorghum, quinoa, barley, etc. can present excessive carbohydrate loads.

For everyone else, I believe that these whole grains can play a role.

Re: references. Just go to Pubmed.gov and enter your relevant search terms. It's quite easy.

It's hard for me to separate out the effects of wheat, gluten, flour, grains, carbs.  

Probably, nobody really knows yet., which is what it's like in 2009: lots of clues but nothing definitve.

My wife has hashimoto's thyroiditis, and cutting out the gluten has led to tremendous improvements. Her T3 and T4 levels are back to normal, and her anti-thyroid antibodies dropped significantly, to nearly undetectable. And she feels normal, not cold and lethargic.

I am not convinced that all people with Hashimoto's benefit from cutting out gluten - some studies showed only about 30% to 50% of the group improved (but many people show amazing improvement). A change of diet should be the first thing tried IMO. It was not something the endocrinologist discussed. When my wife asked if there were any dietary or lifestyle changes that might help, she was told there were none.

Hi, Jonathan--

Yes, wheat exposure probably requires years to trigger the Hashimoto's reaction. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, the precise trigger and "dose" or duration required is not well sorted out.

I find the statement “don’t go eating all that ‘gluten free’ stuff” rather silly – the implication being that it’s full of junk.  Most of the gluten free food I’ve found is wonderfully free of the usual high-fructose corn syrup and the like.  It’s a real blessing, to be quite frank.  And by the way, all my food comes from Earth.

Dr. D, correct me if I am wrong but quinoa is not a grain (it's a seed) and should not be grouped with wheat, spelt, barley, etc.

My understanding is that its impact on the body is significantly more positive compared to grains.

I have both gluten sensitivity and insulin resistance. Gluten free means I avoid wheat(includes spelt, kamut and other related grains), barley and rye. Oats are available that are certified gluten free. Removing gluten eliminated my GERD, gas and bloating, improved my neuropathy, lifted my depression, stopped my joint pain and the list goes on.

When I discovered my blood sugar issues, I dropped all the gluten free grains that caused spikes in blood glucose. OK, I have not found a grain that does not spike my blood sugar so I am now grain free. The only problem I noticed when eating the GF grains was the blood sugar effect.

Gluten/wheat and carbs/sugar are two separate issues for me.

Is it full of soy?  That's junk.

Peter, you probably have to reduce your carbs to see improvement in your blood sugar levels.

To clarify: My point was that most products tha are labeled as "gluten free" are processed, and largely a part of the food industry's marketing tactics.  They are not there for your health, but rather to make profits.

You can buy gluten free cookies, cereal, and other snack foods.  These foods are far from being close to the earth, and IMHO, not to be a regular part of a healthful diet.

The sentiment is valuable, but I worry about hyperbole.  If an individual cuts out 1000 calories a day of wheat-related foods (a generous estimate), and doesn't replace those calories with any other foods, then they would lose about 2 pounds a weeks, not 10 or 15.

I agree with Anon., who on the 15th wrote it's about reducing calories.

1lb fat = 3,500 cals; hence 2lbs/week is practical weight loss. Getting fat does not happen overnight, or a week for that matter so why would anyone expect to loose weight magically within a week.

If by not eating wheat you get there, I say go for it. For me, I feel much better since doing mega-dose K2/D3/B3/C which I learned here on the Heatscanblog and I will be forever grateful for those who aid Dr Davis in sharing their knowledge such as Ted Hutchinson who takes the time to post links to scientific papers supporting the cause of improved heart health.

Question - how about rice? Is it just as bad?

I take wheat grass tablets from Pines.  I have stopped eating wheat and reduced all grain consumption dramatically.  However, I still take the wheat grass tablets.  Is wheat grass a problem, like wheat?

Well I acquiesce in but I contemplate the list inform should have more info then it has.

Again a gentle post. Thanks your also pen-friend

I think there is a huge missing link here, and that is the source of wheat.

I just bookmarked your blog and will come back in the future. Keep up your great job, I hope you have a nice day!

