nitric oxide

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:40:46 -0400, "tim" <...@yahoo.com

(I decided it was time to wake Susan up. :-))

Huffington Post

Kathy Freston

Author, Health and Wellness Expert
Posted: October 27, 2009 09:43 AM

Heart Disease: A Toothless Paper Tiger That Need Never Exist

"If the truth be known coronary artery disease is a toothless paper
tiger that need never, ever exist and if it does exist it need never, ever
progress."

So says Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, who was a researcher and clinician at the
Cleveland Clinic for over 35 years. In 1991, Dr. Esselstyn served as the
president of the American Association of Endocrine Surgeons, and organized
the 1st National Conference on the Elimination and Prevention of Heart
Disease. In 2005, he became the 1st recipient of the Benjamin Spock Award
for Compassion in Medicine. Dr. Esselstyn is also an Olympic gold medalist
in rowing, and he was awarded the Bronze Star as an army surgeon in Vietnam.

In this series of interviews I've conducted with extraordinary nutritional
researchers and medical doctors, I've sought to understand the link between
diet and the most common and dreaded diseases that are prevalent in our
culture. What I'm hearing over and over is that a plant based diet is both
preventative and healing, whereas a diet high in animal protein is
destructive to our health - this is the case with cancer, type 2 diabetes,
and heart disease.

The great news is that there is very real hope in shifting the course of our
health. What is becoming very apparent through various peer reviewed studies
is that by changing our diet - eliminating that which causes havoc in the
body (animal protein) and adding in plant based proteins and eating lots of
vegetables, legumes, beans, and whole grains, we can not only prevent
disease, but also heal from it once it is already in motion. Following is a
fascinating conversation I had on diet and heart health.

KF: What exactly is coronary heart disease?

CE: Coronary heart disease is the leading killer of women and men in western
civilization. It is predicted to become the #1 global disease burden by
2020.

It consists of an inflammatory buildup of blockages in arteries to the heart
muscle. These blockages are made of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and
inflammatory cells. Blockages can become severe enough to cause symptoms
such as shortness of breath or chest pain (angina). When blockages suddenly
become complete, the portion of heart muscle fed by that blocked artery is
now deprived of oxygen and nutrients, thus it is injured or now dies. This
is a heart attack. The patient may survive or succumb if the event is
accompanied by a fatal heart rhythm.

KF: Who develops heart disease?

CE: Everyone eating the typical western diet. In autopsy studies of our GI's
who died in the Vietnam and Korean wars almost 80% at an average age of 20
years, had disease that could be seen without a microscope. Forty years
later in 1999, a study of young persons between the ages of 16-34 years who
have died of accidents, homicides and suicides, finds the disease is now
ubiquitous.

KF: What is the cause of the disease?

CE: It is the typical western diet of processed oils, dairy, and meat which
destroys the lifejacket of our blood vessels known as our endothelial cells.
This cell layer is a one cell thick lining of all of our blood vessels.
Endothelial cells manufacture a magical protective molecule of gas called
nitric oxide, which protects our blood vessels. It keeps our blood flowing
smoothly, it is the strongest dilator (widener), of our blood vessels, it
inhibits the formation of blockages (plaques), and it inhibits inflammation.

KF: With such natural protection, why do we ever develop heart disease?

CE: Every western meal of processed vegetable oils, dairy products, and meat
(including chicken and fish) injures these endothelial cells. As individuals
consume theses damaging products throughout their lives, they have fewer
functioning endothelial cells remaining and thus less of the protective
nitric oxide. Without enough nitric oxide the plaque blockages build up and
grow creating eventually heart disease and strokes.

KF: Can it be stopped or even reversed?

CE: Yes. First we must look at the lessons learned from cultures where there
is a virtual absence of coronary artery heart disease such as rural China,
the Papua Highlands of New Guinea, Central Africa, and the Tarahumara
Indians of Northern Mexico. Their nutrition is plant based without oil.

Beginning in 1985 I initiated a study of seriously ill coronary artery
disease patients. Their nutrition became plant based without oil. Their
cholesterol levels plummeted. Their angina disappeared. Their weight
dropped. I have reported this study at 5 years, 12 years, and 16 years, in
the peer reviewed scientific literature and again beyond 20 years in my book
Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. In some of the patients we had follow up
angiograms (x-rays) of previously blocked arteries demonstrating striking
disease reversal, which is a testament to my often quoted statement "The
truth be known coronary artery disease is a toothless paper tiger that need
never exist and if it does exist it need never progress." The greatest gift
to these patients is the increasing recognition that they are the locus of
control for their disease - not some pill or procedure. They have made
themselves heart attack proof and lose the greatest fear of all heart
patients and their families - when will the next heart attack occur?

