Only by taking this one precaution,  you are bound to live longer and healthier

Heart disease is number one cause of death even ahead of cancers. It is 10 times more prevalent as cause of death than diabetes and kidney diseases. This is true not only for Western developed world but also for the developing world. Hence those who are concerned about their health and worried about possible premature death must proactively work towards avoidance of heart disease.  However, It is reassuring to lean from the medical literature that long healthy life is possible by inculcating wholesome and virtuous habits that promote good health and prevent heart diseases.

If you visit the website of World Health Organization, you see read following about Heart Diseases, which corroborates this belief:

• Cardio vascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death globally: more people die annually from CVDs than from any other cause.
• An estimated 17.3 million people died from CVDs in 2008, representing 30% of all global deaths.
• Addressing risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity, raised blood pressure, diabetes and raised lipids can prevent most cardiovascular diseases.

Fate, destiny and our health: It is generally said about the health and longevity is part of our fate and destiny and it cannot be changed. I agree with this notion, but only partly. I think it is our own prerogative to positively affect our destiny to a substantial extent by following certain simple guidelines. Our ancestors have followed these for thousands of years. Prudence demands that we use our discretion wisely to follow a common-sensical approach to keep ourselves healthy. Most of these measures are simple and proven. Most physicians will advise these strongly. It is then your decision to use these for yourselves or not. Let us examine them now and hope that you would follow these.

Let us indulge in pragmatic philosophy of life. We all know that death is inevitable. Every living being has to die sometime. However, if every one takes care of his/ her health the cause of death will be not premature death due to heart disease and its complications. At a certain age with good health, passing away from this world will then be due to natural causes and aging.

There are two major factors that affect our health adversely. They are:

1. LIFE STYLE: Our life style has changed drastically in the past 200 years. In short we have become sedentary in the name of modernity. We have many new inventions and innovations making our life very comfortable, but we also pay a price for such comforts if we do continuously remain alert that such comforts also hurt our health.
2. DIET: I have posted several times on this blog about the food that we eat. I keep repeating what Hippocrates, the father of medicine said 2,500 years ago, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”. After practicing medicine for over 40 years and observing so many people erroneously getting into wrong diet habits and trends, I am now convinced that “we are what we eat”. If we eat right, we stand very good chances of staying healthy and disease free; particularly heart disease free.

STAY ACTIVE: Our modern lifestyle makes us sedentary. Do you know there were no gyms only about 100 years ago? It was becausethey were not needed. Every one was active all day. Even today, you may not necessarily join a gym. Get up and do some exercise, even while working on desk. You do not

need to do much. If your work itself involves some strenuous activities, perhaps you do not need to do any. But if you are deskbound and inactive, at least walk for about 30 minutes a day, if not daily at least three or four times a week.

STAY WITHIN “NORMAL” WEIGHT LIMITS: Life insurance companies have near accurate charts indicating anyone’s weight at a given age and height. There is a definite correlation of heart diseases and overweight; obese and overweight persons are more likely to suffer from heart disease. Being overweight and obese are different points on the same path. With available information it is simple for you to conclude whether you are within the limits of desired weight? You can calculate your own Basic Metabolic Index (BMI). It is simply a mathematical formula of, Height in inches, divided by weight in pounds, or Height/ Weight = BMI.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the USA, BMI is interpreted as follows:

Normal weight = 18.5-24.9 BMI

Over weight = 25-29.9 BMI

Obese = 30 or greater BMI

Morbidly obese = 40 or higher BMI.

STAY AWAY FROM EATING FAST FOODS: Fast foods are full of fat and bad carbohydrates. Such foods are processed or refined. They process these foods to prevent them going rancid. During the refining process they remove almost all vitamins and minerals and the complicated carbohydrates are broken down into simple carbohydrates. These are called bad carbohydrates because their glycemic index is high. They turn into glucose quickly after ingestion. Such simple carbohydrates and glucose are called empty calories because it is a lot of calories without adequate nutrition.  Their ingestion quickly stimulates secretion of insulin, which increases triglycerides and cholesterol levels, which are considered the precursor of the plaque formation in arteries. They also contain a lot of preservatives and chemicals, many of which are not fully understood for their effect on our health. People have proved that even after storing for a long time such fast foods do not go rancid because of processing and preservatives. These foods make you obese and bring on disease like metabolic syndrome, which consists of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. Eat only good carbohydrates, which are unprocessed in the shape of whole grains, green leafy vegetables and lentils.