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Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.



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I study carried out in China proved conclusively that wheat was the major cause of heart attacks. I am quite sad to read these reports because I love bread. The question is that do I love it to death?

This is generally a wonderful website i should say,I enjoyed reading your articles. This is truly a great read for me. I have bookmarked it and I am looking forward to reading new articles. Keep up the good work.


Education

I'm new here but looking for answers on systemic inflammation.
Can eliminating wheat or gluten reduce the inflammation in my system?

Hey Dr. Williams,
My mom stumbled across this article a year ago in attempt to help me explain some unusal blood work and severe contipation issues that the gastro doc called IBS after a negative celiac test. At the time my c-reactive protein was elevated, my T4 was elevated, I was chronically tired, cold intolerant, constant constipation, stabbing pain in my abdomen (hurt to touch my toes and put shoes on),had eczema, and mood swings. More then ten years ago I had thought I was a celiac and had gone wheat free, went to a gastro doc but was told it was just IBS and now looking back my symptoms were worse after I began to eat wheat again.
So, I have now been wheat free for a year now because of your article!.... my constipation has been reduced dramatically (no more miralax everyday) and my eczema only flares when I have accidently eaten something with wheat in it!
Here's my delima now.. I thought that being wheat free for a year would change the unusal blood work, but I just got results back and my c-reactive protein has elevated slightly more, my T4 has elevated more, but the strange thing is my TSH is on the higher end too. Hashimoto's usually has high T4 and low TSH, plus all my symptoms are that of someone with a hypothyroid.  I'm still chronically tired, cold, and getting more moody. Any ideas?

Interesting. Your posts are very informative but could I suggest that you consolidate them all into one document per topic (e.g. iodine). I realise it might be too early to do this in some cases if you are on a journey of discovery yourself but I think it would be very valuable to have all of your thoughts on a subject cohesively presented in one chunk. As it stands, you have to be following this blog to get the full picture of what you're talking about, unless you are willing to trawl through previous posts.

Perhaps you could do it in the form of an editable wiki-like page which shows past changes, or just a post that keeps getting edited with a "last updated" note. Or failing all of that you could just tag all your iodine-related posts with "iodine".

I think you have something valuable to say but if you want it to be accessible to wandering internet users you should think about the presentation more.

Thanks and keep up the good work!

you seem to be basing your views on thyroid and heart disease on the HUNT study, and the more recent one you cite, however, the results seem to indicate low thyroid and cardiac events more associated with woman then men.  There did not appear to be a relationship with low thyroid and coronary events in men.  If so, why the across the board reoommendation for iodine for both me and women in light of data not crystal clear for men?

I find using the search facility brings up all the blogs on Iodine
However perhaps you are right as there are now sufficient blogs about IODINE for them to be given their own label.

Do healthy people limit meat? Or do you mean people that are attentive to their health, even if they're following not-so-great advice?

I disagree with thequickbrownfox.  Repetition is good.  After the first two iodine posts I made a mental note to get some iodine or kelp and promptly forgot.  It was after the third iodine post that I finally acted: I bought iodine and started taking it.  

I also appreciate that the posts are brief; I have bookmarked dozens of long posts in Dr. Eades' blog that are always too long to read right now.  

Don't change anything.  I love this blog the way it is.  Thank you for taking the time to pass along your knowledge.

i think the search option on the upper left corner works just fine if some one searches it for example. iodine, thyroid, vitamin d3 etc.

Although I think Dr. Davis is right about many things, I'm not so sure he's so right about iodine. Why not recommend iodine testing first? Supplementing with no idea if the person is deficient or not doesn't make sense to me.

If thyroid function is low, what if it's due to Hashimoto's and increased iodine worsens the condition?

I would have a concern about the person who glances over these blogs, feels their suspected sluggish thyroid needs some iodine help, then worsens their health due to Hashi's.

steve K, you're right. The data in men is not convincing re. iodine or thyroid; difficult to say why exactly. However, I've read some convincing mechanistical evidence suggesting that low T3/T4 levels likely promote CVD. It's quite a believable hypothesis.

