Thanks for the wake-up call! I know too many people in this exact same situation and I'm going to encourage them TODAY to FINALLY do something about it!  Keep on blogging!

I also received a score of 246 with 199 in volume my doctor a week later put me on a tread mill test which he said was perfect after that test the blood flow was good however I am scared about my heart ct scoring test Is there anything I can do to reverse this even a little bitand does this mean there is a lot of plaque in my arteries wow I am turning 49 years old in june boy I need help I think

Can't find when the coconut flour is added in the instructions,  Need assist as I am in process of making these now.

Thank you for this recipe. I'm glad to have found this, I have been looking for any jelly macaroons recipe and i saw your post. I see you are using healthy ingredients, it's a great thing, i am very concern about health.

Why people still use to read news papers when in this technological world the whole
thing is existing on net?

Please make mention of the continued prescribing of Zetia and Vytorin. Is there ever a reason to use these?

It seems like you're ignoring or discrediting some of the more paramount statin trials -- such as 4S, PROVE-IT, HPS, and AFCAPS/TexCAPS, just to name a few.  

I've only followed your website for about a month, so I'm still getting a feel for your philosophy of practice, but are your fish oil/vitamin D/niacin first-line recommendations (and a statin as a second-line agent) founded on clinical data, or only personal experience?

The benefit of statins isn't limited to LDL alone -- the pleiotropic effects are actually quite impressive, particularly in type II diabetes.

Could you possibly elaborate on your reasoning for only using a statin when necessary, despite clinical data that strongly supports their use?

Dr., I am so grateful for your blog. I stumbled across it a few days ago. Although I am really young, I have family history of heart disease at really young age- 20s. So I am reading your blog voraciously and taking notes.
Your no-wheat recommendation doe seem very hard to follow. what do you suggest we use instead of wheat? How about other grains like millet or Bajra? How about brown rice?

Thanks.
P

Dr. Davis, I still think you're missing vit. K2 from your program, which is a key regulator of calcium, and showing to reverse coronary calcium.  The current issue of Life Extension magazine has a cover story on K2, claiming it reduces all-cause mortality by 26% based on a large study (Rottingham, I think).

I've been taking and recommend K2 for years. I recently had several arteries imaged, including the carotid artery, and there was no detectable plaque. Note that the first 40 years of my life I lived on wheat-filled processed/junk foods, so I'm sure I had detectable, worrisome plaque -- but 7 years later my blood pressure is at an athletic level, and the plaque is gone.  K2, I'm sure, played a big role in this, along with the other tactics you've listed.

More on K2 and arterial calcification reversal:
http://tinyurl.com/5rzoh4

Dr. D.,

I know you don't often reply to posts to your blog anymore, but if you find the time I was wondering what your opinion was for statin use for someone WITH heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia but WITHOUT any measurable coronary plaque?? I have FHC but a heart scan on my 37th birthday revealed a heart scan score of 0,0,0. I did have a small pixel of calcium show up around the aorta. Not one to rest on my good fortunes, I have since found an Internist that specializes in lipid disorders and we have since done NMR testing, added fish oil (2.4g EPA/DHA), vitamin D3 (3,0000IU) and niacin (1g) and went from Vytorin 80/10 from my previous physician to Crestor 10mg & Zetia 10mg. I plan on adding 100mcg of K2 (MK-7) in the hopes of arresting/reversing the calcium dot around the aorta.

For the record, I have been on statins for the most part since they were first introduced in 1987/88.

Thanking you in advance.

Keep up the good work.

Dr. Davis,

Since you cite weight loss as an effective strategy, I'm curious if you have any unique ideas for promoting weight loss among those of us who stall out on low carb diets.

It is an unfortunate, but very common finding that many of us can eat very clean low carb diets without losing any weight, even with calorie restriction.  I have run into this myself and know others who have too.

Do you have any tricks and tips you've found helpful for your compliant patients who stall?

If so, could you discuss them in a future blog post. The online low carb forums are filled with people who stall out.  This may be partly due to changes in thyroid hormone levels that many of us cannot get our doctors to treat as they are considered within the normal ranges.

