There was a lot of interest last time this was aired but I was left with a few unanswered questions...
How significant is the fat in processed Pork slices as I find it a very convenient source of sandwich filling?
How linear is the response to dose levels? A recent test found 4.2 total (2.4 LDL) for a dose of 20mg. Pre-statins, I had levels of 6.8 and 7.2 total. I would like to drop the dose to 10mg.
I asked how long it takes for the body to return to normal after stopping medication and was told 2 weeks. I was also told to resume treatment to double check any noted changes.
Surely this is something only your doctor or specialist nurse is qualified to answer. Seeking advice on an Internet NG about this seems very unwise to say the least.
No idea, but I expect about as bad as any other animal fat.
You could always do a series of experiments on yourself to find out your personal response to it if your doctor is prepared to cooperate - about a month should be enough to reach equilibrium.
That data should be in the clinical trials or MSDS for the specific drug but the dose response behaviour varies wildly with individuals depending on how good their enzyme metabolism for destroying it is and the amount of bergommotin they consume from other sources.
You must not consume grapefruit when on statins. see
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You might be better off asking sci.chem or med.something or other.
Remember that advice on the Internet is worth at most only what you paid for it and in some cases considerably less.
I am not a medical expert, but I've read that only about 10% of the cholesterol in your blood is directly due to your diet, the rest is internally generated. I could be wrong, of course.
Yes. However, they may already have asked more pertinent questions than I did in the allotted 10mins. Some of them may have a better scientific understanding of the answers:-)
Apparently cholesterol is largely created by the liver. Some people are genetically disposed to create more than is necessary. My liver function is suspect but an ultrasound check failed to find anything suspicious. Very hard to convince the medical profession that you don't drink so cirrhosis is unlikely:-)
High cholesterol is often related to inadequate thyroid hormone. To the extent that high cholesterol was used as an indicator of hypothyroidism in the days before suitable blood tests were available.
Have no idea whatsoever about the pork slices you eat. At least read the packet and tell us what they contain!
Almost nothing in medicine is strictly linear - so I would tend to assume the response is not linear.
You could do worse than go off and look at some papers:
J Pharm Sci. 2011 Sep;100(9):3843-53. doi: 10.1002/jps.22586. Epub 2011 Apr 24. Differential effect of grapefruit juice on intestinal absorption of statins due to inhibition of organic anion transporting polypeptide and/or P-glycoprotein. Shirasaka Y, Suzuki K, Nakanishi T, Tamai I. Source
Faculty of Pharmacy, Institute of Medical, Pharmaceutical and Health Sciences, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, Japan. Abstract
The purpose of this study is to examine the contributions of organic anion transporting polypeptide (Oatp) and/or P-glycoprotein (P-gp) to grapefruit juice (GFJ) interaction with two statins, pravastatin and pitavastatin, which undergo negligible metabolism in rats. The two statins were found to be substrates of both Oatp1a5 and Oatp2b1, whereas pitavastatin, but not pravastatin, was a substrate of P-gp. The plasma concentration of pravastatin after oral administration was significantly decreased by GFJ and naringin, whereas that of pitavastatin was significantly increased. Naringin inhibited Oatp1a5- and Oatp2b1-mediated uptake of pravastatin and Oatp1a5-mediated, but not Oatp2b1-mediated, uptake of pitavastatin. Naringin also inhibited P-gp-mediated transport of pitavastatin. These results suggested that the decrease of pravastatin absorption in the presence of GFJ is due to the inhibitory effect of naringin on Oatp, whereas the increase of pitavastatin is due to the inhibition of P-gp. These observations are consistent with the results of in situ absorption studies. In conclusion, Oatp and/or P-gp contribute to the intestinal absorption of statins, and the differential effect of GFJ on pravastatin and pitavastatin absorption is at least partly accounted for by the different inhibitory effects of naringin on these transporters.
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There are another 55 papers indexed on PubMed for grapefruit and statin. I believe there may be other issues as well. I rather liked that this one varied by statin.
The short version is "Beware of Nerve Gas". PPE is essential.
They are targeted specifically at insect nervous systems but would do you no good at all if you got contaminated with them. Pinpoint pupils is the first symptom of poisoning and requires urgent treatment.
Insecticide researchers stumbled across a new class of them. ICI's Amiton aka VG was one of the first but was too toxic for safe use.
The very nasty area denial agent VX was a military research derivative and the Germans in WWII were convinced that the allies had similar nerve agents to Tabun and Sarin by the secrecy surrounding DDT.
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Ones used as insecticides tended to be rapidly degraded in the environment. Malathion and dimethoate among the more common ones. Malathion has relatively low human toxicity for a nerve agent.
Too many insects are immune to them now so neonicotinoids are the new flavour of the day. they are getting a bad rap for harming bees although it is unclear to me if this is fair since many of the crops they are used on are wind pollenated and do not attract bees!
Not really. Apart from a fully closed cab with active air filtering and remote sprayer controls, PPE is difficult to achieve.
Direct contact with actives is simple but diluted volatiles find their way into tractor cabs of my vintage. I'm still here so it can't have been that bad although I still wonder about long term health effects.
I think Dimethoate was withdrawn years ago which was a pity as it was about the only useful chemical for Crane Fly larvae. (Dursban).
I am out of touch now as I have stopped arable cropping. I have an idea that the insecticide is applied to Rape seed so may still be slightly active at flowering.
Not answering your question, but pork fat is mostly a hard (saturated) fat like beef or lamb, so is as bad for you that they are. Bird fats (goose, duck, chicken) contain a much higher percentage of unsaturated fat, so would supposedly be less harmful. Chicken sandwiches? If you're interested in the particular composition of pork and its fat content, the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) database is pretty comprehensive and searchable:
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But there is a minority medical opinion that questions the whole relationship between fats, cholesterol and heart disease, and the need for statins. See
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. These are well-qualified medical people, and it's almost impossible for the layman to decide who is right, the conventional wisdom as promulgated by the NHS or these others. But I don't think any harm will come to anyone keeping their cholesterol at a moderate level (whatever that might be), whereas if the minority opinion is wrong, then allowing ones cholesterol to rise uncontrollably might just be fatal.
If you feel the basic ten minute appointment is too short you can ask for a longer one. Any GP practice thas does not do that is not doing their job adeqautely. Without a full medical history no doctor, let alone amateur "experts" on a NG are in a position to give valid advice. To emphasise the point it really is extremly foolish to rely on unqualified advice in the way you are trying to do.
Anyone taking statins should read "The Great Cholesterol Con" by GP Dr Malcolm Kendrick. I did - and promptly stopped taking them - some weeks ago. Since then I have not felt better for a very long time (since before I was advised to take them in fact).
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