However, I'm somewhat worried about 'messing' with such an important hormone, even though we don't understand all the details and don't have a clue what the 'default setting' of our body is and whether the default values would be any good re. long term health (not just CVD).

IIRC Hypothyroid snell dwarf mice exhibit an increased life span and no clear benefits of T3/T4 supplementation have been demonstrated in the elderly/very old.

Hi Nameless! Even though Dr. Davis has presented some interesting evidence showing that healthy people may be more prone to deficiency, I second what you say:
Get a doctor's opinion before treating yourself, check thyroid levels and also try to get baseline iodine levels (urinary excretion).

Even though iodine (and vitamin D) are free of side-effects in most people, there are diseases which can precule supplemenation (w/o medical supervision at least).

@  Nameless
But surely it is a matter of priorities.
40% of women across the UK consume less than half of the recommended levels of iodine.

Surely more real harm will occur if nothing is done about the deficiency state currently harming 4 out of 10 in the UK, as a result of fear of excessive intake that only potentially may harm 1 in 1000.

Dr Davis has simply reminded us we need to check our Iodine intake and  be certain we can account for the RDA. I've read nothing here encouraging excessive iodine intake.
Tolerable Upper Iodine Intake Levels and The Daily Reference Intakes (DRI) for iodine are shown at this link.

Iodine does not worsen Hashi's. It's used to cure Hashi's.

the study:
"IIRC Hypothyroid snell dwarf mice exhibit an increased life span and no clear benefits of T3/T4 supplementation have been demonstrated in the elderly/very old".
However, few things these studies are not able to demonstrate that how do these mice feel and they don't have to live and perform in a society like us humans?
people with hypothyroid may look normal, are able to complete day to day tasks like a normal person(specially high will power individuals, athletes etc.). But yet these individuals feel terrible from inside.  The symptoms may includes the followings:
Over reacting,
Over thinking,
Irritability,
Low stamina even though 7 days week at the gym and eating healthy,
See themselves as victims for no apparent reason,
Not successful in relationships.
Not being able to hold job.
Split personality in seconds.

I believe that the only doctors, who are hypo or hyper themselves and have treated their thyroid misery successfully, can then understand fully as to what this disease is all about and what was poor patient crying about?  This is not even close to one study fits all kind of disease.
The notion "get doctor’s opinion" has gotten low marks on my list after suffering with hypo all of my life and going through bunch of most dumb doctors that I have seen and I can bet that most of those doctors themselves are suffering from either low iodine or thyroid.
When someone gets medical college's degree and license, doesn't necessarily means that he or she is "God". My faith has completely shaken in most of these doctors who try to fit every human being in to the "normal" test numbers.
The internet is the best thing happened to the society. Where no one needs any "degree" to give their opinion. Where no medical college can suspend any license to punish people, who don't fall in to the drug company driven education trap.  
Even for a moment, if we believe in the notion of “get doctor’s opinion”. Then Doctor Davis is a doctor and he is giving his opinion. What is wrong with it?
me and my family has suffered for all of our lives with simple stubbornness of the stupid doctors and i don't wish any body else to go through the same. therefore the best remedy is to educate your self. your body is the most important tool that good has given. spend some time educating your self.  
As  Dr. Abraham, G.E   is explaining that,
“The worst form of domestic bioterrorism is the dissemination of iodophobic misinformation in order to discourage the use of adequate amount of iodine for whole body sufficiency (orthoiodosupplementation).2-4 Today, the public relies heavily on the Internet for health information. Rarely do they search for the original publications. Whoever supplies health information on the Internet controls the health of the Internet user. Control of health information on the Internet by iodophobic bioterrorists is a real threat to a population who depends on this source of information to make health-related decisions. Such a population is vulnerable and most likely will end up adopting iodophobic decisions to their detriment. Once caught in the iodophobic Net, it becomes a vicious cycle, difficult to exit.
Iodophobic bioterrorism can be prevented through education of health care professionals and the public at large. Remember that the easiest and most effective way to destroy a nation is the removal of iodine from the food supply. Iodophobic bioterrorism is a real threat to our nation, and the enemies within our gates masquerade as guardians of our thyroid gland”.
Here is link to the full article.

http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-04/IOD_04.html

I've read conflicting info regarding iodine and Hashimoto's. There is some data suggesting iodine can make matters worse.

