ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- An 11-year-old girl died of bird flu in Turkey on Friday, the country's third death from the virus, officials said.

The news out of Ankara, Turkey couldn't be grimmer.? Three children from the same family died after eating or being exposed to the flesh of sickly birds. (Hulya Kocyigit is the sister of two teenagers who died earlier this week of the virus. Mehmet Ali Kocyigit, 14, died of a strain of avian influenza on Sunday, and Fatma Kocyigit, 15, died Thursday.)

They were also reported to have been playing "catch" with the decapitated head of the bird for days before they became ill.? Losing three children in one week has to be the worst possible scenario of the "Bird-flu scare!"? The facts surrounding the case don't make it any less painful for the mom and dad who cling to their little ones during their fleeting dying gasps for air.? Their deaths should not be in vain.? In fact, we could all see these deaths as a wake-up call regarding our own health practices.

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I can?t help but think ?How could they be so foolish?? Playing with a chicken or turkey head like it?s a toy??? Well, that may be a silly game that kids play in Turkey.? I really don?t know.? Maybe these kids were just unusually bored.? Either way we need to recognize our tendency to ignore negative health consequences of our actions.? We ?WILL pay a high price if we don?t move from passive observers of our health to passionate pursuers of the joys of vibrant living.? I watched the University of Texas win over the USC Trojans for the National Collegiate football Championship.? The U.T. guys on the sidelines were being motivated by Vince Young (the quarterback) and some other bouncy dude who just couldn?t sit still.? Even when the game was going badly and they were down by 12 points with minutes to go they didn?t give up.? I want to be like that with my patients, my family and especially myself.? Maybe we haven?t gotten into the best possible position.? Maybe the cards seem stacked against us.? I don?t care!? We can and will win if we simply DO NOT QUIT!? With commitment to make ourselves the best we can be there is nothing on God?s green earth that can effectively stand in our way.

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Don?t be a statistic.? Get your customized Better Body Brighter Mind System today at www.betterbodybrightermind.com and start on your personal path to victory.? You can be one of the ones who looks back two decades from now and says ?I can?t believe that people actually didn?t get on board and play the game of living!?? Sitting around on the couch and eating cheap food that?s slowly poisoning us to death is going to look a lot like throwing chicken heads around the house.? It just doesn?t make sense.? You?re definitely smarter than that!

The Journal of the American Geriatric Society, December 2005 reported that patients with higher LDL (bad cholesterol) actually lived longer and better than those that had aggressive reduction in these numbers.? This tracks with the philosophical and sensible premise that cholesterol is a normal body chemical and should be balanced to produce maximum benefit.? I tell my patients that cholesterol helps the body make hormones and relieves depression in some people when allowed to run a little bit higher than is commonly recommended.? If you look at the trends over the past decade you'll see that the "facts" about cholesterol seem to change with each new drug study that supports the increase in dosage of cholesterol lowering agents.? I don't?object to?scientific studies that are unbiased and conducted by "arm's-length" researchers.? I do object to trying to support the use of potent drugs that cause severe side effects simnply to increase sales and market advantage.? Popoular "statin" drugs that are used to reduce cholesterol have been studied to determine their effects on many illnesses:

• Inflammatory disease and heart attack
• Cancer
• Mood
• Stroke

The good news is that these drugs have many beneficial effects.? The bad news is that these drugs have a serious, dangerous list of side-effects that may even cause the liver to need transplantation.? I would call that a serious side-effect.? The aggressive testing and marketing of these drugs is a standard operating procedure for a pharmaceutical manufacturer.? I'd probably do the same thing if I didn't understand simple principles for cholesterol reduction:

Activity

Aerobic activity will decrease LDL (Lousy Density Lipoprotein)
It will increase HDL significantly (Happy density lipoprotein)
It frequently helps with triglycerides and insulin control

Weight lifting increases muscle and improves insulin utilization and decreases inflammation which is one of the most likely causes of heart disease.

Nutrition and Diet

• Avoid trans fats (donuts and french fries)
• Raw almonds (12) soaked overnight in 8 ounces of pure water-drink water and eat nuts
• Eat good fats like salmon (wild pacific)
• Don?t cook fats unless in very small amounts
• Eat for your type (www.betterbodybrightermind.com) and reduce sugar to decrease inflammation

Supplements

• Red Yeast Rice 600 -1200 mg./day
• Policosanol 20 mg./day
• Niacin 500-2000mg./day go slow
• Fish Oil 3-6 grams per day (make sure heavy metal free)
• B6, B12 and folate
• High quality multivitamin/mineral (usually 6 tabs or more per day)

Other reasons for high cholesterol

• Hypothyroidism
• Genetic Lipid Syndrome
• Not fasting when blood drawn

For a comprehensive look at all the different ways you can impact your heart health I can't recommend a better program that the Better Body Brighter Mind System? (www.betterbodybrightermind.com)? Don't see your doctor without considering the other ways you can enhance your health AND reduce your cholesterol and cardiovascular risk.? You deserve the best treatment available.? The earlier you intervene in creating excellent health the better and more lasting the results.? You are worth it!