Increasing sales, growing the business

23. October 2008 William Davis (7)
I continue my portrayal of the fictional hospital, St. Matthews. Though fictional, it is based on real facts, figures, and situations.

Despite their success, administrators at St. Matthews’s Hospital continually fret over how to further expand their enterprise.

Market share can be increased, of course, by competing effectively with other hospitals, but that can be a tough arena. After all, St. Matthews’ competitors deliver pretty much the same services, and draw areas for patients overlap. The last thing the hospital wants is the appearance that heart care is a “cookie cutter” process, the same everywhere. In fact, this trend has hospital administrators wringing their hands. Two competing hospital systems in town recently launched multi-million dollar ad campaigns employing some of the same aggressive tactics St. Matthews’ marketers used successfully in past.

If St. Matthews is going to grow, new markets will need to be explored. What other strategies can a hospital system use to continue climbing the growth curve?

St. Matthews’ hospital administrators have drawn a number of lessons from other businesses. How about squeezing more procedures out of the population you already take care of? That’s an age-old rule of business: your easiest sales come from repeat customers. A former stent patient is going to “need” annual nuclear stress testing ($4000), more stents (about $25,000–39,000 per hospitalization), CT angiogram ($1800–2400), bypass surgery ($84,000), and so on. “Check-up” catheterizations, though clearly of little or not benefit to patients, are silently encouraged, yet another example of the bonanza of repeat procedures possible.

The lesson that “once a heart patient, always a heart patient” has been honed to an art form in business practices at St. Matthews and other hospitals like it. If you enter the system through your primary care physician or cardiologist, there’s an excellent chance you’ll end up with several procedures, diagnostic and therapeutic, over the ensuing years. Accordingly, St. Matthews provides a very attentive after-discharge follow-up program, complete with access to friendly people, phone centers, “support groups,” and even an occasional festive get-together, all in an effort to ensure future return to the system.

All in all, the St. Matthews Hospital System is a hugely successful operation. It provides jobs for thousands of area residents and provides high-tech, high-quality healthcare. Like any business—and no doubt about it, St. Matthews is a business with all the trappings of a profit-seeking enterprise—it grows to serve its own interests. The tobacco industry didn’t grow to its gargantuan proportions by doing good, but by selling a product to an unsuspecting public. So, too, hospitals.

Curiously, hospitals like St. Matthews continue to operate under the sheltered guise of not-for-profit institution with the associated tax benefits, ostensibly serving the public good. This means that all end-of-year excess revenues are re-invested and not distributed to investors. But non-profit does not mean that individuals within the system can’t benefit, and benefit handsomely. Under St. Matthews’ non-profit umbrella, many businesses thrive: 35 pharmacies, extended care facilities to provide care after hospital discharge, drug and medical device distributors, even a venture capital arm to fund new operations. The financial advantage conferred by “non-profit” status has permitted the hospital to compete with other, for-profit businesses, at a considerable advantage. For this reason, attempts have been made over the years to strip them of what some believe is an unfair advantage; all have failed.

While profits may not fall to the bottom line, money does indeed get paid out to many people along the way. Executives, for instance, pay themselves generous salaries and consulting fees, often from several of the entities in this complex business empire. Physicians are brought in as “consultants” or are awarded “directorships” for hundreds of thousands of dollars per year—Director of Research, Director of Cardiovascular Services, etc. Don’t forget the $3.7 million dollar annual salary paid to the CEO.

Hospitals and doctors have a vested interest in preserving this financial house of cards. They will fiercely battle anyone or anything that threatens the stream of cash. During a recent meeting of important doctors at St. Matthews Hospital, one cardiologist bravely voiced his concern that bypass surgery was performed too freely on too many patients in the hospital. The doctor was promptly and quietly asked to remove himself from the meeting. Several days later, he received a letter announcing his dismissal from the committee.

The silent conspiracy conducted by hospitals and cardiologists serves their own purposes better than the good of the public. Under the guise of good works, hospitals continue to promote strategies which are, for the most part, outdated, inefficient, inaccurate, and expensive. But that’s the rub. Expensive to you and your insurance company means more money for the recipient: your hospital and cardiologist, and the powers that support them. All this occurs while the real solutions that are of benefit to the public continue to be overlooked, hidden in the shadows.
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Comments (7) -

  • Anonymous

    10/23/2008 4:03:00 PM |

    Thanks for having the courage to say all of this!