And iodine doesn't 'cure' Hashimoto's (or at least I haven't found any evidence it cures it). It may improve thyroid function if hypo, but Hashimoto's is when thyroid antibodies attack the thyroid gland. Selenium + thyroid hormones can lower these antibodies, but I haven't read any data as to iodine having the same effect.

http://thyroid-disorders.suite101.com/article.cfm/iodine_and_hashimotos_thyroiditis

How much of this is localized?  Isn't Dr. Davis located in Wisconsin, which known to have low iodine in the soil?

Thanks for the wonderful description, Kris.

Iodine does indeed make Hashimoto's worse if taken during a flare-up. Iodine will make any form of hyperthyroidism worse, for that matter.

However, it does not mean that iodine is not important for health for the other 99%+ of people, those not in the midst of a hyperthyroid flare.

Iodine need is life-long. That's why, when people are deprived for years, iodine provided to an iodine-deficient person can encounter a thyroid unaccustomed to sufficient iodine. This can also provoke transient hyperthyroidism. I've seen this happen twice in the last several hundred people.

There is quite a long lecture from Dr. Brownstein at this link.
Iodine_->The_Most Misunderstood_Nutrient Iodine: Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It.
Dr. Brownstein feels iodine is the most misunderstood nutrient.
He feels it is impossible to achieve your optimal health when there is iodine deficiency present.

Dr. Davis, any thoughts about why hypothyroidism and low ferritin levels seem to be associated? Does iodine deficiency adversely impact iron storage?

But what about Hashi people who become even more hypo with iodine treatment?  I know this sounds contradictory to what you are saying, but it's been reported on pubmed as occurring (autoimmune reaction causing more thyroid destruction perhaps?).

Most of the articles I've read, in fact, say not to supplement iodine above RDA if you have Hashi's.

For Doctor Davis' patients, this may be fine, since they are under a doctor's care. But I expect a decent percentage of people reading this blog who decide to take iodine won't be taking it through a doctor,  restrict only to RDA levels, get full thyroid workups or even iodine testing. I'm just saying some caution should be considered too... hence why to get tested before supplementing.

"Iodine does indeed make Hashimoto's worse if taken during a flare-up".
Dr. Davis, while we are at this subject, here is more about hashi and iodine.

http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-34820500_ITM
or
http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/IOD-22/IOD_22.htm

back in 2007 i read this. it came from another blog by Dr. Joe(don't know the last name)and it helps adding another dimension to this puzzle.
"Graves' Disease Caused by a Tummy Ache?
If you are like most people (and even most doctors), you may have a hard time wrapping your mind around the fact that a problem in your gut can cause a problem in your thyroid (which is way up in your neck). There is strong evidence that proves that this just might be the underlying issue in many cases of Graves' disease.
Graves thyroiditis, also known as Graves' disease, is an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid gland. While there can be acute attacks of thyroiditis, Graves' disease is usually a more slow acting autoimmune disorder.
There is evidence that a specific strand of pathogen (though there can be many different kinds not as well documented) called Yersinia enterocolitica that has been shown to cause Graves thyroiditis.
A common medical treatment for Graves thyroiditis is radiation or surgical removal of the thyroid gland. The thought is that if you remove the overactive thyroid gland, then you remove the problem. This line of thinking ignores the fact that there is still the underlying problem of the Yersinia enterocolitica.
If the treatment was aimed in addressing the pathogen Yersinia enterocolitica instead of the thyroid, you may have been able to forgo the ablating of the thyroid gland.
So how did Yersinia enterocolitica even get into the bloodstream to cause Graves' disease?
Most likely in cases of dysbiosis (or overgrowth of unhealthy bugs within your gut lining), there is an overgrowth of Yersinia enterocolitica within the gut. When this pathogen is allowed to flourish in the gut lining, changes to the gut lining may enable Yersinia enterocolitica to pass through when it should not.

