Defusing the "time-bomb" of Cholesterol

Almost every adult living in an industrialized nation develops some degree of atherosclerosis.  This is where arteries harden because of fatty streaks, leading to plaque build up and ultimately blockages in the coronary arteries.  Atherosclerosis leads to stroke, heart attacks and many other serious health problems.  Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women.

Can food choices affect one's cholesterol level and lead to promoting or reducing overall cholesterol levels?  Every animal cell, both human and nonhumans, contains cholesterol.  Cholesterol is important in some cell functions.  However, the liver produces all the cholesterol the body needs.  There is no need to consume any in ones diet.

Cholesterol and fats move through the body in protein packages call lipoproteins.  Low density lipoproteins (LDL's) carry cholesterol to the organs through the arteries.  The LDL's deposit their loads through the inner walls of the arteries.  The process encourages the growth of deposits, called plaques, on the artery walls which narrow the artery and obstruct the flow of blood.  If the blood flow to the heart is blocked, a heart attack has occurred.  If the flood flow to the brain is blocked, a stroke has occurred.  Since LDL's promote atherosclerosis, they are know as "bad Cholesterol." The higher the LDL level, the higher the risk of heart problems.

SO WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THIS EVIL LDL CHOLESTEROL?
Cholesterol in foods we eat increases the levels of LDL's in our blood.  Cholesterol is found only in animal products!  Meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, and eggs all contain cholesterol, while plant products do not.  Choosing lean cuts of meat is not enough; the cholesterol is mainly in the lean portion.  Many people are surprised to learn that chicken contains as much cholesterol as beef.  Every four-ounce serving of beef or chicken contains 100 milligrams of cholesterol.  Most shell fish are very high in cholesterol.  There is no "good cholesterol" in any food.  Cholesterol in foods raise the cholesterol level in one's blood.  The best thing to do is to keep one's fat intake very low and to avoid all animal products.

THE VEGAN DIET
As suggested above, basing one's diet on plant foods - Grains, beans, vegetables, and fruits is the best way to keep saturated fat intake low and to avoid cholesterol completely.  A vegan diet is free of all animal products and yields the lowest risk of heart disease.  One study showed that people who adopt a vegetarian diet reduce their saturated fat intake by 26 percent and achieve a significant drop in cholesterol levels in just six weeks. (Masarei JR. Vegetarian diet, lipids and cardiovascular risk. Aust NZ J. Med. 1984.)  Besides the very low levels of fat eaten in a typical vegetarian diet, vegetable protein also helps decrease risk for heart disease.  Studies have shown that replacing animal protein with plant based protein reduces blood cholesterol levels dramatically.

BOTTOM LINE TO DEFUSE THE "TIMEBOMB" OF CHOLESTEROL.
A Whole foods, Plant Based Diet is the most powerful way to reduce blood cholesterol.
A Plant Based Diet is the fastest and most healthful way to reduce overall body weight.
A low-fat, vegetarian diet coupled with exercise is the best way to lower one's cholesterol levels and can even reverse heart disease for many people.

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Why smoothies may not be the best way to get your nutrition.

I recently attended the Plant-Based Prevention of Disease  (P-POD) Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the campus of NC State.  One of the key note speakers at the conference was Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. from the Institute of Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic.  I have been with him on two occasions and each time I have heard him say that Smoothies may not be the best way to get your nutrition.  I remember from my first visit with him the first reason, but this time I learned the second critical reason.

1.  When you process greens and fruit together in a high speed blender, you liberate the sugars from the fiber making the sugars too easily available and quickly absorbed into the body.  That seems like a good thing, but it causes the blood sugar to "spike" and "skyrocket."  This is much like drinking a very sugary drink.

2.  The second reason was even more intriguing to me.  When you choose to drink your green vegetables rather than chew them, you skip a vital step in the biochemical process.  It was explained this way:  Chewing greens is the first step in adding necessary enzymes to the nitrogen found in the green vegetables. The by-product of this chewing process changes the nitrogen, through enzymatic action, into Nitrates.  When the nitrates are then swallowed the second enzymatic process changes the nitrates into "nitrites."  These nitrites are then quickly converted into "nitric oxide," the chemical that is quickly released through the "endothelium" in the coronary arteries.  It is this release of "nitric oxide" through the lining of the coronary arteries (the endothelium) that keeps the blood "slippery" and keeps it from sticking to the artery lining, causing plaque buildup and eventually blockages.

