Reversing Heart Disease

Heart Disease-A new Perspective: Maybe you’ve heard the classic explanation of how heart disease develops. People on a high-fat animal based diet tend to have higher cholesterol levels…and with those higher levels come increased arterial plaque. As plaque builds up, the artery narrows, until the artery is completely occluded and the artery plugs up. A heart attack ensues, and the patient dies. Newer research now suggests however that this classic explanation is not the whole picture of how heart disease develops. Arteries have a thin lining on the innermost part of the artery (the lumen) that heretofore has been ignored in the development of CHD.

How it begins: Arterial disease actually begins with free radical damage within the walls of the artery. The culprit is usually a lack of adequate amounts of antioxidants in the diet, and oxidized cholesterol. This damage causes an inflammatory reaction, which results in macrophage activity, and the deposition of plaque and cholesterol in the artery. As the deposits grow within the walls of the artery, the arterial wall undergoes “compensatory expansion”, meaning that the walls of the arteries actually grow bigger, and expand. Only after the artery is unable to expand further does the plaque and cholesterol begin to develop on the inside lining of the artery. This fact explains a mystery that has plagued cardiologists for years. Why is it that a man in his 50’s can undergo tests that indicate that his arteries are only 50% occluded, and then drop dead the next day after his doctor gave him “a clean bill of health”?

The mystery is explained by a relatively new concept called “apoptosis”, or spontaneous cell death. For reasons that are still a mystery, some people who have an abusive lifestyle seem to reach a point where, after enormous abuse, the endothelium or innermost lining of the artery actually “gives up”, and undergoes spontaneous cell death. At that point, for people with unstable arterial plaque, the endothelium can erupt in a blood clot, which completely blocks the artery, and the patient experiences a heart attack, 50% of which are fatal.

Another Mystery: If high cholesterol is the culprit behind hear t disease, then why is it that bears and other hibernators with cholesterol levels above 600mg/dl don’t all die from heart disease? At a May 2002 presentation at Stanford University, a European researcher, Dr Matthias Rath dropped the bombshell, which may completely change our understanding of how heart disease begins and develops. His premise is simple, and was demonstrated in animal research. Some animals like guinea pigs do not make their own vitamin C, just as in humans. Guinea pigs that are deprived of adequate amounts of vaitamin C develop arterial plaques identical to humans! Control animals that were fed adequate amounts of vitamin C did not develop arterial plaques. Why were guinea pigs chosen? Because they, like humans, do not manufacture their own vitamin C in their bodies, as bears and other animals do. Most animals produce their own vitamin C in amounts between 1 and 20 grams per day compared to human body weight! Dr Rath went on to say that almost everyone in our society suffers from inadequate amounts of vitamin C. And over several decades of time, micro lesions develop in the arterial walls, especially in areas of high turbulence and mechanical stress, such as coronary arteries. Vitamin C induces the natural repair of the blood vessel wall, which leads to a halt in the progression of arterial damage, and even to “natural regression of vascular lesions”. Reminds me of something our Creator said to our first parents in Eden: “The fruit shall be for your food and seed bearing plants” Gen. 1:29. It turns out that the best sources of vitamin C are fresh fruits and vegetables!

What can be done to protect yourself from a heart attack? The most important thing that you can do is to become physically active. A brisk walking program for 30 minutes twice a day is protective to the health of your arteries. The reason? Brisk walking increases HDL, a natural substance that removes arterial plaque and cholesterol from your arteries. It also builds colateral circulation, which in combination with HDL action constitutes a kind of “natural bypass surgery” for the problem of arterial plaque.

The second most important thing that you can do is to eat a plant-based diet high in vitamin C, which protects the arteries from the “micro tears” in the arterial wall. These “micro tears” are the beginning of arterial disease, and are largely preventable through adequate Vitamin C intake. On the other hand, animal products such as meat, cheese, sour cream, chicken, fish and the like tend to be high in saturated fat, which trends to raise cholesterol levels. These foods also have cholesterol in them. When oxidized, these oxidized cholesterol end products tend to damage the walls of the arteries and produce inflammation, compensatory expansion of the arterial wall and the eventual plugging up of arteries. Plant-based diets have no cholesterol; they tend to be low in saturated fat, and consequently, do not raise the cholesterol levels, as does an animal based diet.

The third most important thing you can do to prevent heart attacks is to drink water. It thins the blood, making it less likely that a blood clot will develop in the artery. Thinner blood means that the heart does not have such a difficult job in pumping thick blood.

Why not adopt this simple 3-step prevention strategy today? If you are at risk for heart disease, don’t wait a minute longer. Download the recipes from this website, and get started on your walking program right now. Consult with your doctor, so that when your cholesterol begins to decline, he or she can reduce any cholesterol-lowering medications (statins) commensurately. Happy walking! If you need help in getting on a walking program, lifestyle counseling is available at 360-835-8401. The DVD “40 Reasons to Exercise: can also be helpful to you. May God bless your efforts to cooperate with Him in reversing your obesity or weight problem!