Health & Fitness

As a ray of hope in what appears to be an utterly broken medical system, Florida’s new surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, has issued a statewide public service announcement in support of commonsense COVID prevention strategies such as optimizing your vitamin D, staying active, eating nutrient-dense foods and boosting your immune system with supplements.

The HealthierYouFL.org website¹ now urges Floridians to “Talk to your health care provider about how certain supplements or foods containing vitamins and minerals might help boost your immune system, such as zinc, vitamin D, vitamin C and quercetin.” These are all well-known supplements that have been shown to have a positive impact on your COVID-19 risk.

The surgeon general also supports the use of monoclonal antibodies in acute cases, and as prevention in high-risk patients who have been exposed to COVID-19. Available treatment locations can be found on FloridaHealthCOVID19.gov.

‘Physicians Should Use Clinical Judgment’

Florida Health even highlights emerging treatments such as fluvoxamine and inhaled budesonide. Importantly, Florida Health now states that:²

“Physicians should use their clinical judgment when recommending treatment options for patients’ individualized health care needs. This may include emerging treatment options with appropriate patient informed consent, including off-label use or as part of a clinical trial.”

Well, no one could be happier about this than I. I’ve been calling for vitamin D recommendations since the earliest days of the pandemic — ideally nationwide, but statewide is at least a start, especially considering Florida is the sunshine state. Instead, I’ve been vilified and targeted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and mainstream media for reporting its benefits.^3,4

The FDA specifically mentioned Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Quercetin in their warning letter.   Now that the Florida surgeon general agrees, will they also be warned by the federal authorities?

Ladapo was appointed Florida surgeon general and secretary of the Florida Department of Health by Gov. Ron DeSantis September 21, 2021,⁵ and it’s refreshing to finally see COVID guidance that makes sense. In his acceptance speech, Ladapo said:⁶

“I am honored to have been chosen by Governor DeSantis to serve as Florida’s next Surgeon General. We must make health policy decisions rooted in data and not in fear ...

I have observed the different approaches taken by governors across the country and I have been impressed by Governor DeSantis’ leadership and determination to ensure that Floridians are afforded all opportunities to maintain their health and wellness, while preserving their freedoms as Americans.”

Vitamin D Papers Top List of Most Popular Studies of the Year

October 31, 2020, I published a scientific review⁷ in the journal Nutrients, co-written with William Grant, Ph.D., and Dr. Carol Wagner, both of whom are part of the GrassrootsHealth expert vitamin D panel.

As of October 31, 2021, our paper, “Evidence Regarding Vitamin D and Risk of COVID-19 and Its Severity” — which you can download and read for free — was the second most downloaded study from this journal in the past 12 months. It was also No. 2 in citations and No. 4 for views.

The study with the most downloads in the past year and the all-time highest number of views was another vitamin D paper⁸ by Bhattoa et.al., which found vitamin D supplementation reduced the risk of influenza and COVID-19 infections and deaths. The coauthors of my paper, Grant and Baggerly, were coauthors on this paper as well.

A third vitamin D paper, by Annweiler et.al., also nabbed the No. 1 spot for most-cited study in the past 12 months. This study found vitamin D supplementation improved survival in frail elderly hospitalized with COVID-19.

Clearly, vitamin D has been on the forefront of many minds, and I’m glad the Florida surgeon general recognizes its importance as well. While mainstream media and many so-called health authorities still hold on to the ridiculous claim that there’s “no scientific basis” for the recommendation of vitamin D for COVID, that is just false.

As early as the end of September 2020, data from 14 observational studies — summarized in Table 1 of our paper⁹ — showed that vitamin D blood levels are inversely correlated with the incidence and/or severity of COVID-19. Many critics of vitamin D will claim that these associations are not causal. However, there are statistical tools such as Bradford Hill that can actually prove causation through these associations are strong enough.

