8 Year Olds on Cholesterol medications, are you kidding me?

I recently read an article on msn.com that was about high cholesterol and medications to control cholesterol levels in children as young as 8 years old, and thought to myself "Is this for real? You have got to be kidding." Nope people, it is true. The drug companies that control nearly all of the allopathic health care avenues in this country (allopathic health care refers to MD's, DO's, "traditional" medicine, all allopathic doctors will almost always write you a prescription every time you visit), are now trying to get the children hooked on their wares as well.
With "statin" and other like classes of drugs designed to control cholesterol levels now being prescribed to a large percentage of adults in this country, to continue expanding and gaining market share over their competitors, they must now branch out their ideal patient and the symptoms to control in that patient, so now they are going for your kids. Quite frankly the percentage of people taking statin drugs has grown exponentially over the last few years and is really frightening.
Frightening because as a society we keep growing more fat and obese everyday even though there is such a movement to eat healthier and make better choices, low fat, low sugar, and so on. What is frightening is that in this country we have become so accustomed to popping a pill for every ailment or perceived ailment that not even a second thought is had before downing the newest latest greatest pharmacological advancement. Does anyone stop and ask what the potential side effects are and the prevalence of each? How about when med A is combined with med B, or C, or even D? What are the risks now? Too many, that is for sure.
Now let me preface this by saying that I am overweight and was formerly considered obese, but I have lost about 60 pounds over the last 3 years by making better choices when I cook, go out, grab snacks, and grocery shop. I know that this sounds like a real pain to make all these "better choices", but it really is easy folks. More on that in another article if there is interest. There are very few people that are truly in "need" of a medication to control their cholesterol levels. These patients are mostly in good shape physically however their body does not control, produce and or metabolize cholesterol as efficiently as needed to maintain a "healthy individual".
A healthy lifestyle and a healthy individual are different, contrary to popular advertising by the drug companies. Many of these commercials now have nearly the same format. First, they pique viewer interest as any good commercial will do, then it comes time for the sell. This magic pill will cure everything that ails you they say in not as many words, and while you are now thinking briefly that "yeah, I probably need to get my cholesterol levels checked again", they throw the slider, now that you are distracted by thought, not the commercial, they very quickly and quietly run through a laundry list of symptoms and side effects related to the drug in particular. Really pay attention next time one of the popular drug commercials is playing and see what side effects it has, you WILL be blown away! I am not sure of the drug's name, but I think it was a once a day asthma medication, but it included the list of symptoms and side effects. Two of these reported side effects were LYMPHOMA and LEUKEMIA!! Are you kidding me? Is this really a better alternative? I don't know for sure and cannot say for anyone other than my family and myself. I sincerely hope that every person on prescription drugs are acutely aware of the known and possible side effects of each prescription they are on and how those side effects can change when paired with other prescription or over the counter drugs and often food. Now as adults, we need to be intelligent enough to ask questions about side effects and alternative treatments available.
Cholesterol drugs are in my opinion over-prescribed 95+% of the time. If your cholesterol is high, your allopathic doctor will right you a prescription and tell you to watch your fat intakes. See me again in 6 months and we will check your levels again and adjust the medication if needed. I would have told the patient that his cholesterol levels were higher that normally considered appropriate for maintaining a healthy individual. My recommended treatment plan would be:
dietary modifications to include fruits, vegetable, lean meats and very low fat content
AND
lifestyle modifications to include more exercise, both cardiovascular and anaerobic workouts
FOLLOWED BY
re-testing cholesterol levels in 12-15 weeks to determine if the changes made were sufficient or if more drastic changes are needed, or to determine if the patient actually does need a prescription medication.

Teaching must be a part of every practitioner's daily goals. If I cannot teach my patients something new, am truly serving that patient to the best of my ability? I don't feel that I am. But it can be hard to break the news to patients that contrary to what they might have believe before coming to me office, the majority of their health problems can be attributed to one of a very short list of suspects.

Themselves - because the only person responsible for your health is you and you alone. Are you overweight like me? Then I guarantee you that unless you are one of the very few people that actually has an endocrine disorder that causes you to be heavy, that you do not eat correctly and you do not get enough physical activity (exercise) each and every day. It really is very simple, to lose weight you must burn more calories than you consume each day to create a negative calorie load for the day. Sounds tough right? Not really, small increases in physical activity levels coupled with better choices including more nutritious foods and smaller portions can make a huge difference. It really easy to learn and once implemented, becomes nearly second nature. How fast depends on you, your goals and how big of dietary and lifestyle changes you make. For me, a complete overhaul of my dietary habits and a very minor increase in exercise resulted in abuot 60 pounds over the last 3 years.

Their spouse/partner - because not only are you making good or poor dietary choices, you are making the same choices for your spouse/partner when you purchase or prepared different items.

