“I didn’t make it in time”
This was the text I received from my husband last Wednesday afternoon. He was on his way to say goodbye to a friend one last time. Yet another friend in the past 6 months has died from a heart attack, both were under the age of 50.
Every 33 seconds someone dies due to cardiovascular disease. (1) That’s the equivalent of a 9/11 tragedy happening every 24 hours. The irony of that statistic is 100 years ago cardiovascular disease was an anomaly, it practically didn't exist. What is so infuriating about this disease is it’s entirely preventable but due to corporate greed and political interests we are not told the truth on how to prevent it. Our government organizations still repeat the misguided mantra “Eat Less Fat.” I’ve written about the nonsense that surrounds saturated fat and cholesterol before. Sometimes I wish we could sue these associations for the untold number of deaths they are partially responsible for. We dress up in red and dance around for prevention's sake yet we don’t actually prevent anything by doing this.
I’m tired of the lies. I’m tired of dancing around the issues. I’m tired of my friends dying too young. And I’m going to do something about it. Heart disease is perpetuated by the lies we are told by others and the lies we tell ourselves. So guess what?!? The father of lies can get thee behind me and kiss my healthy white butt, because I am going to tell you the TRUTH.
The truth is your health is valuable because you are loved. The great deceiver doesn’t want you to believe that your health is worth fighting for or that you are not destined to be this way or that you do have what it takes. The authorities of this world don’t want you to know that the misinformation they've been pedaling has created this healthcare crisis. So I want to let you in on a few things that are critical to your heart health.
1. Saturated fat and cholesterol do not contribute to heart disease. Refined so called “vegetable” oils do. Things like soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil etc are full of oxidized polyunsaturated fats which wreak havoc on our bodies. I’ve talked about this before here.
2. Man made tans fats are the king of damaged fats. It is undeniable that hydrogenated oils contribute to cardiovascular disease. The FDA has finally caught on to this but food manufacturers can still get away with claiming their food is trans fat free while still listing partially hydrogenated soybean oil on the label. Read labels and know what you are eating.
3. Eating a low fat diet can makes things worse. When you consume less fat you have to make up the calories with something else and it is usually carbohydrates. Excess carbohydrates in the blood are stored as fat in the body and contribute to insulin resistance, a contributing factor in heart disease. This study has shown that replacing saturated fat in the diet with carbohydrates increases heart disease risk factors. Other studies demonstrate an Atkins diet (i.e., high-fat, low-carb) does a better job reducing risk factors than a low fat diet. You can read about them here.
4. Alcohol is worse than sugar in the body. Approximately 90% of alcohol you consume is metabolized by the liver. Alcohol metabolites get preferentially burned for fuel and the leftovers along with any carbohydrates in the blood get converted into triglycerides once your glycogen stores are filled. The problem arises when alcohol and sugar are consumed in excess. I have people frequently ask me why their triglycerides are high. I explain how the body processes excess carbs and alcohol and suggest they cut down on their alcohol consumption to see if that helps. Alcohol can contribute to heart disease in multiple ways as explained here.
5. Yes it’s true, exercise is good for the heart. This can be as simple as taking a daily walk or joining a local gym. The biggest obstacle to starting a workout routine is usually in our head. It doesn’t have to be fancy or cost a lot of money. You don’t even need shoes anymore, just take up barefoot running.
6. Smoking inflames! I often overlook this one because it seems so obvious to me and I’ve never had an issue with it. I realize this can be a bad habit to break but it really does contribute to poor health on many levels. The toxins in the smoke not only affect your lungs but also your heart. When toxins get into your blood stream they cause damage to your arteries which creates inflammation and alters HDL and LDL levels (2). Also, your liver gets overworked trying to neutralize and remove these things from the body. The popular combination of smoking and drinking has a negative cumulative affect on your health.
Even though the truth gets obscure at times, my friends that passed did have responsibility in their own health issues. We are all responsible for our own health. It is up to each of us to seek the truth for ourselves. That is why I’m writing this. Read the references I link to, wake up to what you need to do to get yourself healthy again. Know that you are loved and you have a life worth living for. Seek help from holistic health practitioner if you need to. Please, take care of yourself because you will be greatly missed.
