Wall Street Bets the Fed Is Bluffing in High-Stakes Inflation Game

[Triplethought]

Great article in today's WSJ (may be behind a paywall).
The 2 lessons I take from this article is "don't bet against the Fed" and also "don't bet the Fed won't raise interest rates in Sept". Essentially this means SOL's stock downturn could begin to happen on Sept 22nd after the Fed announces a .75 interest increase on Sept 21st.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/in-high-st ... _lead_pos5

Also risk takers check out the article in the same paper. Hate to take tips but I might just buy a little VERV. Ending Bad Cholesterol With a Single Injection—an Opportunity for Brave Investors. My cardiologist once said "If you are over 50 and don't take a Statin you're a moron". https://www.wsj.com/articles/ending-ba ... os1&page=1

[Eric]

My cardiologist once said "If you are over 50 and don't take a Statin you're a moron".

That would be the last time I ever saw that doctor.

I watched a cardiologist give a TED talk about how you have to give statins to 300 people to help 1 person. I also watched a professional YouTuber that isn't a doctor cite more real academic* studies in one video than your doctor has probably read about how consuming dramatically more salt would be far more beneficial to most people than statins are.

*i.e. not designed by and paid for by drug companies for the express purpose of getting their drug approved.

Most western doctors aren't capable of critical thought but are damn good at regurgitating the propaganda of the drug companies.

[SOL]

My cardiologist once said "If you are over 50 and don't take a Statin you're a moron". https://www.wsj.com/articles/ending-ba ... os1&page=1

Sorry to say so, but your cardiologist is a moron; the damage statins produce is unreal. And there is no real correlation between CVD and cholesterol, just much conjecture. If you understand one of the roles of cholesterol, you will see that cholesterol is a healing agent; the real culprit is the hardening of the arteries caused by calcium etc. Cholesterol sticks to this in an attempt to repair the damaged arteries, veins, etc., and the scientific community then uses this to blacklist cholesterol. Dr Uffe Ravskov has done a great job of debunking this myth. Also, almost every person that I know that lived past 90 and the few that made it to 100 all had above-normal cholesterol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwGWIskKG3Y


I go out of my way to make sure my cholesterol is not lower than 180. Higher Cholesterol is also associated with higher IQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ipbkwzyO_8

[SOL]

My cardiologist once said "If you are over 50 and don't take a Statin you're a moron".

That would be the last time I ever saw that doctor.

I watched a cardiologist give a TED talk about how you have to give statins to 300 people to help 1 person. I also watched a professional YouTuber that isn't a doctor cite more real academic* studies in one video than your doctor has probably read about how consuming dramatically more salt would be far more beneficial to most people than statins are.

*i.e. not designed by and paid for by drug companies for the express purpose of getting their drug approved.

Most western doctors aren't capable of critical thought but are damn good at regurgitating the propaganda of the drug companies.

That would be the last time I ever saw that doctor.

Fully agree, anyone making such claims is beyond moron. He needs a brain transplant or he needs to lay off the crack pipe.

Dr Uffe really knows his Stuff. I usually visit doctors that studied overseas as Western Doctors generally are drug dealers with a license to deal

[AstuteShift]

That cardiologist is a book Doctor instead of a real one

No real cardiologist would give statins to a healthy 50 year old

[djanderle]

My Dad has been on statins since he was 55...now 82 and doing ok. Some of my male cousins on my Dad side have signed up to this statin craziness. A few years back (20yrs) one of my cousins ran out of his pills over the Christmas holiday. I saw him at the Christmas party and he was oozing an orange like substance from all over his skin. It was an unbelievable sight. He was wiping the oozing substance off every 10-minutes. His body was trying to make more cholesterol to compensate the pills. I told my wife that day that I would never take a statin drug. I try not to go to doctors for general check-ups anymore unless something is obvious that needs attention.

[SOL]

My Dad has been on statins since he was 55...now 82 and doing ok. Some of my male cousins on my Dad side have signed up to this statin craziness. A few years back (20yrs) one of my cousins ran out of his pills over the Christmas holiday. I saw him at the Christmas party and he was oozing an orange like substance from all over his skin. It was an unbelievable sight. He was wiping the oozing substance off every 10-minutes. His body was trying to make more cholesterol to compensate the pills. I told my wife that day that I would never take a statin drug. I try not to go to doctors for general check-ups anymore unless something is obvious that needs attention.

I am a firm believer if of if it ain't broken; there is no need to fix it. One key takeaway from healthy individuals is that they produce very low inflammation. Their inflammatory response is low because there are few toxins in the body. If you have a lot of endotoxins and consume terrible food (that is lacking in nutrition) and don't do some moderate form of exercise, one is generally asking for trouble. Additionally, many individuals drink like fish and smoke like chimney's which is not a healthy combo when you are eating crap.

