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VITAL STREAM NATUROPATHY
VITAL STREAM NATUROPATHY
Heart Disease Disclaimer Stroke Awareness Questionnaire Resources
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for both adult men and women. Though heart disease has been long
considered to be a more serious health problem for men than for women, five times more women die from a heart attack than
from breast cancer.(1) Many factors (some modifiable and some not) contribute to this disease process including poor diet, lack
of exercise, poor stress management skills, smoking and various other lifestyle habits, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, genetic
predisposition (familial hyperlipidemia), menopause, hormone replacement therapy, high total and LDL blood cholesterol levels,
high blood homocysteine levels, chronic inflammation, etc. Assess your risks of heart disease.
Most heart disease diets have the primary goal of lowering total and LDL (“bad”) blood cholesterol levels. However, lowering
blood cholesterol levels is just one of many ways to protect your heart, and in fact, may not be the most important one.
Interestingly, if all of the adults in the U.S. were to go on a cholesterol-lowering diet for the rest of their lives, life expectancy would
increase by only three months for women and four months for men.(2) Obviously, we need to reduce other risk factors as well as
cholesterol.
Most heart attacks are the result of thirty or more years of a slowly progressive disease process. Assess your risks of a heart
attack at HeartRiskEvaluations.com. What is the process that leads to heart disease and what can we do to minimize or prevent
it?
The first step in the disease process is injury to the (coronary) arterial wall. This occurs through direct trauma, such as when
blood is forcefully flowing through the artery, as in hypertension. Another source of arterial wall injury is likely from free radical
damage. Free radicals are atoms or molecules that have an extra electron on their periphery that is highly reactive. Billions of
these free radicals are produced in every puff of smoke of a cigarette (or inhalation of second hand smoke or air pollution), and
billions more are produced by the biochemical reactions within our bodies, radiation, environmental toxins and what we
consume—especially fats. Our body cell membranes are particularly vulnerable to attack and damage by these free radicals.
Chronic inflammation also seems to make our blood vessel walls vulnerable to the genesis of heart disease.
With heart disease we are concerned about damage to the cells lining our arterial walls. Some damage is unavoidable because
it is caused by normal wear and tear, but other sources of damage are modifiable and avoidable: smoking, controlling blood
pressure, managing stress effectively, minimizing exposure to radiation and other environmental toxins, the quality of our diet,
obesity, controlling blood glucose levels, minimizing underlying inflammation and controlling blood homocysteine levels. In
American men, high homocysteine levels have been implicated in as many as 30% of heart attacks and strokes suffered by this
group.(3)
The second step in the genesis of heart disease is arterial wall inflammation following the damage, where the body’s
“handymen”, including platelets and white blood cells, arrive at the scene to patch the injured spot(s). Preventing chronic
arterial wall inflammation and reducing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol are similarly effective in lowering one’s risk of heart attack and
stroke.(4) Omega-3 essential fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties similar to aspirin though they do not injure the
sensitive stomach lining as aspirin does. This is one of the reasons that fish is a heart-healthy food—because it’s high in omega-
3 essential fatty acids. A 1996 study demonstrated that men who ate fatty fish on a regular basis were 42% less likely to die from
a heart attack than men who did not eat fish.(5)
The third step in the genesis of heart disease is the gradual accumulation of plaque (oxidized cholesterol) inside the arterial
wall. LDL (“bad”) cholesterol is engulfed by special white blood cells called macrophages (like Pac-Man) and transported inside
the arterial walls at the site of injury/inflammation. However, before the LDL cholesterol is engulfed by macrophages, it must be
destructively oxidized. If the LDL cholesterol is not oxidized, macrophages won’t pick it up and transport it inside the damaged
arterial walls and plaque accumulation is prevented.(6) How do we minimize this process of oxidation of LDL cholesterol? By
consuming monounsaturated oils in the diet (olive and canola oils) that are naturally resistant to oxidation, by avoiding oxidized
dietary fats (damaged by heat and light) and by increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables that are high in natural
antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C and E, carotenoids, selenium, etc. Multiple studies have demonstrated that the more
antioxidants in your bloodstream, the lower your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.(7)
The fourth (and critical) step in the genesis of heart disease is the buildup of arterial wall plaques so large that they block a
critical coronary artery. The more oxidized LDL cholesterol you have in your blood, the faster and more extensively this process
occurs. Fortunately our body has a built-in way to keep LDL cholesterol levels in check: HDL (“good”) cholesterol. The HDL
cholesterol circulates in the blood, scooping up LDL cholesterol and transporting it to the liver where it is grabbed by special
receptors, drawn into liver cells and broken down into less harmful substances. The more HDL cholesterol you have circulating in
your blood, the less oxidized LDL cholesterol you’ll have in plaques in your arterial wall. Monounsaturated oils will lower LDL
cholesterol levels and maintain or raise HDL cholesterol levels—no other fats have this effect. (8)
The progression of heart disease continues until a large plaque in a coronary arterial wall ruptures into the blood stream,
triggering the formation of a blood clot blocking the supply of blood to the heart muscle where heart muscle cells are
deprived of oxygen and begin to die. Heart attacks are serious, traumatic events but are not always lethal: you have a three out of
five chance of surviving the ordeal. This significantly depends upon how your heart responds to the trauma. If it begins to beat
uncontrollably as in a malignant ventricular arrhythmia, then your chances of survival are slim.(9) If you are treated within the first
“golden hour” of the onset of the heart attack (blockage of the coronary artery) and your heart rhythm is maintained, you may
survive the ordeal. You know the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”? That certainly applies to heart
disease.