STAY ON PLANT BASED DIET: Many people are now coming to believe that being vegetarian and better still being vegan (who do not eat even poultry, milk, fish or eggs) carries a lot of benefits for our health. Animal proteins and fats and particularly red meat is now considered to be the potent cause of many diseases including heart diseases.

STAY AWAY FROM TRANS FATS AND SATURATED FATS: Fats are being blamed for the heart disease for a long time. And this has some scientific basis. Fats used in deep frying turns into trans fats and are the most harmful component of food forming plaques in arteries very readily. People on plant based diet seem to get enough fat from plants and they are mostly mono or poly-un-saturated fats and not saturated fats, as we find in animal fats. Some fat intake is necessary for normal functioning of body functions and plant fats are healthy with much lower heart disease rate.

GIVE UP JUICES, COLAS AND SUGAR: These drinks and added sugars in the foods seem to be the culprit. You may be surprised to learn that the milk and yogurt from super markets also have some added sugar. Sugar has become our addiction in the shape of deserts, cakes, brownies, ice cream etc. Sugar consumption has increased by 20 times in the past century. These are all empty calories that need to be avoided. We must also understand that every cell of the body needs and uses glucose as energy and this can be had from any low glycemic index or “good” carbohydrates. No sugar should be added to food and the sweet tooth that we all have developed in past few generation needs to be reversed. In the past 40 years fructose has replaced our normal table sugar or sucrose because it is cheaper and sweeter. But now it is becoming evident that fructose, which is available in nature in fruits and honey only is the cause of many problems. This is yet another reason to avoid all forms of sweet drinks and added sugar.

STAY AWAY FROM SMOKING: It is now a proven fact that smoking is definitely one of the causes of heart disease, aside from its other adverse effects on lungs. Even other smoker’s smoke, called secondary smoke, which contains many unknown chemicals, is harmful. To stop smoking you may even need to end friendship with your smoker friends.

STAY AWAY FROM ALCOHOL: Some people believe that a small amount of red vine is good for heart. This is not proved. But it is generally agreed that more than two drinks a day is surely not good for health and leads to problems of liver and other diseases.

I would like to mention here that one of presentation of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn is captioned “How to make yourselves heart attack proof”. He was Chairman of surgical unit at Cleveland Clinic. Dr. Esselstyn and his wife, Ann have written a book “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”. They propose you should never have heart attack if you become a vegan – Author Dr. BC 

Why fight the labeling of GMOs?

Food and Hippocrates:

So many pundits and experts in medicine say this. It is time tested and has been the main guide line by many authorities, including the Father of Medicine Hippocrates, who said 2500 years ago that “Let food be thy medicine and the medicine be they food”. This dictum is followed closely by generations before us.

New age fast foods:

In the past 200 years many changes have occurred in our life styles. These started with industrialization, railway, use of oil as energy and electricity, advancement of health science with antibiotics, better understanding of hygiene and human body and its functions. These all led to innovations of faster surface and air travels reducing distances, reducing Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and increasing longevity with higher percentage of old seniors in population, explosion of population by three folds in past 100 years and pressures on the need of resources to food, cover and shelter this population burst. Usage of radioactive materials in producing electricity, preservation of foods, increased electro magnetic fields effecting our minds and body, and need of increased yield of crops per acre and unit of efforts put in, like water, seeds, fertilizers etc. became a necessity.

This brings us to fast foods, its preservation by newfound chemicals and increased yield by usage of genetically modified (GM) crops. Fast foods have been around for over five decades because of their conveniences but the have now started showing its ugly side of high calorie content, highly processed carbohydrates, much larger consumption of fats including saturated and trans fats. All these started showing their ill effects in the shape of higher incidences of Heart diseases, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, cancers and many other diseases.