I avoid doctors in the West and tend to go to those that received their training in the East or Eastern Europe. However, in general, I simply order a bunch of lab tests which you can now do on your own. If your stressor enzymes are low, general markets for inflammation are low, Liver enzymes are in the normal range, and you have normal kidney function, there is really no need for one to run to a doctor


What are the Two Ways Stockholders Can Make Money from Owning Stocks?
Here is a concise answer with some thoughts from Machiavelli:

The two main ways stockholders can make money from owning stocks are through capital appreciation (the stock price going up) and dividends (a portion of the company's profits paid out to shareholders).

Machiavelli might say that stockholders, like princes, should focus on maintaining and growing their wealth and power. He believed it was better to be feared than loved, and that sometimes ruthless actions are necessary to achieve one's goals. Applying to investing could mean being willing to make bold moves and not being afraid to cut losses on losing positions.

However, Machiavelli also recognized the importance of appearing virtuous and generous, even if one is not. For stockholders, this could translate to investing in socially responsible companies to maintain a positive public image, even if pure profits are the ultimate goal.

For more details on making money from stocks, click on the link below.
https://tacticalinvestor.com/what-are-t ... ng-stocks/

[Budge]

My Dad has been on statins since he was 55...now 82 and doing ok. Some of my male cousins on my Dad side have signed up to this statin craziness. A few years back (20yrs) one of my cousins ran out of his pills over the Christmas holiday. I saw him at the Christmas party and he was oozing an orange like substance from all over his skin. It was an unbelievable sight. He was wiping the oozing substance off every 10-minutes. His body was trying to make more cholesterol to compensate the pills. I told my wife that day that I would never take a statin drug. I try not to go to doctors for general check-ups anymore unless something is obvious that needs attention.

I am a firm believer if of if it ain't broken; there is no need to fix it. One key takeaway from healthy individuals is that they produce very low inflammation. Their inflammatory response is low because there are few toxins in the body. If you have a lot of endotoxins and consume terrible food (that is lacking in nutrition) and don't do some moderate form of exercise, one is generally asking for trouble. Additionally, many individuals drink like fish and smoke like chimney's which is not a healthy combo when you are eating crap.

I avoid doctors in the West and tend to go to those that received their training in the East or Eastern Europe. However, in general, I simply order a bunch of lab tests which you can now do on your own. If your stressor enzymes are low, general markets for inflammation are low, Liver enzymes are in the normal range, and you have normal kidney function, there is really no need for one to run to a doctor

Employees in a company "health" plan may be pressured into the statin route to help reduce their cost of company insurance charges. Company requires annual check-up and, depending on your metrics, you get varying rates of charges/discounts for health insurance. With metrics including total cholesterol, HDH, LDL etc., statins become an option.

[SOL]

Employees in a company "health" plan may be pressured into the statin route to help reduce their cost of company insurance charges. Company requires annual check-up and, depending on your metrics, you get varying rates of charges/discounts for health insurance. With metrics including total cholesterol, HDH, LDL etc., statins become an option.

Nothing stops one from saying okay and throwing the drugs into the bin. Look like a good boy but play like a bad dude lol

[Yodean]

https://youtu.be/Ub8BgowUE2M

*****

Pretty good nine minutes on changes coming to the UK's National Health System. The brown dude interviewed by Russell does a decent job of answering some complex questions with clear, succinct responses.

[Triplethought]

My Dad has been on statins since he was 55...now 82 and doing ok. Some of my male cousins on my Dad side have signed up to this statin craziness. A few years back (20yrs) one of my cousins ran out of his pills over the Christmas holiday. I saw him at the Christmas party and he was oozing an orange like substance from all over his skin. It was an unbelievable sight. He was wiping the oozing substance off every 10-minutes. His body was trying to make more cholesterol to compensate the pills. I told my wife that day that I would never take a statin drug. I try not to go to doctors for general check-ups anymore unless something is obvious that needs attention.

I am a firm believer if of if it ain't broken; there is no need to fix it. One key takeaway from healthy individuals is that they produce very low inflammation. Their inflammatory response is low because there are few toxins in the body. If you have a lot of endotoxins and consume terrible food (that is lacking in nutrition) and don't do some moderate form of exercise, one is generally asking for trouble. Additionally, many individuals drink like fish and smoke like chimney's which is not a healthy combo when you are eating crap.

