Blood clotting, or coagulation, is an important process that prevents excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. Platelets (a type of blood cell) and proteins in your plasma (the liquid part of blood) work together to stop the bleeding by forming a clot over the injury.
Signs and Symptoms of Blood Clots: Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)
and Pulmonary Embolism (PE)
Deep Vein Thrombosis:
Signs and Symptoms
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) occurs when a blood clot forms in one of the deep veins of your body, usually in your legs, but sometimes in your arm. The signs and symptoms of a DVT include:
These symptoms of a blood clot may feel similar to a pulled muscle or a “Charlie horse,” but may differ in that the leg (or arm) may be swollen, slightly discolored, and warm.
Pulmonary Embolism:
Signs and Symptoms
Clots can break off from a DVT and travel to the lung, causing a pulmonary embolism (PE), which can be fatal. The signs and symptoms of a PE include:
Call an ambulance or 911 immediately for treatment in the ER if you experience these Pulmonary Embolism symptoms.
Blood clots form when platelets (blood components) and plasma proteins thicken, forming a semisolid mass. This process may be triggered by an injury or it can sometimes occur inside blood vessels that don't have an obvious injury.
Once these clots form, they can travel to other parts of your body, causing harm. Factors and conditions that can cause troublesome blood clots, as well as serious conditions that are associated with blood clots, include:
Video: How cots form
LINK: FOOD THAT REDUCE INFLAMMATION
The cholesterol theory of heart disease has been disproven several years ago. The most common cause for heart is an inflammatory chemistry. Junk food, stress a diet out of balance can all lead to an inflammatory chemistry. Inflammation can lead to changes in the coronary arteries which lead to narrowing of the arteries which can lead to a heart attack or stroke. Ways of reducing inflammation in the body includes eating anti-inflammatory foods ( http://www.keefeclinic.com/wp/foods-that-reduce-inflammation/ ), fish oils are very beneficial, drinking alkaline water as well as alkaline producing foods. Antioxidants like pomegranate plus is very protective and Heart Health has herbs for circulation to the heart. I include the linked products for your consideration.
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To your better health,
Dr. Keefe
If you have not set up your account at natural partners then go to npscript.com/Keefeclinic and set up an account. There is no charge to set up this account and they do not sell email addresses. Once the account is set up you can order any of their over 9000 products in the comfort of your own home and have them shipped to your door. Note: for period of time you can get free shipping, order today!
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John H. Keefe III, D.C.
(918) 663-1111
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DIET: Death by Sugar (Sweetened Beverages)? Sugar-sweetened soft drinks, fruit juices and other beverages represent a growing health danger that goes far beyond simple cavities and poor energy; a recent analysis suggests regular consumption of sugary drinks can indirectly lead to death– yes, death. Sound far-fetched? Not really, and here's why: According to the researchers, who analyzed data from studies investigating the impact of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on body-mass index (BMI) and diabetes – and the resulting impact of BMI on cardiovascular disease and cancer, nearly 200,000 deaths worldwide can be attributed to drinking sugar-sweetened beverages. And that's nearly 200,000 deaths every year. Specifically, the researchers estimated that consumption of sweetened drinks contributes to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 45,000 from cardiovascular disease, and 6,450 from cancer on an annual basis.
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IN THE NEWS: Ways Gut Bacteria Affect Your Health A growing body of research suggests that gut bacteria influence weight. One recent study found that obese people have a less diversity in their gut flora than lean people. Your gut is the main area in the body where the immune system interacts with what's brought in from the outside world. Thus, the interaction between gut bacteria and your own cells appear to play an important role in the development of a fully-functioning immune system. Disrupting gut bacteria may have an effect on the brain, and in turn, behavior, studies in animal suggest. If gut bacteria play a role in human behavior, its possible that therapies that aim to restore normal gut flora, such as probiotics, may be helpful in correcting behavior and mood changes in people with gastrointestinal diseases, according to the researchers. Abnormal gut bacteria in infants may be one cause of colic, or excessive crying, recent research suggests.
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CONDITION OF THE WEEK: Low testosterone may raise depression risk Researchers found that more than half of the men in the study who had lower levels of testosterone had a diagnosis of depression, or showed symptoms of the condition, while a quarter of participants were taking medication for the disease. Analysis showed that the study participants had higher rates of obesity and lower rates of physical activity than their peers in the general population. Participants also suffered from erectile dysfunction, decreased libido, fewer morning erections, low energy and sleep disturbances. Long-term use of pharmaceutical testosterone can have significant side effects. Ask about a natural approach to testosterone.
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FUNNY BONE: I went to a seafood disco last week... and pulled a mussel. &&What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh. &&A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says, "I'll serve you, but don't start anything." &&"Doc, I can't stop singing 'The Green, Green Grass of Home.'" "That sounds like Tom Jones Syndrome." "Is it common?" Well, "It's Not Unusual."
Link:understanding-the-natural-healing-process/
Visit our web sites: keefeclinic.com&facebook.com/keefeclinic
MYTH: High cholesterol is the cause of heart disease.
FACT: Cholesterol is a fairly insignificant player in heart disease.
MYTH: High cholesterol is a good predictor of heart attacks.
FACT: High cholesterol is a lousy predictor of heart attacks. Half the people admitted to hospitals with heart disease have normal cholesterol, and plenty of people with elevated cholesterol have perfectly healthy hearts.
