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Links to Organizations |
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Lipid
abnormalities |
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NOTE: we are
reviewing our link policy. If you are the webmaster and would like us to link
to your web site, please e-mail us your site and why we should link |
The following links are listed for
your convenience only. The statements or opinions listed on these sites do not
necessarily reflect our position. We cannot take responsibility for any content
listed on these sites. Visit the sites at your own risk.
Please submit information about your organization/company if you want to
be listed. Each category includes subcategories. Example: under physicians, you
find physician's groups, professional associations that target physicians. Each
group is listed in its most appropriate category. Search for a particular group
using "search" function or looking at relevant categories.
Finding information about your health condition
Search the web using key words. Use descriptive words or you may find thousands of sites. But beware that many sites are written by people with good intentions but gaps in their education that make them misinterpret information. Use sites written by non-experts only as guidance. We list below some of the best sites. Some sites are far too complex and suitable only for doctors in a specific specialty. Practically all good information can be found for free: hesitate before you pay!
Remember, if you do not take charge of your health, nobody else will. Knowledge is your best defense. If you do not care or do not understand what you must do, your health provider is unlikely to fill the gap.
What to do, sites to search
Government files, like NIH, for well
written articles on most health conditions.
Professional scientific societies,
such as the American Heart Association and others dealing with specific
diseases. Excellent sources of background material, current reviews, etc.
Medline for thousands of specific
studies. Free search of articles and links to other articles. Free abstracts.
Do your own search or hire a student to help. (It is rarely worth it to pay
$300+ for a search by others because you can do the same in a few hours by
using appropriate key words.)
Medical centers for articles on most
health conditions. Some articles are excellent, particularly those on
well-established conditions and treatments. However, there is very little
discussion on new diagnostic and treatment conditions. Blood tests are
rarely discussed. Nutritional therapies are often far too simple or outdated.
Look for web sites that evaluate other
medical sites and provide links.
If you have a complex condition, hire a
professional to be your guide. Be prepared to pay > $400/hr of consultation
+ the cost of diagnosis and treatment. You decide how much your life is worth.
Some of the best experts may charge > $1,000/hr. These fees cover hundreds
of hours of research and studying for which the expert is not compensated
(compare this to a lawyer who may charge you $200/hr, but charges you for the
time involved in research, learning about the relevant law, etc.). Some people
are willing to pay $50,000 for a lawsuit but refuse to pay $1,000 for their
life. Remember, without your good health, your money is worthless.
Investigate individuals upon whose judgement
you plan to rely. You will often come across "experts" or writers or
makers of foods/supplements, or sellers of foods/supplements. These individuals
use their name to promote a product, service, etc. Search the Internet for the
person's name. Also search Medline (the national library of medicine data base
of articles). See what this person wrote in scientific journals. Did he/she
write many articles? Are the articles cited by other authors? Are his/her
credentials genuine? (check licensing boards for medical licenses, membership
in professional organizations that verify degrees, etc.). Whenever possible,
choose a person who graduated from well-known schools, and verify that the
degrees are real. See if the person has published scientific articles. Verify
that the author is the person you are dealing with (and not an impersonator).
Avoid people who speak very well and pretend to be experts but have less than
10 scientific articles published in peer-reviewed scientific journals listed by
NIH. Exception: most practicing doctors (one can be an excellent surgeon,
OB/GYN, family physician, etc. and have few published articles). However, a
specialist which is used by other specialists or one that claims expertise in a
new or unusual area should have published papers. Beware of publications in
obscure foreign journals, or lay publications that have standards different
from those of medically peer-reviewed.
Issues to consider; warnings
For a fee, several companies will prepare a
summary of a few studies dealing with a specific health problem. Unfortunately,
it requires extensive expertise to place the information from those articles
into a meaningful framework. You can search the articles yourself, look for
links, purchase the article, get names of authors, etc.