Once Yersinia enterocolitica is in the bloodstream, your immune system recognizes it, tags it is a foreign invader, and then attacks it.
It is believed that the protein makeup of Yersinia enterocolitica is similar to that of the protein structures on the thyroid. What happens is your immune system gets "tag happy" and tags your thyroid gland as well. Now your body cannot decipher a difference between Yersinia enterocolitica and your thyroid gland. You now have what is known as an autoimmune disease".

if we read here:
http://books.google.ca/books?id=O2R2OU62e3wC&pg=PA14&lpg=PA14&dq=iodine+Yersinia+enterocolitica&source=bl&ots=wJThoF5O-V&sig=49ltwzAKE8sFbgVY7fPS1eYJjhE&hl=en&ei=a5UtSruvCaPQMoOhqM0J&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#PPA14,M1
about infective agents and iodine, it may shed some light on this mystery.

You might want to change the title of the post from "healthy" to "health-conscious." People who limit salt, fat, and meat, and who knock themselves out with exercise are not healthy, as your examination of them attests. They care about their health, but because they have assimilated all the current but erroneous commonplaces about how to be healthy, ironically they are unhealthy.

Antineoplastic effect of iodine in mammary cancer: participation of 6-iodolactone (6-IL) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR).
This  report  confirms previous  observations that treatment reduces mammary cancer incidence,decreases the proliferative rate, and induces apoptosis in cancerous mammary  cells without  any  secondary  adverse  effect on  the  thyroid or  general health.

Hi Doc:

The fundamental importance of thyroid and vitamin D status to heart, vascular, and general health have interested me for many years, and your willingness to provide some informal feedback from your patient base is unique.

I have another supplement that I have studied, and used moderately for going on  20 years, and which I believe has significance in the broader context. (personally I am in excellent health in my 74th year).
The supplement is melatonin, which has been primarily asociated with sleep, but which I believe is much more fundamental. (relevant to TYP?)
I imagine that a high percentage of both your patients and blog followers are in their mid to later years, and may have used or considered it.

The following LEF article sums it up pretty well. Would you please consider, and give us your assessment.

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2008/aug2008_Beyond-Sleep-New-Medical-Applications-for-Melatonin_01.htm

Regards,

MikeV

Dr Davis

Check out Kamstrup's new article on LP(a) in the new JAMA.  Interesting stuff.  Two new THYROMIMETIC drugs in the pipeline to lower LP(a)?  I wonder just what is the relationship between thyroid function and LP(a) levels.

Sorry,
I missed the fact that melatonin had previously been a topic in May.
Mike V

I started to take some custom lugols ( 7 % , 99.9 pure , 40% grain alcohol , 1 mg free iodine with around 3 mg KI) diluted in distilled water in small quantities of 10mg 2 months ago. I take in morning with empty stomach; I eat lot of Mg in fruits etc. I also eat yogurt a lot all my life.

First I found that my lungs were more effective and my heart was very calm even when doing exercises. (Like the right ventricular was more effective with iodine supplement)

after around 150mg ingested, after one month I started by having a slight pinching sensation on my heart just couple millimeters far from the sternum bone, on the left.

After taking some more up to 350 mg cumulative dose for 2 months I had many upsets especially in the evenings. It happened 7 times, but last night I panicked because my heart seems to stop working in the right ventricular for around 30 seconds, I was in sweat, shaking white and in shock. But no heart pain or chest pain at all, just a very bad discomfort, a feeling of something disturbed or that the heart pulse on the right side was very weak. The void in my chest lasted all morning, Aspirin didn’t help at all. I spent most of the day in bed because it seems to help my heart. Any effort brings back the symptoms.