  • Anonymous

    10/23/2008 4:52:00 PM |

    Yes, and let's elect a socialist for president who will work to make sure all American citizens have "free" access to this high standard of care they have a right to. Let's have a government that tells the people to eat in such a way they are all but guaranteed heart disease and then let's devise a universal health care system that will take their tax money to make them pay for their heart procedures. I'm going off a bit on a tangent here, but whenever I hear anyone start advocating a government-run univeral health insurance program, I think of the points you make about the greed of hospitals, and realize it puts a different perspective on just what it is these politicians are wanting the government to pay for.

  • Anna

    10/23/2008 4:55:00 PM |

    Dr Davis,

    Excellent pair of posts.  I wish more people would understand that while there are many people in medicine who are dedicated to caring for patients in the best way they know how, the "system" and some people in it have rigged the game to perpetually favor "the house", like gambling establishments.  Like post-vacation gamblers, post-procedure patients come away awed by the smoke & mirror shows.

  • Anonymous

    10/24/2008 12:12:00 AM |

    I am afraid we need to get medicine back to its altruistic roots.  Physicians should be limited to pay not to exceed $200k/yr. If you want to make more than this you should go to business school not medical school. Make it a law.

    On another note as the economy continues its colapse you will see medicine return to a decetralized model complete with a return to altruism and much less regulation. This is not an optimistic hope-it is where it is going.

  • Anonymous

    10/24/2008 5:10:00 PM |

    And we should make it a law that Angelina Jolie must dump Brad Pitt and date me. And that she must never make any dish for me that includes broccoli.  

    I hate broccoli.

  • Andrew

    10/24/2008 8:49:00 PM |

    ^^
    I hope you're right, but I don't see it happening that way.

    People with money and power will always struggle to increase both, regardless of the consequences.

  • Anonymous

    11/15/2008 6:29:00 PM |

    "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."

    ~ Winston Churchill
    Similarly with the hospitals, the pts seem to like them. It employs lots of people. Does it really matter that it is a lot of smoke? Is there a better way?

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Is health the absence of disease?

Is health the absence of disease?

30. September 2007 William Davis (2)
It sounds like a word game, but is health the absence of disease?

In other words, if you're not sick, you must be well. If you don't have cancer, heart disease (overtly, that is, like angina and heart attack), the flu, diarrhea, fevers, pain someplace . . . well then, you must be well.

Of course, most of us would disagree. You can be quite unhealthy yet have no overt, explicit disease. Yet this is the philosophy followed in conventional medicine when it comes to many aspects of health.

With regards to heart disease, if you have no chest pain or breathlessness, you don't have heart disease. "Oh, all right, we'll perform a stress test to be sure." Track Your Plaque followers, as well as former President Bill Clinton, recognize the enormous pitfalls of this approach: It fails to identify the vast majority of hidden heart disease. In heart disease, the apparent lack of overt, sympatomatic "disease" does NOT equal the true absence of disease, even life-threatening.

How about nutritional supplements? Vitamin D is a perfect example. Blood levels of vitamin D of 10 ng/ml--profound deficiency--are common, yet people feel fine. Beneath the surface, blood sugar rises because of poor insulin response, hidden inflammatory responses are magnified, HDL is lower and triglycerides are higher, coronary plaque grows at an accelerated rate, colon cancer activity is heightened . . . Though you feel fine.

Can an abnormal "endothelial response" be present while you feel fine? You bet it can. This refers to the abnormal constrictive behavior of arteries that is present in many people who have hidden coronary plaque or risk for coronary plaque, but is entirely beneath consciousness.

How about a triglyceride level of 200 mg/dl, fatally high from the Track Your Plaque experience? (We aim for <60 mg/dl.) This is typical in people who follow the diets endorsed by agencies like the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, organizations too eager to keep the money flowing from corporate sponsors and thereby offer us their advice based more on politics and less on health. Triglyceride levels of 200 mg/dl cause no symptoms.


