Interesting theory, so bears eat a lot of oranges or how do they get this vitamin C? I've also heard that most supplements/vitamins don't work because stomach acid destroys them before they get into the bloodstream or something like that. How do we get optimum vitamins into our blood streams?

Keep, what, youve never seen a bear with a glass of Tropicana?? Now thats an interesting theory on supplements being destroyed in stomach. That would mean that Meds and drugs would not get to our bloodstream also. Wouldnt that throw the Pharmas into a tizzy!!

My chiropractor was always big on the "phony" science of cholesterol. He always cites the original Johns Hopkins study on heart attacks which showed that half of men who had heart attacks had high cholesterol. What does that say? That half of the men who had heart attacks did NOT have high cholesterol! From that we got a multi-billion dollar industry to fight cholesterol. Never did ask him which study it was, cuz I refused to take Lipitor when prescribed for my 405 level triglicerides. I did the fish oil/red yeast rice combo, which took them to....oh, senior moment..was it 145? In any case, I look forward to sleeping until April....

Needing a long nap Bill

Wicked interesting article. Yes, indeed we all need more "good" vitamin intake! That said, most of the animals that I know of don't drink alcohol, smoke cigarettes, over eat or do drugs - either. Sharks purportedly do not get cancer as well. At best it seems that humans can try to modify their behavior and diet and it's certainly imperative that they do so. But many of us seem predisposed to certain conditions that inevitably present great challenges.

Before you supersize your burger, realize that bears only live 15-18 years in the wild and have evolved to be able to move fat to the cells (and use it).


"Nielsen and his team, however, discovered that mutations in genes involved in cardiovascular function allowed polar bears to rapidly evolve the ability to consume a fatty diet without developing high rates of heart disease. One such gene, called APOB, is known to play a role in moving cholesterol from the bloodstream into cells, thus reducing the risk of heart disease."

While cholesterol and obesity contribute to heart disease, there are other reasons like inflammation, for example. More serum cholesterol (with low HDL) DOES equal more plaque. Plaque can rupture and cause heart attack and stroke. Soft plaque is more dangerous... that is plaque without stabilizing calcium deposits. So if you have high cholesterol AND plaque and coronary calcium, it would be wise to eat low fat and exercise (plus address inflammation). Sugar and carbs also play a role.

So... not everyone with plaque and high cholesterol gets a heart attack, but it "ups" your chances. Also, some people with "normal" cholesterol levels have heart attacks... but they have to have plaque to have a heart attack. No plaque equals nothing to block an artery. Virtually every male over 50 has "some" plaque.

I guess it's not that simple, but cholesterol does matter if you are building up plaque.

BTW, bears can have a heart attack. I read that generally they are able to handle high cholesterol levels because of genetic adaptation to their diets. That is true of polar bears.

Bears that hibernate also secrete a substance that keeps their hearts health, even with almost not existent blood flow.

One last thing... usually the wolves and carrion birds get the bears and eat them rather than take them to the ER.

petey

http://news.discovery.com/animals/endangered-species/why-polar-bears-are-fat-but-have-healthy-hearts-140508.htm

I forgot to mention that I totally agree, based on what I've read, that condition of the artery walls plays a major role in heart disease.


petey

Bears are basically Omnivores vs Carnivores, so my guess is their moms served alot of veggies/fruit with that porridge on cold Fall days. Rath most likely never conducted tests on "dump" bears who do not subscribe to the Atkins diet, carelessly consuming carbs with their protein along with plastics. Of course the desired bears gall bladder fetches close to $1000 in China for heart remedies. Which begs the question, "Who was the first to discover that and how"?

That's a question that is right up there with "Who was the first guy to eat an oyster and why?"

I'm not convinced that it's wise to compare bear physiology to human when it comes to things like cholesterol. Also, we don't know whether or not bears have heart attacks. Ask yourself - how many autopsies and cholesterol studies are we doing on bears these days?

Mr Cap. Not an oyster fan, but if that were a cure, the half shells would be empty.

Hwkmn: Ha! Me too! petey

Note that Bears can make their own vitamin C. We, during the evolution process, lost our capabilities to do so.