Very important is that these heart problems happen only when I take breaks from iodine; it seems to happen around 4 - 6 days after i stop taking iodine.

I am taking an appointment with doc today.

I really don’t feel with fever, or anything. Just this heart problem...

I also experienced a metallic taste after 1.5 month and this is when I started to take 4 - 6 days breaks of iodine intake.

Probably that if I am to resume iodine intake my heart will go back to normal but I won’t take it before I see a doctor.

Heart  disease is one of the most  dangerous disease which takes thousands of life every years all over the world. If we know its symptoms and Treatment for heart disease. We can prevent is to large extent.

Your comment “have a longer lasting durability than a stent which could buy you a couple of years before your next procedure or heart castarophe” blew my socks off! Almost two years ago I had what was called a minor heart attack resulting in a stent. Unlike the profile you describe though (ie “free and easy life…”), I was always a keen exerciser and was careful with my diet (no meat for example) … and now even more so, following many of the regimens you recommend. So maybe my chances are better than “a couple of years”. What’s your view?

Yes, you are not the average patient after angioplasty.

Most remain miserably trapped in the American lifestyle and/or victims  of the Heart Association's mis-guided diet and lifestyle recommendations.

For every one person like you, there are hundreds of people who either don't care enough to make a difference in their lives, or follow the unwise advice from conventional sources.

I appreciated your quick reply. I'm wondering from your treatment experience just how long you would say a stent is expected to last trouble free, for those who are generally fit, and abide by the 'track your plaque' lifestyle. Or perhaps you know of a source that has such information.

I'm afraid that the Track Your Plaque program has dramatic effects on the inhibiting growth of plaque in coronary arteries, not necessarily in an area with a stent, which is subject to a whole new set of rules.

Unfortunately, there is NO health program that has any effect on growth of tissue in stents in the first year or two, thus drug-coated stents and the like.

The statin or Apo A1 milano reversal studies showed regression by IVUS.  Regression as cited on this site refers to a score from a scan.  What is the correlation between the calcium scores and plaque volume as measured by IVUS.  

While I agree with almost everything you popularize on your site and believe in the lifestyle changes I am not sure the world will accept this without a double blind trial of lifestyle changes you espouse and with endpoints measured by both hard events and indirect measures such as IVUS.

You are absolutely right. There are no data comparing the effects of IVUS vs. CT heart scan scores.

It can be done, obviously, but the logistical difficulties would be considerable. I have done nearly a thousand intracoronary ultrasound procedures. They are invasive procedures that carry real risk. CT heart scans are like an EKG--simple, virtually no risk. Each test would have to be done twice: once at the beginning, and then again at the end of a treatment program.

Dr Davis
I am confused. In one blog (about Mel) you are concerned his 799 score poses a real threat but in another blog ( about Grady ) his high (1000+score)
is brought down 17% and he has little to fear,
according to you.
Wouldn't Grady with a still higher score than Mel
be at a real threat also.
Thanks
Gene Mc

That's absolutely right.

When you are tracking heart scan scores, it's the relative change, not the absolute score, that assumes prime importance. I blogged about this phenomenon some time back in I wrote about this phemonenon in a previous Blog: When is a heart scan score of 400 better than 200?  at http://heartscanblog.blogspot.com/
2006_09_01_archive.html. (I know, I've got to organize these posts better.)

Because it's your way to stack the odds enormously in your favor of 1) surviving the appearance of symptoms, 2) avoiding the prospect of heart procedures, which are not as clean and easy as they often seem, 3) have a longer lasting durability than a stent which could buy you a couple of years before your next procedure or heart catastrophe, and 4) it's the right thing to do for the sake of the huge societal cost of heart disease.

There are  thousands of websites which provides information  about  
how is angioplasty done.
But dilseindia is one  of the websites where one can get good info about the  angioplasty.