The Bradford Hill criteria are a group of nine principles (i.e., strength of association, consistency of evidence, temporality, biological gradient, plausibility or mechanism of action, and coherence, although coherence still needs to be verified experimentally) that can be useful in establishing epidemiologic evidence of a causal relationship between a presumed cause and an observed effect.

It has been widely used in public health research and has determined that the vitamin D insufficiency for COVID is indeed causal.¹⁰

How Vitamin D Protects Against COVID

It’s important to realize that your body is well-equipped to handle just about any infection, provided your immune system is working properly, as that is your body’s first line of defense. Vitamin D receptors are found in a large number of different tissues and cells, including your immune cells. This means vitamin D plays an important role in your immune function specifically.

If vitamin D is lacking, your immune system will be impaired, which in turn makes you more susceptible to infections of all kinds, including COVID-19. As explained in our paper, having sufficient vitamin D in your system can reduce your risk of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections through several different mechanisms, including but not limited to the following:¹¹

Reducing the survival of viruses

Inhibiting the replication of viruses12

Reducing inflammatory cytokine production

Maintaining endothelial integrity (endothelial dysfunction contributes to vascular inflammation and impaired blood clotting, two hallmarks of severe COVID-19)

Increasing angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) concentrations — Angiotensin II is a natural peptide hormone that increases blood pressure by stimulating aldosterone. ACE2 normally consumes angiotensin I, thereby lowering the concentration of angiotensin II. However, SARS-CoV-2 infection downregulates ACE2, resulting in excessive accumulation of angiotensin II, which worsens the infection

Boosting your overall immune function by modulating your innate and adaptive immune responses

Reducing respiratory distress13

Improving overall lung function

Helping produce surfactants in your lungs that aid in fluid clearance14

Boosting T cell immunity, which plays an important role in your body’s defense against viral and bacterial infections. When vitamin D signaling is impaired, it significantly impacts the quantity, quality, breadth and location of CD8 T cell immunity, resulting in more severe viral and bacterial infections.15 According to a December 11, 2020, paper,16 high-quality T cell response actually appears to be far more important than antibodies when it comes to providing protective immunity against SARS-CoV-2 specifically

Increasing expression of antimicrobial peptides in your monocytes and neutrophils — both of which play important roles in COVID-19

Enhancing expression of an antimicrobial peptide called human cathelicidin, which helps defend respiratory tract pathogens

From my perspective, vitamin D optimization is one of the easiest, least expensive and most impactful strategies to reduce your risk of serious SARS-CoV-2 infection and other respiratory infections.

Vitamin D optimization is particularly important for dark-skinned individuals (who tend to have lower levels than Caucasians unless they spend extended time in the sun), the elderly, and those with preexisting chronic health conditions. All of these are also risk factors for COVID-19, so population-wide optimization of vitamin D levels could significantly improve COVID outcomes among the most vulnerable.

How Vitamin D Influences Your COVID Risks

At this point, there’s no shortage of studies showing higher vitamin D levels beneficially impact all stages of COVID-19. It:

Lowers your risk of testing positive for COVID — The largest observational study17 to date, which looked at data for 191,779 American patients, found that of those with a vitamin D level below 20 ng/ml (deficiency), 12.5% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, compared to just 5.9% of those who had an optimal vitamin D level of 55 ng/ml or higher. This inverse relationship persisted across latitudes, races/ethnicities, sexes and age ranges.

Reduces your risk of symptomatic illness — SARS-CoV-2-specific investigations have found that COVID-19 is far more common in vitamin D deficient individuals. In one such study,18,19,20 82.2% of COVID-19 patients tested were deficient in vitamin D, compared to 47.2% of population-based controls. (Mean vitamin D levels were 13.8 ± 7.2 ng/ml, compared to 20.9 ± 7.4 ng/ml in controls.) They also found that blood levels of vitamin D were inversely correlated to D-dimer levels (a measure of blood coagulation). Many COVID-19 patients have elevated D-dimer levels, which are associated with blood clots. This was particularly true with the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, but while less common with subsequent variants, some blood clotting, just less intense, can still occur.