Their upbringing and family life - Did your parents eat right and stay healthy? Were your parents obese? If so there is a good chance you will be obese as well, but not because it is genetic, because you were never taught proper nutrition and dining habits. If you had been, your parents wouldn't have been obese either. Are you setting up your kids so that they will be prepared to make good dietary choices in their lives? You should be. If you think you need help with this, let me know, maybe I can help somehow.

Now for the real reason cholesterol drugs for anyone under 25 scares me. For the most part the human body should be finished growing near the 25th birthday right. During this first 25 years, the growing body (either male or female) grow nearly continually with some periods of more rapid growth than others. The problem with this is that for anyone under the age of 25, whether male or female, relies on hormones that are cholesterol based. Ever hear of testosterone or estrogen, of course you have. These sex hormones are cholesterol based and are essential for proper development. The problem with taking a cholesterol drug for these patients is that all cholesterol is targeted for reduction, not just the "bad" cholesterol. With a headache if you take an over the counter pain reliever such as Advil or Tylenol, does the drug know exactly which part of your body is in distress? No, it does not. It simply deadens the entire nervous system by overriding the body's ability to communicate with the brain and relay information, such as pain. So, does this fix anything? No it doesn't. Neither does a drug designed to decrease cholesterol levels, it merely attacks them all, good and bad. The really scary part is that without dietary AND lifestyle modifications, it is impossible to decrease cholesterol levels to make a permanent and lasting change.
If your child is obese and has high cholesterol, please explore other options for your child's health than to put him or her on a prescription medication that may cause permanent and negative, irreversible side effects. Cholesterol drugs have not been tested for long-term permanent side effects on children, so we as a society need to be cautious with the health of our youth. Are we removing cholesterol based hormones that are needed for proper development? And since sex hormones are cholesterol based, are we going to create a generation of sterile individuals who are unable to conceive and procreate?

If you need help getting your cholesterol under control, with lifestyle and dietary modifications or anything else, call 678-455-7646 to schedule an appointment.
Richard C Eckles, DC

Nutrition, healthy eating and the upcoming holidays

Nutrition: Healthy Eating and the Upcoming Holidays
As we approach the holidays, Thanksgiving in particular, I would like to share some reminders and ideas for getting through this holiday season without over-eating, cooking a traditional Thanksgiving meal while keeping it healthy for you and your loved ones. First off, portion control. We all know and have heard about portion control and practice it quite well between New Years and Thanksgiving. However, during the holidays we tend to forget all about portion control, or at least ignore what we practice the rest of the year. Remember, everything in moderation. It is ok to have a little of Aunt Sue's triple chocolate layered dessert that could be called Chocolate Overload, or Death By Chocolate, or a slice of Aunt Marie's simply decadent pumpkin roll, we must simply remember to use our heads and practice moderation.

Portion Control
Take a very small portion, much like you would serve a young child. This will allow you to enjoy the dish without blowing you diet out of the water. Take very small bites, chewing slowly and savoring the flavor. This will allow you the maximum enjoyment of your food while keeping the portion small. I would urge you to use this strategy on the entire meal as well. Ever been to a traditional family dinner over the holidays where you eat way too much and feel awful later? I know I have. Now I try really hard to remember portion control all year long including the holidays. I am not saying that it is easy, far from it. In fact, I am not sure there is a group out there that enjoys eating as much as chiropractors, at least the ones I know. Simply watching portion control is not the only answer to eating healthy during the holidays. Let's examine which foods to choose and how to prepare them in the healthiest way possible for yourself and all of your loved ones, while retaining the most nutritional value and traditional tastes of your dishes.First, lets examine the entrees for the traditional Thanksgiving feast.

Turkey

Turkey is low in fat and high in protein. It is an inexpensive source of iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium and B vitamins. A serving of turkey is a 2 to 3-ounce cooked portion. This portion is roughly the size of an average adult’s palm and near the same thickness. Remember though, not everyone has "average" sized hands, some of us have hands that are much larger than normal. If you have smaller hands, you can gauge a "real good palm full", but alas, I do not fit in this category.The portions below represent 100 grams, approximately 3 1/2 ounces, of sliced meat from a whole roasted turkey. A 3 1/2-ounce portion of turkey is about the size and thickness of a deck of cards. The fat and calorie content varies because white meat has less fat and fewer calories than dark meat and skin. One gram of fat contains 9 calories and one gram of protein contains 4 calories.

