Processed food NOT fat is the real cause of heart disease, claims heart surgeon

dailymail ^ | 29 January 2014

[dennisw]

Processed food NOT fat is the real cause of heart disease, claims heart surgeon who says a diet of natural food can even reverse the illness

Dr. Dwight Lundell admits prescribing cholesterol-lowering medications, and a low-fat, high-simple carbohydrate diet for two-and-a-half decades was misguided 'These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible,' he writes in an essay that has ignited the Internet He vlaims these foods actively destroy the walls of our blood vessels by causing chronic inflammation, which in turn causes heart disease The cardiac surgeon recommends only eating foods your grandmother, or great-grandmother, would recognise

An Arizona heart surgeon's claim that a diet of unprocessed foods - not necessarily low-fat foods - can prevent and even reverse heart disease has ignited the Internet.

Dr. Dwight Lundell has dished the dirt on 'what really causes heart disease' and he admits prescribing cholesterol-lowering medications, and a low-fat, high-simple carbohydrate diet for two-and-a-half decades was misguided.

'These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible,' he writes in the essay, that has been posted on some 250,000 Facebook pages since it appeared on a website called Tuned Body in December.

He explains that this once 'healthy' diet actively destroys the walls of our blood vessels by causing chronic inflammation. This inflammation makes cholesterol stick to the walls, forming the plaques that eventually block them, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.

'When you spike your blood sugar level several times a day, every day, it is exactly like taking sandpaper to the inside of your delicate blood vessels,' he writes.

The former cardiac surgeon, who says he's 'peered inside thousands upon thousands of arteries' slams refined carbohydrates as well as the proportion of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in the Western diet.

[steve86]

He explains that this once 'healthy' diet actively destroys the walls of our blood vessels by causing chronic inflammation. This inflammation makes cholesterol stick to the walls, forming the plaques that eventually block them, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.

So why not continue to take statins, which reduce this inflammation?*

*Not going to respond to comments about myopathies and similar, none of which affect me.

[dennisw]

I had not had a fresh stout in years. I went into the local brew house and asked for what dark beer you brew on the premises (they had a large selection of commercial bottles and drafts)

He poured a stout. It was the best beer I had in years. Bottled stout, Guinness or beer cannot compare. A fresh stout like that would be great in bread. Being non pasteurized and full of fresh ferments

[doctor noe]

The Atkins Diet overall is not bad because of the carb restriction & emphasis on meat/protein/fat. It’s bad because of the lack of emphasis on eating non-CAFO beef, non-pastured chicken/eggs/dairy & strict avoidance of N-6 fats/oils. Atkins is a short-term therapeutic diet for relatively fast weight loss, & is certainly not healthy or optimal in the long run. Still, Atkins could certainly be made healthier by focusing on the quality of animal products & fats, & eliminating the gimmicky/unhealthy “Atkins” bars. But then it wouldn’t be called the Atkins Diet anymore.

[Sioux-san]

thanks for the food tips - I love Middle Eastern food. Tried to find an American source for sheep-milk feta, but came up empty.

[BfloGuy]

It’s bad because of the lack of emphasis on eating non-CAFO beef, non-pastured chicken/eggs/dairy & strict avoidance of N-6 fats/oils. Atkins is a short-term therapeutic diet for relatively fast weight loss, & is certainly not healthy or optimal in the long run.

Perhaps, all true. I was speaking to the core issue of animal fats as a danger to our health and weight. Atkins was the pioneer in debunking that. That the nutrition industry still ignores that more and more obvious fact is scandalous.

[goodwithagun]

I wonder how much pocket lining the grain lobby does to keep the largest spot on Big Gov’s food pyramid?

[BfloGuy]

I wonder how much pocket lining the grain lobby does to keep the largest spot on Big Gov’s food pyramid?

I suspect that plays a large part -- along with the general nutritional ignorance. If they could figure out a way to recommend we drink ethanol, they would.

[logi_cal869]

I’ve been sending this to all my friends

http://www.preventdisease.com/news/12/030112_World-Renown-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease.shtml

I can’t eat any boxed foods anymore, let alone at most restaurants. It’s a long story, but I came to the ‘no-processed-foods’ conclusion for me long before I came across this guy, including quitting my cholesterol meds.

I’m glad he’s getting press (finally).

[dennisw]

Dwight Lundell

Dr. Lundell's experience in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery over the last 25 years includes having performed over 5000 coronary bypass operations, certification by the American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Dr. Lundell was a pioneer in "Off-Pump" heart surgery reducing surgical complications and recovery times. He's in the Beating Heart Hall of Fame and has been listed in Phoenix Magazine's Top Doctors for 10 years. He has been recognized by his peers as a leader and has served as Chief resident at the University of Arizona and Yale University Hospitals and later served as Chief of Staff and Chief of Surgery at several hospitals in the Phoenix area. 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 As a recognized…

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Books by Dwight Lundell

The Cure for Heart Disease: Truth Will Save a Nation by Dwight Lundell and Todd R. Nordstrom (Jul 10, 2007)

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Paperback Order in the next 11 hours to get it by Monday, Feb 3. Only 16 left in stock - order soon. FREE Shipping with your current order	$24.95	$19.89		$15.69	$11.21
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[dennisw]

Good for you if you quit statins. Niacin can help a lot and lots on the internet about niacin and your heart. I used to really like eating at Chinese restaurants. Now I see it as one big greasy mess.

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/rugby-niacin-500-mg-1000-tabs?SourceCode=INTL405&CAWELAID=502904680&mkwid=lIIvXO2o&pcrid=45563020687&cagpspn=pla&gclid=CP_TqJmxqrwCFZBj7Aod43MA3Q

Most recent place i ate out was Sweet Tomatoes salad bar

[logi_cal869]

Most recent place i ate out was Sweet Tomatoes salad bar

I had to laugh when I read that, as salad bars are pretty much the only thing I can eat out without problems. Or just a steak & potato. It really sucks. To give you an example, I was just at United Grocers yesterday picking up some stuff & was browsing all the 'fake/processed' foodstuffs they have there. Why? Because that's the place many of the restaurants get their ingredients. Readymade fillings, fake butters, Pomace of Olive Oil, on & on...

Hardly any restaurants use real ingredients anymore and those that may either don't exist or are impossible to find. Sometimes I just WANT someone else to make me a meal, you know? But what REALLY sucks is the County/State regulations that prevent me from being able to smell my food cooking. As my own cook, I get nose-deaf; I don't KNOW how good my Italian cooking smells anymore. I'm on the hunt for a restaurant that will cook a steak at my table & or wheel 'taste carts' through the restaurant for sampling dishes, getting the opportunity to smell them. It's a sense I miss & really long for...the smells are one reason I love Saturday Markets & the like (the food booths/carts), but then back to picking what I can & can't eat, sadly.

[doctor noe]

Yes, Atkins was a pioneer, & I think what still confuses the nutrition industry about saturated fats is all the confounders in CAFO beef. That stuff has a pretty lousy fatty acid profile, plus all the hormones/antibiotics & other crap. All these factors make it somewhat easy for the conventional wisdom crowd to continue to pillory red meat. If you eat real food, including a decent amount of healthy red meat/pastured chicken/eggs, it's actually quite easy to end up with impressive looking blood lipid test results. The CW crowd denies that could ever happen, despite all the evidence.