Reduces infection severity — Our vitamin D paper21 also lists data from 14 observational studies that show vitamin D blood levels are inversely correlated with the incidence and/or severity of COVID-19. This is quite logical, considering vitamin D regulates inflammatory cytokine production — a lethal hallmark of COVID-19 — and is an important regulator of your immune system.

Reduces your risk of hospitalization — Reduced severity would translate into a lower risk for hospitalization, and that’s precisely what researchers have found. A Spanish study22,23 found baseline vitamin D levels inversely correlated with the risk of ICU admission, and that giving supplemental vitamin D3 (calcifediol at 532 micrograms on the first day of admission followed by 266 mcg on days 3, 7, 15 and 30) to hospitalized patients with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 reduced ICU admissions by 82%.

Reduces your risk of death — COVID-19 patients with a vitamin D level between 21 ng/mL (50 nmol/L) and 29 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) had a 12.55 times higher risk of death than those with a level above 30 ng/mL in one study.24 Having a level below 20 ng/mL was associated with a 19.12 times higher risk of death. Another study25,26 found the risk of severe COVID-19 and related deaths virtually disappeared when vitamin D levels were above 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L). A third paper27 found a marked variation in mortality depending on whether the patients lived above or below 35 degrees North latitude. As noted by the authors, having adequate vitamin D “could be very important in preventing the cytokine storm and subsequent acute respiratory distress syndrome that is commonly the cause of mortality."28

Speeds viral clearance — While having enough vitamin D in your system will reduce your odds of infection and serious illness, taking oral vitamin D once infected can still help you recover faster. Research29 published in November 2020 found oral vitamin D supplementation in SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals with mild symptoms who also had low vitamin D, helped speed up viral clearance. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either 60,000 IUs of oral cholecalciferol (nano-liquid droplets) or a placebo for seven days. The target blood level was 50 ng/mL. Anyone who had not achieved a blood level of 50 ng/mL after the first seven days continued to receive the supplement until they reached the target level. Periodically, all participants were tested for SARS-CoV-2 as well as fibrinogen, D-dimer, procalcitonin and CRP, all of which are inflammatory markers. The primary outcome measure of the study was the proportion of patients testing negative for COVID-19 before Day 21 of the study, as well as changes in inflammatory markers. Of the 16 patients in the intervention group, 10 (62.5%) tested negative by Day 21, compared to just five of the 24 controls (20.8%). Fibrinogen levels were also significantly decreased in the treatment group, indicating lower levels of clotting.

How to Optimize Your Vitamin D Level

For optimal health, immune function and disease prevention, you want a vitamin D blood level between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL year-round. In Europe, the measurements you’re looking for are 150 nmol/L and 200 nmol/L.

If you live in a sunny locale like Florida and practice sensible sun exposure year-round, you might not need any supplements. The DMinder app³⁰ is a helpful tool to see how much vitamin D your body can make depending on your location and other individual factors.

Many, unfortunately, don’t get enough sun exposure for one reason or another, and in these cases, an oral vitamin D supplement may be required. Just remember that the most important factor here is your blood level, not the dose, so before you start, get tested so you know your baseline.

Here’s a summary of how to determine whether you might need an oral supplement, and your ideal dosage:

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Being aware of your vitamin D levels and increasing your levels if you’re deficient are two of the simplest steps you can take to stay well. This includes helping to protect against infectious diseases like COVID-19, as a wealth of data show that vitamin D levels are strongly correlated with the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection.¹

In the video above, John Campbell, a retired nurse and teacher based in England, details the findings of yet another study showing that people with higher levels of vitamin D are less likely to die from COVID-19 — and suggesting that, theoretically, “a mortality rate close to zero” could be achieved if your vitamin D level reaches 50 ng/mL.²

This information has been largely ignored by major media, unfortunately, as it has the potential to save lives. The good news is that even if the press continue to ignore it, you can easily heed the advice given in a Nature study, and raise your vitamin D levels to the most protective range.³ This study advised above 50 ng/mL, while aiming for a level between 60 and 80 ng/mL may help prevent a wide range of diseases, including cancer.

