Video Transcript:

Dr. Mercola here. I want to welcome you to another question and answer video update. As I was preparing for today's video, I noticed that there were many people who had asked questions that were already answered on the site. Apparently, were not yet aware that I've been doing this work on the site for over ten years, and that there are over 100,000 pages of free information they can access just by going to the link at the top of the page. There, they'll find a text box where they can write their question, click "Search", and then receive a list of articles relative to that topic I've written over the last ten years. They're ranked by Google, to present the most appropriate first.

But let's get onto today's question. The first one comes from Joe from Savannah, Georgia. Joe tells us he's economically strapped, and he has a question about the use of Radical Fruits and Krill Oil, and wonders which one he should use.

Well, I believe that one of the most important things that we all need are a source of omega 3 fats. Ideally, that should be primarily from animals, though we can certainly supplement that with some plant-derived omega 3's. Most benefits come from DHA/EPA, as I've mentioned in many of my articles.

If you're not going to go through the relatively-expensive source of finding a clean source of fish, usually from the Artic or Alaska, then it's going to be critical to find another good, high-quality source of omega-3 fats. My personal preference is krill oil. So that would be something that should be taken on a regular basis.

Radical Fruits is also another great product. However, it's not as important as the omega 3. It's very safe to take the Radical Fruits every day, and probably ideal. But if the economics of it are challenging, you can just restrict the use of the Radical Fruits to immediately before you exercise, especially intensive exercise, because that's going to decrease the production of free radicals. That's exactly what I do myself.

Now, the next question comes to us from Anthony from Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, and he asks a very good question about sudden death from heart disease. The most common symptom of heart disease is sudden death. Yes, indeed. This is a challenge that many of us need to be concerned about. Anthony had asked if there is anything other than omega 3 fats and water that might be useful to help prevent death.

In my experience, there are three simple lab tests, and we do these tests on every person who comes into our clinic, because I think they're really vital, not only as a step for protecting against heart disease, but against cancer as well.

The first test, probably the most important, is one for fasting insulin levels, which should be below 5. If it's over 5, you've got a problem. If it's over 10, you have a serious problem. Ideally, you'd want it below 3. So, that's clearly a goal for you.

The second one is going to be very important also, and this is not your total cholesterol, but your ratio of good-to-total cholesterol. That ratio is so important. I like to use it as a percentage of the total cholesterol. You can do the inverse, which will work too. This seems to be more the convention. But I've become accustomed to doing it that way. So if you simply divide your total cholesterol into your HDL, you'll get the percentage of your HDL that is present.

Ideally, that number should be over 30%, somewhere between 25% and 30%. If your HDL percentage is in the teens, you have a serious problem. If it is in the single digits, you are a heart attack waiting to happen, and you need to aggressively address that.

Now remember, you are not looking to change or modify this through the use of drugs. I've written extensively about how you can do this simply through changing your food intake. Now, this is good for well over 90% of the people who have been told they have high cholesterol. There is a very small minority of people who have a genetic problem. In my practice of over 15,000 patients, I've had to put only 5 people on cholesterol-lowering drugs, such as the statins. Most nearly everyone else does not need them.

Five or six years ago, I learned a hidden, or stealth, way to screen for heart disease, and that is addressing sources of hidden iron in your blood. If you're a menstruating woman, with monthly cycles, this is probably not an issue. But if you're a postmenopausal woman or a male, there is a tendency to accumulate iron over time, and iron is a very potent oxidative stress, and when it accumulates to a high level, it can clearly and easily accelerate the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease.

So, ideally, you want to measure a blood protein called, "ferritin", which is a transport carrier for iron; this should ideally be between 20 and 80. If it's above 80, you've got a problem, and ideally, you should lower your iron level. The simplest and easiest way is to not supplement with iron, and also, to donate your blood. Now, if for whatever reason, you are unable to donate your blood, you can have your doctor write a prescription for a therapeutic phlebotomy (blood draw), and that will easily lower it back into a safe range.

One of the other hidden sources of heart disease is simply vitamin D deficiency. And I'm not talking about the vitamin D you swallow. I'm talking about having as much skin exposed to the sun as possible, to raise your levels of vitamin D up. For most people watching this video, we're approaching summer, and you can do that. So you clearly want to have adequately-high vitamin D levels. If you have a low vitamin D level, which is a 25-hydroxy-D level below 20, you are at high risk, not only for heart disease, but for cancer.

So, you've learned of four tests that you can use to help clearly identify your cardiac risk. If these four tests are normal, your risk for developing heart disease is very, very low.

As a thank you to Joe and Anthony for their questions, I'm sending them a few bottles of Krill Oil, and hopefully, help get them on the path, making sure that they have enough good omega 3 in their systems. So, thanks for the great questions.