Whatever it is, it is one of the big frustrations real people, as opposed to those who star in diet books, run into with the low carb diet after an initial burst of encouraging weight loss.

excellent points.  are peanuts in the nut category you recommend?
is zero sat fat recommended as in your book( i know new revision out in 2009)

Thanks for this advice. JUPITER (and the reporting on it) was really flawed.

I wrote about it and there are links to some other good analyses too.

http://www.emotionsforengineers.com/2008/11/more-statin-misreporting.html

Regards,
Tony

I revolted when my doctor prescribed Lipitor after I was first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  After researching side effects, I knew I didn't want to take it.  Then I discovered what a scam this whole cholesterol business is.  By cutting carbs and increasng fat, I lowered my cholesterol to the point that it was no longer an issue.  Now I'm armed for battle if the issue ever comes up again.  Thanks for all you do in keeping us informed of the facts.

I hope that you are right!  Unfortunately a lot more people are going to be dismissed from their doctors' practices for refusing these drugs unless the truth about lipids and statins becomes more widely known.  The dogma is almost impenetrable!

hmm, I posted a comment yesterday and it seems to have disappeared. Dr. Davis, what is your take on consuming grains other than wheat like millet or quinoa?

Dr. Davis: I've been on 5 to 10mg of Crestor for several years and your article has encouraged me to discuss a reduction with my doctor. (I purchased almost a 1 year supply of Made in the U.S. Crestor for about $1/pill in Argentinian pharmacies. It paid for my airfare. Here I pay $3/pill. I consulted you via mail after I had a scary 346 (97 percentile) on a heart scan in July of '07. I'm fit and had always followed a "good" diet so the scan results were surprising. After looking at my numbers you accurately predicted that I probably had high Lp(a). I've been following your recommendations (nuts,oat bran, flaxseed, fish oil, niacin, very low wheat, etc.) to get it lower.

Scott Miller--

My March 2008 Life Extension Magazine article on vitamin K2 can be found at:
http://search.lef.org/cgi-src-bin/MsmGo.exe?grab_id=0&page_id=776&query=k2%20davis&hiword=DAVI%20DAVID%20DAVIE%20DAVIES%20DAVIN%20DAVIO%20DAVISON%20DAVISS%20DAVIT%20davis%20k2%20.

There are also extensive discussions on K2 on the www.trackyourplaque.com website.

Very nice LEF article, Dr. D.

So why not list it among your other essentials in your program?  You're clearly very knowledgeable on K2's benefits, and used properly, there appears to be no downside/toxicity to using it.

BTW, I know you frequent TheHeart.org forum.  Perhaps you've seen some of the posts I've made recently in the most busy threads, in defence of natural supplements.  Dr. Hackam, in particular, is truly a lacky of Big Pharma propoganda, and gives zero credit to vitamins, writing: "I will stick with what works and try to get my patients off their addictions to these drugs (yes vitamins are drugs; because they are taken in pharmacological rather than physiologic doses by most people)."

As a nutritionist myself it is difficult to understand this demonization of even whole grain wheat. What is wrong with that?

Responding to the nutritionist who wrote on December 19, 2008 questioning the "demonization" of whole grain wheat take a look at today's article in the NY Times about diabetics and diet.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/health/19diet.html

This study found that a diet high in whole grains (and thus high in glycemic load) caused a decrease in HDL-C.  In contrast, a purportedly lower glycemic load diet, which excluded whole grains but included beans, peas and lentils, was found to reduce blood glucose levels in diabetics and increase HDL-C.  Perhaps this is reason to reconsider the traditional advice regarding eating whole grains???

-Russ

Nutritionist, his entire blog is about what's wrong with wheat.

I think it was only a matter of time before people started going 'hey wait a minute - statin companies are raking in billions but heart morality is still the same or worse?'.

If statins were the wonder drug(tm), in about 30yrs of use you'd have thought heart disease was something relegated to history books.