Resources
1. Simopoulos, Artemis P. MD and Robinson, Jo. The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete.
1999. HarperCollins, NY.
2. Browner WS, Westenhouse J and Tice JA. What if Americans ate less fat? JAMA, 1991; 265 (24): 3285-91.
3. “Research Group Hails Folic Acid as a Preventer of Heart Disease,” in New York Times. 1995. p. A11.
4. Ridker PM, et al. Inflammation, aspirin, and the risk of cardiovascular disease in apparently healthy men. N Engl J Med, 1997; 336 (14): 973-9.
5. Daviglus, ML. Fish consumption and the 30-year risk of myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med, 1977; 336: 1046-53.
6. Simopoulos, Artemis P, MD and Robinson, Jo. The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete.
1999. HarperCollins, NY.
7. Kushi, LH, Folsom AR, Prineas RJ and Bostick RM.Dietary antioxidant vitamins and death from coronary heart disease in postmenopausal
women. N Engl J Med, 1996; 334: 1156-62.
8. Simopoulos, Artemis P, MD and Robinson, J. The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete.
1999. HarperCollins, NY.
9. Ibid
Acknowledgment to Bastyr University for this content.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. for both adult men and women. Though heart disease has been long
considered to be a more serious health problem for men than for women, five times more women die from a heart attack than
from breast cancer.(1) Many factors (some modifiable and some not) contribute to this disease process including poor diet, lack
of exercise, poor stress management skills, smoking and various other lifestyle habits, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, genetic
predisposition (familial hyperlipidemia), menopause, hormone replacement therapy, high total and LDL blood cholesterol levels,
high blood homocysteine levels, chronic inflammation, etc. Assess your risks of heart disease.
Most heart disease diets have the primary goal of lowering total and LDL (“bad”) blood cholesterol levels. However, lowering
blood cholesterol levels is just one of many ways to protect your heart, and in fact, may not be the most important one.
Interestingly, if all of the adults in the U.S. were to go on a cholesterol-lowering diet for the rest of their lives, life expectancy would
increase by only three months for women and four months for men.(2) Obviously, we need to reduce other risk factors as well as
cholesterol.
Most heart attacks are the result of thirty or more years of a slowly progressive disease process. Assess your risks of a heart
attack at HeartRiskEvaluations.com. What is the process that leads to heart disease and what can we do to minimize or prevent
it?
The first step in the disease process is injury to the (coronary) arterial wall. This occurs through direct trauma, such as when
blood is forcefully flowing through the artery, as in hypertension. Another source of arterial wall injury is likely from free radical
damage. Free radicals are atoms or molecules that have an extra electron on their periphery that is highly reactive. Billions of
these free radicals are produced in every puff of smoke of a cigarette (or inhalation of second hand smoke or air pollution), and
billions more are produced by the biochemical reactions within our bodies, radiation, environmental toxins and what we
consume—especially fats. Our body cell membranes are particularly vulnerable to attack and damage by these free radicals.
Chronic inflammation also seems to make our blood vessel walls vulnerable to the genesis of heart disease.
