--- Deborah Harrell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > No mention in the article of the fact that exercise > raises HDL. Or that avoiding a sedentary lifestyle > and a diet high in saturated fats would *prevent* > much > of the plaque build-up in the first place. While > there are inherited forms of hyperlipidemia in which > the carriers get early, massive arterial plaque no > matter how 'good' they are [re: nutrition, exercise, > non-smoking, etc.], the vast majority of Americans > who > have clinically significant atherosclerosis do so > because of poor lifestyle choices.
You know, oddly enough, I'm going to reverse positions with Debbi here. I'm going to be the one rejecting Puritanism, and she can be the one preaching reserve and self-discipline :-) In the old days when people tore their ACL, their doctors told them they should give up tennis. Now we get surgery, rehab, and go out and play again. That drives up medical costs, but, well, so what? It's worth it. Similarly. Even working consulting hours, I lift weights an average of 3 times a week, so I'm not defending a personal unwillingness to work out here. But look, not everyone does enjoy working out. If medical technology can now allow people to eat what they want, participate in the activities they want, not participate in activities they don't want to participate in, and they don't die from heart attacks because of it - that's _great_. That's what medical research is _for_. Finally, the record of behavioral intervention in lowering cholesterol is so poor, and compliance with dietary and lifestyle advice is so low (on the order of 20% in the US - and that's compliance, not success rates, which are so low it's not even worth talking about) that really, saying "if only people would act this way" is wishful thinking. They don't, there are a lot of good reasons (and more not so good reasons) why they don't, and there's exactly no prospect of that changing. So if this discovery pans out, it's going to save a lot of lives and allow a lot of people to enjoy their lives more. If that costs money, well, that's the whole purpose of money, so that's okay. Good for those docs :-) Circling back to a previous discussion, I lay high odds that they work for a pharma company of some sort (probably a small one) and not the government :-) ===== Gautam Mukunda [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Freedom is not free" http://www.mukunda.blogspot.com __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