Meat Type Calories Total Fat Protein

Breast with skin 194 8 grams 29 grams

Breast w/o skin 161 4 grams 30 grams

Wing w/skin 238 13 grams 27 grams

Leg w/skin 213 11 grams 28 grams

Dark meat w/skin 232 13 grams 27 grams

Dark meat w/o skin 192 8 grams 28 grams

Skin only 482 44 grams 19 grams

So we can easily see that a large portion of the caloric value of turkey is in the skin. While it is pretty simple to avoid the skin, we should also try to choose white or breast meat. If you are dead set on eating dark meat, make sure you skip the skin, keeping your caloric intake roughly the same of having white meat with the skin. BUT, this changes your fat content per portion from 4 grams to 8 grams. Remember that fats are very dense in caloric energy as compared to the proteins, so the body will metabolize the non-fats that you consume to free up space and move food through the digestive tract. The higher caloric density fats will be processed near the end because the amount of energy contained per gram is higher. Therefore the more dense will take longer to process, so the human digestive system puts a low priority on fats. Why is this important?The reasons to keep the fat content down are numerous. Lower fat intake reduces the risk of arterial and heart disease, reduces caloric intake, and last but certainly not least, reduces fat-soluble toxins. Fat soluble toxins can be stored in the body fat, including the skin. When we consume the skin, we are also consuming any toxins and impurities that the turkey had been exposed to and/ or ingested. Ask yourself, "Do I really need any extra toxins in my bloodstream?" I am going to have to assume your answer is "No" or you would not still be reading.So, ideally we would have only skinless turkey breast. My personal view here is to only buy non-processed, whole, organic turkey breasts. This costs slightly more, but is so much healthier for us that I feel the price difference is worth paying for. What happens to all of the dark meat out there that us health conscious people prefer to pass on? Who cares, the industry will use it for something, whether it ends up as processed lunchmeat or pet food. This makes no difference to me, as I will not purchase processed lunch meat for myself anyway.

As far as preparing the remainder of the dishes and desserts in the most healthy way possible, simply use your head when making your menu and shopping list. Avoid using excess butter. Stay away from margarine altogether, this stuff is horrible for you and should be avoided at all costs. Normal household insects will not even consume it or lay their eggs on margarine, showing very simply that there is little to no nutritional value in the product. Chemically, it is compound not far away from a plasticized polymer. Now you are going to ask why use butter instead of margarine? It is simply due to increased fat content in butter compared to margarine, right? It is simply the fact that real butter is much more easily digested by the human body and therefore less likely to become a "free-radical". Loose in the body, free radicals damage our internal organs more than something that can be broken down rapidly and utilized. Use the real butter, just use it in moderation.

Vegetables

Fresh vegetables in the raw state are the most nutritious form. So, ideally we start with fresh, raw vegetables for side dish preparation. Try steaming your vegetables for a short time. Do not overcook them or you will again lose most of the nutrients available. Right before serving, spritz with extra virgin olive oil, and if you like, a dash of salt.In recipes that are to finish with a "sweet" or "slightly sweet" quality, try replacing 1/2 of the butter called for in the recipe with an equal amount of an all-natural applesauce. The results are staggeringly close with a great reduction in fat, and therefore caloric content.

My grandmother used to make the best mashed potatoes ever, but I shudder to think how much butter she used in them. I can get pretty close to duplicating the taste in a low fat version. I start by completely eliminating butter at all. Skim milk and fat free sour cream make a wonderful mashed potato dish. Don't be afraid to add a few peeled cloves of fresh garlic to the pot as the potatoes are boiling, and as you are mashing, add some rosemary, 1 teaspoon, at a time until your taste buds are satisfied.Green bean casserole - pretty simple here, spend the few extra cents for the 98% fat-free version of your cream soups and pick the one with the lowest sodium content.

Cranberry sauce

Some people love the canned, jellied cranberry sauce. Personally, even for taste but definitely for healthy reasons, I would much rather have a cranberry sauce that is homemade from fresh or frozen cranberries. Cranberry sauce is incredibly easy to make. There are some great recipes available at www.allrecipes.com, just remember you can always modify a recipe. Try using only 1/2 the sugar called for or using Splenda instead of sugar. Cut the butter in a recipe by at least half, or, if it is not necessary, leave it out completely. Your guests who are less concerned about their health and food can add it before they eat it if they so choose.

We here at Be Healthy Chiropractic wish you happiness, health and safety for you Thanksgiving celebrations.

Rick Eckles, DC
Be Healthy Chiropractic
www.behealthychiropractic.com

Welcome to Be Healthy Chiropractic's blog

Be Healthy Chiropractic opened in Cumming in August 2007 at 101 Meadow Drive, Suite J, Cumming GA. My office partner, Dr. Annette M. Degliumberto, and myself, Dr. Richard C. Eckles strive to provide our patients with the best possible care available. Each doctor's bio is available at www.behealthychiropractic.com where you can learn more about each of the doctors and is an excellent source of information for people who are new to chiropractic care. Any question that you cannot find the answer to at the website should be e-mailed directly from the website. All inquiries will be personally answered by either Dr. Annette or Dr. Rick. This blog shall serve as a medium to educate our readers about chiropractic care and a healthy lifestyle, including but not limited to nutrition and diet, exercise for strengthening and rehabilitation of new or chronic injuries.
If there are certain topics or subjects you would like to have us address in a blog post, please e-mail them directly to questions@behealthychiropractic.com