The Root Of All Clogged Arteries
Heart disease includes the heart and all the blood vessels. One of the biggest problems is the stiffening of arteries and the build-up of material in arteries that narrows the opening. Clogged arteries are usually blamed on cholesterol, and cholesterol does contribute. But some people with high cholesterol never have any problems with clogged arteries. For cholesterol to be a problem, there first has to be some inflammation, swelling in the artery walls.
Cut Down on Bad Fats
High bad cholesterol is part of the problem. Lowering bad cholesterol lowers the risk of major blockage. The best way to control bad cholesterol is exercise and diet, especially cutting down on the bad fats in our diet. Some of the worst are butter and certain dairy products. Some dairy products, such as yogurt and some cheese don’t seem to have the same adverse effects on cholesterol as butter and homogenized milk. See the last issue of Panacea for more details on dairy fat.
The Artery Damage Process
Cholesterol isn’t a problem until there is some damage to the artery wall. This can happen from high blood pressure or from damaging molecules that circulate (free radicals). If there are more damaging free radicals in your blood than antioxidants to clear out free radicals, the free radicals cause damage. Once damage happens, your body sends white blood cells, as it does to any damaged area. This triggers swelling or inflammation. (It is the same process as the swelling you can see from a sprain or injury but happens at a tiny scale internally, so it’s not visible.) If this damage occurs too often, eventually, permanent scars form and white blood cells pile up.
Cholesterol Causes its Damage
Then, bad cholesterol arrives on the scene, looking for trouble. The white blood cells see them and swallow them up to protect the damaged area. But this eating of the fatty bad cholesterol creates giant white blood cells that are too big to work properly. They start to stick to the artery walls. This deposit starts to collect a whole bunch of random stuff circulating in your blood. The build-up can narrow the artery, which begins to block the flow through the artery.
Glob Tears Away
When that glob of stuff attached to the artery wall tears opens, the body tries to close it up by sending platelets, the same thing that eventually blocks the flow of blood in a cut. This can block the artery entirely and trigger a stroke or heart attack. A blocked artery in the heart is a heart attack. If the blocked artery is one that supplies the brain, it causes a stroke.
Inflammation Reactor
There are several blood tests to measure the hidden inflammation. The most promising is CRP or C Reactive Protein. The CRP is a protein your liver makes when inflammation is triggered somewhere in your body. Your CRP levels increase for any number of conditions, including a common infection or injury. CRP helps white blood cells clean up the damaging products in your blood. It usually increases with age as our body needs more help. Its levels can increase 10,000 times in a short time. If your risk of heart attack is higher, this might be a worthwhile test. A higher CRP level is linked to doubling the risk of a heart attack. Because it is not specifically a test for heart disease, but for any inflammation, it needs to be used with heart-specific tests such as cholesterol, blood pressure, and others.
The Gut of the Matter
What causes this hidden inflammation is not clear. One possible cause is gut bacteria. (See Spring 2018 Panacea for more information about the gut farm.) Healthy bacteria in the gut change as we age. As our good bacteria farm gets weaker, harmful bacteria populate. This triggers antibodies to keep them under control, triggering inflammation as your body tries to fight off the harmful bacteria. This may be one of the reasons diet is so important. Saturated fat seems to harm the bacteria balance. A diet with more whole grains, fruits, and vegetables with lots of fibre, and also more real food and less processed food, will cultivate a healthier gut farm.
Six Steps to Lower Inflammation
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Keep your immune system healthy. A strong immune system can quickly fight off infection without triggering body-wide inflammation.
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Regular exercise reduces the inflammation markers in your blood. Infrequent, high-intensity exercise increases inflammation. Keep exercise regular: 5 days of brisk walking (at least) and 2 days of strength building.
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Manage stress. Find a way to keep stress from controlling you. Take a breath. (See the last issue on Panacea for tips on breathing.)
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Sleep well. Get up at the same time every day and develop a pattern.
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Eat well. Avoid refined foods like white bread and cookies. Limit fried foods, sweet drinks, and processed food. Eat fruit, nuts, berries, and green leafy veggies. Use fish for some of your meat.
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Take your vitamins. Vitamins C, D, and E all seem to help with inflammation by scooping up the particles that cause the damage in the first place.
Friend and Foe
Tiny internal inflammation causes all kinds of problems. It is necessary to fight off infections and to heal, but when it’s constant, it starts to attack you. It causes heart problems as well as joint pain and even brain processing issues. Stay healthy by keeping hidden inflammation under control.
