HEART DISEASE

This malady is the leading cause of death in the Western world--in men as well as women--and is considered our greatest health problem. Indeed, heart disease costs an incalculable amount of pain, suffering, debility and expense.

It is considered a "silent epidemic" among women, killing ten times as many as breast cancer. (The American Heart Association).

* As early as 1961, an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, pointed out that "97% of coronary occlusions (the usual heart attacks) could be prevented by a vegetarian diet."

* A study of 25,000 Californians conducted over a 20 year period showed that meat consumption was associated with a higher incidence of fatal heart attacks in both men and women. The more meat eaten, the more heart disease. For men between the ages of 45 and 64 there were over 3 times as many fatal heart attacks in those who ate meat and poultry as there were in the vegetarians. (Preventive Medicine, 13:490-500, 1984).

* William Castelli, MD, director of the nearly 50 year old Framingham Heart Study - The Grandaddaddy of Heart Studies, reminds us that "of the 5.3 billion people on earth, 4 billion do not get atherosclerosis (heart and artery disease)--the disease that kills half of all Americans and most of them are vegetarians or pretty close." (Prevention, Dec. 1994).

* Writing in Lancet and the American Heart Journal two British doctors reported treating cases of severe angina pectoris with a total vetgetarian diet. All the patients had suffered severe chest pain due to a restriction of blood supply to the heart, were unable to exercise, and were considered most likely candidates for fatal heart attacks. After 6 months on the total vegetarian diet, they were all free of angina pain and "able to engage in strenuous activities." 5 years later, the patients were all still alive, still adhering to the meatless diet and still free of angina symptons. (John Robbins, Diet for a New America).

* According to Dean Ornish, MD, all meat, including chicken is implicated as the primary cause of heart disease. Dr. Ornish in his world-renown program for reversing heart disease--not just preventing or stoppint it, but actually undoing the damage--shows that meat is high in cholesterol which clogs the arteries; is high in saturated fat, which raises blood cholesterol levels, is high in oxidants such as iron which oxidizes cholesterol to a form that is more easily deposited in the arteries and is low in antioxidants.

His total vegetarian regimen excludes all flesh, fish or fowl, as well as eggs, milk and cheese, etc. This along with exercise and stress reduiction enables his patients to bypass the $50,000 bypass operation or the $20,000 balloon angioplasty procedure. It works naturally without resorting to drugs or surgery. The patients feel and look so much better so quickly that they consider the sacrifice worth it. (Dean Ornish, Reversing Heart Disease).

(To be continued).

Suzanne

Heart Disease, con't

Cholesterol and Saturated Fat - Meat, dairy products and eggs are the chief source of dietary saturated fat--which is hard to digest, is acid forming and along with fish and chicken is the ONLY source of dietary cholesterol. (Plants do not contain cholesterol). This crystalline, fatty, yellow substance feels and looks like soft wax and is quite adapt in its artery-clogging, heart sabotaging abilities, according to the American Heart Association

* Researchers in England measured the blood-cholestetrol levels of over 3,000 people. They found that meat eaters had the highest cholesterol levels of all the people studied. Vegetarians had lower levels. And vegans, those who eat no meat, dairy products or eggs had the lowest levels of all.

* Jeremy Rifkin, writing in Beyond Beef, laments the fact that North "Americans and Europeans are literally eating themselves to death, gorging on marbled beef and other fatty animal products, taking into their systems massive amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol. These fatty substances are building up in the bloodstream, clogging arteries, lining cell walls, blocking passages, triggering metabolic and hormonal changes, stimulating cell growth, and rupturing organs.... Americans, overweight and plagued by the diseases of affluence, suffer from their own excesses."

* Some cholesterol (HDL) is needed and utilized by the body but according to the National Institutes of Health, the "liver (the bodily organ) can generate cholesterol from almost any item on the menu from soup to nuts." Hence, any extra dietary cholesterol is superfluous and dangerous.

* Saturated fat, found in animal products is converted by the body to cholesterol and tends to increase the level of blood cholesterol even more than cholesterol-rich foods.

* Case history: "I lowered my cholesterol from 244 to 168 by following a vegetarian-style diet. This was after triple bypass surgery when I was told the arteries would again be clogged with plaque in 2 to 10 years. In other words, the operation was only a temporary procedure for me to stay alive...." EarthSave, Winter, 1996,97, Vol 7. No. 4.

* Just about every chronic malady from heart disease to impotence to cancer is linked to dietary saturated fat, which has become the major health conern of all health conerns--and meat is the fattiest of all fats. Hamburger is the most frequently consumed meat and the largest single contributor of fat. All meats, especially processed meats are loaded with fat, which according to many medical scientists is the real dietary demon in heart disease and the biggest troublemaker in the North American diet. The body has no need for saturated fats found in animal foods.

