Easy-peasy way to rid heart disease

image

Heart disease is the number one killer in civilized nations with evidence clearly showing that the incidence of heart disease is directly related to our abnormal dietary habits through the SAD (Standard American Diet).

Wherever people live on a diet high in refined carbohydrates and animal fats, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, arthrosclerosis, angina, and other degenerative heart changes occur most frequently.

A great deal of confusion exists about the role of animal fats as one of the causes of heart disease.

Until the early 70s it was a commonly accepted assumption that excess consumption of the saturated fats found in flesh, eggs, and dairy products were the main cause of these illnesses.

But that view could never explain why traditional Eskimos or other tribal people who eat large amounts of animal fats do not exhibit an increased incidence of heart disease. Yet, most doctors stuck to their beliefs and repeated the flesh-heart mantra regularly.

It may not be totally correct, but at least it’s simple and easy to chant without having to go into too much time- consuming detail.

The problem with much of the past research has been the traditional tendency to try, whenever possible, to find a single, simple “something” that will explain a particular disease. What they failed to understand was that heart disease, like most degenerative diseases, for that matter, is a result of a total lifestyle, and not a simple dietary excess or deficiency.

When you look at the true causes of degenerative heart disease, you have to keep in mind that people, as individuals, respond to causes differently. But the one factor that stands out as the major cause of heart disease is diet.

The saturated fats, which are commonly found in flesh foods, are a problem. This has been long suspected and unfortunately the situation is getting worse, not better.

Flesh products contain a very high percentage of complicated fats that cause a rise in blood cholesterol, which has been associated with the formation of atherosclerotic plaques on the arterial walls.

So, when we equate heart disease with diet, the SAD is higher in animal fats and animal proteins and cholesterol than in many populations with less heart disease. It’s a given that cannot be denied.

Things have changed. Domesticated animals have a much higher percentage of saturated fat than wild animals, due to a different diet (GMO grains, feathers and blood, the remains of the dead, dying, diseased, and decayed animals unfit for human consumption, stink reducers, color enhancers and carbon monoxide to extend the shelf life to 3 weeks), and Monsanto’s growth hormones used by various cattle and poultry industries to fatten their stock artificially.

Cow’s milk, ignoring the fact that it was not designed by nature for humans and the fact that it needs to be brought to a boil three times before ingestion, is now pasteurized, which kills everything in it, and homogenized, which makes the fat particles more easily digested, and is full of hormones, antibiotics and pus (from the udder infections), making it a joy to ingest and yet we feed this to infants, resulting in cases of atherosclerosis by the age of 5. And we wonder why heart disease, once a disease of middle age, is now hitting people in their twenties.

The cholesterol story is not a simple one. Although multiple studies prove that an elevated blood cholesterol level is definitely associated with an increased risk of heart disease, it cannot be said that from this date that dietary cholesterol is the single most important factor causing the increased blood cholesterol.

In fact, a modest increase in dietary cholesterol has been shown to give no significant rise in blood cholesterol levels. While it is true that excessive cholesterol in the diet will affect blood cholesterol levels, of way more importance to the total blood fat picture is the body’s ability to form cholesterol within the body from other nonfat energy sources, such as protein.

In support of the observation that vegetarians, and especially vegans, in general have lower cholesterol levels than those that eat flesh, it has been found that certain amino acids like histidine, arginine, and lysine, found in highest concentrations in flesh products, are capable of being converted to cholesterol within the body.

Cholesterol is also a component on the platelet cell membrane and as the blood cholesterol rises, so does platelet cholesterol. With this comes the tendency for the platelet to stick to the cell wall. Once the platelet sticks to the artery wall, it releases chemicals that cause a narrowing of the blood vessels, restricting blood flow to the heart.

There has been numerous research that has helped clarify many of the previously unanswered questions about the diet/heart disease link. A significant finding was that when cholesterol was allowed to go rancid, heart disease always manifested, indicating that rancid oil factors were indeed the primary factor.

Most blood cholesterol is made within the body and this in turn depends upon the amount and kind of protein eaten, the amount and kind of fat eaten, the levels of certain vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids, as well as stress, alcohol consumption, exercise level, and the interrelationship of all the previously mentioned causative factors. So, again, heart disease is not caused by a single factor.

Saturated fats, although central to the increase of heart disease, do not work in isolation in the diet. Refined carbohydrates and specifically sugar are also known to increase fat levels in the blood. This combination of sugar or refined carbohydrates taken with saturated fats seems to cause the highest of all increases of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood. And this combination of foods is extremely common in the modern diet from early childhood on.