GM Foods:

Yet another innovation has been the GM foods. This is the cause of contention over Prop 37 in California. This requires special attention to understand the issue. This is the most recent untested addition to our foods. In 1992 the scientists found that a bacteria called Bacillus thuringiensis or BT found in normal soil has a toxin to kill pests and can be used as biological pesticide. Genes from the BT was introduced in the genes of seeds of several crops by genetic engineering (GE). Better selections of breeds have been used for centuries for crops and animals. However, use of GE is something new when genetic material from one organism is introduced forcefully into the genes of the other. Most GE is used today are in crops like cotton, soya, beet, and rapeseed and rice and potatoes are perhaps next ones. The GE uses the genes from the soil bacteria in these crops but GE scope has been looking at introducing genes of cold water fish into strawberries to make them frost resistant and other similar applications.

Since the use of GM or GE foods, it is generally alleged and observed that a number of disease incidences have further increased. Conditions like Attention deficit disorder (ADD) that was a rare condition is now found in one in less than 100 births.  Disease incidence has been increasing in the past century, but it has progressed much faster in the past two decades, it seems.

Yet another addition to our food is the use of Human growth hormone called rBGH in the production of beef and poultry. This is used in poultry and beef industries along with GM corn to fatten the animal quickly. For example, only about 50 years ago, a chicken would take almost four months to come to dinner table from its hatching from the egg, This now takes as short as three weeks. Same also holds good for the beef industry’s enhanced production. European Union has not allowed use of rBGH, but it is freely used in the USA.

Activism against GM, or GE or GMO foods:

GM Foods started in the USA and so is rBGH. GM has spread like wild fire because of seemingly better yield of crops. A sizeable number of scientists and people who cared against any adulteration in their food stared taking notice of such tempering with our foods. This accompanied by the apparently increased incidence in many diseases and findings of many new diseases like ADD and Alzheimer’s, which were almost unknown, has given the activists the reason to ask for proper testing of such additives to our food. In some States in the United States, legislation is underway to curb on the GMO food and rBGH usage, one way or other. California takes a lead in such matters usually and it has in this matter also. Californians have gathered enough signatures to put this on the ballot to be voted by Californians on Nov 6^th 2012 elections. It is called Prop 37. The Prop 37 demands that if the food contains any GM or GE material, FDA should enforce its listing on the mandatory label.

Story of GM food becomes more interesting here. Many food producing and agricultural corporations producing or promoting GM foods have come out against the mandatory labeling of foods mentioning GM contents. They are allegedly spending an amount exceeding 40 million dollars for their movement called “No to Prop 37”. Activists who are wanting the labeling of GM should be mandatory have been able to muster up about 4 million dollars for their movement called “Yes to Prop 37”.

My take on this fight:

I am all for science and innovations. But what I read about GM foods is scary. One You Tube link is serious to overlook. I am also for the right of people to know what they are eating and feeding their children. But the proponents of GM foods in the industry make it look that this is a fight by a few who have vested interests. I am simple logician; I wonder why the industries a are spending such a large amount to fight the labeling on excuses that the labeling will be very expensive and that the food will become expensive because of the scare it may cause because it contains GM foods. Personally I think right to know what we are eating is important. So if labeling is made mandatory, there is not much to lose. Those who are against GM are so convinced with the increasing health problems that are becoming evident, combined with the fact that not enough tests have been done to ensure that GM are definitely safe and the fact that EU authorities are strongly against rBGH makes their gut feeling stronger.

Let us see what decision does Nov 7^th bring to us about this labeling issue.

“Let Food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” – Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)

We must use logic, reasoning and common sense to stop hurting our health.

Let us look at a few facts: Mankind has been living on this planet for many millions of years if you believe in theory of evolution or about ten thousand years if you believe in religious scriptures, from Adam and Eve until now. Either way, we see first mention of sugar in history 500 AD and not before. People used to eat all that was available on daily basis, hunted animals and birds to berries, plant leaves and berries.