KF: What about drugs, stents, and heart bypass surgery?

CE: Admittedly in the midst of a heart attack a stent or bypass may be live
saving, however, for the remaining 90% studies confirm that they do not
prevent future heart attacks or prolong life. They are associated with
significant complications such as hemorrhage, heart attack, stroke,
cognitive decline, depression, and death. The benefits erode with the
passage of time as the stents and bypasses may themselves develop blockage.

Some drugs may decrease blood pressure and the heart workload. Others
interfere with clotting which helps a stent remain open. Statin drugs lower
cholesterol. None of these drugs or interventions addresses the basic
causation of disease and not surprisingly the disease progresses with the
need for more drugs, stents, and repeat bypasses.

KF: Why aren't physicians using nutrition therapy?

CE: Most physicians have no training or understanding of the power of
nutrition. In a busy practice they would not have the time for it. It is my
belief that physicians must accord the plant based lifestyle transition its
due. Every patient with cardiovascular disease should be referred to a
physician or nurse practitioner with the knowledge and expertise in these
counseling skills.

KF: But I understand physicians don't believe patients will make this
transition. How come?

CE: Nutrition counseling is a skill which physicians don't possess. Of all
the encounters a patient with cardiovascular disease experiences, perhaps
the least time and lowest priority is nutritional counseling. I see many
patients with heart disease who recount that nutrition was never even
mentioned. It is therefore unlikely that the patient feels that nutrition is
important.

KF: What is that you do differently?

CE: In an intensive 5 hour counseling session for a group of heart patients,
my first priority is to eliminate the mystery of what causes their disease.
It has not been stress, or genes. It is their western diet of processed oil,
dairy, and meat. Hypertension, diabetes, and smoking must be controlled but
food trumps all. I spend at least an hour defining the protective role of
endothelial cells and nitric oxide functioning as the ultimate guardians of
our blood vessels. They quickly understand that their lifetime of ingesting
these harmful products has totally overwhelmed and destroyed their
endothelium to an extent where it is unable to protect them. They fully
grasp that they must forever eliminate ingesting foods that will further
destroy their already compromised endothelium. They understand heart disease
is a food borne illness.

KF: Where is the good news?

CE: The patients understand that they can halt their disease. They are
presented with my scientific articles demonstrating reversal of disease.
They learn that anginal chest pain may diminish or disappear within 10-14
days in some patients while others may take longer. We share our data
confirming reversal of carotid artery disease to the brain, coronary artery
disease of the heart, peripheral vascular disease in the extremities, and
the reversal of erectile dysfunction. They are made to appreciate how
rapidly and powerfully the endothelial function may be restored. The most
significant message in our counseling is patient awareness that they are
empowered to be the locus of control of their disease.

KF: What is your take on the present management of heart disease through
drug stents and bypass surgery?

CE: It is expensive, dangerous, and ineffective. None of these approaches
addresses the factors that cause the disease. A doctor would never treat
poison ivy without advising the patient to avoid exposure to poison ivy
plants. Sadly the usual treatment of cardiovascular disease almost never
includes hours of patient counseling so they may completely eliminate the
foods which are injuring their endothelium. Stents may block, bypass veins
shut down, drug doses increase, and blood vessel disease worsens. The
present cost of this non-treatment of heart disease is unsustainable even in
our wealthy nation.

KF: Dr. Esselstyn, are you a threat to the stenting and bypass industry?

CE: Not really. Stents and bypass surgery in an emergency setting are
absolutely lifesaving. However, for non-emergency situations an intensive
lifestyle trial of 3-6 months would eliminate the need for most
interventions. It is of interest that when physicians and some
interventional cardiologists themselves develop the disease they come
knocking at my door.

KF: Why do you think this information on diet and heart disease is not more
widely known? Is someone or something blocking your message?

CE: The government, drug industry, and some of my own profession. The USDA
every five years produces a food triangle which promotes the very foods
which guarantee that millions of Americans will perish.

The drug industry has a $21 billion dollar income from statin drugs alone.
The stent manufacturers make billions more. Neither of these industries
would want this epidemic resolved.

Physicians who perform stents and bypass surgery earn millions and are
hardly clamoring for fewer patients.

KF: Any final thoughts?

CE: When people learn to eat plant based to eliminate heart disease it could
inaugurate a seismic revolution in health. Other diseases that resolve
include obesity, hypertension, stroke, heart attacks, gall stones,
diverticulitis, asthma, osteoporosis, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis,
multiple sclerosis, lupus, and a marked decrease in the common western
cancers of breast, prostate, colon, endometrial, ovarian, and pancreatic.

For more information, go to http://www.HeartAttackProof.com.