At so many levels, the absence of disease is NOT the same as health. Health is something that is expressed by, yes, feeling good, but it's also measured by so many other factors hidden beneath the surface. An annual physical is one lame effort to address this aspect of "health." But it needs to go farther, much farther.

Heart scan, lipoprotein testing, vitamin D blood level--those are the basic requirements to go beyond the shortsighted practice of the conventional approach in the world of heart disease.
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Comments (2) -

  • John

    10/1/2007 6:33:00 AM |

    Thanks for this information.

  • buy jeans

    11/3/2010 3:49:52 PM |

    How about a triglyceride level of 200 mg/dl, fatally high from the Track Your Plaque experience? (We aim for <60 mg/dl.) This is typical in people who follow the diets endorsed by agencies like the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association, organizations too eager to keep the money flowing from corporate sponsors and thereby offer us their advice based more on politics and less on health. Triglyceride levels of 200 mg/dl cause no symptoms.

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Human foie gras

Human foie gras

18. September 2010 William Davis (10)
If you want to make foie gras, you feed ducks and geese copious quantities of grains, such as corn and wheat.

The carbohydrate-rich diet causes fat deposition in the liver via processes such as de novo lipogenesis, the conversion of carbohydrates to triglycerides. Ducks and geese are particularly good at this, since they store plentiful fats in the liver to draw from during sustained periods of not eating during annual migration.

Modern humans are trying awfully hard to create their own version of foie gras-yielding livers. While nobody is shoving a tube down our gullets, the modern lifestyle of grotesque carbohydrate overconsumption, like soft drinks, chips, pretzels, crackers, and--yes--"healthy whole grains" causes fat accumulation in the human liver.

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatosis, two forms of liver disease that result from excess fat deposition. The situation gets so bad in some people that it progresses to cirrhosis, i.e., a hard, poorly-functioning liver that paints a very ugly health picture. The end-result is identical to that experienced by longstanding alcoholics.



While Hannibal Lecter might celebrate the proliferation of human fatty livers with a glass of claret, fatty liver disease is an entirely preventable condition. All it requires is not eating the foods that create it in the first place.
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Comments (10) -

  • Anonymous

    9/17/2010 6:32:37 PM |

    What a great analogy.  Many thanks.

  • Anna

    9/17/2010 6:39:49 PM |

    Don't forget the fruit juices that everyone thinks are so healthy to drink in frequent and large quantities - let's not be fooled by 100% fruit juice labels, either (legal for juice processors to claim because the added sugars are concentrated fruit sugars instead of other sugars like cane or corn sugars) or otherwise.  

    Even though I no longer drink fruit juice, I'm veyr much enjoying reading the book, Squeezed, What You Don't Know About Orange Juice.  A bit dry at times because of all the narrative involving the 1960s-era FDA hearings on the of the exploding pre-squeezed OJ industry, it's still a great tale because of its parallels with other foods that are widely considered to be minimally processed (like dairy), yet are anything but.  There's a reason why orange and dairy processing plants look like refineries...

  • Anonymous

    9/17/2010 8:11:39 PM |

    Hannibal prefer Chianti with liver.

  • Bling

    9/17/2010 8:57:58 PM |

    Dr Davis, Glad to see you obviously read my comment on your previous post about "Foie Gras". Yes, I always thought it was uncanny that the medical profession never saw the similarities between Foie Gras and NAFL. Smile
    Meanwhile, I'm still here after a year on low carb, giving low carb a bad name because I am still so big. I'm off to find an NHS doctor to prescribe me Metformin since I think it's a good idea. I think I may have to fake diabetes though, since technically I am prediabetic. Wish me luck.
    Peace out.

  • john

    9/17/2010 9:20:42 PM |

    Hi Dr. Davis,

    I ate many carbs (including lots of sugar) in my younger years yet have always had good body composition...  

    Is fatty liver without obesity common?

  • Anonymous

    9/17/2010 10:41:17 PM |

    Did you blog on the unexpected benefits of gluten-free? I.e. no more IBS, no more heartburn, etc. In recent days, I have visited many blogs and I cannot find it. I have a hand written note that I found it on your site. Thanks

  • Anonymous

    9/17/2010 10:44:05 PM |

    I found the unexpected effects of a gluten free diet in September through a Google search. thanks.

