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Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke, and Heart Attack.

Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke, and Heart Attack.

Reduce Your Risk of Heart Disease, Stroke, and Heart Attack. Want to prevent reduce your risk for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, certain cancers, and arthritis? Sure you do. Who doesn't?

We’ve all heard the phrase, “you are what you eat.” And guess what, it is true. Unfortunately, many of us have habitually eaten foods that have caused our cells to become filled with unhealthy chemicals known as eicosanoids.

Eicosanoids are associated with several common diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, cancer, and chronic pain. All of these health problems have been linked to poor diet choices. These eicosanoid compounds come from arachidonic acid (AA), found in polyunsaturated fats.

Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) Polyunsaturated fats are further broken down into essential fatty acids (EFA). There are two groups of EFAs, Omega 6 and Omega 3. Both of these fatty acids are essential for optimal health. Omega 3 rich foods, green leafy vegetables, flax seeds, and cold water fish, boost natural anti-inflammatory hormones.

Omega 3 foods reduce inflammation and disease processes. Omega 6 rich foods, whole grains, seeds, seed oils, and corn, are healthy in moderation. However, excess consumption of these foods, leads to excess production of arachidonic acid (AA) and eicosanoids. AA is derived from the Omega 6 essential fatty acid foods (grains, flour, seeds, seed oils, corn, and grain-fed livestock), excess sugar, and trans-fatty acids. AA and eicosanoids create chain reactions that produce inflammation.

Research shows that inflammation is the driving cause of many diseases including heart attack, asthma, stroke, chronic pain, arthritis, ulcerative colitis, menstrual pain, and recurrent headaches. Therefore, reducing chronic inflammation is the key to preventing and eliminating these illnesses.

Eicosanoids, Prostaglandins, Throbaxanes, and Leukotrienes The literature on eicosanoids can be complex and somewhat confusing. I’ll do my best to make this simple and as painless as possible (no pun intended). While there are numerous eicosanoids, we’re only concerned with three groups:

1. Prostaglandins (PG) regulate constriction or relaxation of blood vessels. PG has positive effects including regulating kidney function, maintaining integrity of the stomach lining and initiating various aspects of childbirth. However, PG may also increase inflammation, pain, headaches, cramping, joint pain, and blood clotting (strokes). PG2 is the prostaglandin most associated with increased inflammation. PG2 comes from AA and Omega 6 foods.

2. Thromboxanes (TX) are produced by blood cells known as platelets. TX increase blood clotting, blood vessel and bronchiole constriction. TX contribute to strokes, heart attacks, as well as pulmonary disorders including asthma, bronchitis, and chronic pulmonary obstructive disorder (COPD). TX comes from AA and Omega 6 foods.

3. Leukotrienes (LT) are produced from immune system cells. LT stimulate the immune system to release interleukins (IL), interferon (IFN), and other chemicals involved in anaphylactic reactions. LT plays a major role in allergic (hayfever, asthma, and various autoimmune disorders. LT comes from AA and Omega 6 foods.

The average arachidonic acid ratio to Omega 3 fatty acids of Americans is approximately 11:1. In patients with inflammatory conditions and neurological disorders, the AA/Omega 3 ratio is 20:1 or more. An AA/Omega 3 ratio of 1.5:1 is considered ideal. This is the ratio found in Japanese populations, which have the highest life expectancy and the lowest rate of cardiovascular disease.

Since most Americans are carrying around at least 10–20 pounds of excess fat, it is no wonder that arthritis and other inflammatory diseases are out of control in our country. The average adult weighs 150 pounds; 30% of this is fat. This means that on average a person is carrying around 45 pounds of inflammatory imbalanced fatty acids!

Stop the Inflammation Reduce or eliminate the foods that cause inflammation. You can help prevent or reverse inflammation and the diseases associated with it by avoiding or severely reducing following foods:

All grains and grain products, including whole wheat bread, white bread (all breads), pasta, pizza dough, cereal, pretzels, crackers, bagels, pastries, wheat thins, scones, and all flour goods. Partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats) found in margarine, deep fried foods, and most prepackaged junk foods.

Sodas, dairy (unless grass-fed cattle), soy, and sugar.

Corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil, peanuts, soybean oil, sunflower oil, and the foods made with these oils including corn chips, potato chips, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, some salad dressings, and an assortment of prepackaged foods. Meat and eggs from grain-fed livestock. This includes cheese, cream, milk, ice-cream, eggs, meat (chicken, and beef).

What Can I Eat? I know the list above can seem a bit overwhelming. Here are some guidelines. First prioritize. Try to eliminate all chips (prepackaged snack foods), sodas, sugar, breads, and pasta from your daily diet. Losing weight is an added benefit to reducing pro-inflammatory chemicals. Rice is fine. We’ve all been conditioned to eat bread at each meal; cereal or bagel for breakfast, sandwhich for lunch, pasta for dinner.

Cutting bread can be hard, but the rewards are worth it. There are several options for avoiding sodas including tea, juice, and my favorite, water. Avoid partially hydrogenated foods like the plague. A 2% increase in trans-fatty acid intake increases the risk of developing diabetes by 39 percent. Individuals increase their risk of developing coronary heart disease by a whopping 25% for every 2% increase in trans-fatty acids.

Try to eat DHA eggs, grass fed beef, wild game, or free-range chickens when possible. I know this can be hard to do. You won't be able to be 100% compliant here, so do your best. Ask your grocer if they carry grass-fed livestock like Laura’s Lean Beef, which can be found in many high-end grocery and health food stores. Go online and see if you can find farms or vendors in your area, eatwild.com is a good starting resource.

I know this diet will not be easy. But only you can decide how much pain and poor health you’re willing to suffer. To prevent or reverse inflammatory diseases you must find the right balance for you. You can accelerate the process of reducing of inflammation by adding nutritional supplements, especially Omega 3 fish oils. It generally takes one to three months of supplementing 3-9 grams of fish oil before you change your inflammatory chemicals to anti-inflammatory chemicals.

About Dr. Murphree

Dr. Murphree is a board certified nutritional specialist and chiropractic physician who has been in private practice since 1990. He is the founder and past clinic director for a large integrated medical practice located on the campus of Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham Alabama. The clinic was staffed with medical doctors, chiropractors, acupuncturists, nutritionists, and massage therapists. The clinic combined prescription and natural medicines for acute and chronic illnesses. He is the author of 5 books, "Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome," "Heart Disease What Your Doctor Won’t Tell You," and "Treating and Beating Anxiety and Depression with Orthomolecular Medicine." For more information about the medical myths associated with cholesterol and heart disease more information about inflammation and disease is available at www.TreatingandBeating.com

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