Vitamin D Deficiency a Key Factor Behind Severe COVID-19

The study authors believe that low vitamin D levels are not a “side effect” of COVID-19 but rather are a predictor of infection. As vitamin D plays a role in immune function, the epidemic of vitamin D deficiency is increasing the spread of many “diseases of civilization,” such as heart disease,⁴ along with reducing protection against infections:⁵

“One strong pillar in the protection against any type of virus infection is the strength of our immune system. Unfortunately, thus far, this unquestioned basic principle of nature has been more or less neglected by the responsible authorities.

It is well known that our modern lifestyle is far from optimal with respect to nutrition, physical fitness, and recreation. In particular, many people are not spending enough time outside in the sun, even in summer.

The consequence is widespread vitamin D deficiency, which limits the performance of their immune systems, resulting in the increased spread of some preventable diseases of civilization, reduced protection against infections, and reduced effectiveness of vaccination.”

Deficiency of vitamin D3 is also “one of the main reasons for severe courses of SARS-CoV-2 infections,” they explained, pointing out that fatality rates tend to be elevated in populations with very low vitamin D3 levels, including elderly people, black people and people with comorbidities.⁶

In the early 20th century, it was discovered that a vitamin D level of 20 ng/mL was enough to stop osteomalacia, or rickets, and this level is still used today as a marker of “sufficient” vitamin D levels. However, it’s far too low for optimal health and disease prevention beyond rickets.

It’s now known that vitamin D is necessary not only for healthy bones but for health throughout the body. As a powerful epigenetic regulator, vitamin D influences that activity of more than 2,500 genes, and vitamin D receptors are present all over the body, including in the intestine, pancreas, prostate and immune system cells.⁷ Vitamin D plays a role in numerous diseases, including:⁸

• Cancer
• Diabetes
• Acute respiratory tract infections
• Chronic inflammatory diseases
• Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis

Vitamin D Regulates Your Immune Response

Vitamin D receptors are present in nearly all cells of the human immune system, including monocytes/macrophages, T cells, B cells, natural killer cells and dendritic cells. Vitamin D has multiple actions on the immune system, including enhancing the production of antimicrobial peptides by immune cells, reducing damaging pro-inflammatory cytokines and promoting the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines.⁹

Cytokines are a group of proteins that your body uses to control inflammation. If you have an infection, your body will release cytokines to help combat inflammation, but sometimes it releases more than it should. If the cytokine release spirals out of control, the resulting “cytokine storm” becomes dangerous and is closely tied to sepsis, which may be an important contributor to the death of COVID-19 patients.¹⁰

Many COVID-19 therapeutics are focused on viral elimination instead of modulating the hyper-inflammation often seen in the disease. In fact, uncontrolled immune response has been suggested as a factor in disease severity, making immunomodulation “an attractive potential treatment strategy.”¹¹

Vitamin D is highly relevant here, as it helps to regulate both your innate and adaptive immune systems. However, in order to gain this invaluable benefit, your levels need to be higher than what is officially recommended:¹²

“Receptor binding engages the formation of the ‘vitamin D3 response element’ (VDRE), regulating a large number of target genes involved in the immune response. As a consequence of this knowledge, the scientific community now agrees that calcitriol is much more than a vitamin but rather a highly effective hormone with the same level of importance to human metabolism as other steroid hormones.

The blood level ensuring the reliable effectiveness of vitamin D3 with respect to all its important functions came under discussion again, and it turned out that 40–60 ng/mL is preferable, which is considerably above the level required to prevent rickets.”