  • Anonymous

    9/18/2010 3:00:10 AM |

    Clarification please, I'm a new reader: This avoiding "healthy grains" that is being advocated, is it the avoidance of wheat only?  Are oats, brown rice ok?
    Sarah

  • praguestepchild

    9/18/2010 11:30:14 AM |

    I eat a lot of paté and foie gras. I consider it to be an ideal food, except that one can actually OD on all the vitamins. It seems expensive but it's filling, a few tablespoons make a light meal.

    Ironic that a great way to avoid a fatty liver is to eat fatty liver.

  • homertobias

    9/18/2010 4:38:36 PM |

    Oh Dr. D

    You should let your sense of humor out more often!  It is delightful!
    Thanks for making me laugh this morning.

    Of course I love Silence of the Lambs and Anthony Hopkins in particular. And yes, it was eat his liver with fava beans and a glass of good chianti.

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Niacin vs. low-carb weight loss

Niacin vs. low-carb weight loss

10. December 2007 William Davis (28)
Niacin:

--Raises HDL and shifts HDL towards the healthier large (HDL2b) subclass.
--Reduces total LDL.
--Reduces small LDL particles.
--Reduces triglycerides and triglyceride-containing particles like VLDL and IDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein).
--Reduces fibrinogen.
--Reduces inflammatory responses.


Weight loss achieved through a low-carbohydrate (read "wheat-free") diet:

--Raises HDL and shifts HDL towards the healthier large (HDL2b) subclass.
--Reduces total LDL.
--Reduces small LDL particles.
--Reduces triglycerides and triglyceride-containing particles like VLDL and IDL (intermediate-density lipoprotein).
--Reduces fibrinogen.
--Reduces inflammatory responses.


Curious, isn't it? Niacin achieves virtually the same effect as weight loss achieved through a low-carbohydrate diet, particularly if free of wheat products. The only major difference is that niacin also reduces lipoprotein(a), though even that distinction shrinks if monounsaturated fat sources like almonds are included in a low-carbohydrate program.

So which should you do first if you have any of the above patterns? Well, it's a question of 1) severity, 2) how carbohydrate-rich your starting diet is, 3) how much weight you could stand to lose, and 4) how urgent your program is (determined largely by your heart scan score).

Niacin can also be very helpful if you've taken full advantage of weight loss through a carbohydrate-restricted program, yet still retain some of the abnormal lipoprotein patterns that could continue to grow coronary plaque. For instance, if HDL cholesterol rises from 28 to 40 mg/dl by eliminating wheat and reducing carbohydrates and losing weight, niacin could raise HDL to 50 mg/dl or higher.

As much as I love and use niacin for its broad array of plaque-controlling effects, a low-carbohydrate, wheat-free diet can achieve many of the same effects. Use this strategy to full advantage.
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Comments (28) -

  • Peter

    12/10/2007 9:17:00 AM |

    Hi Dr Davis, nice post

    The parallels you describe so neatly become self explanatory once you realise that niacin acts on the beta hydroxybutyrate receptor. Even without full blown ketosis, LC diets raise the level of the natural ligand for the receptor that niacin, at pharmacological dose rates, stimulates. And no flush from LC.

    Regarding LC diets as a means to weight loss alone misses their intrinsic health benefits.

    Peter

    Nicotinic acid receptor subtypes and their ligands.
    Soudijn W, van Wijngaarden I, Ijzerman AP
    Med Res Rev. 2007 May;27(3):417-33

  • Dr. Davis

    12/10/2007 12:53:00 PM |

    Thanks, Peter. I wasn't aware of that.

  • keith

    12/10/2007 5:34:00 PM |

    In your experience have you seen a lipoprotein benefit to a wheat-free diet in people where there is little excess weight to lose, say 5 to 10 lbs?

  • Dr. Davis

    12/10/2007 11:29:00 PM |

    Yes, though the magnitude of benefit is usually less. In this case, small LDL in particular is largely genetically driven. You can only hope to suppress it to a minimum.