Anonymous Nutritionist:

As previously stated, Doctor Davis no longer replies to questions on his blog (very rarely at least..). Do a search of his blog and read up if you are wondering why he is in favor of wheat elimination. Many patients that have been referred to him by other Physicians have been practicing the consumption of whole wheat products because they were told this is "heart healthy". Many of these same patients turn out to have terrible lipid profiles when tested by advanced lipoprotein testing (like the NMR test)....specifically small particle LDL. Once wheat consumption is reduced or eliminated, these abnormalities usually vanish. Dr. Davis believes that small  particle LDL is one of the biggest causes of CAD. Let's face it, many of the products that are sold to the average consumer that claim to be whole wheat and/or whole grain are high glycemic because they still are HIGHLY refined. The Paleo Diet Dr. says that a natural wheat berry is hard enough to break a tooth. Obviously the stuff that the food manufactures sell us is HIGHLY refined to be palatable to us. I've checked glycemic food databases and whole wheat bread is usually just as highly gylcemic (index & load) as a piece of white bread. Cornstarch is another culprit that Dr. Davis feels people should avoid if they want to improve their lipid profiles. I've often thought to myself that eating a sandwich...even with (mass produced) whole wheat bread, is probably no different to the pancreas then eating a sandwich made between layers of equivalent weight sugar cubes bonded together (actually most breads have a worse GI then sucrose!!). Nobody would eat a sandwich made of sugar cubes, but likewise..few people would think there is anything unhealthy about eating a sandwich on whole wheat bread..  

Just my 2 cents worth..

Dr Davis,
Just a quick comment to say that in a way I'm heartened by the comments on this thread and on recent posts by people who "don't get it". It means that neophytes are now reading the blog and are a demonstration of the influence you appear to be gathering.
More power to you and, though I know it's testing on your patience as you're a busy man, please look on such posts as "what's wrong with grains anyway?" and its like, as a sign that the message is at last getting out as it so thoroughly deserves (even those that are trying to counter your ideas -- another sign that you are having an effect).

Wheat increases inflammation.

Jeanne

Thanks for the assistance, everyone!

My hubby and I hadn't been to a GP in a long time, and he noticed a change in one of his back moles. So I took advantage of his concern about that to finally get him to go in. We both knew his BP was too high, but since it was only a little too high, he ignored it.

The GP chemically burned off the back mole, started him on BP meds, and prescribed him some kind of statin.

On our follow up, I asked him why he prescribed a statin when our lipid labs hadn't even come in yet. GP answered it was his age, combined with his BP problems. I replied that they were medicating him for his BP, and we'd wait until the lipid tests came back before going on statins.

The GP didn't even argue, which made me think there wasn't a very good reason to start statins, except for the big pharma push on them.

Both our lipids came back within normal limits.

Nutritionist,

Wheat, whether whole grain or not, contains substances such as lectins and phytates which are essentially poisons used by the plant to protect itself from 'predators'...ie from being destroyed by being eaten or by the digestive process if they are eaten. This is the same for all grains, not just wheat, which is why they are not good for people.

Anne

I'm curious how the American cholesterol measurements (taken as mg/dL) are converted to more conventional mmol/l measurements?  Does the analysis assume certain lipoprofile which is used to convert the result to mg/dL?

http://www.globalrph.com/conv_si.htm gives factor 0.0259, but 10 mmol/l sounds awful high (they are recommending statins if your cholesterol is above 4 mmol/l here in Finland).

To convert total cholesterol, LDL or HDL from nmol/L to mg/dl multiply by 38.67 - or divide by 38.67 to convert the other way round. And to convert triglycerides, multiply by 88.57 to convert nmol/L to mg/dl or divide by 88.57 to go the other way.

Anne

Dr., I liked the article, from your permission I will publish it at myself in a blog.

The used of statin worldwide is a very overwhelming success in drug industry. We can read this on different blogs where in more people are commenting on this drug.

Increased Levels of 25 Hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D After Rosuvastatin Treatment: A Novel Pleiotropic Effect of Statins?
So statins work their magic (in some way not yet identified)by  increasing vitamin d status and thus obtaining Vitamin D3's important pleiotropic effects that lead to reduced coronary artery disease mortality.

So is this an excuse to make everyone take a statin (that inevitably will have some side effects)to achieve higher vitamin d status or is there a simpler way of increasing vitamin d3 status that doesn't have (at the normal amounts people reading this forum can be expected to require)any nasty side effects?

I think we just need to Follow the Money, to see how this piece of research will be interpreted.

So tell us. How much is too much?

This is an excellent post.

But Doctor Dean Ornish points out that the same argument is made about mono-unsaturated fats being better than saturated fats, and people therefore eat lots of mono-unsaturated fats. He claims that logic is also badly flawed.

