Radio Naturopath Episode 392: Overdoing It; Statins, Side Effects, Anti-Inflammatory Alternatives

We talked about how it can be easy to overdo it when the weather gets nice all of a sudden. Make hay while the sun shines, right? We get really industrious and want to take care of our WHOLE yard. Or we go from riding one hour at a time on our indoor bike trainer to riding 62 MILES. And then we wonder why we're sore all over, hurt our back, or are super exhausted! It's OK to take it easy and ease into the outdoor joys of the season. 

We also continued our series on cardiovascular health. Today we focused on statin drugs: how they work, their side effects, and how to reduce inflammation in other ways. Cardiovascular health is a very rich topic so we'll be getting into this for a few more weeks!

Radio Naturopath Episode 391: Back Pain: The Ol' Reach 'n' Seize; ApoB100 and Cardiovascular Health

Last week, I did the ol' Reach 'n' Seize with my low back. You know how you were just fine a minute ago, then you reached for the mayo in the fridge and your back just SEIZED UP and now it hurts to tie your shoes? Well, I did that a week ago, only I was on my bike trainer and reached for the iPad. I was very fortunate to be able to see the chiropractor that day. I talked about what can lead up to that, how to prevent it, and nutrition, exercise, and topicals to use to help it. 

We then finally got started on cardiovascular issues, and focused on Apolipoprotein B100. This is an important measure that most doctors don't do. Specifically, if your doctor is about to order you statins or you've already been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease, it's important to know your ApoB100/ApoAOA1 ratio. The ApoB carries LDL, while A carries HDL, which is cardioprotective. If you have high cholesterol but also a low ApoB/A ratio, you have much lower cardiovascular risk! More on cardiovascular issues next week.