Take, for example, the typical milkshake (sugar and milk) or a hamburger and a Coke or Pepsi (flesh, refined white flour bun, and sugar). While saturated fat consumption has increased only about 10 to 15 percent in the last 135 years, the increase in refined carbohydrates and sugar has gone up to a whopping 700 percent.

This increase in the consumption of refined carbohydrates, especially sugar, is the single most important factor effecting a rise in blood triglycerides. The bottom line: high sucrose consumption links to coronary heart disease. And now with Monsanto creating GMO sugar, it hits the fan big time.

As a side note, and to play it safe, your sweeteners should only include stevia, honey, or maple syrup. Otherwise, you’ll never know until a GMO labeling bill can be passed..

Then there is research that indicates that unsaturated vegetable oils may also be related to some degenerative diseases. It’s not rocket science when you consider the type of oils normally consumed in the USA – refined, heat-treated, and partially hydrogenated.

Heat-treated oils undergo a transformation from the chemically normal form to the more stable but abnormal trans or rancid form. This trans form, not normally found in these oils, if cold-pressed or unheated, is more reactive with oxidants, producing rancidity by-products that, as we have seen, cause an elevation in the circulation of possible mutant substances, which may initiate damage to the arterial walls, equating to the production of atherosclerotic plaques buildup, with plaque being the factor associated with coronary heart disease. Partially hydrogenated, unsaturated oils like margarine are also a factor.

When people converted from butter to margarine, thinking to reduce their total dietary cholesterol intake, it had an opposite effect. Hydrogenated oils are high in trans forms of fatty acids, which inhibits a liver enzyme responsible for converting cholesterol into bile acids. It’s the bile acids that transport cholesterol out of the body. Guess what? If cholesterol is not converted to bile, it accumulates in the blood, which is the exact opposite of the desired result.

Fats, being water-insoluble, must be carried in the blood by a lipoprotein, which come in various shapes and sizes.

The low-density lipoproteins (LDL) are large, cholesterol-laden molecules. At high levels in the blood they are a significant factor associated with and increased risk of coronary heart disease.

High-density lipoproteins (HDL) are smaller molecules with more protein and less cholesterol and triglycerides. When these are found in high levels in the blood there is a reduced risk of heart disease. Plus, the HDLs help transport cholesterol from the blood to the liver where it can be converted to bile and then removed from the body.

With the discovery that these lipoproteins can be predictors of the risk of heart disease came a new area of research showing how individual foods, vitamins, and minerals affect the interrelationship of these factors, as well as cholesterol and triglycerides, giving us a better insight as to their relative effectiveness.

Vitamin C helps increase HDL levels and lowers LDL levels, protecting against coronary heart disease. It also dramatically reduces high elevations of blood cholesterol by activating the conversion of cholesterol into bile salts.

Vitamin B complex, lost in the refining process of starches and essential in the metabolism of carbohydrates, is known to keep cholesterol from collecting in plaque.

Vitamin E, also stripped away with the germ of grains and lost in the refining of oils, is essential for a healthy heart. It helps dissolve blood clots, dilates blood vessels, and conserves oxygen so that the heart can work less. And, as an antioxidant, it prevents fatty acids from becoming toxic in the body.

Lecithin, containing choline of the vitamin B complex group, is essential for the proper use of fat and cholesterol in the body and its use significantly lowers blood cholesterol levels. There is a caution however. Lecithin comes from soy and 90 – 95 percent of all soy is GMO. So, be sure to get non-GMO or organic lecithin. It’s no wonder that Hershey’s voted against Proposition 37 in California. Lecithin is in chocolate.

Essential fatty acids rich in omega 3s decrease platelet adhesion, increase bleeding time, and reduce risk of
heart disease because they reduce blood cholesterol and increase HDLs.

Bran fiber reduces blood cholesterol and triglycerides, increases HDL, and lowers LDL.

It also helps prevent recycling of bile from the bowel back to the liver, which signals a reduction of cholesterol conversion to bile, causing a blood cholesterol increase.

Lactobacillus lowers cholesterol levels by normalizing bowel ecology, preventing cholesterol production from within the system.

Cultured milk products like yogurt, kefir, and buttermilk, if used daily, can lower blood cholesterol 5 to 6 percent. Whether the weight gain suits you is entirely up to you.

Garlic and onion lower blood cholesterol and reduce platelet adhesiveness, as well as reducing triglycerides and increasing HDLs. The extracts are more powerful.
Soy protein lowers blood cholesterol. Again, be conscious of the GMO factor.

A second major cause of heart disease is lack of demanding exercise. As general physical activity levels have decreased, heart disease has increased. Demanding physical exercise, the kind that gets the blood flowing and the heart pumping, helps clear the arteries of any early deposits and prevents atherosclerosis and high blood pressure. To be effective, the heart rate must rise to the point of breathlessness for at least 5 minutes a day.