Vitamin D Is Protective Against ARDS

Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a lung condition that’s common in severe COVID-19 cases, which causes low blood oxygen and fluid buildup in the lungs. Along with cytokine release syndrome, ARDS is one of the deadliest complications of COVID-19, and vitamin D inhibits the metabolic pathways that may cause ARDS. According to the Nutrients study:¹³

“Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a part of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), serves as the major entry point for SARS-CoV-2 into cells. When SARS-CoV-2 is attached to ACE2 its expression is reduced, thus causing lung injury and pneumonia.

Vitamin D3 is a negative RAS modulator by inhibition of renin expression and stimulation of ACE2 expression. It therefore has a protective role against ARDS caused by SARS-CoV-2. Sufficient vitamin D3 levels prevent the development of ARDS by reducing the levels of angiotensin II and increasing the level of angiotensin-(1,7).”

In a previous review,¹⁴ researchers also explained that vitamin D has favorable effects during both the early viraemic phase of COVID-19 as well as the later hyperinflammatory phase,¹⁵ including ARDS. “Based on many preclinical studies and observational data in humans, ARDS may be aggravated by vitamin D deficiency and tapered down by activation of the vitamin D receptor,”¹⁶ they said. “Based on a pilot study, oral calcifediol may be the most promising approach.”

Even regular “booster” doses of vitamin D, regardless of baseline vitamin D levels, appear to be effective in reducing the risk of mortality in people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, particularly for the elderly.^17,18 Further, vitamin D influences several additional functions that also support a robust immune response:¹⁹

• Decreases the production of Th1 cells, suppressing the progression of inflammation by reducing inflammatory cytokines produced
• Reduces the severity of the cytokine storm by promoting the differentiation of regulatory T cells
• Induces the production of antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin (LL-37), which fights respiratory viruses by disrupting viral envelopes and altering viability of host target cells
• Reduces abnormal coagulation that often occurs in critically ill COVID-19 patients

COVID-19 Mortality Drops With Higher Vitamin D Levels

The featured study involved a meta-analysis of two data sets. One used long-term average vitamin D3 levels for 19 countries, while the other used data from 1,601 hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The hospital data included 784 patients who had their vitamin D levels measured within 24 hours of admission and 817 patients with previously known vitamin D levels.

A strong correlation was found between SARS-CoV-2 death rate and vitamin D level, such that mortality decreased significantly once vitamin D levels reached 30 ng/mL.²⁰ Further, they noted, “our analysis shows that the correlation for the combined datasets intersects the axis at approximately 50 ng/mL, which suggests that this vitamin D3 blood level may prevent any excess mortality.”²¹

Given their findings, the authors recommend “routine strengthening of the immune system of the whole population by vitamin D3 supplementation to consistently guarantee blood levels above 50 ng/mL (125 nmol/L).”²² Researchers in Indonesia, who looked at data from 780 COVID-19 patients, also found those with a vitamin D level between 21 ng/mL (52.5 nmol/L) and 29 ng/mL (72.5 nmol/L) had a 12.55 times higher risk of death than those with a level above 30 ng/mL.²³

Having a level below 20 ng/mL was associated with a 19.12 times higher risk of death. A “majority of the COVID-19 cases with insufficient and deficient Vitamin D status died,” they added.²⁴

How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

The best way to know how much vitamin D you need is to have your levels tested. It’s possible to optimize your vitamin D levels via sensible sun exposure, but if this isn’t an option for you then daily vitamin D3 supplementation of up to 10,000 units may be needed to reach a vitamin D level of 40 to 60 ng/mL.

However, if you have COVID, and you haven't been tested, it is best to take the prescription form of vitamin D called calcitriol, which is the activated form of vitamin D, as it works immediately.  The dose is 0.5 mcg the first day and then 0.25 mcg for one week. This is a prescription drug. You should also take 10,000 units of regular vitamin D which will start to kick in once you are off the calcitriol.

