Stop the Cholesterol Madness

After repeated conversations with me, a close relative in his late 50s decided to try the carnivore diet. He immediately began to feel better than he had ever felt. The carnivore diet is ultra-low-carb, similar to the ketogenic diet, which often raises LDL and total cholesterol. He has lost 22 pounds, lowered his BMI from 25.8 (overweight) to 22.8 (normal), lowered his blood pressure from 110/70 to 100/66, has more energy, lowered his triglycerides from 106 to 71 (lower is better), raised his HDL from 47 to 79 (higher is better), lowered his VLDL by 1/3, rid himself of chronic foot and hip pain, and he has no more leg cramping. As we will see later in this post, these changes indicate inflammatory, metabolic, and cardiovascular health improvements.

At the same time, he raised his LDL from 69 to 192 and his total cholesterol from 137 to 285, which made his doctors panic. Later in this post, we will see that LDL levels below 105 cause twice the amount of death. Despite this, his doctors have ignored nine positive changes and stressed two that, as we will see in this post, have little relevance in their ability to predict cardiovascular disease. What kind of a world do we live in when doctors fret when their patients become healthier? Read on if you are curious.

Earthing: The Simplest Health Booster Available

All animals, including humans, evolved to contact the Earth. We mostly walked barefoot or with footwear made of animal skins and slept on the ground or skins. Humans routinely do not touch the Earth anymore due to shoes with synthetic soles, modern homes, and beds. Insulating ourselves from contact with the Earth has had negative health consequences that few are aware of, including health care providers. Have you ever noticed that you feel better after a barefoot day at the pool or beach? It isn't just the sun and fresh air that is responsible. The contact with the Earth is too. This post will cover the numerous health benefits of routinely contacting the Earth's surface, a practice called Earthing or grounding.

The Vitamin D, Statin, and Cholesterol Paradox

The major precursor of vitamin D is cholesterol. Without cholesterol, we cannot make it. Some people may find this shocking because vitamin D is highly praised, while cholesterol is demonized. Since vitamin D and cholesterol are so closely related, they have an interesting interplay. Statin drugs, which lower cholesterol, also take part in the interplay. The enzyme statins block is active at step two, so we would expect less production of all molecules in the cholesterol pathway, like CoQ10. Statins should block vitamin D production, but they don’t. Statins are supposed to lower your risk of heart disease. But by how much? You may be surprised by the answer. This post will cover the synthesis of cholesterol, vitamin D, and Co Q10 and discuss how statins alter the pathways.

Coronaphobia, Herd Mentality, Opportunists, And The Dunning Kruger Effect

In December of 2020, Alisha Arora and some of her colleagues defined Coronaphobia as an excessive triggered response of fear of contracting the virus causing COVID-19, leading to accompanied extreme concern over physiological symptoms, significant stress about personal and occupational loss, increased reassurance, and safety-seeking behaviors, and avoidance of public places and situations, causing marked impairment in daily life functioning. In the paper, the author urges politicians and media personalities to refrain from scare tactics to minimize the condition. Additionally, recent events have resulted in a bombardment of virology, epidemiology, death statistics, immunology, PCR technology, public health policies, and more. Each subject is complex by itself; together these subjects intertwine in an endlessly confusing way. Our tendency to believe we have mastered a subject long before we have is called the Dunning Kruger effect. The combination of fear, the Dunning Kruger effect, and opportunists have created a dangerous situation that could lead to serious societal disunity and upheaval if we are not careful. This post will shed light on our current situation and offer some strategies to unite in a spirit of cooperation to fight the coronavirus madness.

A New Warning For Cigarette Smokers

I spend so much time talking about the dangers of processed carbohydrate consumption, I have neglected to talk much about the elephant in the room, cigarette smoking. I think I just assumed that people understand the perils of smoking. Perhaps I was mistaken. Keep in mind that cigarette smoking is different from vaping. But if you are a smoker, are you aware of how bad it is for your body? Your Mouth? Read on if you are curious.

