Fish Oil and Stroke Part 2

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Fish Oil and Stroke Part 2

Dear Friend,

Dear Dr. Dave, as a fellow physician I find your writing style very amusing. I like the references but I have to say I am bit skeptical about all the things you say fish oil can do. As a Cardiologist I found your comments about us just a little bit offensive. I was waiting to hear the typical Internists lament, "We do all the work and you guys get all the money. Without us you wouldn't have any patients!"

I was glad you stopped short of that and at least you appreciate the "live by the sword nature of invasive Cardiology". I am not worried that your Fish Oil will put me out of business but I would like to try it so here is my order. Do you have any REAL data on Fish Oil and Stroke? As an invasive Cardiologist I find the transluminal diameter as measure by ultrasound to be most helpful at evaluating medical interventions, To me that's REAL data! Got Any?! V.J. Vickers, Cardiologist Baton Rouge, La

Before I answer Dr Vickers Email issues, let me explain a little bit about some of the terms he uses.

There is a very useful tool we use to measure blockages in arteries that are close enough to the surface of the skin to be imaged by sound waves. It is called ultrasound.

Ironically this very useful medical tool had its origins in war much like so much of our current technology. It was originally used to find and attack submarines in WW2.

Now we use it to check for blockages in arteries, veins (blood cots) and many other medical uses.

The carotid arteries are the major arteries that feed the brain. You have one on each side of your neck (at least most people do!)

If these arteries get blocked as they often do as we age, a stroke can often follow. So preventing and detecting blockages here is very important as a means to prevent stroke.

Remember brain cells do not live long without blood flow. They are the least resistant to oxygen starvation of any cells and proportionately for its weight, the brain uses more oxygen than any other organ system!

The word "Transluminal" means "across the opening", in this case the opening in the carotid artery which is essentially a pipe.

The ultrasound device can localize blockages and measure their "transluminal diameter", and thickness thus telling you how much blockage there is in this pipe.

In terms of the carotid arteries, we talk about something called "Intima-media thickness". This is just a fancy medical way of saying how thick or how much blockage there is.

It's useful to be able to follow this along because its an easy way of watching whether what you are doing with pills or supplements is actually working.

Ideally you'd like to see a reduction in the amount of blockage to prove that your pill works to REVERSE a blockage.

Recall within the past 2 weeks I mentioned the study where the Statin drugs which are being pushed harder and harder b the drug companies FAILED to show any meaningful reduction in blockages of heart arteries.

Dr Vickers neglected to mention this but nonetheless it is true. However in order to prove that Fish Oil does actually REVERSE blockages in this case in the carotid arteries here is the Study proof using the "transluminal intima-media thickness" the good doctor requested.

1: Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Apr;77(4):819-25.

Dietary linolenic acid/fish oil and carotid atherosclerosis: the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study.

Djousse L, Folsom AR, Province MA, Hunt SC, Ellison RC; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study.

Section of Preventive Medicine & Epidemiology, Evans Department of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA. ldjousse@bu.edu

BACKGROUND: Dietary intake of linolenic acid/fish oil is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality. However, it is unknown whether linolenic acid/fish oil is associated with a lower risk of carotid atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVE: The objective was to examine the association between dietary linolenic acid and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques and the intima-media thickness of the carotid arteries. DESIGN: In a cross-sectional design, we studied 1575 white participants of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Family Heart Study who were free of coronary artery disease, stroke, hypertension, and diabetes mellitus. High-resolution ultrasound was used to assess intima-media thickness and the presence of carotid plaques beginning 1 cm below to 1 cm above the carotid bulb. We used logistic regression and a generalized linear model for the analyses. RESULTS: From the lowest to the highest quartile of linolenic acid intake, the prevalence odds ratio (95% CI) of a carotid plaque was 1.0 (reference), 0.47 (0.30, 0.73), 0.38 (0.22, 0.66), and 0.49 (0.26, 0.94), respectively, in a model that adjusted for age, sex, energy intake, waist-to-hip ratio, education, field center, smoking, and the consumption of linoleic acid, saturated fat, fish, and vegetables. Linoleic acid, fish long-chain fatty acids, and fish consumption were not significantly related to carotid artery disease. Linolenic acid was inversely related to thickness of the internal and bifurcation segments of the carotid arteries but not to the common carotid artery. CONCLUSION: Higher consumption of total linolenic acid or fish oil is associated with a lower prevalence odds of carotid plaques and with lesser thickness of segment-specific carotid intima-media thickness.

Now let me translate that for you. First Linolenic acid is a precursor to EPA and DHA.. A few of you have noticed that my fish Oil capsules contain 500mg of DHA/ EPA but 1000 mg total of fish oil. The other 500mg is primarily Linolenic acid.

Please do not confuse this with the Omega 6 fatty acid Lin o le ic acid as I suspect some of the Conjugated Linoleic Acid fans have done. Linoleic acid is a "bad Omega 6 fatty acid and there is none in my Fish Oil.

Next the study "adjusted for" or took into account a whole bunch of other variables such as diet including fruit and vegetables, age, sex, smoking education level and more to MAKE SURE THESE FACTORS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE RESULTS, In other words they were sure that it was the Fish Oil that was causing the blockages to reverse.

Finally the talk about the "carotid bulb" is because this is the most likely area where blockages occur.

So the BOTTOM Line is that Fish Oil caused these blockages to decrease in size in an area of the most important artery that feeds the brain is most likely to block.

And it did so independent of whether the person ate well or poorly, smoked or didn't, man or woman etc.

In other words EVERYONE did better on Fish Oil!

With 25 million people in the US alone taking a statin drug that has Not been shown to reverse the blockages in heart arteries, I can only hope and pray someone will do the same type of study on fish Oil and Heart arteries as they did here.

How embarrassing would it be for drug Giants Pfizer and Merck to find undisputable proof that Mother Nature did a better job than they ever could!

I am not naive enough to think they would not launch a massive counter assault and propaganda campaign.

As a matter of fact look for the "Everyone needs to be on a Statin" statement coming soon to a media outlet near you.

From previous emails you know that Fish Oil protects against Heart Disease in a way that is totally independent of lowering cholesterol. You also know that when a drug company sponsors a study it has , magically, a 90% chance of a favorable outcome for their drug. When they don't, the outcome drops to below 50%!

As for me I'll stick with Mother Nature and this irrefutable proof!

I invite all of you including Dr Vickers to join me.

Best,

Dave Woynarowski, M.D., CPT
The Nation's #1 Anti-Aging Physician

P.S. For the worlds best anti-aging supplements including Dr Dave's Best Pharmaceutical Grade Fish Oil go here and order now. Don't delay; you are not getting any younger, YET!