I used to be a big fan of Ornish, and I still am, but I do try to eat lots of mono-unsaturated fats from avocados, pecans, and walnuts.

One web doctor says eat no meat. Another, no fruit. Yet another, no dairy. Still another, no grains. So much disagreement tells me that dietary results are anecdotal. Simply opinions.

Some.

No wheat is necessary for a long diabetes-free, heart disease-free life.  Also, there appears to be very little real benefit to consuming wheat, so "some" is too much.

Now that the data which establishes the protective nature of many saturated fats (including animal fats and tropical oils), and the beneficial nature of fats in general, I think that we're on the cusp of discarding Ancel Keys's bizarrely misguided leadership on fats.  Next we need to decide as a country that the FDA (Department of Agriculture) probably isn't the right place to seek dietary advice.

As for Ornish, well, I simply say that he and I start from different premises.

Anonymous,

You are correct about one thing...if you spend enough time on the web you can find a physician or nutrition 'expert' that will support any diet you want to follow.  However, find me another physician that has tested the lipid profiles of thousands of patients, both during a grain based diet and following the elimination of grains, and still tells you to eat them.  

I can save you the time and aggravation, you're not going to find it.  The unfortunate truth is that most physicians you speak to know no more about nutrition than you do.

I followed the low fat high carbohydrate diet recommended by the medical establishment for 50 years.  I put on 80 pounds, developed diabetes type 2 which led me to chronic kidney disease stage 3 along with many other ailments too numerous to mention.  10 months ago I went on an evolutionary diet, high saturated fat and low carb supplementing with high dose vitamin D3, Omega 3 wild fish oil, vitamin K2 and kelp. I have lost 54 pounds, diabetes type 2 cured, my Trig/HDL ratio is now 2.53.  

This is not an opinion it's a fact.

Courageous doctors who are not afraid of ridicule are leading the way to a medical revolution and I am sorry to say that DR. Ornish is not one of them.

It's amazing that for fifty years I was in decline and now I am reversing my health issues.

This health revolution could could cut the cost of health insurance in half if only it would become the national recommendation.  WAKE UP AMERICA!!

Hi, Ted--

Excellent point.

It's as if every aspect of health can be best served by a drug, particularly statin drugs.

While statins like rosuvastatin may increase vitamin D in its various forms by a modest quantity, it is far better to simply supplement vitamin D.

Anon-

So should we just toss up our hands and give up?

Well, that's certainly what Big Food would like us to do--succumb to the tides of marketing and eat what tastes good.

I'll stay out of that line. I'd choose instead to pick the food philosophy that makes most sense. Humans did not evolve to consume pretzels, high-fructose corn syrup, and Cheerios.

This is the best blog ever for cardiovascular, thyroid, and other medical information!  Thank you Dr. Davis!  I respectfully disagree with the idea that complete elimination of whole grains is the BEST or ONLY way to bring about the beneficial health changes (weight loss, drastic improvement in lipid profile, blood sugar, blood pressure, etc).

"Too many whole grains are bad for your health.  Therefore, you must completely elimate whole grains from your diet."...seems like a faulty logic sequence to me.

How about just consuming reasonable portion sizes within the context of a truly balanced diet?  I would bet that few people you see in your clinic actually do this.  Therefore, how would you know if it worked just as well (or even better) than completely eliminating them?  It is certainly one way, but I don't believe it is the only way, and I do not know if it is the best, because I do not understand what exactly you replace the whole grains with.  I am wondering what the "ideal" day looks like as far as macronutrient breakdown and the actual foods eaten.  Would love to see a post about this!

I just received my latest blood test results and was delighted but not surprised to find my triglycerides down from 115 mg/dl to 66 mg/dl, because of your recommendation to supplement with high dose vitamin D3 and high dose omega 3 fish oil.  However, my other numbers have yet to improve very much. In a previous post August 9, 2007 you recommended oat bran to lower LDL to the 60 mg/dl range.  The problem is that I am hung up on the fact that oat bran is a grain product, and because I am totally wheat and grain free I hesitate to eat this.  Am I making a mountain out of a mole hill?  Also my HDL is stagnant at 42 mg/dl and will not budge.