It’s also important to note that vitamin D supplementation must be balanced with other nutrients, namely vitamin K2 (to avoid complications associated with excessive calcification in your arteries), calcium and magnesium. For another perspective, data from GrassrootsHealth's D*Action studies suggest the optimal level for health and disease prevention is between 60 ng/mL and 80 ng/mL, while the cutoff for sufficiency appears to be around 40 ng/mL. In Europe, the measurements you're looking for are 150 to 200 nmol/L and 100 nmol/L respectively.

Given the impressive findings from the featured study and others, it’s mind-boggling why large-scale studies aren’t being immediately implemented to determine best dosages of vitamin D to protect against COVID-19. As Campbell said, “The fact that medical authorities are not doing this, because it’s such a simple observational study, really is getting into the bounds of negligence.”²⁵

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This article was previously published August 26, 2020, and has been updated with new information.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), or heart disease, is a term that refers to several types of heart conditions. Many of the problems associated with heart disease are related to atherosclerosis. This term refers to a condition in which there's a buildup of plaque along the walls of the artery, making it more difficult for blood to flow and for oxygen to reach the muscles, including the heart.

This can be the underlying problem in cases of heart attack, stroke and heart failure. Other types of CVD happen when the valves in the heart are affected or there's an abnormal heart rhythm.¹

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and it contributes to other leading causes including stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.² It also ranks as the No. 1 cause of death around the world: Four out of five deaths are from heart attack or stroke.³

Heart disease accounts for 25% of deaths in the U.S. with a $219 billion price tag, based on data from 2014 to 2015.⁴ Scientists believe some of the key contributing factors are high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol use.

Cholesterol Levels in People Who Had Heart Attacks

There is ongoing disagreement over the levels at which cholesterol presents a risk for heart disease and stroke. Added to this, many doctors and scientists continue to recommend lowering fat consumption and using medications to lower cholesterol levels.

A national study from the University of California Los Angeles showed that 72.1% of the people who had a heart attack did not have low-density (LDL) cholesterol levels, which would have indicated they were at risk for CVD. Their LDL cholesterol was within national guidelines and nearly half were within optimal levels.⁵

In fact, half the patients admitted with a heart attack who had CVD had LDL levels lower than 100 milligrams (mg), which is considered optimal; 17.6% had levels below 70 mg, which is the level recommended for people with moderate risk for heart disease.⁶

However, more than half the patients who were hospitalized with a heart attack had high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in the poor range, based on a comparison to national guidelines.

The team used a national database with information on 136,905 people who received services from 541 hospitals across the U.S. They were admitted between 2000 and 2006 and, while they had their blood drawn upon arrival, only 59% had their lipid levels checked at that time.

Of those who were checked, out of everyone who was admitted with a heart attack but didn't have CVD or Type 2 diabetes, 72.1% had LDL levels less than 130 mg/dL, which was the recommended level at the time of the study (2009).

In addition to this, researchers found the levels of HDL cholesterol (the "good" kind) had dropped compared to statistics from earlier years, with 54.6% having levels below 40 mg/dL.⁷ The desirable level for HDL is 60 mg/dL or higher.⁸

The findings led researchers to suggest that the guidelines for prescribing cholesterol medication should be adjusted — to lower the number at which drugs should be administered. In other words, they are suggesting that more people be put on cholesterol drugs. As explained by Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, lead investigator:⁹

"Almost 75 percent of heart attack patients fell within recommended targets for LDL cholesterol, demonstrating that the current guidelines may not be low enough to cut heart attack risk in most who could benefit."

The study was sponsored by the Get with the Guidelines program that's supported by the American Heart Association, which promotes the use of statins for lowering LDL cholesterol.¹⁰ Fonarow has done research for GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, and has consulted for, and received honoraria from Merck, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline and Abbott — all of which manufacture cholesterol drugs, including statins.

