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Paleo Nutrition and Cardiovascular Disease
By cynthiabrown | July 30, 2009
by Jennifer Theriault RN
¨ Cardiovascular Disease is the #1 killer in the US!
¨ 61 Million Americans suffer from at least one form of Cardiovascular Disease!
¨ 50 million have high blood pressure!
¨ 7 million have suffered a heart attack!
¨ Heart Disease KILLS more people than the next six leading causes of death (including cancer!) combined!
Guess what the good news is…
Heart Disease is largely Preventable! In fact it is treatable AND reversible even after a long history of disease!
Population studies of youth are showing that heart disease is detectable in children as young as 7 years old! We generally believe that as kids we “can eat anything” but these studies are showing us that it is simply not true. The process of atherosclerosis (artery wall thickens secondary to fatty materials such as cholesterol) evolves over decades silently.
So the truth is we are responsible for our health and wellness. The decisions we make on a moment to moment basis makes up our biophysical profile…There is no denying it we ARE WHAT WE EAT!
Cardiologist Dr. Richard M. Fleming has identified several key dietary factors that can decrease your risk of heart disease.
#1. Decrease LDL Cholesterol
#2. Decrease Triglyceride levels by reducing consumption of SUGARY FOODS and PROCESSED foods
#3. Reducing homocysteine levels by increasing your intake of vitamins B6 B12 + Folic Acid
#4.Increase antioxidant activity by higher consumption of fruits and veggies.
Hmmmmm sound familiar? When you are utilizing Paleo concepts of nutrition all these basis are covered with out thinking about it. Unfortunately these guidelines are very basic. Paleo nutrition takes it a bit further.
So Why Paleo Nutrition to prevent/treat Heart disease?
Blood glucose, Insulin, and inflammation are all health factors that play a very important role in wellness. In fact there are 3 major international Centenarian studies that show a SINGLE marker for lifespan. That single marker is insulin levels, specifically insulin sensitivity. One of the biggest (if not biggest) stressors we can place on our body is eating a big glucose load. Stop eating sugar/grains and start eating like a cave person! Paleo nutrition helps you decrease your inflammation, and increase your insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance and inflammation go hand and hand, and end up giving you a big fat heart attack. Every time you consume a large amount of sugar your body becomes a little bit more insulin resistant. Eating a Paleo style diet and supplementing with fish oil will assist your body in becoming more insulin sensitive. When your cells are more sensitive to insulin you re healthier from a cellular level out!
The Paleo diet in comparison to the SAD (Standard American Diet) gets you at least half of your fats are healthy “cardioprotective” monounsaturated fats. The other 50% is evenly split between saturated and polyunsaturated fats. Remember, not all saturated fats are created equal. Most important in the Paleo Diet there are no Transfats!!! As we know the crucial ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 is 2:1…keeping this ratio is one of the most important things you can do to reduce your risk of MOST DISEASE! The ratio in the SAD diet is typically something like 20:1!
Sodium and Acid-Base Balance…As we know everything comes down to balance.
Our Paleolithic ancestors rarely/never ate grains, legumes, cheese, and salt. These four foods along with meats are the most acid-producing foods. Vegetables and fruits are alkaline foods. When you eat meats with a large amount of fruits and vegetables the vegetables buffer the acid from the meat. This is what our cavewoman ancestors did. Our SAD diet now is to Acidic to keep our bodies balanced. Many chronic diseases we are plagued with today are due to acid-based imbalance. Heart disease is included in this list.
Salt has two ingredients these include sodium and chloride. It is the chloride portion of salt that increases the acidity in our bodies. Even if you do not over salt your food a typical SAD diet has way too much salt than you think. The average American eats 10-12 grams of salt a day! Most of this salt comes from processed foods…we Palio people eliminate this problem. A lesser-known fact about sodium consumption is that when you decrease the amount of sodium in your diet you will sleep better almost immediately. So add all this up along with getting high quality sleep, stress reduction and some Crossfit and we could all live to 140!
So Once again my Prescription for a Heart Healthy Lifestyle:
1. Paleo Nutrition (with supplemental fish oil)
2. High quality sleep (and enough of it)
3. Crossfit!
So cardiovascular health and wellness comes down to balance! Balance your fats, balance your insulin/glucagon response and balance your acid/base levels. Sleeping 8+ hours a night and balancing your life also is very important in your quest for a happy heart. It goes with out saying the critical importance exercise plays as well.
Topics: Cynergy Central | 7 Comments »
July 30th, 2009 at 6:06 am
great info! Thanks Jennie!!
July 30th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Thanks Jen!!! As always, very helpful! Now I have more ammunition, when people at work ask me why I’m eating a piece of meat (without the potatoes) for lunch!!!
PS: I miss you!!
July 30th, 2009 at 8:06 am
Thanks so much Jennie! Great info that I will absolutely use!
July 30th, 2009 at 8:37 am
Jen, wonderful post! I agree with Lindsey…and great clarification on the acid/alkaline balance of foods. Thank you so much!!!
P.S. Met your dad this morning! He is awesome!
July 30th, 2009 at 8:42 am
I’m sure you guys have been reading Robb Wolf’s website. He has been working on 2 books and I am dying for the release date!!! Check out his site today, as he is looking for shared stories from YOU re: your Paleo lifestyle, how it’s changed your life, health, performance, etc.
http://robbwolf.com/?p=666
July 30th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
[...] Original post by cynthiabrown [...]
July 30th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
hey what is # 6 about? I clicked on it and my words were on another website…really tripped me out! haha