Heart disease used to be rare, but no more. It is now the leading cause of death in both developed and developing countries. This disease has no geographic, gender, social, or economic boundaries. It is affecting all classes of people and it is showing up earlier in life, i.e., in younger people than before. How can we curb this criminal that is stealing away many lives steadily and unnoticeable?
There is a way out that many do not realize is available.
With people still eating rich, fatty diet, the number of deaths from this disease will remain the same. It is a known fact that a diet high in fat and cholesterol is the primary and essential cause of coronary heart disease.
But there is hope! If anyone eat less fat, oil and grease and cut back on cholesterol intake then heart disease can not only be prevented it can also be reversed.
There is a lot of problems with fat. Many ask, "Where is the fat?" Where do I get all the fat they are talking about from?
What is fat?
Fat belongs to the Lipid family of substances. Most of the fats eaten are triglycerides and so is most of the fat stored in the body. The other lipids are phospholipids and sterols. We need only small amounts of fat, which are used in the structure of all our cells. We use fats for growth, maintenance and repair. They also play a role in manufacture of hormones and other related functions.
The question is - If fat is necessary how then can eating fat kill us?
If we eat in excess of the body’s need, fat becomes a silent killer. Fat in food eaten in excess is being singled out as the most damaging component of the western diet and the same we are now seeing is taking place in Africa. And if we eat a lot of fat we will almost automatically be eating far less fiber. High-fat, low-fiber diet is linked to many diverse problems such as coronary artery (heart) disease, obesity, gallstones, appendicitis, cancers of the colon, breast, and prostate, strokes, constipation, diverticulitis, diabetes –and many more. The last 30 years have witnessed an increase of fat intake of up to 20gm per person per day.
But then again, is heart disease curable?
Yes, from the evidence that we have. Two prominent medical doctors have done what had seemed impossible for a long time. Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn have proved that this is possible. Both of these cardiologist and surgeon gave a revolutionary, scientific proven, Nutrition-based cure, Ornish published in the Lancet Medical Journal in 1990 a report that shook the medical world. He spent a year studying 48 men with advanced heart disease; most of them were candidates for coronary bypass surgery. He divided them into two groups. He showed that the American Prudent diet for heart disease did not help the one group that he gave this diet to, but a strict whole-food plant based diet with stress management reversed the heart disease of the second group. Dr. Esselstyn did the same and published the Book “Prevent and Reverse Heart disease."
You are rightly wondering - Where are we getting this fat?
From corn oil, (saturated fat= 13%) Olive oil,(13%) Soybean oil,(14%) peanut oil,(17%) margarine, (17%) vegetable shortening,(31%) palm oil, (49%) coconut oil,(86%- new vogue on drinking this) Palm kennel oil (81%).
Saturated fats increase blood cholesterol levels. The taking of such oils as Olive oil in minimal amount is the fact that it has more unsaturated fat which tend to lower cholesterol. But it is best eaten in the olives themselves.
Also any fats represent the highest concentration of calories in any diet.
The best way to know if you are getting too much fat is to do a blood test.
Overweight is a sure indicator of too much fat. Nevertheless, it is a blood test that can give the perfect amount on triglycerides levels. The standard set for normal triglyceride is less than 150mg/dL. Borderline is 150-199, Very high is 500mg/dL.
Worldwide one out of three deaths occurs as a result of heart disease. And 80% of theses deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. What is generally considered moderate use of animal fat and cholesterol does not protect the heart from this disease. The group on the moderate fatty diet in Dr. Ornish’s study actually got worse on that diet. The typical food eaten by most of us in developing countries today are heavy in fat. Many are unaware of the fat content in the oils they use in cooking. They simple enjoy pleasant taste and often eat far too much. With vigilance on our eating choices we can prevent and eat ourselves out of heart disease.
So, there is hope.
Under the proper conditions it is now possible to reverse heart disease. Too much fat is the leading cause of heart attacks. This is especially true of saturated fat -mostly coming from animal sources- and from partially hydrogenated trans-fat.
Understand that fat is a vital part of our diet.
Fat is a fundamental part of every living cell. It is the body’s back up fuel. We cannot be healthy without fat in our diets. However, we run into problems when we eat too much fat, especially the wrong type. To run a Mercedes S class car the owner puts the right fuel. Supposing he decides to run the car on kerosene? he won’t go far with it. Before the kidneys and liver go into failure the person would have destroyed 80% of these organs. 80% or more of the inner diameter of the heart arteries have been clogged before the first experience of angina or heart attack.
Let me itemize quickly how fat damages the body.
1. Too much fat in your food results in the hardening and narrowing of the vital arteries that supply nutrients and oxygen to the body-a process called atherosclerosis.
2. Too much fat makes the blood thick and sticky, slowing circulation and causing red blood cells to stick to each other in clusters. These clumped blood cells cannot carry their full load of oxygen and cannot go through small tiny capillaries. Destitute of oxygen and nutrient, body cells become vulnerable to injury, disease, and death.
3. Scientific evidences are showing that some of the by-products of fat digestion are involved in the development of certain cancers. These substances cause irritation and inflammation of the bowel walls and may be a factor in colitis and colon cancer. It is with adequate fiber that faeces can move quickly, leaving less time for toxic carcinogens to act on bowel walls.
4. Too much fat in the bloodstream is one of the factors that depress immune cells production.
5. Too much fat has been shown to impair the efficiency of the body’s insulin mechanism, which may lead to diabetes, and 80% of diabetes not reversed will lead to heart disease.
6. The amount of saturated fat, as well as the amount of trans fat (hydrogenated) in the diet also powerfully affect blood cholesterol.
7. Majority of the high fat foods is also loaded with cholesterol, which injures the linings of arteries. The body responds by sealing off the damaged spots with extra cells. As more fat and cholesterol are eaten more and more of the cells are added, one on top of each other, until plaques are formed that are large enough to narrow and block coronary arteries. Then heart attacks occur.
It is time to reduce the amount of fat we eat. How can that be done?
Here are four strategies to reduce fat in the diet:
1. Use nut and soy milk. Find healthy substitutes for the high fat items in the diet -
Meats, oils, margarine, fried foods, and most snacks.
2. Reduce to very small portions all favorite high fat food. Eliminate oil.
3. Eliminate as many temptations as possible. Don’t buy the items. If they are not in the house they are not likely needed to be eaten often. In Dr. Ornish’s study those who reversed heart disease were those who had eliminated meat and high-fat dairy products entirely.
4. To regain control over what goes into the body is to cook by oneself. Processed foods are stuffed with added fat. Eat whole grains. If you must buy cereal be sure that word WHOLE is in front of grains used in the package, if not it is just white flour fancied up to sound impressive. Eat whole guinea corn, corn, millet or wheat. You may need to get a good low-fat cook book to guide and to learn how to prepare delicious new dishes or how to modify favorite dishes to make them tasty and low fat. This is the surest way of protection from the deadly effects of too much fat.
5. Eat greens. Especially leafy greens as well as any other –like ugwu, tete, amunututu, shoko, ewedu, igba,(garden eggs), carrots, beet roots, cabbage, lettuce.
6. Drink water. Don’t drink soft drinks or juices. You can flavor your water with lime or lemon juice.
7. Avoid sugar and salt as much as possible. Use lemon instead of vinegar.
Fill up with all the great plant based food. God is good to have provided abundance of plants for food. And deliberately add exercise to your daily routine.
Remember, great health does not happen by chance, it is a daily choice of rightful living and taking personal responsibility for our health. That is the key.