Knowing this, our Creator, Lord and Saviour, who loves us, has issued this injunction in Lev. 3:17: "It shall be a perpetual statute for your generations throughout all your dwellings, that ye eat neither fat nor blood."

(To be continued)

Suzanne

Heart Disease, con't

Homocysteine - The high animal protein diet is the source of yet another risk indicator for heart disease--excessive levels of homocysteine. This substance may be even more important than cholesterol levels and may be involved in a large percentage of heart disease cases.

Homocysteine is formed in the body from methionine, an amino acid found in all protein foods, but is two to three times higher in meat, eggs, milk and cheese than in plant protein. As with cholesterol, some homocysteine is needed and utilized by the system, but dietary overload of methionine in the form of a high-animal protein diet produces and overabundance which must be converted to nontoxic compounds. This is accomplished by the dietary nutrients folic acid, vitamins, B-6 and other b-vitamins. If these nutrients are in short supploy, as is the case in the average North American diet, then homocysteine levels remain high and damage blood vessels leading to heart problems and strokes.

Kilmer S. McCully, MD, writing in The Homocysteine Revolution, points out that human populations that are mainly vegetarian take in less methionine than those eating meat and dairy products. This according to the Harvard trained physician and researcher, helps explain why vegetarians are relatively protected against arteriosclerosis compared with those eating largely of meat and dairy produts. Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains, nuts and seeds--abundant in a correct plant-based diet offer adequate folate and B-6, etc., necessary to recycle homocysteine into harmless breakdown products.

Daily coffee drinking, too, increases the risk of heart disease by boosting homocysteine levels in the blood. The relationship according to a Norwegian study was much stronger than was shown on previous studies linking coffee and blood cholesterol levels. A clear dose response curve showed that the more coffee consumed, the higher the homocysteine levels. Smoking further increases these levels according to the study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, January 1997.

(To be continued),
Suzanne

Heart Disease, con't

Other Risk Factors - When the heart is bombarded with the devastating effects of an animal protein diet and overeating in general, along with the noxious effects of smoking, high blood pressure, obesity, lack of exercise, diabetes and others, is it any wonder that thousands of North Americans die each day from heart disease?

North America's most relentless killers, many times involve proglems of lifestyle--a matter of bad habits that people have the power to change.

* In some cases, sugar can dramatically boost the liver's production of VLDL cholesterol, an especially dangerous type, according to a report from the Stanford University Guide to A Healthier Heart. And because sugar is packed with "empty" calories it can easily nudge out more nutritious foods in the diet and increase the chances of obesity, a top coronary risk factor. Prevention, Feb. 1986.

* Smoking doubles the risk of heart disease, accordinkg to the Harvard Doctor's Guide to a Healthier Heart.

* Dr. Dean Ornish warns that the caffeine and other harmful substances in coffee and tea can trigger an irregular heartbeat. A study done by researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center, shows that heavy coffee drinkers (4 or more cups daily) had higher cholesterol levels. The American Journal of Epidemiology, July 1985.

* The American Heart Association lists lack of exercise as a major independent risk factor for heart disease. "A persuasive body of scientific evidence, which has accumulated over the past several decades, indicates that regular, moderate-intensity activity confers substantial health benefits," according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta.

(To be concluded),
Suzanne

Heart Disease, con't

Additional Preventive Measures - While consuming a heart-smart, low-fat, vegetarian diet may be the single most important measure you can take to prevent heart and blood vessel diseases, other preventive factors are also important.

* The nation's cardiologists are big on broccoli, bananas, beans and bran, etc. Almost 200 studies have shown that people eating lots of fruits and veggies have a markedly reduced risk of almost every disease. A diet low in fat, sugar and salt and high in fiber-rich fresh fruits, veggies, unprocessed whole grains, nuts and seeds, constitutes the best "anti heart-attack diet science can devise. Prevention, Feb. 1986.

* Vitamin E has become the champion against heart disease and is the talk of cardiology circles. It is being used by 8 of 10 doctors. And rightly so--according to a British study, 400 to 800 I.U's of this powerful antioxidant lowers the risk of suffering a heart attack by 75%. Lancet, March 23, 1996.

Studies conducted by Harvard researchers found that the incidence of heart disease was 40% less among these with the highest intake of vitamin E compared to those with the lowest intake. Harvard Health Letter, Sept. 1993.

