The 4 Real Causes of Heart Disease (Hint: Not Cholesterol!)
Despite decades of popular opinion to the contrary, heart disease is not caused by high cholesterol. Instead, doctors say you should correct these 4 factors, rather than resorting to statin drugs.
It should come as no surprise that statin drugs are the best-selling drug class of all time. They are by far the most-prescribed defense against heart disease. In fact, we are spending over $12 billion dollars annually as a nation – just on Lipitor alone!
Unfortunately, numerous studies show that these drugs are far from harmless. One of the most serious risks of taking statins is that they significantly increase your risk of diabetes – which is, ironically, a leading indicator of heart disease!
Recent studies published by The Lancet and the American Medical Association showed that taking statin drugs increased inflammation in the body, blood pressure, and insulin levels – all of which contribute to heart disease. Statins also increased stroke risk.
Besides all of this, high cholesterol has long been shown to be a marker of heart disease – not a cause. Taking drugs for cholesterol to prevent heart disease is like blowing smoke out of a burning house to prevent a fire!
So what does cause heart disease? According to this article, Dr. Dwight Lundell, heart surgeon and coronary medicine pioneer, blames 4 main contributing factors for most cases of heart disease:
1) Simple carbs and refined grains:
Simple carbs and grains are the single biggest threat to heart health. They raise blood sugar which releases insulin into your system. Insulin stores and builds fat – especially around the waist.
“Every time we raise our blood sugar we injure the delicate lining of our blood vessels,” says Dr. Lundell.
And that leads to inflammation and heart disease.
2) Processed vegetable oils:
Highly processed (hydrogenated or refined) vegetable oils are deadly for our coronary system. They contain an unhealthy amount of omega 6 fatty acids.
Our bodies change these fatty acids into chemicals that cause chronic inflammation.
“We do need omega 6,” says Dr. Lundell. “But we’re getting 20-25 times more in our diets.”
3) Deficiency in omega 3s:
Not having enough omega 3 fatty acids on board hurts heart health.
“Omega 3 is a powerful natural anti-inflammatory,” he says.
There’s plenty of research which shows omega 3 boosts heart health. Those studies say it’s your best option for cooling inflammation.
4) Oxidative stress:
Oxidative stress damages your heart. Free radical damage causes inflammation and increases stroke risk.
“Oxidative stress is detrimental to health and is definitely [linked] with heart disease,” says Dr. Lundell.
The good news is that all of these heart risks are easy to fix without statin drugs. Small, simple changes in diet can improve heart health….
Be sure to check back here next week for 5 simple tips for preventing heart disease naturally just by making a few simple dietary changes!
