My StumbleUpon Page
Inflammation: True Cause Heart Disease Says Dwight Lundell Heart Surgeon
The third installment of an article by heart surgeon Dwight Lundell, M.D.
Dwight Lundell, M.D. is an experienced cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon. Over the last 25 years his experience includes having performed more than 5000 coronary bypass operations, certification by the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
Dr. Dwight C. Lundell is a recognized leader in his field who has consulted and advised for a variety of leading medical device manufacturers such as Cardio Thoracic Systems, Inc. before and after it’s acquisition by Guidant Corporation. He advised St. Jude Medical on tissue valve implantation and marketing. For A-Med, Inc., he consulted on, conducted, and published the first clinical study on miniature pumps for heart support. He co-authored a clinical study validating key technology for Coalescent Surgical, which was subsequently acquired by Medtronic, Inc.
Dr. Lundell was a pioneer in “Off-Pump” heart surgery reducing surgical complications and recovery times.
He was one of the founding partners of the Lutheran Heart Hospital which became the second largest Heart hospital in U.S. and is now owned by Banner Health.
In 2003, Dr. Lundell left his successful thoracic and cardiovascular surgical practice after 25 years to open a clinic to test his theory that inflammation in the arteries was the cause of heart disease, a theory traditional medicine saw as heresy disputing the cholesterol theory.
Leaving surgery has brought freedom, and an opportunity, to refocus his career writing books and articles, presentations, interviews and speeches to educate on inflammation and how to prevent and reverse heart disease through nutrition and lifestyle changes.
Continued from the previous post…
Let’s get back to the sweet roll. That innocent looking goody not only contains sugars, it is baked in one of many omega-6 oils such as soybean. Chips and fries are soaked in soybean oil; processed foods are manufactured with omega-6 oils for longer shelf life. While omega-6’s are essential -they are part of every cell membrane controlling what goes in and out of the cell — they must be in the correct balance with omega-3’s.
If the balance shifts by consuming excessive omega-6, the cell membrane produces chemicals called cytokines that directly cause inflammation.
Today’s mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That’s a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today’s food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal and healthy.
To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and finally, Alzheimer’s disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated.
There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.
There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state. To build muscle, eat more protein. Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Cut down on or eliminate inflammation- causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.
To Be Continued Next Post…
Recently
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.