Stress, coffee, cigarettes, alcohol, and obesity are more contributing factors. All these increase cholesterol, glucose, and triglyceride levels, and cause a narrowing of the arteries.

So, along with eating a plant-based diet consisting of vegetables, fruits, whole grains and plant proteins like legumes, tofu, nuts, and seeds, instead of flesh proteins, your fats should be healthy fats. Specific foods that protect against heart disease, are:

Kale – full of flavonoides, omega 3s, and vitamin K, which are all anti-inflammatory.
Omega 3s – flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, walnuts, sea vegetable like dulse, arame, nori, wakame, and kombu.
Pomegranates – high in antioxidants, have anti-inflammatory effects, and reduce buildup of plaque.
Nuts – lower cholesterol and good sources of fiber.
Garlic – slows hardening of the arteries and helps lower blood pressure.
Lentils – helps lower homocysteine levels, increases blood flow and oxygen
Berries – rich in fiber, antioxidents, full of beta-carotene, carotenoids, vitamin C, folate, magnesium, potassium.
Whole grains – black rice (the best of the best), red rice, brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, barley, etc. Loaded with fiber.

Well, there it is. Why heart disease manifests and how to reverse it. The only problem is trying to get the intelligence to override the dictates of the tongue, which has developed a particular attraction for a certain taste. But, a change in diet is way better than a trip to the doctor or hospital and a life of endless, toxic, synthetic drugs, heart surgery, or premature death.

Aloha!

Sources:
www.asanediet.com
www.health.harvard.edu
www.forksoverknives.com
www.theminimalvegan.com

Hesh Goldstein
When I was a kid, if I were told that I'd be writing a book about diet and nutrition when I was older, let alone having been doing a health related radio show for over 36 years, I would've thought that whoever told me that was out of their mind. Living in Newark, New Jersey, my parents and I consumed anything and everything that had a face or a mother except for dead, rotting, pig bodies, although we did eat bacon (as if all the other decomposing flesh bodies were somehow miraculously clean). Going through high school and college it was no different. In fact, my dietary change did not come until I was in my 30's.

Just to put things in perspective, after I graduated from Weequahic High School and before going to Seton Hall University, I had a part-time job working for a butcher. I was the delivery guy and occasionally had to go to the slaughterhouse to pick up products for the store. Needless to say, I had no consciousness nor awareness, as change never came then despite the horrors I witnessed on an almost daily basis.

After graduating with a degree in accounting from Seton Hall, I eventually got married and moved to a town called Livingston. Livingston was basically a yuppie community where everyone was judged by the neighborhood they lived in and their income. To say it was a "plastic" community would be an understatement.

Livingston and the shallowness finally got to me. I told my wife I was fed up and wanted to move. She made it clear she had to be near her friends and New York City. I finally got my act together and split for Colorado.

I was living with a lady in Aspen at the end of 1974, when one day she said, " let's become vegetarians". I have no idea what possessed me to say it, but I said, "okay"! At that point I went to the freezer and took out about $100 worth of frozen, dead body parts and gave them to a welfare mother who lived behind us. Well, everything was great for about a week or so, and then the chick split with another guy.

So here I was, a vegetarian for a couple weeks, not really knowing what to do, how to cook, or basically how to prepare anything. For about a month, I was getting by on carrot sticks, celery sticks, and yogurt. Fortunately, when I went vegan in 1990, it was a simple and natural progression. Anyway, as I walked around Aspen town, I noticed a little vegetarian restaurant called, "The Little Kitchen".

Let me back up just a little bit. It was April of 1975, the snow was melting and the runoff of Ajax Mountain filled the streets full of knee-deep mud. Now, Aspen was great to ski in, but was a bummer to walk in when the snow was melting.

I was ready to call it quits and I needed a warmer place. I'll elaborate on that in a minute.

But right now, back to "The Little Kitchen". Knowing that I was going to leave Aspen and basically a new vegetarian, I needed help. So, I cruised into the restaurant and told them my plight and asked them if they would teach me how to cook. I told them in return I would wash dishes and empty their trash. They then asked me what I did for a living and I told them I was an accountant.

The owner said to me, "Let's make a deal. You do our tax return and we'll feed you as well". So for the next couple of weeks I was doing their tax return, washing their dishes, emptying the trash, and learning as much as I could.

But, like I said, the mud was getting to me. So I picked up a travel book written by a guy named Foder. The name of the book was, "Hawaii". Looking through the book I noticed that in Lahaina, on Maui, there was a little vegetarian restaurant called," Mr. Natural's". I decided right then and there that I would go to Lahaina and work at "Mr. Natural's." To make a long story short, that's exactly what happened.