Cholesterol Myth May Be Kept Alive by Big Pharma

While scientists and physicians continue to investigate the level of cholesterol that may affect heart attack risk, the theory that dietary cholesterol is a contributor has long been proven false. In the 1960s it may have been a conclusion that researchers made based on the available science, but decades later the evidence does not support the hypothesis.¹¹

Yet, as some researchers have pointed out, the move toward removing dietary cholesterol limits has been slow. In the past 10 years, some have modified recommendations to address certain negative consequences of limiting dietary cholesterol, such as the risk of having inadequate levels of choline. Unfortunately, others have continued to promote low-fat diets and that could have hazardous results.

Whether discussing cholesterol intake or serum cholesterol levels, the data do not support the hypothesis that it relates to heart disease. I believe it appears that the evidence supporting the use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs is likely little more than the manufactured work of pharmaceutical companies.

This also appears to be the conclusion of the authors of a scientific review published in the Expert Review of Clinical Pharmacology.¹² The team identified significant flaws in three recent studies: "… large reviews recently published by statin advocates have attempted to validate the current dogma. This article delineates the serious errors in these three reviews as well as other obvious falsifications of the cholesterol hypothesis."

The authors present substantial evidence that total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol are not indicators of heart disease risk. In addition, statin treatment is doubtful as a form of primary prevention. In their analysis, they point out that if high cholesterol levels were a major cause of atherosclerosis, patients with high total cholesterol whose levels were lowered the most by statin drugs should see the greatest benefit. However, evidence does not show that to be the case.

In another review of statin trials and other studies in which cholesterol was linked to heart disease, researchers could not find a correlation between cholesterol and the degree of coronary atherosclerosis, coronary calcification or peripheral atherosclerosis. They found no exposure response in which those with the highest level of cholesterol enjoyed the greatest benefit from reduction.¹³

These researchers propose the link between high LDL or total cholesterol and heart disease may be secondary to other factors that promote CVD, such as:¹⁴

"… lack of physical activity, mental stress, smoking, and obesity. It is generally assumed that their effect on cardiovascular disease is mediated through the high cholesterol, but this may be a secondary phenomenon.

Physical activity may benefit the cardiovascular system by improving endothelial function, or by stimulating the formation of collateral vessels; mental stress may have a harmful influence on adrenal hormone secretion, smoking increases the oxidant burden; in these all situations the high cholesterol may be an epiphenomenal indicator that something is wrong."

Saturated Fat Is Crucial but Vegetable Oil Is Deadly

One of the reasons so many people are sick is that we're constantly told that animal fats are unhealthy and industrial vegetable oils are not, and people believe it. The authors of a recent paper in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology admits the long-standing nutritional guideline to limit saturated fat is incorrect.

This is a tremendous step forward in righting a dietary wrong that started with Ancel Keys' flawed hypothesis¹⁵ and has since had a significant impact on health and wellness. As the researchers note in the abstract:¹⁶

"The recommendation to limit dietary saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake has persisted despite mounting evidence to the contrary. Most recent meta-analyses of randomized trials and observational studies found no beneficial effects of reducing SFA intake on cardiovascular disease (CVD) and total mortality, and instead found protective effects against stroke.

Although SFAs increase low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, in most individuals, this is not due to increasing levels of small, dense LDL particles, but rather larger LDL particles, which are much less strongly related to CVD risk. It is also apparent that the health effects of foods cannot be predicted by their content in any nutrient group without considering the overall macronutrient distribution.

Whole-fat dairy, unprocessed meat, and dark chocolate are SFA-rich foods with a complex matrix that are not associated with increased risk of CVD. The totality of available evidence does not support further limiting the intake of such foods."

In a recent speech at the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, titled "Diseases of Civilization: Are Seed Oil Excesses the Unifying Mechanism?" Dr. Chris Knobbe revealed evidence that seed oils, so prevalent in modern diets, are the reason for most of today's chronic diseases.¹⁷

His research charges the high consumption of omega-6 seed oil in everyday diets as the major unifying driver of the chronic degenerative diseases so prevalent in modern civilization.

He calls the inundation of Western diets with harmful seeds oils "a global human experiment … without informed consent." You'll find more, including a video of his presentation in "Are Seed Oils Behind the Majority of Diseases This Century?"