  • chcikadeenorth

    12/11/2007 2:48:00 PM |

    as soon as I started lc, after about three months my hdl went from 40 to 68 and stays there, I don't excercise much so its not due to anything but lc I assumed.

    However,my score from scan went from 183 in '04 to 390 in 07 so that alarmed me but my doc said if I didn't lc, as I lc most the time, calcium score could have been way higher.lc is not only great for weigh loss but bg and craving control
    Thnx for comparison list, wish ADA would recognize this.

  • Anonymous

    12/11/2007 5:23:00 PM |

    Chickadee North - While I am a believer in reducing/eliminating processed carbs especially for people who have metabolic syndrome, are diabetic and/or overweight, you still had an increase in calcification of 30% per year.  That outcome is consistent with the results that occur when there is no intervention in terms of diet/drugs/lifestyle.  Thus, I am somewhat skeptical that the low carb diet kept you from having an even greater increase in calcified plaque.

  • Cindy Moore

    12/12/2007 3:57:00 AM |

    There are other benefits from low carb that you don't see with niacin. Lower BP, lessening (at minimum) of symptoms of many chronic diseases, lower blood sugar and insulin levels...all very important in today's world!

    Can you please comment on this article:
    http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINWRI08496320071210
    "In middle-aged and older women considered to be at low risk for heart disease, calcium build-up in their heart arteries, an indicator of artery-clogging plaque, predicts the development of heart disease and heart-related events like chest pain, heart attack and stroke, new research shows."
    Doesn't plaque and calcium build up in the heart indicate heart disease?

  • Dr. Davis

    12/12/2007 1:04:00 PM |

    Yes, excellent points!

    I believe that study is yet another piece of evidence that heart scans (for coronary calcium and plaque quantification) are vastly superior to risk factor analysis, such as that in the Framingham equation. As the study points out, the Framingham risk equation mis-classified a substantial number of people as low-risk.

    Incomprehensibly, the report quotes some reviewers as saying "There is not enough evidence to support coronary artery calcium screening in low-risk women and they call for further studies to better identify who would benefit from such screening."

    This is another study among many that have shown similar results.  How many people have to die or have heart attacks needlessly before the deeply entrenched habits of the status quo are broken?

  • Stan

    12/12/2007 2:23:00 PM |

    Re: "In middle-aged and older women considered to be at low risk for heart disease, calcium build-up in their heart arteries, an indicator of artery-clogging plaque, predicts the development of heart disease..."

    I think this relates to Dr. Davis orignal post on low carb.  Since glucose metabolism involves a lot more calcium than lipid or ketone metabolism then perhaps excessive calcium build up may be a proxy for excessive glucose metabolism?

      It may explain a curious fact that anything that switches metabolism away from glucose (e.g. niacine acting towards ketone b., vitamin D3, fasting or L.C. diet) would also at the same time act protective against the coronary heart disease?  Interesting!

    Stan (Heretic)

  • Cindy Moore

    12/12/2007 4:12:00 PM |

    But my question is....If there are already calcifications doesn't that mean there is already Heart Disease?

    So the women with calcium plaques would HAVE heart disease, not be AT RISK of developing it?

    "...calcium build-up in their heart arteries, an indicator of artery-clogging plaque, predicts the development of heart disease..."

  • Anonymous

    12/12/2007 4:19:00 PM |

    Somewhat unrelated question:  
    Angiotensin II inhibitors like Benicar apparently have the additional effect of dramatically lowering Vitamin D 1,25D in the body, and some think this is useful for people with Lyme disease and chronic fatigue system ("Marshall Protocol" http://snipurl.com/1v5s6). [Adherents of this protocol believe that in these diseases, opportunistic bacteria thrive on the additional Vitamin D.]

    However, for hypertensives who don't have CFS or Lyme disease, does this trait mean that drugs like Benicar, while reducing blood pressure, might be increasing coronary blockage by interfering with Vitamin D?  (I guess my questions are, Am I concerned with the right form of Vitamin D?  If  so, are angiotensin II inhibitors problematic for blocking Vitamin D?  Do they make Vitamin D supplementation pointless? If so, what's a better drug for hypertension?)

