It’s funny to realize that I now fit into this category, but I recently appeared on Denise Vivaldo’s “Women Beyond a Certain Age” podcast and I have to admit that it was great fun! We had a lively conversation about taking charge of our health as we age and steps that each of us can take to feel as good as we can for as long as we can. Listen in here!
P.S. I just celebrated my 52nd birthday this month!
Luckily, I designed the “Holiday in One Pot” Glorious One-Pot Meal recipe just for times like these! This is the solution for when you’re not hosting a multitude for Thanksgiving but still want to enjoy the traditional meal.
Let me know in the comments if Holiday in One Pot saves your Thanksgiving table this year!
P.S. Don’t miss these other yummy fall recipes for Thanksgiving or any day!
Setting targets for ‘bad’ (LDL) cholesterol levels to ward off heart disease and death in those at risk might seem intuitive, but decades of research have failed to show any consistent benefit for this approach, reveals an analysis of the available data, published online in BMJ Evidence Based Medicine.
Cholesterol-lowering drugs are now prescribed to millions of people around the world in line with clinical guidelines. I have never been a fan of these drugs and have been talking about my disapproval of statins since at least 2008.
In this study, researchers looked at the data to see if cholesterol-lowering drugs do what they claim to do and reduce the risk of heart disease and death. Their conclusion:
“Considering that dozens of [randomized controlled trials] of LDL-cholesterol reduction have failed to demonstrate a consistent benefit, we should question the validity of this theory.”
While I’m not surprised, I’ll be some of you are experiencing some cognitive dissonance because for decades we have been trained to believe that we need cholesterol-lowering drugs in order to live longer. As it turns out, when it comes to statins and other cholesterol-lowering drugs helping us live longer, it’s more a myth than a reality.
So, will this information change prescribing patterns of cholesterol-lowering drugs by mainstream doctors?
Probably not. As the researchers noted: “In most fields of science the existence of contradictory evidence usually leads to a paradigm shift or modification of the theory in question, but in this case the contradictory evidence has been largely ignored, simply because it doesn’t fit the prevailing paradigm.”
Your doctor may not acknowledge that the only one benefitting from your statin prescription is the drug company, but now you know and can make this decision for yourself.
If you’re nervous to stop taking one of these drugs, check out these other articles I’ve written about cholesterol and health, and please feel free to contact me to discuss natural ways to lower cholesterol without drugs.
One of the bummers about having to avoid eating wheat due to what it does to my body is giving up bread. Fortunately, my friend Katinka has come up with a delicious solution for the rest of us!
Whoever said that bread is the staff of life certainly understood how biting off a hunk of bread from a baguette –or even a run-of-the-mill sandwich on sliced bread– can delivery a satisfying eating experience.
Since bread has historically been made from wheat, that has left those of us who are Celiac, gluten-intolerant, or even simply gluten-sensitive like myself, left without an easy solution for a tasty bread or bread-like substitute for a sandwich. Or toast. Or just eating.
Enter Katinka, a mom and culinary nutrition expert. In 2012 she began searching for baked goods that are clean, organic, and free of all the major allergens, while also providing essential nutrition. When she couldn’t find any that met all of her criteria, she went into the kitchen herself and came out with the awesome flour mixes that we all can now enjoy at Katinka’s Nourishing Kitchen.
Last night I baked up her classic Chickpea Bread (chickpea flour, tapioca flour, chia seeds, ground flax seeds, baking powder, Himalayan salt) and not only was it super easy and fast (just add eggs and oil), but it was so yummy that I have to confess that I ate almost half the loaf for dinner with tuna and tomatoes and kale pulled fresh from my garden.
Then this morning I toasted up a slice and devoured it slathered with Miyoko’s Vegan Butter (made from cashews, like their vegan cream cheese).
What a treat to look forward to more bread in my future! Thank you, Katinka!
I don’t know about you, but I have been craving eggs during this quarantine! I put the craving to good use with this fun take on brunch that is awesome for dinner, too, or really any time of the day!