Your Omega-3 Index Is More Predictive Than Cholesterol

The combination of a diet high in omega-6 fats commonly found in vegetable oils and low in omega-3 fats, commonly found in fatty fish, is yet another risk factor for coronary heart disease. As the National Institutes of Health describes:¹⁸

"The three main omega-3 fatty acids are alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). ALA is found mainly in plant oils such as flaxseed, soybean and canola oils. DHA and EPA are found in fish and other seafood."

Each of the three fats plays a unique role in cellular health. The authors of one study analyzed the risk of a cardiovascular event while taking icosapent ethyl.¹⁹ The medication is a "highly purified omega-3 fatty acid" that is "a synthetic derivative of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)."²⁰

Those who took the medication had a significantly lower number of ischemic events than those taking the placebo. An omega-3 deficiency leaves you vulnerable to chronic disease and lifelong challenges. The best way to determine if you're getting enough is to be tested, as it's a good predictor of all-cause mortality.²¹

The omega-3 index is a measure of the amount of EPA and DHA in red blood cell membranes. This has been validated as a stable and long-term marker because it reflects your tissue levels. An index greater than 8% is associated with the lowest risk of death, while an index lower than 4% places you at the highest risk of heart disease-related mortality.²²

Your best sources of fatty fish are wild-caught Alaskan salmon, herring, mackerel and anchovies. The larger predatory fish, such as tuna, have much higher amounts of mercury and other toxins. It's important to realize your body can't convert enough plant-based omega-3 to meet your needs. That means that if you're a vegan, you must figure out a way to compensate for the lack of marine or grass fed animal products in your diet.

If your test results are low, and you are considering a supplement, compare the advantages and disadvantages of fish oil and krill oil. Krill are wild-caught and sustainable, more potent than fish oil and less prone to oxidation. You'll find more about the benefits of maintaining adequate levels of omega-3 fats in "Omega-3 Index More Predictive Than Cholesterol Levels."

Know Your Cholesterol Ratios

The cholesterol myth has been a boon to the pharmaceutical industry since cholesterol-lowering statins have become some of the more frequently prescribed and used drugs. In a report by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force published in JAMA, evidence showed that 250 people need to take a statin drug for one to six years to prevent one death from any cause.²³

When measuring cardiovascular death specifically, 500 would have to take a statin drug for two to six years to prevent even one death. As the evidence mounts that statin drugs are not the answer and simple cholesterol levels may not help you understand your risk of heart disease, it's time to use other risk assessments.

In addition to an omega-3 index, you can get a more accurate idea of your risk of heart disease using an HDL/total cholesterol ratio, triglyceride/HDL ratio, fasting insulin level, fasting blood sugar level and iron level. You'll find a discussion of the tests and measurements in "Cholesterol Does Not Cause Heart Disease."

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The cult status bike company has gone into damage control after a huge plunge in stock value, following a rather unfavourable plot twist in Sex and the City's much anticipated reboot series, And Just Like That.

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Asthma sufferers generally find their condition gets worse at night. Now researchers may understand why. Melatonin, a sleep hormone that is sometimes prescribed to treat insomnia, exasperates the constriction of the bronchus -- the pathway that moves air to and from your lungs, according to a new study.

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Immunologists have found that the infant immune system is stronger than most people think and beats the adult immune system at fighting off new pathogens.

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Researchers have identified rare, naturally occurring T cells that are capable of targeting a protein found in SARS-CoV-2 and a range of other coronaviruses. The findings suggest that a component of this protein, called viral polymerase, could potentially be added to COVID-19 vaccines to create a longer-lasting immune response and increase protection against new variants of the virus.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3dIbF2K

One of the earliest, peer-reviewed studies looking into the Omicron variant of COVID-19 suggests that people previously infected with COVID, and those vaccinated, will have some, 'stronger than basic' defence against this new strain of concern.

from Top Health News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/3dMAjiE