Other studies concluded that taking vitamin E supplements significantly reduced arterial plaque build-up after bypass surgery. And, sufferers from chest pain (angina) reported less pain when taking this vitamin. Let's Live, July 1996. The richest natural source of vitamin E are vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and whole grains. Wheat germ oil is the single richest source.

* Other important heart nutrients include vitamin C, coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), selenium, magnesium and calcium. Herbs that strengthen the heart include: Hawthorn berries, garlic, cayenne, valerian, rosemary, motherwort, buthcher's broom and bilberry. Let's Live, October 1996.

* Exercise offers a cascade of benefits. Dr. Dean Ornish, found that walkikng one-half hour each day in tandem with his low fat vegetarian diet caused the greatest reduiction in mortality for his heart disease patients. Indeed, no matter in which direction you walk, each step takes you further away from the cardiologists's office. A prescription of brisk walkinkg can alter the cholesterol profile for the better. The American Journal of Public Health, Sept. 1990.

* And don't forget these additional preventive factors: adequate sleep, rest, sunshine, stress reduction, fresh air and trust in divine power.

Suzanne

Four Lifesaving Numbers

Women with heart disease can reverse the condition if they get a few key measurements in check. Aim for these benchmarks:

Blood Pressure - It's a major driver of heart disease risk, and lower is better. Get yours under 115/75mm/Hg.

Cholesterol - HDL is key. Strive for over 40 mg/dL (the higher, the better). LDL is less important, but ideally, you should get it under 100 mg/dL.

Blood Sugar - Get it under 100 mg/dL. If you can't maintain it, you likely have an element of diabetes.

Waist Size - Measured at the level of the belly button, it should be half your height (that's 33 inches if you're 5 feet, 6 inches) or less. --Mehmet C. Oz, MD, Reader's Digest, March 2008.

Suzanne

Lower Your Risk of Heart Disease By 30%

A new Harvard study found that women who get their protein from sources other than red meat are far less likiely to suffer from heart disease. Those who ate one daily serving of nuts in place of meat reduced their risk by 30%. Women who ate two servings of red meat daily were at the highest risk. --Healthy Style, Sept/Oct 2010

Suzanne

Man goes into cardiac arrest after eating 'Triple Bypass Burger' from Las Vegas restaurant 'Heart Attack Grill'

by Jonathan Benson, staff writer

(NaturalNews) A 6,000 calorie stack of three beef patties, three slices of processed American cheese, and 12 strips of bacon -- oh, and a couple veggies -- known as the "Triple Bypass Burger" recently lived up to its name at the Las Vegas restaurant "Heart Attack Grill" where it is served. Complete with "Flatline Fries" and a large soft drink, the facetious meal became a living embodiment of diet-induced illness when a customer suffered cardiac arrest while consuming the meal, upon which he was wheeled away on a stretcher and taken to the emergency room.

The UK's Daily Mail reports that, because of the irony of the situation, many of the other customers and onlookers present at the time of the incident believed it to be some kind of publicity stunt. But the restaurant's owner, Jon Basso, a former nutritionist, insists the heart attack was very real, and that as "morbid" as the company's sense of humor is, it would never "pull a stunt like that."

"The gentleman could barely talk. He was sweating, suffering," Basso is quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. "I actually felt horrible for him because the tourists were taking photos of him as if it were some type of stunt."

One onlooker actually captured video footage of the incident as it occurred, which he later uploaded to YouTube. You can view that video footage here:
http://youtu.be/s2JVfAoyG4o

The Heart Attack Grill is obviously designed as a tongue-in-cheek spoof of the diseases and health conditions commonly attributed to eating excessive amounts of junk food. Besides employing a wait staff that dresses as doctors and nurses, Basso has reportedly gone so far as to create an advertising campaign that offered to pay for the meals of all customers who weighed at least 350 pounds, and even hired a more than 600 pound man to be the commercial spokesman for the campaign.

However, during a recent interview on FOX News' Fox and Friends, Basso told viewers that his restaurant is not really about causing people to develop health problems, but rather about being "a place where you can live the way our Founding Fathers intended us to live." In other words, the real reason George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the others sought independence from England was apparently to establish a processed "foodocracy" where individuals were free to eat themselves to death.

Sources for this article include:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk

http://www.foxnews.com

Suzanne

That's so funny... in a sick sort of way.

Kind of reminds me of something like "death sticks" advertized by a cigarette company.

Preventing cardiovascular disease could be as simple as serving more cauliflower. In a new study, People who ate the most white-fleshed veggies and fruits, (radishes, bananas, and pears, etc.) cut their risk of stroke in half. --Whole Living, February 2012.

Suzanne