I recently discovered an article by Dr. Dwight Lundell, the former Chief of Surgery at Banner Heart Hospital in Arizona. The article began:
“We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong.”The article is about something I am very passionate about: the connection between what we eat, obesity and disease, in this case, heart disease in particular.
A few years ago the discovery was made that the inflammation of artery walls is the real cause of heart disease. Prior to this discovery, the widely accepted treatment of high cholesterol was statins (a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which plays a central role in the production of cholesterol in the liver) and a low fat diet.
According to Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., and Stephen Sinatra, M.D in their book The Great Cholesterol Myth, “Emerging science is showing that cholesterol levels are a poor predictor of heart disease and that standard prescriptions for lowering it, such as ineffective low-fat/high-carb diets and serious, side-effect-causing statin drugs, obscure the real causes of heart disease.”
According to Dr. Lundell, without inflammation being present in the body there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.
There is acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation is part of the body’s immune response. For example, if your elbow sustains a blow and tissues needs healing and attention, your body’s immune system responds (swelling, redness, pain) with a beneficial protective attempt to initiate the healing process and fight infection.
However, chronic “hidden” inflammation occurs throughout the body when something initiates the immune system and disengages the shut-off button. What starts this process is different in different people, but studies show that one cause is poor diet, which makes a person prone to inflammation, as cells churn out inflammatory proteins called cytokines.
So what can you do to prevent chronic inflammation and reduce your incidence of disease?So very simple: REDUCE or ELIMINATE consuming highly processed carbohydrates and sugar. Eat as close to the source as possible: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, wild caught fish, organic free-range turkey and chicken, grass fed beef, and healthy oils, like olive. Eat fresh, organic, unprocessed foods. And as Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, advises: don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize.
Finally, supplementation is the key (especially nowadays) when much of what we eat, even when healthy, takes days, sometimes even weeks getting to our table. In transit, many important nutrients get lost in the process making supplementation essential for a healthy lifestyle. We recommended a daily routine of our high potency Daily Four multivitamin, and our Omega 3.
Please note: The information provided here is for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your doctor. You should not use this information for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem. You should consult with your doctor before starting any diet, exercise, or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have a health problem.
“We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong.”The article is about something I am very passionate about: the connection between what we eat, obesity and disease, in this case, heart disease in particular.
A few years ago the discovery was made that the inflammation of artery walls is the real cause of heart disease. Prior to this discovery, the widely accepted treatment of high cholesterol was statins (a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol levels by inhibiting the enzyme HMG-CoA reductase, which plays a central role in the production of cholesterol in the liver) and a low fat diet.
According to Jonny Bowden, Ph.D., and Stephen Sinatra, M.D in their book The Great Cholesterol Myth, “Emerging science is showing that cholesterol levels are a poor predictor of heart disease and that standard prescriptions for lowering it, such as ineffective low-fat/high-carb diets and serious, side-effect-causing statin drugs, obscure the real causes of heart disease.”
According to Dr. Lundell, without inflammation being present in the body there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.
There is acute inflammation and chronic inflammation. Acute inflammation is part of the body’s immune response. For example, if your elbow sustains a blow and tissues needs healing and attention, your body’s immune system responds (swelling, redness, pain) with a beneficial protective attempt to initiate the healing process and fight infection.
However, chronic “hidden” inflammation occurs throughout the body when something initiates the immune system and disengages the shut-off button. What starts this process is different in different people, but studies show that one cause is poor diet, which makes a person prone to inflammation, as cells churn out inflammatory proteins called cytokines.
So what can you do to prevent chronic inflammation and reduce your incidence of disease?So very simple: REDUCE or ELIMINATE consuming highly processed carbohydrates and sugar. Eat as close to the source as possible: whole grains, fruits, vegetables, wild caught fish, organic free-range turkey and chicken, grass fed beef, and healthy oils, like olive. Eat fresh, organic, unprocessed foods. And as Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, advises: don’t eat anything your great grandmother wouldn’t recognize.
Finally, supplementation is the key (especially nowadays) when much of what we eat, even when healthy, takes days, sometimes even weeks getting to our table. In transit, many important nutrients get lost in the process making supplementation essential for a healthy lifestyle. We recommended a daily routine of our high potency Daily Four multivitamin, and our Omega 3.
Please note: The information provided here is for information purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for advice from your doctor. You should not use this information for diagnosis or treatment of any health problem. You should consult with your doctor before starting any diet, exercise, or supplementation program, before taking any medication, or if you have a health problem.
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