I avoid doctors in the West and tend to go to those that received their training in the East or Eastern Europe. However, in general, I simply order a bunch of lab tests which you can now do on your own. If your stressor enzymes are low, general markets for inflammation are low, Liver enzymes are in the normal range, and you have normal kidney function, there is really no need for one to run to a doctor

Do you regularly change the oil in your car? Point being some preventative maintenance is desirable. It isn't about if it ain't broke don't fix it. It's about being proactive about your health, which is exactly what you're attempting to do with supplements and exercise. Statins are the same thing. Someday we may find that they don't do what they are purported to do. They definitely have side effects (the skin thing is a rare side effect). Right now, they are still recommended by the majority of science based medical establishment. And yes "they" may be wrong. But this irrational avoidance of western medicine or a belief that all doctors are in bed with the pharmaceutical industry is baffling to me. You'd literally have to have thousands of highly educated doctors in on the profit conspiracy for there to be one. My motto is don't look for zebras if a horse will do.

See #2 on the list https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... kGo6bwfyUV

[SOL]

Do you regularly change the oil in your car? Point being some preventative maintenance is desirable. It isn't about if it ain't broke don't fix it. It's about being proactive about your health, which is exactly what you're attempting to do with supplements and exercise. Statins are the same thing. Someday we may find that they don't do what they are purported to do. They definitely have side effects (the skin thing is a rare side effect). Right now, they are still recommended by the majority of science based medical establishment. And yes "they" may be wrong. But this irrational avoidance of western medicine or a belief that all doctors are in bed with the pharmaceutical industry is baffling to me. You'd literally have to have thousands of highly educated doctors in on the profit conspiracy for there to be one. My motto is don't look for zebras if a horse will do.

See #2 on the list https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q ... kGo6bwfyUV

I can sum it up in one paragraph I have hard data on my side, verified by myself, and I have quite a decent background in science-related topics (biology, Chemistry, etc.). And when I mean hard data, I mean from people I know from various races, backgrounds etc, who all have high cholesterol and lived long lives and many of them are still alive and in their 90's. Theory only goes so far.

Other factors

You only maintain what needs to be maintained. For example, you can run a car on Kerosine, moonshine, or alcohol, but you will destroy the engine. Cholesterol is not an issue unless one is suffering from Hypercholesterolemia

All Western Doctors are not bad, but it is damn hard to find good ones. We have two good US-based Doctors that are subscribers ( I would rate them as very good), and then we have another Canadian one, whose pet name is resident Doc, but such Doctors are hard to find.

As with anything in life, the wrong diagnosis will lead to the wrong outcome no matter how many geniuses you throw at the problem

[Eric]

Do you regularly change the oil in your car? Point being some preventative maintenance is desirable. It isn't about if it ain't broke don't fix it. It's about being proactive about your health, which is exactly what you're attempting to do with supplements and exercise.
Statins are the same thing.

To continue the oil change theme: Sol isn't even advocating, he's merely stating "in my car I run top-shelf full synthetic oil, certified TOP TIER™ gasoline, and I exercise the car regularly so it doesn't start to rust in place."
You're saying everyone should use ZMAX, Slick 50, and Marvel Mystery Oil because someone that knows more about engines than you (could be a Formula 1 engine builder or a lawnmower mechanic, we don't know) recommended the ZMAX-Slick 50-MMO cocktail.

Someday we may find that they don't do what they are purported to do.

That day has already come for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

They definitely have side effects (the skin thing is a rare side effect). Right now, they are still recommended by the majority of the medical branch of SCIENTISM cult members.

Fixed that for you.

You'd literally have to have thousands of highly educated doctors in on the profit conspiracy for there to be one. My motto is don't look for zebras if a horse will do.

Don't look for Zebras; they aren't in on the profit, they're in on the cult of SCIENTISM. It is their religion. For the most part they didn't receive education, they received programming.

https://youtu.be/1RWOpQXTltA

[Eric]

That day has already come for those with eyes to see and ears to hear.

https://youtu.be/RKmxL8VYy0M

https://youtu.be/b7zWNabebxs

[Yodean]

We have two good US-based Doctors that are subscribers ( I would rate them as very good), and then we have another Canadian one, whose pet name is resident Doc, but such Doctors are hard to find.

Hmm, a bit of a misnomer, in a way, lol - finished a very lengthy and mildly tortuous residency program over 15 years ago, and personally don't really like the concept of countries. Have Canadian citizenship, but have never considered myself "Canadian."

Prefer the term "International Health Optimizer," if anything. Take the best parts of Western medicine, as well as Ayurvedic, naturopathic, etc. and combine it in unique ways specific for the individual in question, and hope I have it more or less "right."

As for the International part, lived in Canada x 34 years, Formosa x 7 years, Dominican Republic x 4 years, and USA x 4 years. This of course doesn't include travelling for fun, vacations, etc. to other global destinations.

Although cultures differ, people at their core are more or less the same, beyond the surface differences.

