Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease

[baja]

Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease

Dr. Dwight Lundell
PreventDisease
Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:58 CST

© n/a
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. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries, today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.

I trained for many years with other prominent physicians labelled "opinion makers." Bombarded with scientific literature, continually attending education seminars, we opinion makers insisted heart disease resulted from the simple fact of elevated blood cholesterol.

The only accepted therapy was prescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricted fat intake. The latter of course we insisted would lower cholesterol and heart disease. Deviations from these recommendations were considered heresy and could quite possibly result in malpractice.

It Is Not Working!

These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible. The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated.

The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences.

Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before.

Statistics from the American Heart Association show that 75 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease, 20 million have diabetes and 57 million have pre-diabetes. These disorders are affecting younger and younger people in greater numbers every year.

Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.

Inflammation is not complicated -- it is quite simply your body's natural defence to a foreign invader such as a bacteria, toxin or virus. The cycle of inflammation is perfect in how it protects your body from these bacterial and viral invaders. However, if we chronically expose the body to injury by toxins or foods the human body was never designed to process,a condition occurs called chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is just as harmful as acute inflammation is beneficial.

What thoughtful person would willfully expose himself repeatedly to foods or other substances that are known to cause injury to the body? Well, smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully.

The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream diet that is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels. This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.

Let me repeat that: The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.

What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.

Take a moment to visualize rubbing a stiff brush repeatedly over soft skin until it becomes quite red and nearly bleeding. you kept this up several times a day, every day for five years. If you could tolerate this painful brushing, you would have a bleeding, swollen infected area that became worse with each repeated injury. This is a good way to visualize the inflammatory process that could be going on in your body right now.

Regardless of where the inflammatory process occurs, externally or internally, it is the same. I have peered inside thousands upon thousands of arteries. A diseased artery looks as if someone took a brush and scrubbed repeatedly against its wall. Several times a day, every day, the foods we eat create small injuries compounding into more injuries, causing the body to respond continuously and appropriately with inflammation.

While we savor the tantalizing taste of a sweet roll, our bodies respond alarmingly as if a foreign invader arrived declaring war. Foods loaded with sugars and simple carbohydrates, or processed with omega-6 oils for long shelf life have been the mainstay of the American diet for six decades. These foods have been slowly poisoning everyone.

How does eating a simple sweet roll create a cascade of inflammation to make you sick?

Imagine spilling syrup on your keyboard and you have a visual of what occurs inside the cell. When we consume simple carbohydrates such as sugar, blood sugar rises rapidly. In response, your pancreas secretes insulin whose primary purpose is to drive sugar into each cell where it is stored for energy. If the cell is full and does not need glucose, it is rejected to avoid extra sugar gumming up the works.

When your full cells reject the extra glucose, blood sugar rises producing more insulin and the glucose converts to stored fat.

What does all this have to do with inflammation? Blood sugar is controlled in a very narrow range. Extra sugar molecules attach to a variety of proteins that in turn injure the blood vessel wall. This repeated injury to the blood vessel wall sets off inflammation. When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels.

While you may not be able to see it, rest assured it is there. I saw it in over 5,000 surgical patients spanning 25 years who all shared one common denominator -- inflammation in their arteries.

Let's get back to the sweet roll. That innocent looking goody not only contains sugars, it is baked in one of many omega-6 oils such as soybean. Chips and fries are soaked in soybean oil; processed foods are manufactured with omega-6 oils for longer shelf life. While omega-6's are essential -they are part of every cell membrane controlling what goes in and out of the cell -- they must be in the correct balance with omega-3's.

If the balance shifts by consuming excessive omega-6, the cell membrane produces chemicals called cytokines that directly cause inflammation.

Today's mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That's a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today's food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal and healthy.

To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and finally, Alzheimer's disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated.

There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.

There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state. To build muscle, eat more protein. Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Cut down on or eliminate inflammation- causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.

One tablespoon of corn oil contains 7,280 mg of omega-6; soybean contains 6,940 mg. Instead, use olive oil or butter from grass-fed beef.

Animal fats contain less than 20% omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labelled polyunsaturated. Forget the "science" that has been drummed into your head for decades. The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent. The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.

The cholesterol theory led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn created the very foods now causing an epidemic of inflammation. Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favor of foods high in omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.

What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.