Searching the web is particularly useful when
you look for a specific therapy or diagnostic test for a specific condition. If
you are looking for the latest treatment for a disease, such as breast or
prostate cancer, you may find a massive amount of information that is difficult
to sort. It is impossible to do all meaningful blood tests and all useful
diagnostic procedures. Even if you could afford the cost (from tens to hundreds
of thousands of dollars), you may not have enough blood; some of the diagnostic
procedures have undesirable side effects or risks. Practically every test has false positives and false negatives. If you do
many tests, some will report abnormal results even when there is nothing
abnormal with you (false positives).
The web is great to understand basic concepts
and learn how to speak with your doctor. It can also explain you how to deal
with your condition and gives you great ideas for coping every day. However, if
you have a complex disease (inflammatory bowel disease, severe heart disease,
premature heart disease, cancer, etc.), you will find conflicting
recommendations and it is impossible, even for a person with an MD or PhD
degree, to evaluate and decide what is the best treatment. For example, some
sites recommend low fat diets, fish oils, flax seeds, evening primrose,
combinations labeled as "optimal mixtures of fats" or optimal
essential fatty acids", and numerous herbs and extracts from plants,
foods, etc. What the sites do not tell you is that there is a huge difference
in chemical composition from one vendor to another (not all fish oils or flax
are alike!), that some of the foods or supplements may have been formulated or
manufactured years ago, sometimes in some foreign country (how can you tell
whether the water was polluted, or pesticides were used?).
Many formulas (foods, supplements, etc.)
claim to lower cholesterol. But how much? For how long? I can design a "treatment
program". You watch TV during daytime and the stars at nigh, together
with scratching the left ear 5 times per day. Properly done, and in conjunction
with a good diet and exercise (read the small print, this is what most
supplements and foods recommend), this "treatment" will lower
your cholesterol ~ 10%. So what? If you stop eating for a few days, your
cholesterol may lower 10%! A good treatment program should lower your
cholesterol more than 30% and improve cardiovascular disease, make your vessels
softer, lower your blood pressure and improve your IQ.
Do not attempt to experiment on yourself using
different herbs, supplements, oils, etc. Each of these substances are powerful
chemicals, often more powerful than prescription drugs. If would take you
hundreds of years to figure out the optimal dose and composition. You cannot
repeat on yourself and learn again what it took years for scientists to figure
it out. Instead, learn from other people's experience. Hire an expert.
If you are pregnant, supplements
and drugs can interfere with the normal development of your baby. Read labels
carefully. We suggest that pregnant women avoid most herbal supplements,
including coffee, tea, cocoa, and minimize foods rich in estrogens and
hormones.
Index
of links
If you have an organization involved in activities related to fats, and
would like to be listed, please contact us.
Examples: companies that make foods or oils high in PUFAs; journals;
professional associations; trade groups; researchers; etc.
Please report any error or change of address or \ email contacts of key people.
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Heart Disease
- Inflammatory Bowel Disease,
Crohn's Disease, Ulcerative Colitis
Drugs and pharmaceutical companies
Essential Fats Professional Organizations
§ PUFA Oil Manufacturers: Where to get what you need to eat
§ Food Trade Associations
§ Nutrition Supplements
- Health Care organizations
- Alternative Medicine
- Medical Links
- Medical
Reference
- For
health professionals
§ Chiropractors
§ Dental
§ Dietitians, nutritionists
§ Hospitals
§ Nurses
§ Physicians
§ Medical Organizations (national, state)
§ Databases on Nutrition
§ Sites mostly concerned with essential fats or fat metabolism
Products and services we liked or difficult to find
§ Dragon Naturally Speaking Software
§ Aventi breast pumps and supplies
§ Franklin Planner
§
Butterscotch oil: a controversial taste flavor, if you
like butterscotch it's really good. Available from Omega Nutrition (listed
under food manufacturers)
§
Organic soybean oil. From Spectrum Naturals
Professional Health Organizations
Professional Organizations Nutrition
§ US Government sites on nutrition
§ US Government sites on health and medicine
§ US government regulatory, insurance, Medicare, other
§
Government sites, Non US
§ Journals
§ Libraries
§ Clinical Trials
§ Research Associations
§ Other
§ Patents
§ Books
§ Financial
§ Investment
§ Shopping
§ Misc
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© 1998 Edward N. Siguel. All rights
reserved |
modified 1/15/00 |