STATINS AND THEIR NASTY LITTLE SECRET

I was particularly irked the other day to discover that my mother was taking statin drugs to reduce her cholesterol.

It wasn't so much that she was taking them, that annoyed me, but the fact that her doctor had not told her that taking statins could reduce her Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) uptake by as much as 40%

In 1994 drug companies introduced a new class of cholesterol lowering drugs known as statins.  To date statins are the most profitable drugs in history! and studies have found that these drugs not only lowered blood cholesterol levels but also produced a slightly lowered risk of heart attack.

So why all the fuss about CoQ10 - well it is an essential co factor your body uses to derive energy, without it you simply could not exist and it is a powerful anti-oxidant present in every cell of your body.  Because of its ubiquitous presence (it's everywhere) you may see it referred to as ubiquinone.

CoQ10 is especially important to your energy hungry organs such as your heart, liver, brain and kidneys.

Consider this:

• CoQ10 deficiencies are more common in people in their forties and beyond
• Long duration endurance exercisers tend to have lower levels of CoQ10
• Deficiencies in CoQ10 are very common in patients with heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and low HDL levels of cholesterol
• CoQ10 levels are often low in those people who avoid eating meat and extremely low in vegans

If you fit into any of the above categories then you may want to consider supplementing your diet with CoQ10 as it may have a dramatic effect on your energy levels and cardiovascular health.

If you exercise moderately and eat a well balanced diet yet feel you need some additional help in maintaining healthy blood pressure then you'll be interested to know that supplementing with CoQ10 has been demonstrated to lower blood pressure in several human clinical trials. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, was conducted in 2001 by researchers at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Boise, Idaho, who succinctly concluded that ". . . CoQ10 may be safely offered to hypertensive patients as an alternative treatment option."

CoQ10 can either be made in the body or obtained from food.  The best sources of CoQ10 are animal foods which contain fat! and as heart patients are often advised to reduce their fat intake in an effort to reduce cholesterol levels; no CoQ10 being made in the body and a reduced CoQ10 intake from food equals a recipe for disaster!

As studies have found (of which there are many) CoQ10 actually protects and strengthens the heart, I therefore find it ironic that the world's most profitable drug should actively suppress it.

It's a mad world!

To your health

Margaret x

P.S. if you suffer with joint problems and arthritic complaints read this article:  The Hidden (and painful) Cost of Statins

HOW TO ELIMINATE HEAVY TOXIC METALS FROM YOUR BODY

I recently stopped eating tuna and swordfish (which I love!) due to the high toxic heavy metal mercury content contained within these species.

As long ago as 2006 the Food Standards Agency FSA advised pregnant women, or women who intended to become pregnant, infants and children under 16 years of age to avoid eating shark, swordfish and marlin and to limit the amount of tuna they ate to no more than two fresh tuna steaks or four medium-size cans per week.

Consumption of one portion per week of shark, swordfish or marlin by other adults, by which they meant men and non pregnant women, was unlikely to result in harmful effects.

Sadly in 2011 the contamination of fish has not improved and one can only summise that it has only gotten worse.

This got me thinking.... how could I safely and naturally remove toxic metal build up from my body?

A little trawling of the internet soon revealed a very interesting natural answer... malic acid.

Ever wondered why or how the old saying came about ‘eat an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ well it might be due in part to its high content of malic acid.

Supplementing your diet with malic acid has been shown to greatly increase the fecal and urinary excretion of aluminum and reduce the concentration of aluminum found in various organs and tissues.

This sour acid has the benefit of being an efficient metal chelator, which means it is able to securely bond with toxic metals, such as aluminum or lead, that are present in the body, limiting their abundance. Also malic acid aids in dental hygiene, by acting as an antiseptic and encouraging saliva production. For this reason, it is found in many varieties of mouthwash.

It has been found that patients with Alzheimer's or Parkinson's diseases often demonstrate a higher concentration of aluminium in the brain. Malic acid is a powerful detoxifier of aluminium. However it was once assumed that these people had ingested large amounts of aluminum during their lifetimes. While that may be true, it is now thought that how much aluminum is consumed is not nearly as important as how well our bodies can detoxify and eliminate the substance.

Although malic acid acts as an acid in the stomach, it actually has an alkaline effect in the bloodstream. As the typical British/American diet, rich in meat, wheat and dairy tends to be acid-forming, the addition of malic acid can improve the blood pH balance thus limiting the negative effect of certain acids i.e. lactic acid and uric acid. The alkaline/acid balance is important in many aspects of health. Acidity in the bloodstream is implicated in many inflammatory conditions in the body, including arthritis.

To your health

Margaret x

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT FAST!

How to lose weight fast? build muscle mass! Anaerobic exercise or strength training only increases our muscular strength and adds much lean shapely muscles to our bodies and the only thing this type of muscular gain will cause is a much more attractive body and increased confidence levels!

Don’t worry you wont end up looking like Arnie Swhatshisname as the only way to achieve this ‘look’ is to take anabolic steroids and growth hormones! Yuk!

If you aim to exercise/work your most powerful muscles, namely your shoulders, thighs, calves, buttocks at a max ouput for a short space of time you will increase the density of mitochondrial power plants within your muscle cells. These plants are like mini furnaces that help the body to burn fat for energy.