    Anyway, if this question is too far afield, ignore it, and thanks for a great blog.

  • d.rosart

    12/12/2007 5:09:00 PM |

    A few things we don't know about chickadee north;

    1 her age. (did she just enter menopause or premenopause?
    2 when she started her low carb diet.
    3 how often her heart was scanned between 2004 and 2007.
    Without knowing these, I think we have to give her doctor the benefit of the doubt.

  • Dr. Davis

    12/12/2007 10:36:00 PM |

    Cindy--
    Yes, you are absolutely right.

    In arteries, calcium = atherosclerotic plaque, not risk for plaque. It is a risk for coronary "events" like heart attack, however.

  • Dr. Davis

    12/12/2007 10:37:00 PM |

    The Benicar/ARB and vitamin D connection is interesting. I've never heard of it. Do you have any data or references?

  • Anonymous

    12/13/2007 12:32:00 AM |

    Honestly, I'm a layperson and can't comment intelligently on it other than to suggest you look at marshallprotocol.com

    Some of the things that jumped out at me were Benicar's (and to a lesser extent, other angiotensin 2 inhibitors) ability to block  at least one D3 variant, the idea that chronic fatigue/fibromyalgia/etc are the result of infection by a new form of bacteria that survives by hiding within immune system cells, the concept that because of this, D3 actually protects the bacteria in these patients, etc.

    It's all wayyyy out there, but fascinating, and I thought you'd be interested.  (At the very least, it might affect your choice of hypertension med.)

  • chickadeenorth

    12/13/2007 7:04:00 AM |

    I am 57 and am menopausal since 04, have lc since 03 and fell off wagon for almost a yr,was in extreme grief with death of kid sis and other significants in my life and neglected me.

    Had one scan in 04 at 186 and then second scan in 07 ( 2 weeks ago) and it was 390, so yes about 30% a yr.

    I assumed dropping A1C from 8 to 5.8 would have a bearing, no wheat products and eight loss of 80 lbs, way lower bp mostly about 110/68 or so would have given me less of  score.

    For 5 months in yr I run a B&B and work hard enough to make a sweat and in winter I walk.

    I only knew about Vit D and fish oil since coming here, few weeks back,  so take fish oil, its harsh to do as I have that HP bacteria and the fish oil makes allot of heartburn and distaste. I am waiting for the softgel Vit d 3 as can only get the dry form here, as well the l'arginine was ordered as well.
    My ldl is 97, my hdl is 68 and trig are 78.Ratio is 2.5, have not got advanced lipid profile back, should all be back this week and CRP and lip protein  were all low and within norm levels.

    I've been diabetic since 94 and needed insulin which I no longer need. I tried to use Actos as I read it reversed some plague so asked a doc for some, but it caused some chest pain and side effects so after 3 months I quit it.

    Stress has been a factor with husbands illness, many deaths and just finished testing for lung cancer( on my recent heart scan the radiologist noticed something in my lungs???? and suggested the rule out cancer??)(never smoked a puff in my life but my mental health patients smoked in my office for a few decades until I put a stop to it in 1980 and got my wrists slapped for doing that).

    Now I know I have no lung cancer am assuming my stress will decrease,husband being tested for asbestoses etc so lots of anxiety,I know thats not good for heart either,  typically I handle stress ok and use alot of humor in my life.

    So now you know more and can make some impressions. This doc doesnt really know me but felt had I continued with my program from Cdn Diabetic assc which was hi grains I would have had a higher score and my A1C couldn't get under 7.8 on insulin and I needed 158 units of humalog a day to keep it there so now I am not as insulin resistant , since lc, so maybe I would have a higher score if hadn't lc.

    I am only assuming and am only learning all about the TYProgram, I tried to introduce some oat bran daily but it spikes my BG way too much and I am aiming for AC under 5 so will stick with ground flaxSmile

    Anyone have some insight let me know, oh yes my vit d blood level was low as was DHEA, hormone levels of progesterone and all estrogens very low too from saliva test so using bio identical progesterone cream.

    I am assuming I will start on Niaspan to drop trig.