[baja]

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/24...-Heart-Disease

[alkemical]

Interesting.

I love Avacados Baja. I'm going to have to build a geodesic greenhouse and see if i can get them to take "local" up here.

[baja]

Originally Posted by alkemical

Interesting.

I love Avacados Baja. I'm going to have to build a geodesic greenhouse and see if i can get them to take "local" up here.

Me too. They are so plentiful here and so affordable. One medium size Haas avocado costs about 60 cents.

How much do they cost where you live?

[alkemical]

Originally Posted by baja

Me too. They are so plentiful here and so affordable. One medium size Haas avocado costs about 60 cents.

How much do they cost where you live?

My "store" might not be the best "metric" due to it being a small "indy" store in the 'country'.

But $1.50 per.

They had the audacity to charge $3 for a head of romaine. (not the store mind you, but how distribution also works).

Next time I go to the store, i'll snap some photos in the produce section and share them. Maybe we can cost compare to get a better idea of what things REALLY cost.

[Rohirrim]

I stopped listening to the diet nazis years ago. I eat, basically, a Mediterranean diet. Very few sweets. No sodas, ever! One cup of coffee in the morning. One cup of black tea in the afternoon. Usually I'll have a 1oz square of 70% cocoa chocolate in the evening, for dessert. Basically none of the processed ****. I eat whatever meat I want to eat, but I don't eat 72 oz. slabs of it. I make tamales with lard, but only a few times a year. Some kind of vegetables with every meal. Fruit on occasion if it's in season and worth buying. I eat pasta maybe once a week. Lots of soups. Rarely fried foods. Generally, I'll have an egg every other day. Bacon and sausages here and there. Pretty much zero fast foods (which all taste like **** to me anyway - What do they put in that stuff?). I take one, low dose aspirin every morning.

Two days ago, I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was 120 over 70. She said, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

[Pony Boy]

No big deal us guys on the right don't have hearts ..........

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by Pony Boy

No big deal us guys on the right don't have hearts ..........

I heard Cheney tried to get one, but it rejected him.

[Garcia Bronco]

I eat what I want; when I want. We're all gonna die. Get over it.

[baja]

...and fools rush in.

[Fedaykin]

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

I stopped listening to the diet nazis years ago. I eat, basically, a Mediterranean diet. Very few sweets. No sodas, ever! One cup of coffee in the morning. One cup of black tea in the afternoon. Usually I'll have a 1oz square of 70% cocoa chocolate in the evening, for dessert. Basically none of the processed ****. I eat whatever meat I want to eat, but I don't eat 72 oz. slabs of it. I make tamales with lard, but only a few times a year. Some kind of vegetables with every meal. Fruit on occasion if it's in season and worth buying. I eat pasta maybe once a week. Lots of soups. Rarely fried foods. Generally, I'll have an egg every other day. Bacon and sausages here and there. Pretty much zero fast foods (which all taste like **** to me anyway - What do they put in that stuff?). I take one, low dose aspirin every morning.

Two days ago, I went to the doctor and my blood pressure was 120 over 70. She said, "Whatever you're doing, keep doing it."

In other words you eat a diet that is consistent with what any legit doctor or dietician would tell you to eat.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by Fedaykin

In other words you eat a diet that is consistent with what any legit doctor or dietician would tell you to eat.

I eat red meat and eggs. I always eat the skin and fat of animals when I eat meat. Sometimes I cook with lard. I also regularly use butter. I eat bacon, ham and sausages. So, no. Not really.

[Fedaykin]

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

I eat red meat and eggs. I always eat the skin and fat of animals when I eat meat. Sometimes I cook with lard. I also regularly use butter. I eat bacon, ham and sausages. So, no. Not really.

It's about quantity. No doctor is going to tell a reasonably healthy person that they can't eat red meat, sausage, ham, bacon, eggs, etc.

They will tell you it's a bad idea to eat large quantities of it.

[El Minion]

What is the 411 on Stevia? Good natural and healthy substitute to processed sugar?

[baja]

Originally Posted by El Minion

What is the 411 on Stevia? Good natural and healthy substitute to processed sugar?

It's better than most of the other choices.

My first choice is raw honey second choice is;

[Requiem]

Originally Posted by Fedaykin

It's about quantity. No doctor is going to tell a reasonably healthy person that they can't eat red meat, sausage, ham, bacon, eggs, etc.

