Time makes us fat. It’s not a myth, it’s a biologic fact. When we get old we get fat. In December 1863, William Banting, an English undertaker who went to great lengths to treat his own obesity, wrote in his now famous Letter on Corpulence: … For I have been generally informed that corpulence is one of the natural results of … Read more
For years, measurements of blood cholesterol have been used to assess the risk of heart disease. We have been intensively educated about the role of LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C), commonly nicknamed the bad cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C), often called the good cholesterol. For many different reasons, lowering LDL-C has become a primary goal in cardiovascular prevention. There is substantial … Read more
Although the death rate from coronary heart disease (CHD) has declined rapidly during the last few decades, CHD remains the most common cause of death in most countries around the world. The reduction in death rate is partly due to fewer people being diagnosed with CHD and partly due to a better prognosis of those … Read more
My dream is to write a book on health that will sell millions of copies. I’ll introduce a great new dietary solution. I already have a strategic plan. Firstly, I am going to select a target group. Obviously, it has to be a large group of people. I’m going to write exactly what my target audience … Read more
During the last couple of decades Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia have become increasingly common. Today it is estimated that about 34 million people suffer from Alzheimer’s disease worldwide and the number is increasing rapidly. It is expected that the number of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease will triple over the next forty years. Therefore, preventing or reducing … Read more
Six months ago I wrote a blog post named “Low Carb Diets and Heart Disease. What Are We Afraid of?“ One of the concluding remarks of my article was: “I look forward to the day when low-carb, high-fat diets are accepted by public health representatives and medical associations for the treatment of obesity, metabolic syndrome and type … Read more
New Nordic/Scandinavian public recommendations on diet and nutrition will be published this autumn. According to an article (English version-Google translation) published in a Swedish newspaper last week the new guidelines will underscore the risks of animal-derived saturated fats. The article is written by three Swedes, two of whom are experts in the field of health and nutrition. … Read more
There are many examples of people accused of a crime they didn’t commit. If we look at the movies, who doesn’t remember Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) sentenced to two life terms in the memorable movie Shawshank Redemption. Of course we knew that Andy was innocent, but there was a crime committed, although by another person. What may … Read more
Three months ago I had a visit from a 53 year old gentleman who was worried about his health. His name is Peter. He had been gaining weight for some time, his knees were aching and he was having trouble playing his weekly tennis with his old classmates. He told me he had probably put on approximately … Read more
Recent studies have shown that the symptoms of heart disease may differ between men and women. For example, women are less likely than men to have chest pain while suffering an acute heart attack (acute myocardial infarction). This may delay diagnosis and may partly explain why women seem to fare worse than men under these … Read more