So it seems that for thousands of years our ancestors must have had a moderate amount of carbohydrates in vegetables and berries but sugar from sugar cane  started only about 1500 years ago and that from beet just over a hundred years ago. Separated fructose is yet more recent innovation of 1960s from Japan and very quickly picked up by beverage industries because it is sweeter than sugar and yet cheaper than that.

Beverage and fruit juice industries made fructose so prevalent that sweet taste has not become only human weakness but probably turned into an addiction also. Hence sugars, which was not part of our diet for most of our existence on this planet has relatively suddenly become the main component of our calorie consumption.

Yet another fact is lost in history is that in 1931 Otto Heinrich Warburg was awarded Nobel Prize for the discovery of the fact that cancer cells thrive on glucose. Since then a number of alternate therapies of cancer have been tested with this discovery in mind with some success. Using Laetrile (bitter almonds and apricot pits), which contains Nitriloside is one of them. It is claimed that Nitriloside combines with Beta-Glucosidase, an enzyme within cancer cells and create Hydrogen Cyanide and Benzaldehyde, both of which are poisons. As these are released within the cancer, they kill the cancer cells. Nitriloside rich foods include apricot kernels, lima beans, sprouts, lentils, black-eyed peas, walnuts, brown rice, black berries etc. Another is Hydrazine Sulfate (HS) promoted by Dr Joseph Gold a research scientist of NASA. He promoted HS to stop glycogenesis (formation of glucose from protein) to starve cancer cells.

Despite that we know this relationship of cancer and glucose, our sugar consumption has grown four times per capita in the past one hundred years; some literature puts this increase to almost 400 times in last 200 years. Fructose syrup, which is recent innovation of 1960s, has taken up half of sugar’s place in our intake.

All the serious diseases like Diabetes, Obesity, Cardiovascular diseases, Alzheimer, ADD and Cancers seem to be increasing in same proportion as the increase of sugar and Carbohydrate consumption. And increased sugar consumption is directly related to our new life style indulging in fast foods, processed grains, Vit D deficiency, increased exposure to various chemicals and man-made radiation.

We must plan seriously to prevent the increasing disease load. We may not have a direct proof but there are no doubts that all the circumstantial evidence points to the increased sugar consumption as primary reason for increasing diseases load along with other factors for our present dilemma.

ALL ABOUT EXERCISES AND THEIR BENEFITS

Consult your doctor before embarking on any exercise program

Modern Life Style:

One of the prices that we are paying for the modern life style is “profound inactivity” in our daily life. Industrial revolution brought in the system wherein people work for large industries and their corporate offices. Those who worked for themselves or in industries preserved the manual activities to some extent. But those people working in offices and shops gradually have gotten used to sedentary life styles. Other facilities like remote controls, garage door openers, and pilot lights in stoves etc went further in people taking to chairs and becoming couch potatoes.

Our Genetics:

Our bodies are used to and made to have regular activities. In olden days there were no gyms and they were not necessary either, because people would do enough activities during the day. People used all body muscles to do hard work almost all day. They walked long distances because the fastest ride used to be a horse or camel. As the sedentary life set in late 1800s, people got used to inactivity. This probably has become the cause of many diseases like cardio vascular diseases, diabetes, obesity etc. We need to correct our life styles and get back to activities through sports or exercises to maintain our health.

Popularity of Fitness clubs:

It seems that the fitness gyms started sometime around 1950s. By that time the sedentary life styles started creating adverse effects on the health. Public awareness increased with the medical advice. Those who were used to doing a lot of manual work did not need this. But those who were working in offices needed such facilities.

Benefits of any exercises;

Exercise of any kind will help circulation of blood in the body and will generally make you feel good. If nothing else a stroll or a walk in the neighborhood for about half an hour a day will help. If you are overweight or have tendency to be obese, or have diseases like coronary artery, blood pressure, diabetes, burning calories by cardio exercises and resistance exercises are important and makes your muscle better tuned for insulin by reducing insulin resistance.

