Concensus Science: Cholesterol

Anti-oxidants help control free radicals. Also staying away from the carp diet most Americans eat.

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I think you're watching too much Dr. Oz.

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I agree with you, no really. I do not take any medications, I eat pretty good, lots of fresh veggies and fruit, lean meat.

It is not a "Dr. Oz" diet. It is a fact of life that if you eat a bad diet, you will reap the benefits of it. Even my Granny knew that way back when. She was 80 years old and still tending her gardens, eating fresh produce and meat that was raised on her farm. She didn't bide margarine or "fake" food in her house. She died quite normally with no long term illnesses.

Many of my relatives did eat an awful diet, i.e. if it stands still long enough, fry it and put some bacon grease over it. Make some gravy and drown every vegetable in grease and salt.

4 of my immediate family (aunts and uncles) died of diabetes complications including loss of limbs, stroke, heart attack, and congestive heart failure. Their diets were atrocious, high in every type of fat and carbohydrate.

All died relatively young as well, much younger than their MOTHER and FATHER. That tells me a little something about diet rather that it being a genetic factor. Now my cousins that I have left are also dying of similar diseases and they eat just like their moms/dads who have already passed away.

Diet plays a huge part in how we live. There is a reason for the saying "you are what you eat".

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Interesting

The government is truthful, factual and unbiased, when they tell us something we want to hear.

Power to the sheeple.

Who? Never heard of him/her.

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He has one of the worst shows on TV, always pushing some new miracle supplement...many have been shown to be hogwash. Not sure why Nevada said that to you about watching him, though. Antioxidants are not controversial at all. From the Harvard School of Public Health:

The question is the effect of dietary cholesterol on serum cholesterol. Serum cholesterol is more affected by other factors (dietary and otherwise) than the minimal effect of dietary cholesterol. Your body makes its own cholesterol right in your liver. High serum cholesterol is probably more from an over-production within the body than from an over-consumption of dietary cholesterol.

Most of what Dr. Oz promotes isn't really controversial. What's controversial is the way it's promoted. The Dr. Oz following is much larger than I would have imagined for what they seem to believe. The "Dr. Oz philes" I've talked to have these ideas in common:

1. Medical doctors don't know a lot about health disorders or how the treat them.
2. Prescription medications aren't good for us, and probably do more harm than good.
3. If we eat healthy and take the right supplements we won't need prescription medications or doctors.

This was made obvious when I was at a neighbor's house when Oz was discussing diabetes on TV. He said that if diabetics ate right and took certain supplements, and taking those supplements lowered blood sugar enough, then they wouldn't need to take insulin. Taking into account the qualifiers he included, that statement is true. But after hearing that my neighbor turned to me and said, "You see, all diabetics need to do is to take supplements. Doctors don't know."

I pointed out to her that Dr. Oz didn't really say that, and that not all diabetics can control their problem with lifestyle changes. She corrected me, "You just heard him say that supplements work better than insulin."



I'm not against eating right or taking supplements, but they can only do so much. The Dr. Oz show caters to a demographic that wants to hear that doctors and prescription medications aren't necessary. He's enormously successful in catering to that demographic, and he's built a very loyal viewership.

What amazes me is that there are so many people in that demographic. I'm extremely concerned that so many people distrust the medical profession that way. My concern is that people will turn to supplements when they're in genuine need of medical help.

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I distrust the medical profession on a lot of things, but I distrust Dr. Oz (and Mercola and types like that too) just about the same. Plus, I can't watch his show because it is so low budget I'm embarrassed for him. Doesn't Oprah own that show? She's got some money, yet his highest value production effect seems to be standing people in the "Truth Tube" and telling them they're too fat and need to lose weight...which I actually agree with that part of his advice. Just not all the miracle supplement nonsense. Most supplements probably won't hurt, but they won't help much either. Eating real food, reducing inflammation, that kind of thing is where real health comes from.

The odd thing about it is that Dr. Oz's followers seem to overlook the fact that he's a doctor (a heart surgeon, I think), so he's not looked down upon like the rest of the medical profession.

But he's hugely successful at what he does.

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I don't watch very much TV, had no idea who was being mentioned. If memory serves I was reading the Lancet, very interesting studies.

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FYI: later this week Dr. Mercola will have his first PBS Special...

Not demonizing eggs, butter, and nonprocessed meat - I'm all for it!