So, I'm working at "Mr. Natural's" and learning everything I can about my new dietary lifestyle - it was great. Every afternoon we would close for lunch at about 1 PM and go to the Sheraton Hotel in Ka'anapali and play volleyball, while somebody stayed behind to prepare dinner.

Since I was the new guy, and didn't really know how to cook, I never thought that I would be asked to stay behind to cook dinner. Well, one afternoon, that's exactly what happened; it was my turn. That posed a problem for me because I was at the point where I finally knew how to boil water.

I was desperate, clueless and basically up the creek without a paddle. Fortunately, there was a friend of mine sitting in the gazebo at the restaurant and I asked him if he knew how to cook. He said the only thing he knew how to cook was enchiladas. He said that his enchiladas were bean-less and dairy-less. I told him that I had no idea what an enchilada was or what he was talking about, but I needed him to show me because it was my turn to do the evening meal.

Well, the guys came back from playing volleyball and I'm asked what was for dinner. I told them enchiladas; the owner wasn't thrilled. I told him that mine were bean-less and dairy-less. When he tried the enchilada he said it was incredible. Being the humble guy that I was, I smiled and said, "You expected anything less"? It apparently was so good that it was the only item on the menu that we served twice a week. In fact, after about a week, we were selling five dozen every night we had them on the menu and people would walk around Lahaina broadcasting, 'enchilada's at "Natural's" tonight'. I never had to cook anything else.

A year later the restaurant closed, and somehow I gravitated to a little health food store in Wailuku. I never told anyone I was an accountant and basically relegated myself to being the truck driver. The guys who were running the health food store had friends in similar businesses and farms on many of the islands. I told them that if they could organize and form one company they could probably lock in the State. That's when they found out I was an accountant and "Down to Earth" was born. "Down to Earth" became the largest natural food store chain in the islands, and I was their Chief Financial Officer and co-manager of their biggest store for 13 years.

In 1981, I started to do a weekly radio show to try and expose people to a vegetarian diet and get them away from killing innocent creatures. I still do that show today. I pay for my own airtime and have no sponsors to not compromise my honesty. One bit of a hassle was the fact that I was forced to get a Masters Degree in Nutrition to shut up all the MD's that would call in asking for my credentials.

My doing this radio show enabled me, through endless research, to see the corruption that existed within the big food industries, the big pharmaceutical companies, the biotech industries and the government agencies. This information, unconscionable as it is, enabled me to realize how broken our health system is. This will be covered more in depth in the Introduction and throughout the book and when you finish the book you will see this clearly and it will hopefully inspire you to make changes.

I left Down to Earth in 1989, got nationally certified as a sports injury massage therapist and started traveling the world with a bunch of guys that were making a martial arts movie. After doing that for about four years I finally made it back to Honolulu and got a job as a massage therapist at the Honolulu Club, one of Hawaii's premier fitness clubs. It was there I met the love of my life who I have been with since 1998. She made me an offer I couldn't refuse. She said," If you want to be with me you've got to stop working on naked women". So, I went back into accounting and was the Chief Financial Officer of a large construction company for many years.

Going back to my Newark days when I was an infant, I had no idea what a "chicken" or "egg" or "fish" or "pig" or "cow" was. My dietary blueprint was thrust upon me by my parents as theirs was thrust upon them by their parents. It was by the grace of God that I was able to put things in their proper perspective and improve my health and elevate my consciousness.

The road that I started walking down in 1975 has finally led me to the point of writing my book, “A Sane Diet For An Insane World”. Hopefully, the information contained herein will be enlightening, motivating, and inspiring to encourage you to make different choices. Doing what we do out of conditioning is not always the best course to follow. I am hoping that by the grace of the many friends and personalities I have encountered along my path, you will have a better perspective of what road is the best road for you to travel on, not only for your health but your consciousness as well.

Last but not least: after being vaccinated as a kid I developed asthma, which plagued me all of my life. In 2007 I got exposed to the organic sulfur crystals, which got rid of my asthma in 3 days and has not come back in over 10 years. That, being the tip of the iceberg, has helped people reverse stage 4 cancers, autism, joint pain, blood pressure problems, migraine headaches, erectile dysfunction, gingivitis, and more. Also, because of the detoxification effects by the release of oxygen that permeates and heals all the cells in the body, it removes parasites, radiation, fluoride, free radicals, and all the other crap that is thrust upon us in the environment by Big Business.

For more, please view www.healthtalkhawaii.com and www.asanediet.com.

Namaste!