With heart disease we are concerned about damage to the cells lining our arterial walls. Some damage is unavoidable because
it is caused by normal wear and tear, but other sources of damage are modifiable and avoidable: smoking, controlling blood
pressure, managing stress effectively, minimizing exposure to radiation and other environmental toxins, the quality of our diet,
obesity, controlling blood glucose levels, minimizing underlying inflammation and controlling blood homocysteine levels. In
American men, high homocysteine levels have been implicated in as many as 30% of heart attacks and strokes suffered by this
group.(3)
The second step in the genesis of heart disease is arterial wall inflammation following the damage, where the body’s
“handymen”, including platelets and white blood cells, arrive at the scene to patch the injured spot(s). Preventing chronic
arterial wall inflammation and reducing LDL (“bad”) cholesterol are similarly effective in lowering one’s risk of heart attack and
stroke.(4) Omega-3 essential fatty acids have anti-inflammatory properties similar to aspirin though they do not injure the
sensitive stomach lining as aspirin does. This is one of the reasons that fish is a heart-healthy food—because it’s high in omega-
3 essential fatty acids. A 1996 study demonstrated that men who ate fatty fish on a regular basis were 42% less likely to die from
a heart attack than men who did not eat fish.(5)
The third step in the genesis of heart disease is the gradual accumulation of plaque (oxidized cholesterol) inside the arterial
wall. LDL (“bad”) cholesterol is engulfed by special white blood cells called macrophages (like Pac-Man) and transported inside
the arterial walls at the site of injury/inflammation. However, before the LDL cholesterol is engulfed by macrophages, it must be
destructively oxidized. If the LDL cholesterol is not oxidized, macrophages won’t pick it up and transport it inside the damaged
arterial walls and plaque accumulation is prevented.(6) How do we minimize this process of oxidation of LDL cholesterol? By
consuming monounsaturated oils in the diet (olive and canola oils) that are naturally resistant to oxidation, by avoiding oxidized
dietary fats (damaged by heat and light) and by increasing consumption of fruits and vegetables that are high in natural
antioxidants such as Vitamins A, C and E, carotenoids, selenium, etc. Multiple studies have demonstrated that the more
antioxidants in your bloodstream, the lower your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease.(7)
The fourth (and critical) step in the genesis of heart disease is the buildup of arterial wall plaques so large that they block a
critical coronary artery. The more oxidized LDL cholesterol you have in your blood, the faster and more extensively this process
occurs. Fortunately our body has a built-in way to keep LDL cholesterol levels in check: HDL (“good”) cholesterol. The HDL
cholesterol circulates in the blood, scooping up LDL cholesterol and transporting it to the liver where it is grabbed by special
receptors, drawn into liver cells and broken down into less harmful substances. The more HDL cholesterol you have circulating in
your blood, the less oxidized LDL cholesterol you’ll have in plaques in your arterial wall. Monounsaturated oils will lower LDL
cholesterol levels and maintain or raise HDL cholesterol levels—no other fats have this effect. (8)
The progression of heart disease continues until a large plaque in a coronary arterial wall ruptures into the blood stream,
triggering the formation of a blood clot blocking the supply of blood to the heart muscle where heart muscle cells are
deprived of oxygen and begin to die. Heart attacks are serious, traumatic events but are not always lethal: you have a three out of
five chance of surviving the ordeal. This significantly depends upon how your heart responds to the trauma. If it begins to beat
uncontrollably as in a malignant ventricular arrhythmia, then your chances of survival are slim.(9) If you are treated within the first
“golden hour” of the onset of the heart attack (blockage of the coronary artery) and your heart rhythm is maintained, you may
survive the ordeal. You know the old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”? That certainly applies to heart
disease.
Resources
1. Simopoulos, Artemis P. MD and Robinson, Jo. The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete.
1999. HarperCollins, NY.
2. Browner WS, Westenhouse J and Tice JA. What if Americans ate less fat? JAMA, 1991; 265 (24): 3285-91.
3. “Research Group Hails Folic Acid as a Preventer of Heart Disease,” in New York Times. 1995. p. A11.
4. Ridker PM, et al. Inflammation, aspirin, and the risk of cardiovascular disease in apparently healthy men. N Engl J Med, 1997; 336 (14): 973-9.
5. Daviglus, ML. Fish consumption and the 30-year risk of myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med, 1977; 336: 1046-53.
6. Simopoulos, Artemis P, MD and Robinson, Jo. The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete.
1999. HarperCollins, NY.
7. Kushi, LH, Folsom AR, Prineas RJ and Bostick RM.Dietary antioxidant vitamins and death from coronary heart disease in postmenopausal
women. N Engl J Med, 1996; 334: 1156-62.
8. Simopoulos, Artemis P, MD and Robinson, J. The Omega Diet: The Lifesaving Nutritional Program Based on the Diet of the Island of Crete.
1999. HarperCollins, NY.
9. Ibid
Acknowledgment to Bastyr University for this content.
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