Heart disease and environment - Health Risks and Environmental Issues

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients,  August-Sept, 2002  by Rose Marie Williams

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Heart disease and stroke kill 40% of Americans, all of which may result from malnutrition. We are overfed and undernourished. Obesity, even among children, is becoming a major health problem. At least 60% of children and young adults have early atherosclerotic damage. (1)

Heart disease, cancer, and other degenerative disorders are most frequent among populations of the industrialized nations. These diseases have been increasing rapidly over the past few generations, making it easy for the petro-chemical-medical-pharmaceutical-complex to assign blame to bad genes, while ignoring the issues of increased environmental degradation and deteriorating nutrition over the same time frame.

Compared to other countries we indeed have an abundance and great variety of cheap food. Near perfect appearance belies the fact that our food is lacking in nutrients, having been grown in mineral-deficient soils, treated with toxic pesticides, fertilizers, and preservatives, harvested while unripe, and shipped long distances.

In spite of enormous technological advances and billions of dollars spent in medical research we are told the causes of most heart disease and cancer are unknown, and more misleading, that they are genetic or inherited. The vast amount of money spent on research is designed to return maximum profit to the industry financing the studies. Looking for causes and inexpensive solutions is not cost-effective. It is more profitable to sell expensive pharmaceuticals and high-tech procedures, than to recommend patients take nutritional supplements, eat fresh fruits and vegetables (preferably organic), avoid processed shelf oils, junk foods, fast foods, sugared and caffeinated beverages.

Dr. Joel Wallach, the famous veterinarian/naturopathic physician from Missouri whose tape, Dead Doctors Don't Lie, shares some very interesting bits of information. He reminds us that all food grown in this country is raised on mineral-depleted soils, including all animal feed. Farmers are advised to use nutritional supplements to keep their livestock healthy and disease-free, while human babies are fed mineral deficient formulas and no one advises us otherwise.

Dr. Wallach mentions that the agricultural industry decided in the early 1950s to raise turkeys on a large scale and used fat-rich corn oil to speed up the fattening process. Hundreds of turkeys died of heart attack as a result. But the marketing machinery had been set in motion to produce margarine from corn oil, and since it hadn't been proven to cause heart attack in humans they went ahead as planned. Heart disease in turkeys was corrected by a simple diet change, while in humans the etiology is either unknown or genetic.

Heart disease has spawned another whole industry of specialists, invasive procedures, and prescription drugs. What does that mean to the average American? It has made us poorer in health and poorer in pocketbook. One of Dr. Wallach's great observations relates to heart transplants, which he and other holistic practitioners believe are avoidable with diet change, nutritional supplementation and exercise. The procedure costs a small fortune while the heart is free from a donor, even the blood comes from donors, and the sutures cost a few pennies.

Homocysteine vs. Cholesterol

Cholesterol may not be the villain in heart disease after all. Eighty percent of heart attacks occur in men with normal cholesterol levels, while low levels of cholesterol lead to other health problems. Homocysteine, like cholesterol, is produced in the body where it serves a function and is normally broken down. Problems arise when it remains intact, enters the bloodstream attacking blood vessel walls, contributing to heart disease and stroke. Several nutrients prevent homocysteine build-up. Folic acid (a B-vitamin), vitamins B6 and B12, choline (a B-vitamin like substance), and betaine assist the body in breaking down homocysteine. (2)

Homocysteine is an amino acid that promotes free-radical oxidation and premature vascular disease. It forms in the blood from a diet heavy in methionine rich foods such as red meat, poultry, wild game, and ricotta cheese, while at the same time lacking in vitamin B-complex foods, necessary for effective breakdown of the methionine. (3)

High levels of homocysteine are a warning of early arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which can lead to angina, arrhythmia, or heart attack. Many prescription drugs, vitamin deficiency, and excessive environmental chemical overload all contribute to increased levels of homocysteine. (4)

Harvard scientist, Dr. Kilmer McCully, first proposed homocysteine's role in cardiovascular disease in 1969. The cholesterol theory adherents dismissed his ideas, and it is only in recent years that a new generation of scientists recognize the validity of his research. (5)

Folic Acid

Folio acid was one of the last vitamins to be discovered. It performs several functions: contributes to growth of new cells and replacement of old cells; helps synthesize genetic molecules DNA and RNA; and assists in transport of carbon building bricks to "construction sites" in the body. Folic acid deficiency can lead to anemia by impeding replacement of red blood cells. (6)