So there you have it.  The recommendation is to eat 5-6 servings of Greens every day.  Chew them carefully in order to properly release the enzymes.  In so doing, you will bath your endothelium in an abundant supply of nitric oxide and keep your coronary arteries clear of further plaque buildup.  This is one of the vital steps in halting and reversing coronary artery disease.
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Why are we so slow to change?

Why are people so slow to change?  Anyone who has adopted a plant-based diet becomes quickly astonished at what other people are still putting on their plates.  Although the research is clear and compelling, whether you consider the animal suffering, the cost to the environment, or the toll in human suffering through illness, an animal based diet makes no sense.  Certainly, more people than ever have taken animals off the menu.  But if the issues are so obvious, why doesn't everyone change?  The answer is multi-faceted.  But, simply stated, logic does not direct human behavior for the most part.

Like it or not, herd mentality is hard-wired into our brains.  Logic is slow and deliberate; herd instinct is instantaneous.  So why doesn't everyone change?  Because the rest of the herd, so to speak, is eating less-than-healthy fare.  We are comforted in the thought that what most people are doing ought to be best for us, too.  Meanwhile, Americans remain the most unhealthy of all people on the earth.  We spend the most on healthcare and are 38th in our ranking of health, (at the bottom) when compared with other nations.

The federal government has so far shirked its responsibility.  Loyal to agribusiness and surprisingly indifferent to health, the government gives only garbled hints about the risks of meat-based diets.  The new Dietary Guidelines for Americans follow the familiar pattern.  They are clear about the benefits of fruits and vegetables, but careful not to overtly criticize meat or dairy products.  Instead, they couch any cautionary language in biochemical terms, like "saturated fats" and "cholesterol," which are only loosely tied to specific foods in most people's minds.  The government's policies are careful not to disrupt the herd mentality that keeps American beef, chicken, and cheese in grocery carts and on American differ tables.

So what will it take to redirect the American headlong plunge into the disasters of obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and other health problems?  Probably, only personal health crises!  But, things are beginning to change.  People are becoming informed about the positive health benefits of vegetarian and vegan dietary lifestyle changes.
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Comments adapted from Dr. Neal Barnard, M.D.  President of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
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Plant-Based Prevention of Disease

This Saturday morning (September 11th) I will drive to Raleigh, North Carolina, to NC State University, to attend a portion of the second annual conference of P-POD.  Plant-Based Prevention of Disease.  This national conference is yet another indication of the revolution happening in America related to nutrition and the diseases of affluence.

Some of the learning objectives for the conference include:
1.  Identify dietary risk factors associated with development of progression of major chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer and diabetes.

2.  Describe evidence for specific protective mechanisms and health benefits that may be provided at cellular, individual and global levels via plant-based nutrition.

3.  Discuss how nutritional advisement emphasizing plant-based approaches may be integrated into clinical practice, thus facilitating positive, measurable and cost effective clinical outcomes for various preventable chronic diseases.

4.  Identify factors that influence dietary choices or discourage behavior change, as well as strategies and techniques from promoting sustainable nutritional advancement in individuals and communities.

Some of the speakers will be:
Thomas M. Campbell II, MD Co-author of The China Study. Cornell University
Diet and Autoimmune Disease: Alternative Fringe or "Real" Medicine?

Hope Ferdowsian, MD, Georgetown U. Med. Center
Health Benefits of a Plant-Based Diet for Women

Robert Ostfeld, MD, Montefiore Einstein Cardiac Wellness Center
Your Heart on Plants.

Gordon Saxe, MD, University of Calif. San Diego.
Whole-Food Plant-based diets in the Prevention or Control of Cancer.

Milton Mills, MD, Inova Fairfax Hospital
How Plant-based Diets improve the interaction between the Gut Microbiome and Human Immune Function, Physiology and Psychology.

Ted Barnett, MD, Unity Health system, Rochester, NY
Dietary Guidelines: Politics and Practice

Amy Lanou, PhD, University of North Carolina, Asheville
Nutrition and Bone Health Update, and Strategies for Getting off the Dairy-Go-Round.

Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr.  Cleveland Clinic, Wellness Institute.
The Nutritional Reversal of Cardiovascular Disease: Fact or Fiction?

I will be sure to report back what this slate of all stars bring to the conversation of plant-based lifestyle and the prevention and reversal of diseases.  Join the revolution for yourself, your family and the world!
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