The most common cause of death in the West is a heart attack; in America, over 40% of deaths are caused by a heart attack more than any other disease or injury including cancer. In the UK over 26% of deaths are from heart disease, around 160,000 every year, the second major cause of premature death after cancer. Every 24-hours is some 3000 Americans will have a heart attack roughly the same number that died in the September 11th terrorist attack in 2001. Heart disease used to be a condition of old age, today it is increasingly found among young people and even children.
You Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease!
The most common cause of death in the West is a heart attack; in America over 40% of deaths are caused by a heart attack more than any other disease or injury including cancer. In the UK over 26% of deaths are from heart disease, around 160,000 every year, the second major cause of premature death after cancer.
Every 24-hour is some 3000 Americans will have a heart attack roughly the same number that died in the September 11th terrorist attack in 2001.
Heart disease used to be a condition of old age, today it is increasingly found among young people and even children. A study of 300 male soldiers in their 20’s who had died in action had their hearts examined and it was found that 77% had evidence of gross heart disease.
What is heart disease?
Most heart disease is associated with a narrowing of arteries supplying blood to the heart due to the slow production of fatty plaque. At some point this hidden problem goes critical and for blockage on vital artery ensues causing the heart attack.
We now know what are the main causes of a heart attack. Risk factors include the following:
High cholesterol level in the blood. (Statins are not the answer)
Stress
High blood pressure
Smoking
Lack of physical exercise
Overweight or obesity
Of all these factors the most reliable predictor of heart disease is elevated cholesterol levels in the blood.
Elevated blood cholesterol is linked to consumption of animal-based foods.
Smoking and high blood pressure are also related to stress in people’s lives and as stress has a profound effect on our health this should always be addressed and managed. Breath training is a proven way of managing the adverse effects of stress, you can check out this on my website “thebreathconnection.com.”
Thousands of scientific papers been published concerning the dietary impact on heart disease and perhaps the major relationship that is almost universally agreed as a predictor of heart disease is the cholesterol levels in the body.
An eminent American surgeon Dr. Esselstyne was concerned about the poor treatment of cancer and heart disease as there was little effort at prevention but most research work focused on treatment.
He began a major study looking at the effect of reducing fat and cholesterol intake of his patients. This meant almost eliminating all animal products, refined oils, dairy produce, fish and foul. Of the group of patients that are adhered to this dietary change, the average cholesterol levels fell from 246 mg/dL at the start to below 132 mg/dL. Over the 11 years of the study, only one participant had a coronary event and this was a patient who had strayed from the diet for two years; after this incident, he returned to the plant-based diet and ceased to have any symptoms or further events.
More detailed information from many leading doctors can be found on my website “thefoodconnection.org.uk”
Meanwhile start by shifting your diet towards a whole food plant-based diet, eating less meat, fish, processed foods, dairy food, oils and fats and refined foods like white flour or white sugar.
You can check your progress with the “4LeafSurvey” screening test either on my website or directly online at “4leafsurvey.com”