Objectives of work out and fitness activities:

To keep body active

To lose weight

To increase heart rate to a maximal level

To replace fat in muscles with more and larger muscle fibers containing protein

To reduce insulin resistance in muscle for better utilization of glucose

To meet above objectives usually two different types of workouts are suggested; Let us try and understand the details of such exercises.

Cardio exercises

Objective of cardio exercise is twofold,

a)      To burn calories: You need to have some goal of burning calories every day. I burn about 150 calories in about 20 to 30 minutes on a trade mill.

b)      To increase heart rate within a safe range: This is important to understand thoroughly, because otherwise, you may do more harm than good. You must have a pulse meter on the machine and keep the heart rate checked. Some people use old method of counting pulse in neck artery during exercise for ten seconds and multiply by six to get heart rate per minute. There is a generic formula that can be used by almost all. However, those with heart conditions must check with their doctors for their ideal maximum heart rate. Formula is 220 – (minus) your age = Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) that you should ever reach. If you have heart conditions you must get advice of your doctor. To start with you may reach upto 80% of MHR and gradually over few weeks reach upto to 90% of the MHR. For example I am 70, so 220 minus 70 = 150 may be my MHR. I stay between 120 and 135. 120 is 80% and 135 is 90% of 220, which is MY MHR. You must calculate yours.

In my personal case, while doing cardio exercise, after a little warm up, I start on the tread mill with maximum incline (which is usually 15) and a slow speed of 3 miles per hour. As my heart rate rises to my MHR of 120 to 135, I reduce the speed to 2.5 miles and then if necessary also reduce incline to keep the heart rate within my predetermined range.

I see many persons running at 5 or 6 miles an hour with zero incline. They may be training for marathon run or championships. I do not intend to run any marathon do not wish to damage my joints at high speeds of running. So, if 2.5 miles raises my heart rate to my MHR range with proper incline, I do not see any reason to run faster.

Resistance exercises or weight training exercises:

Purpose of such exercises is to build muscle by replacing fat with muscle that contains protein. It is claimed that protein keeps on burning calories even when at rest. Whether that is true or not, good muscles surely make you look good and make you feel nice. More important though is the fact that the muscle fibers subjected to resistance exercises somehow become more sensitive to insulin and hence help you control your blood sugar and diabetes.

Objective: Build and Develop Muscles, Push weights, Pull weights, Lift weights; any activity that you normally do for a little while, if it is prolonged over a period of time is generally the resistance or muscle building exercise. This is perhaps simpler way of explaining the resistance exercise, but I believe in simplistic definition and it is generally true.

PRECAUTIONS:

1. You must ensure that you do the activity only long enough to make your muscle ache or burn and no more. If it is prolonged it may cause tear of muscle fiber and hurt you.

2. You must also not to exercise the same group of muscles for about 48 hours, so that they have enough time to repair and regenerate the injury of stress from exercises.

To achieve this you need to use maximum weight and do 10 to 15 repetitions in each set and do 3 to 6 sets depending on your fitness.

Do you need to join the fitness clubs? ;

To accomplish your objective of becoming active, burn calories and have muscle training you do not need to join the fitness club, unless you are planning to be an athlete and compete in championships. However, it is true that if you go to gym, people working out there will motivate you to do your exercises daily. Same or similar beneficial exercise can be done at home with stretch rubber bands, dumbbells, weights, pushups and similar exercises.

Bottom line is that we all must get out of inactivity and sedentary life style imposed on us by the modern life style. I wish you success to protect yourselves from many unwanted diseases.

I THINK PREVENTION OF THESE IS POSSIBLE

This may sound too bold and profound but prevention of Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity and CAD seems to be definitely possible. If anyone has unfortunately contracted any of these “interconnected diseases”, its reversal is also distinctly possible, if we amend our ways of living and accept healthful life style. we need to listen to and follow those clinicians who are optimist and believe in this. Continue reading “Prevention of Cancer, Diabetes, Obesity and CAD” »

Yes, the difference is this: the problem with fructose is that it is mostly produced from: a) GM corn, b) Digestion of fructose in liver, as against every cell in body. Hence concentration in liver causing damage there. Continue reading “Issues with fructose; our recent addition to sugars” »