The biggest myth fueled by mainstream medicine is the cholesterol myth – that cholesterol is the major cause of heart disease. The good news is many doctors are starting to wise up. The main culprit behind heart disease is inflammation. Dr. Paul Ridker of Harvard University puts it this way: “We have to think of heart disease as an inflammatory disease, just as we think of rheumatoid arthritis as an inflammatory disease.” If you’d like to get a good idea of your heart health, ask your doctor to do a blood screen of C-reactive protein (CRP). CRP is released by the liver when your body experiences inflammation. Normally, your blood contains no CRP. Elevated levels indicate a problem.
The British Journal of Urology published a study that examined the levels of almost 400 people. They found that once the CRP levels reached twice the normal level, the participants were 150 percent more likely to suffer heart attack! Another study found that risk of heart attack increased by 6- to 7-fold in patients with elevated CRP.
Maintaining healthy levels of good and bad cholesterol is important. But even more important is keeping inflammation and your CRP levels at bay.
Immune system cells collect at the site of the problem in order to guard against infection and speed recovery. This is perfectly normal and harmless. The problem starts when you experience a chronic state of inflammation. And it’s more common than you may imagine. There are triggers in your environment that get into your body and irritate your blood vessels to the point of injury.
Cigarette smoke, vegetable oils, and the poor nutrient quality of the food we eat all contribute to small tears and injuries to your heart and blood vessels – injuries that cause a tidal wave of inflammation. In response to the inflammation, your body uses oxidized LDL, the so-called “bad” cholesterol, to “patch” the crack or tear in your blood vessel wall. Over time, chronic inflammation causes small lesions in the arterial walls leading to the heart and brain. These lesions, or bumps, are formed when plaque and other deposits “stick” to the walls of your blood vessels instead of simply flowing through as is normally the case with smooth, healthy arteries. This buildup leads to clogging and hardening of the arteries. And that spells big trouble for your health.
Arteries are the main food source for your vital organs. This includes your heart, your brain, your eyes, and kidneys. As the arteries harden, blood can’t get to the organs as easily. The end result is life-threatening disease. But that’s not all…
Because inflammation affects your entire system, it’s also directly linked to asthma, obesity, and even depression. That’s why it’s become such a hot topic these days. Successfully reducing inflammation in your body means preventing and, in some cases, even reversing a wide array of diseases.
(excerpt from Al Sears, MD)
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