Not true at all. It is not just about quantity. Some foods just are not good for people.

[El Minion]

Originally Posted by baja

It's better than most of the other choices.

My first choice is raw honey second choice is;

Honey has a high glycemic index though, I've been reading Yacon Syrup is one of the best alternatives (after Stevia) and Agave Syrup is also a close second but the fructose level is a concern. I'm staying away from processed foods and sugars but still need a sweetener with my coffee every day. I'm going to try the coconut sugar and Stevia, honey was not bueno with my coffee.

[baja]

Originally Posted by El Minion

Honey has a high glycemic index though, I've been reading Yacon Syrup is one of the best alternatives (after Stevia) and Agave Syrup is also a close second but the fructose level is a concern. I'm staying away from processed foods and sugars but still need a sweetener with my coffee every day. I'm going to try the coconut sugar and Stevia, honey was not bueno with my coffee.

You are right about that Honey in coffee = yuck

Good raw honey is a super food with many healing properties. Books have been written about the value of honey.

Yacon syrup is pretty good but I bet it will be yuckie in coffee.


Same for stevia and Agave

As long as you are having a cup of coffee I'd go with pure cane sugar (raw brown). Good coffee is best black though.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by baja

You are right about that Honey in coffee = yuck

Good raw honey is a super food with many healing properties. Books have been written about the value of honey.

Yacon syrup is pretty good but I bet it will be yuckie in coffee.


Same for stevia and Agave

As long as you are having a cup of coffee I'd go with pure cane sugar (raw brown). Good coffee is best black though.

I have raw, unfiltered honey in my coffee every morning, and have for years. Tastes fantastic.

[baja]

Originally Posted by Rohirrim

I have raw, unfiltered honey in my coffee every morning, and have for years. Tastes fantastic.

That's good to know I was just guessing it would taste bad. They sound like a terrible mix.

[El Minion]

Originally Posted by baja

You are right about that Honey in coffee = yuck

Good raw honey is a super food with many healing properties. Books have been written about the value of honey.

Yacon syrup is pretty good but I bet it will be yuckie in coffee.


Same for stevia and Agave

As long as you are having a cup of coffee I'd go with pure cane sugar (raw brown). Good coffee is best black though.

Tried it black, but can not get away from being introduced to coffee by an aunt who gave it to me with sweet condensed milk when I was a child. Who gives a ten year child a caffeinated beverage with added sugar, like children need the extra fuel? Sadly I have been hooked on coffee with cream and sugar ever since; parents would get the occasional raised eyebrow or skewed view from the waitresses whenever I, a preteen, ordered coffee with my meal at restaurants.

[baja]

Originally Posted by El Minion

Tried it black, but can not get away from being introduced to coffee by an aunt who gave it to me with sweet condensed milk when I was a child. Who gives a ten year child a caffeinated beverage with added sugar, like children need the extra fuel? Sadly I have been hooked on coffee with cream and sugar ever since; parents would get the occasional raised eyebrow or skewed view from the waitresses whenever I, a preteen, ordered coffee with my meal at restaurants.

When I visit this particular neighboring ranch the women of the house always makes be cowboy coffee and adds fresh cows milk and sugar. She makes a mean cup of joe (or should I say cup of Jose) so I know what you mean.

But I like real good coffee and when I make it for myself I drink is black.

[Rohirrim]

Originally Posted by baja

When I visit this particular neighboring ranch the women of the house always makes be cowboy coffee and adds fresh cows milk and sugar. She makes a mean cup of joe (or should I say cup of Jose) so I know what you mean.

But I like real good coffee and when I make it for myself I drink is black.

I've never gotten that one, drinking coffee black. To each his own.

[El Minion]

Originally Posted by baja

It's better than most of the other choices.

My first choice is raw honey second choice is;

Well finally got around to going to Whole Foods and got me some Coconut Sugar. And it is damn good! Tastes like a slightly milder version of raw sugar, very earthy and well rounded flavor. It also has a low glycemic index.

Thanks!

[baja]

Originally Posted by El Minion

Well finally got around to going to Whole Foods and got me some Coconut Sugar. And it is damn good! Tastes like a slightly milder version of raw sugar, very earthy and well rounded flavor. It also has a low glycemic index.

Thanks!

Your welcome. Glad you like it.