by Loraine Holden • March 8, 2010
A March 1 article by Lauran Neergaard in Netscape News said it was a mystery why some obese people have heart disease and diabetes and others don’t. It’s a common belief that obesity is a CAUSE of diabetes and heart disease not that it is another RESULT of consuming too many SUGARS.
A fat person who eats lots of protein or fat can be healthy like Sumo wrestlers or Eskimos. But when Eskimos use alcohol, soft drinks or starchy junk foods, they get diabetes and heart disease.
Sugar causes the pancreas to release insulin into the blood. High blood glucose causes type II diabetes as cells get resistant to more insulin.
We now know that high blood sugar can damage all body cells by combining with proteins in their membranes in a process called glycation that can make these cell walls stiff and prone to injury.
Inflammation, a collection of white cells, occurs to patch injuries. It is measured by C-ReactiveProtein. This correlates with the likelihood of heart disease. Where high blood pressure meets stiff cell walls, the resultant micro-injuries cause inflammaation then plaque. Aspirin can prevent bigger clots here. Salsalate, an older anti-inflammatory drug mentioned in the article could help in any collection of white cells.
But the hypothesis that fatty acids leak out of overfull fat cells may not be why they’re high in diabetics. The liver makes blood fats from high-fructose corn syrup. Couldn’t this source of fatty acids set off the chain reaction in the macrophages that produce PAI-1 that causes blood clots and diabetes?
by Loraine Holden • February 4, 2010
More researchers are coming to the conclusion that inflammation of blood vessels as measured by c-reactive protein correlates much better with the risk of heart disease than the level of cholesterol in the blood. As mentioned in my book, cholesterol collects at the site of micro-injuries. Stiff blood vessel walls can be damaged by high blood pressure, nicotine and insulin. They are prone to injury. Then white blood cells and cholesterol collect at the site.
A recent article by Jonny Bowden,PhD,CNS says that blaming cholesterol for heart disease is like blaming the St.Bernard for the avalanche. The article in Better Nutrition, Feb, 2010 says that this cholesterol isn’t a problem unless oxidized by free radicles. Half of the people with heart attacks have normal cholesterol, and half the people with high cholesterol don’t get heart attasks.
Dr. Fank Wu at Harvard Medical School says a heart healthy diet is high in omega-3 fatty acids from fish or flax, has lots of vegetables, nuts, fruits and whole grains. It is low in sugars and starches and avoids processed foods and trans-fats.
A natural diet with plenty of plant-based antioxidants prevents inflammation and doesn’t let insulin get too high.
by Loraine Holden • January 15, 2010
A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Asociation says that two-thirds of adults are overweight and 34% obese. One third of children are overweight with 17% obese. Obese children often become obese adults. Lack of exercise and a faulty diet are blamed.
Was the wrong diet given to young children? Many mothers seem to think that the fat you consume becomes body fat. They thought they could prevent fat children by giving them low-fat milk. Kids didn’t like it . They preferred sweet liquids like orange and apple juice to milk Mothers then gave them chocolate milk so they would get enough calcium and protein. They didn’t realize that fat is also an important ingredient in milk. Every young mammal needs the fat in milk to grow properly. You can prevent your child from preferring sweet beverages by making sure they get whole milk in all those years from infancy through adolescence. Remember most body fat is made from sugars and dietary fat is used for energy and growth.
In the past thirty years when people thought they chould shun fat is when more and more Americans have become obese.