  • Dr. Davis

    12/13/2007 11:32:00 AM |

    Hi, Chickadee--

    I believe that you are on the right track. I encourage you to stay in contact through the Forum, where we can discuss your issues in more detail, along with feedback from other members.

  • chickadeenorth

    12/14/2007 3:51:00 PM |

    Yes I plan too and once all blood work back I am hiring you to do a consultation via scanner, how new age is that!!!

    I have had one diet pop a day as a treat for a sweet taste but am stopping that now too since reading about carbonation on the forum, lots of good info there for sure and dedicated membershipSmile

  • chickadeenorth

    12/15/2007 5:07:00 AM |

    Lipoprotein(a) in 2004 was 0.21g/l and in 2007 June was 0.09g/l.....so there is hope for me yetSmileSmile
    I should have new NMR results in few days.

    This 04 one I had only been low carbing for one yr.So maybe prior to that it was higher, but never had it checked ??

    I am exited to know that and now to try your ideas as if I could do that without supplementation and often off the statins....then who knows whats next SmileSmile

    Thnx soooo much for all your insightsSmileSmile

  • Dr. Davis

    12/15/2007 2:29:00 PM |

    chickadee-

    That's curious: a big drop in Lp(a) with low-carb diet. Although the diet clearly works, I've never seen such a a dramatic effect on Lp(a). Was there anything else you did?

  • chickadeenorth

    12/16/2007 2:49:00 AM |

    Yes I went off insulin, cozzaar,lipitor, slowly lost 80lb, ate only nutrient dense foods, more meat,eggs, only low gi veg,salads, olive oil daily,I am worried what if it was an error, will know in 2 days what new results are.
    Oh I ate a ton of ground flaxseed, .....my chol went up &, and HDL went from 40 to 68 and stayed there,LDl went up in that time frame and Dr Westman from Duke said its probably big fluffy good ldl stuff as typically thats what occurs with people doing low carb and getting into ketosis...could higher hdl  move out sticky lipoprotein???

  • Dr. Davis

    12/16/2007 2:45:00 PM |

    Hi, Chickadee--

    If you're asking whether higher HDLs are more likely to reverse plaque, the evidence would suggest that it does. HDL is probably crucial for plaque regression, since it acts as a "scavenger" of cholesterol in atherosclerotic plaque.

  • chickadeenorth

    12/16/2007 11:59:00 PM |

    ...so if I add excercise then my hdl should go even higher right?

  • Dr. Davis

    12/17/2007 2:17:00 AM |

    Yes, and the effect can be substantial if you're starting from a sedentary lifestyle.

  • chickadeenorth

    12/17/2007 6:20:00 PM |

    ...was thinking what I did, I also used a full dose adult ASA daily as read in (Edtmn Protocol( the ones who do the stem cell transplant for diabetes type I) that diabetics should use a higher dose of ASA, so have used that and folic acid 1 gr OD since 03. Dont know if this accounts for it.
    I am not sedentary from May to Oct as run a busy B&B and bust my butt but in winter I only curl and quilt and my Christmas gifo to myself is a gym membership, keeping in mind I have a terrible mind set about excercise so am working to change thatSmileMaybe I will get addicted to exercise rather than carbs.

  • weight loss

    10/4/2010 11:27:04 AM |

    The primary function of niacin, vitamin B3, is to metabolize fats, which can then produce a usable form of energy. Niacin, also known as nicotinic acid, is one of the B- complex vitamins, the water soluble vitamins, that all work together to covert the carbohydrates in our body into sugar, for the production and metabolism of our body's energy.

  • picklebird

    10/22/2010 7:54:52 PM |

    just found this site. I don't have any sign of heart disease as yet but my HDL is 6.

    I never met anyone with HDL that low, so that is why I'm taking niacin, 250mg split into thirds cuz the flushing and rash are awful, though brief.

    Already on low carb 35 - 45g per meal and lost 22 pounds since I was newly diagnosed diabetes 3 months ago.

    Question: how long to take niacin to see a rise in HDL? I don't want to take this stuff for more than 12 weeks.

  • generic viagra online

    2/22/2011 7:16:14 AM |

    Thanks a lot for this nice informative post keep posting and updating the blog on regular basis....


    Smith ALan

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