As for the statin question, it's a deep topic, and while I generally don't like answering complex questions with simple answers (I'm not good at this), if I had to give a quick answer:

-statins are way, way overprescribed;

-adverse side effects are way, way understated, and potentially much more severe than what the public believes;

-a lot of the data on which "Clinical Guidelines" were written for statins was based on "composite endpoints" and fairly short f/u periods in terms of outcomes; briefly, composite endpoints are when you combine several outcomes into a single data point; this is a gentle way of "curve fitting," at times; for example, let's say you're Big Pharma and you want to prove that Drug XXX prevents heart attacks; however, your preliminary studies (which you keep to yourself) show that it actually doesn't; so you add in a few other endpoints, such as "angina," "mini-strokes," "hospitalizations for chest pain," etc., and when you mix in all those endpoints into a single endpoint, VOILA!, there is a bit of statistical significance! HAH! You also try mixing in other metrics, but if those metrics don't support Drug XXX, you discard them. Etc.

So now you get funding and run a big trial (double blinded randomized placebo-controlled, etc.), knowing that you will likely get the statistical result that you are looking for. And so forth.

There's a lot of these types of shenaningans out there. And you don't need to trick or bribe every MD practicing - just the "expert" MDs who sit on committees, etc., that determine "Best Practice Guidelines for Clinical Care." Once they write that shi*t, any MD who deviates against those "guidelines" may get easily successfully sued, especially in places like the USA and Canada.

*****

I posted this awhile back, something to consider:

*****

One subgroup of the population that seems disproportionately at risk for early cardiovascular disease is East Indians. A lot of individuals in this group who suffer significant cardiac damage from heart attacks at an early age are not overweight, and from outward appearances, look quite well.

This is likely due to what some endocrinologists call “TOFI” (thin outside, fat inside) – meaning, TOFI individuals tend to store visceral fat (i.e. around their internal organs) and in their coronary vessels (lipid deposits -> atherogenic plaques), and less so on the “outside,” so they don’t look overweight.

The opposite is also true – “TIFO” (thin inside, fat outside) – these are the individuals that look somewhat chubby or fat, yet never seem to develop as much cardiovascular disease as one would guess. These lucky individuals tend not to store fat around their visceral organs or in their coronary vessels (in the form of lipid deposits contributing to early atherosclerosis).

(2)Cholesterol:

Yeh, totally agree with you about mainstream views on cholesterol, especially LDL – most of it is complete chicanery. It is indeed quite a deep topic, so I will out of necessity discuss in broad strokes and avoid nuances (i.e. the following will generally apply only to the average, reasonably healthy person - those without a family history of early cardiac death or rare hereditary hyperlipidemic syndromes, etc.).

But yeh, cholesterol is necessary for many functions, as you mentioned in your post, including the formation of sex hormones like testosterone. So I do consume a lot of eggs, butter, ghee, coconut oil, meat and organs from grassfed sources, etc.

There is a lot of new, interesting research on LDL, way too much to discuss here. Suffice it to say for this particular discussion that LDL looks like it can be further subdivided into many sub-types, and many of these subtypes are actually beneficial.

On a practical level, from my decades of clinical experience with patients and my own research into the studies on this topic, the easiest way to ascertain “cholesterol health” fairly accurately is to look at the HDL (i.e. “the good cholesterol”) and the TG (triglyceride) ratio.

Basically, you want to have as high an HDL level as possible, and as low a TG level as possible. Generally, you want the HDL/TG ratio to be greater than 1. So for example, my most recent HDL was 1.63 mmol/L, TG level was 0.70 mmol/L, so my HDL/TG ratio is 2.33. I am quite happy with this.

Contrary to most mainstream opinions on this, I more or less ignore my total cholesterol and LDL levels – I only focus on the HDL/TG ratio.

I have gone through thousands of my patients’ files in the past and pretty much anyone with good HDL/TG ratios do reasonably well from a cardiovascular perspective, irrespective of her level of LDL or total cholesterol.

This is mildly off topic, but another really important lab value to monitor is the Hemoglobin A1C (HbA1c).

Traditionally, the HbA1c test is a common blood test used to diagnose type 1 and type 2 diabetes. If you're living with diabetes, the test is also used to monitor how well you're managing blood sugar levels. An HbA1c test result reflects your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. Specifically, the HbA1c test measures what percentage of hemoglobin proteins in your blood are coated with sugar (glycated).

However, diabetes aside, in a healthy individual, the HbA1c is a decent, surrogate measure of insulin sensitivity (Stefk mentioned in a previous post the importance of this, a view with which I concur) and general metabolic health, arguably. Some small studies have found an association between low HbA1c and longevity, as well as less incidence of some types of cancer and illnesses, etc.

So in general, you want your HbA1c to be as low as possible, less than 5.2 or thereabouts.

There are many laboratory tests one can undergo to assess overall metabolic function, but if I were restricted to just three, I would choose HDL, TG, and HbA1c.


*****

nfa, nma ...