Dr. Elie Siag

27/07/2025

23/07/2025

16/07/2025

06/07/2025

Cholesterol is not your enemy unless your ratio of LDL far exceed you HDL and even then it’s not the major culprit.

For decades, we were told to fear cholesterol. Butter, eggs, and full-fat dairy were banished from our plates in the name of heart health. But mounting evidence points to a different enemy lurking in our diets, one far more pervasive and insidious: added sugars.

Modern research is reshaping our understanding of cardiovascular disease, and sugar is emerging as a central driver of the epidemic. Excessive consumption of free sugars, especially fructose, triggers a cascade of harmful effects within the body. In the liver, fructose fuels a process called de novo lipogenesis, leading to the overproduction of very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles. These triglyceride-rich lipoproteins contribute to plaque formation and disrupt the delicate inner lining of our blood vessels, known as the endothelium.

The data is compelling. Large-scale cohort studies have shown that for every 5 percent increase in daily calories from added sugar, the risk of coronary heart disease climbs by roughly 20 percent, even when LDL cholesterol levels remain unchanged. This suggests that focusing solely on cholesterol misses the bigger picture.

The role of sugar doesn’t stop there. Diets high in refined carbohydrates cause repeated spikes in insulin levels, impairing nitric oxide production and narrowing blood vessels. Over time, this accelerates the development of atherosclerosis. Simultaneously, excessive sugar intake fuels inflammation through cytokines like IL-6 and CRP, weakening the structural integrity of plaques and increasing the likelihood of heart attacks.

The good news is that small dietary shifts can make a big difference. Reducing added sugars to under 5 percent of your total daily energy intake, along with adopting a low-glycaemic, nutrient-dense diet, can significantly lower inflammation, improve blood lipid profiles, and protect long-term cardiovascular health.

The truth is clear. Cholesterol was never the sole villain. It is sugar that has silently shaped the modern heart disease crisis.

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04/07/2025

Kate Middleton ha recentemente dichiarato di aver utilizzato l'agopuntura per alleviare alcuni effetti collaterali legati alla chemioterapia. Quanto è importante per il paziente oncologico avere un supportocome l'agopuntura, efficace, sicuro e che non interferisca con la terapia medica? A che punto siamo in Italia? Lo spiega il dott. Carlo Maria Giovanardi, presidente FISA, nell'intervista rilasciata per Il Fatto Quotidiano Salute. Link all'intervista nel primo commento.

04/07/2025

**CHOLESTEROL***
A lot of friends love to question me about this specifically their ratio’s of HDL and why they could be doing all the right things yet it’s still low compared to LDL. I always reply with you have no idea how bad 🚬 smoking can affect your HDL’s ability to be moved from the arteries and into the liver to get washed up!

Our observation that quitting is associated with increased HDL-C, based on within-subject changes, is consistent with considerable evidence of lower HDL-C levels in smokers than quitters

A higher concentration of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in ex-smokers than smokers has consistently been observed. Better evidence of quitting effects comes from within-subject changes. We extend an earlier meta-analysis to quantify ...

22/01/2025