What Are Processed Carbohydrates and Why We Should Avoid Them

One of my central warnings on this site is we must avoid eating processed carbohydrates to stave off disease and optimize our health. I have written about it so much that I believed everyone who reads my posts understands what they are. Recently, I have spoken to people who think processed carbs are donuts and cake, not bagels and sandwiches. This post is dedicated to them and all who need a reminder about what processed carbohydrates are, and why they should be avoided. If you don't want to read the whole thing, skip to the end, where I tell you how to identify them and list the most common sources of processed carbs.

Obesity Leads to More Covid-19 Deaths, But That’s Not the Whole Story

The combination of obesity, specific heart-health markers, and some metabolic measurements are collectively known as metabolic syndrome. Essentially our metabolism has a direct impact on our overall health and heart health specifically. The health implications are dire, not just for our cardiovascular systems. With Covid-19, obesity is strongly associated with increased severity of COVID-19 infections, even in the absence of other underlying health issues. In this post, I have included an interactive guide to all of the steps you need to include to improve your looks, mood, and energy level. Your "body composition" will take care of itself as you focus on the things listed in the guide. Best of all, your chances of dying from disease and infection will diminish.

Gum Disease: An Overlooked Risk Factor For Death From Covid-19

The list of comorbidities on the CDC's Coronavirus pages is extensive. Still, distressingly, it does not include any references to oral infections. Adding periodontal disease would significantly increase the average number of comorbidities to 2.75. The reason for my distress is that their public health efforts will fall short. Here’s what you can do about it today.

A NEAT Way to Achieve Better Health and Live Longer

Because we don't move very much anymore, the concept of exercise seems much more plausible today. The idea of sitting at a computer desk all day and then spending an hour on a treadmill to make up for all that lack of activity makes total sense. Only, science says it doesn't really. Exercise, in fact, does not counteract the adverse effects of prolonged sitting. In other words, sitting too much is really bad for you. Today I talk about what you can do to avoid the pitfalls of being too sedentary.

GGT: The Most Important Predictor of Disease and Mortality

am sure most of you have never heard of GGT. It is not your fault; it is not considered to be as important as a marker for disease as others, such as cholesterol by most medical practitioners. As you will find out today, it may be the single most important predictor of disease and mortality medicine has today.

Covid-19: Survival Odds Decrease Drastically If You Have One Or More Chronic Diseases

On March 18th, I discussed how Coronavirus is more likely to kill the elderly. In that post, I highlighted the fact that many older individuals have more underlying diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, pulmonary disease, obesity, etc. We now have statistics regarding deaths from Coronavirus that demonstrate that trend. I would like to share them with you today.

Dentistry and Longevity: Having fewer Teeth Is Linked To Shorter Lives

After 31 years of practice, I have seen a correlation between my patients with higher numbers of missing teeth and their failing health. Research largely bears my observations out. Today I am going to discuss five papers that give a little more clarity to the subject of dental health as it relates to overall health and mortality.

Scott Solomons, DDSMarch 9, 2020Longevity, Occlusion, Missing Teeth, cardiovascular disease, Stroke, Plaque, Calculus, Flossing, Brushing, Dental CheckupComment

Visceral Fat and Why We Should Be Concerned With It

When just looking at BMI, some very obese patients show no clinically measurable markers of disease, whereas patients with healthy BMI demonstrate illnesses associated with obesity, leading many clinicians to shun using only BMI as a reliable predictor of disease. It turns out that it matters where the fat is, especially if it is around your organs. Fat around the organs is called visceral fat and it is associated with increased risk of disease. Today, I will cover what those risks are and what to do about it.

Scott Solomons, DDSFebruary 17, 2020Obesity, Fat, Visceral Fat, DEXA Scan, Waist, cardiovascular diseaseComment

Magnesium: General Health Benefits and Use in Treating TMJ

Low magnesium status is known as hypomagnesemia. Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), insulin resistance, type-2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cardiovascular disease (e.g., stroke), migraine headaches, and osteoporosis are all associated with low magnesium status. Over half of Americans are deficient in it. Today I am going to talk about all things magnesium, including its use in dentistry.

CRP, Cardiovascular Disease and Periodontal Disease: A Triad Of Trouble

There is a well known association between cardiovasular disease and gum disease. A simple test for CRP can help to diagnose both of them. Today, I will discuss the connection between the two diseases, and how a CRP test may be a useful tool in treating and diagnosing them.