Because of following your dietary recommendations my health has improved immensely.  Diabetes type 2 now cured and a 54 pound weight loss so far.  I will not give up until I get my HDL and LDL to mirror my excellent triglyceride numbers.

Thanks for your wonderful recommendations.  Keep up the good fight.

Dear Dr Davis,

Re the current questionnaire you have about going wheat free and what amount of weight a person lost, I  think you need another option for people who did not need to lose weight but still went wheat free. The questionnaire implies that people go wheat free to lose weight...not everyone does as not everyone is overweight to begin with.

Anne

Dr. Davis

Would you consider dedicating a post to your weekly diet (or even just a couple days)?  I hear the no grains, more mono fats, veggies and fruits thing but I have no idea how to put them together to make a meal since I'm so used to eating wheat products.  For instance, all I can think of for breakfast is eggs, eggs, and more eggs.  What other options are there?  Is dairy bad too?  Thanks!

Billye--

I ran the wheat-free poll as a reason to talk about why people fail to lose weight with wheat elimination, and a reason to talk about what grains fit well into a healthy diet. Coming soon.

DJ

I had diabetes type 2 for most of my adult life. Because of this, according to my Nephrologist, I became a chronic kidney disease stage 3 patient.  Dr. T.  "www.nephropal.com" also told me that millions of us are walking around with kidney disease and don't even know it.  He also said that if I had this program before I contracted CKD I probably would have avoided it. Ten months ago he put me on a wheat and grain free regimen and completely turned my life around.  I don't think that he would mind if I told you that he reads Dr. Davis religiously and believes they are simpatico. Because of this his practice is now based on nutrition coupled with a reduction or elimination of prescription medications including Staten's.  His plan is to be Wheat and grain free, low carb high saturated fat, supplementing with high dose vitamin D3, high dose fish oil, Super K2 and kelp caps.  These two
brave doctors along with many others who came before, are changing the face of how medicine is practiced today.  Yes, the primary offender is wheat.  Before this plan I could never report to you A1c numbers of 4.7, 4.8 and 5.0 over the last 6 months. I know no one who's life style allows them to lose weight permanently without any hunger what so ever.  The freedom of having complete control is overwhelming.  It took me fifty years to finally get it, I hope you don't waste as much time chasing fruitless diets that make you sicker and sicker. Please take advantage of the advise these great doctors provide and talk to your own physician about this plan.  By the way my kidney disease is not only under control, some of the markers are also reversing, miracle of all miracles. MY wish for you is only Good luck and great health.

I'm a zero carber and it's no big deal. You just eat meat and some eggs, maybe some cheese. Don't have to worry about anything else.

I eat about 1200 cals a day, I'm not hungry and I have no cravings. My lipids when doing low-carb were the envy of people half my age.

And I'm not going to stand around waiting for everyone to reach a consensus on what and how to eat. I've tried them all and this is what works for me. I listen to MY body. It tells me when I'm hungry and when to eat.

Dr. Davis, once again - I love your blog! I am a bit confused about the wheat and grain part. To lower cholesterol are we supposed to eliminate wheat or ALL grains?

I am now on a quest to get my nice belly down to a normal size, and eliminating all grains is on my list, including other actions off course.

Thank you again for a well written blog!

Zing!

Here's yet another take

http://www.paleonu.com/panu-weblog/2009/7/1/where-are-all-the-healthy-whole-grains.html

OK...so I'm new to all of this and have to ask what about those of us who start healthy (all the numbers look good), eat a balanced diet that included a reasonable balance of all sorts of food, and exercise regularly/aren't overweight.  On a very pragmatic level, I agree w/ Anne...suggestions for menus/meals, etc would be helpful...especially for those of us with teenage boys who eat like locusts regardless of what you fill them up with (protein, fat, grains, vegetables, fruit).  My personal opinion is that the #1 reason most folks in the US have a problem is that we simply eat TOO MUCH...there is food all around us.  Just eating less would probably solve a lot of our health problems.

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For better absorption of your body nutrients & better balance of essential nutrients, eat whole plant foods, which will slow digestive processes. This results in better cell growth management, and better maintenance and cell division. In addition, it will cause better regulation of your appetite & of your body's blood sugar levels. Its better to eat regularly scheduled meals instead of infrequent meals.