Did you know that for every pound or approx 2kg of muscle we lose we are burning 40 less calories a day or better still for every pound of muscle we gain we need to expend 40-50 calories a day just to keep that muscle alive!

When I was in my teens and early twenties I had good muscle mass, I was fit active and strong yet very lean (muscle takes up less space than fat!) and whatever I ate had no effect on my weight. It was only until my thirties that I started to lose muscle mass that I started to gain weight!

If you want to follow a simple strength training program, which I do twice a week, without the use of expensive gym equipment or membership which can be carried out in the comfort of your own home then download the following *free* High Intensity Strength Training’ guide.

Either click on the download button bellow or scroll up to the Free Guide menu at the top of the page and have a browse through some of the other free guides on offer.

To your health

Margaret x

EXCERCISE LESS... REALLY IS MORE!

Calling all gym junkies! read and weep!

If you lead a busy life, finding the time to exercise can be difficult or if you’re like me and you simply don’t like exercising then you’ll love this recent research into fitness that suggests that exercising just a few minutes each week can be just as beneficial as jogging round the park for an hour or so.

More gain for less pain! Sounds too good to be true? ....read on!

Professor Julian Baker from the University of the West of Scotland is at the forefront of this startling new research into fitness. His fitness regime involves short bursts with high intensity activity. For example you can run or step (anything that involves high intensity exercise) flat out for 30 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds. You then repeat this cycle 4 times over. Professor Baker’s research has found that pushing muscles to their absolute limit can improve your fitness. But what’s incredible about this fitness regime is that it lasts for only 4 minutes with 2 of them spent resting! Or put another way with only 2 minutes spent exercising!

Professor Baker recommends that you would need to do the exercises about 3 times a week and your initial fitness level will depend on how quickly you improve your overall fitness.

Current UK government guidelines recommend that we exercise 30 minutes to an hour a day of moderate exercise 5 times a week!

The data compiled by the University of the West of Scotland suggests that this type of training improves above and beyond the benefits gained from exercising for 30 – 60 minutes.

So how can a man or woman who is effectively only exercising for 2 minutes get the same or better fitness benefits as someone who exercises for longer.

One line of reasoning is that if you do short burst exercising you’re working 250% harder in terms of the intensity of the exercise than say a jogger. The exercise for the jogger is much more gentles on the muscles where as the short burst exercises is pushing your muscles to the max, which has the maximum benefit on your fitness.

Scientists are still trying to find out why this type of exercise should work but they do know that exercising to the absolute limit is more effective in reducing blood pressure and widening blood vessels and strengthening muscles.

Depending on your initial level of fitness over a 5 week fitness period of exercising in short burst high intensity could result in a significant loss of body fat and loss of weight but could up your overall level of fitness by as much as 50%.

If you haven’t exercised in a while don’t start running, stepping or any high intensity exercising straight off. You will need to build up from a gentle pace and see your doctor before you start any exercise regime if you have any concerns.

I think everyone no matter how busy and hectic a life they lead can find 12 minutes a week to exercise!

To your health

Margaret x

IS BREAD BAD FOR YOU?

During world war II white bread was banned in the UK. As a result the nation was said to be healthier in 1947. Bread was made legal again after the end of the war and in 1961 the Chorleywood baking process was introduced.

By juggling chemicals, flour types and adding three times as much yeast as had previously been used and then mixing at high speed the scientists at Chorleywood Food Research Institute had developed a bread that was 40% softer than other breads and lasted twice as long! My mum always refers to white supermarket bread as ‘plastic bread’.

A staggering 80% of all bread made in the UK today is still made the Chorleywood way.

Today despite the modern trend for healthier eating, nutrient empty white bread accounts for more than 50% of all bread sales.

The increase in yeast content to our bread may have given rise to modern bread related digestive illnesses but more worryingly are the enzymes that are used in the bread making process and further more they don’t have to be declared on the ingredients list because they are only ‘processing aids’.

One of the most common enzymes is amylase which is known to cause asthma.  Did you know that asthma is a common disease among bakers! Other enzymes used have been linked to illnesses of the gut such as coeliac disease.

Take a look at these typical bread ingredients used to make our modern day loaf!

• White wheat flour, 80-90% of useful vitamins removed
• Excessive salt
• Sugar
• Hydrogenated and fractionated fats
• Soya flour ‘improver’ increasing volume and softness
• Flour treatment agents (oxidant chemicals make bread fluffier)
• Reducing agent (makes stretchier doughs for burger buns and baguettes)
• Emulsifiers (chemicals increase softness of bread, giving the illusion of freshness)
• Preservatives such as the mould killer calcium propionate, which may cause eczema and behavioural problems in Children
• Enzymes, usually from fungus or bacteria. Do not have to be declared on labels. Widely suspected to be linked to the allergies such as asthma and to the gut diseases

Oh and if you replace the white flour with brown you have brown bread! So don’t think some brown loaves are any healthier!

I’ve long given up on supermarket breads preferring to make my own. ‘But I don’t have time to make bread’ I hear you cry! but wait! I can now make a healthier loaf of bread that is quicker to make than it would take you to walk to your local shop and buy a one… further more it only has 4 natural ingredients!

Download my bread recipe today by clicking on the download button or scroll up to the free guides menu at the top of the page.

To your health!

Margaret x