MYTH: Lowering cholesterol with statin drugs will prolong your life.
FACT: There is no data showing statins have any impact on longevity.
MYTH: Statin drugs are perfectly safe.
FACT: Statin drugs have significant side effects, including loss of memory and libido, muscle pain and fatigue, and approximately 65 percent of doctors don't report those side effects, according to a 2007 study.
MYTH: Statin drugs are appropriate for men, women, children and the elderly.
FACT: The only group in which statins have been shown to have even a modest effect is in middle-aged men who've already had a heart attack. If you're not in that group, you've got no business on a statin drug.
MYTH: Saturated fat is dangerous.
FACT: Saturated fat is mostly neutral and may even have some health benefits. A recent peer-reviewed study has shown no association between saturated fat and heart disease.
MYTH: The higher your cholesterol, the shorter your lifespan.
FACT: In the Framingham Study, the people who actually lived the longest had the highest cholesterol.
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George Mann M D., Associate Professor of Bio-Chemistry at Vanderbilt University College of Medicine and a participating researcher in the Framingham Heart Study was one of the doubters of the benefit of the low cholesterol. The diet-heart idea is the “greatest scam” in the history of medicine, he said. “Researchers have held repeated press conferences bragging about cataclysmic breakthroughs which the study directors ‘claim shows that lowering cholesterol lowers the frequency of coronary disease. They have manipulated the data to reach the wrong conclusions”.Dr. Mann also declared that NIH managers“used Madison Avenue hype to sell this failed trial in the same way that the media people would sell an underarm deodorant”.
In 1992, forty-four years after the Framingham Study began, study director William Castelli, M.D.wrote in an editorial to the Archives of Internal Medicine. “In the Framingham Study, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower the person’s serum cholesterol...we found that people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories, weighed the least, and were the most physically active”.
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Dr. John Yudkin, M.D., pointed out that there was a better and truer relationship between sugar consumption and heart disease. “There is a sizeable minority -of which I am one-that believes coronary disease is not largely due to fat in the die t”. Three decades later, Dr. George Mann arrived at the same conclusion and assembled a distinguished group of scientists and doctors to study the evidence that fat and cholesterol cause heart disease, a concept he later called “the greatest health scam of the century”. Sugar is a far greater danger to your heart than fat ever was or will be. Most medical experts have tried and convicted the wrong culprit. Fat was innocent all the time. It’s sugar that’s the true culprit of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and many cancers.
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As we discuss inflammatory and anti-inflammatory foods we must understand the difference in body types. There were four body types that require slightly different blends of carbohydrates fat, and proteins. These can be divided into two basic groups one the high complex carbohydrate low-fat and the other being high-protein low carbohydrate. If you’re in a high complex carbohydrate low-fat group then foods like eggs, butter, salt, redmeat and some spices could be a problem. If you’re in the high protein low carb group than refined carbohydrates sugars grains could be a problem. So it’s important to know what body type you have as you review the following list of anti-inflammatory foods. Also any food that you’re allergic to can be pro-inflammatory even on the list of anti-inflammatory foods. For instance the nightshade family can be pro-inflammatory if you’re allergic to them. They include: potatoes (Solanum tuberosum), tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum), many species of sweet and hot peppers (all species of Capsicum, including Capsicum annum), and eggplant (Solanum melongena). Less well know, but equally genuine nightshade foods include ground cherries (all species of Physalis), tomatillos (Physallis ixocapra), garden huckleberry (Solanum melanocerasum), tamarillos (Cyphomandra betacea), pepinos (Solanum muricatum), and naranjillas (Solanum quitoense). Pimentos (also called pimientos) belong to the nightshade family, and usually come from the pepper plant Capsicum annum. Pimento cheese and pimento-stuffed olives are therefore examples of foods that should be classified as containing nightshade components. Although the sweet potato, whose scientific name is Ipomoea batatas, belongs to the same plant order as the nightshades (Polemoniales), it does not belong to the Solanaceae family found in this order, but to a different plant family called Convolvulaceae.
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So as you read the list of anti-inflammatory foods keep in mind that your body type might preclude some of these foods as well as your food allergies.
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Inflammation is one of the body's defense mechanisms. Inflammation results in increased blood flow in response to infection and certain chronic conditions. Symptoms of inflammation include redness, swelling, pain, and heat.
But when inflammation becomes uncontrolled then it becomes the soil for chronic disease. Besides foods, stress, obesity, toxicity and an acidic chemistry help produce uncontrolled inflammation in the body.
Diseases that arise from inflammatory chemistry can be the following: Autoimmune disorders, Obesity, allergies, Alzheimer's, anemia, ankylosing spondylitis, asthma, autism, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, celiac, Crohn's disease, congestive heart failure, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, eczema, fibromyalgia, fibrosis, gallbladder disease, Gerd, Guillain-Barré , Hashimoto's thyroiditis, heart attack, kidney failure, lupus, multiple sclerosis, neuropathy, pancreatitis, psoriasis, polymyalgia rheumatica, rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, stroke, surgical complications, many other pain disorders.
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Specifics vary from diet to diet, but in general anti-inflammatory diets suggest:
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Navigating through lies, politics and profit in an attempt to find better health.
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Big food and big Pharma have lied to you to increase their bottom line. In the attempt to understand health and the principles that lead to better health you have to navigate through conflicting messages that attempt to brainwash you into lining the pockets of big food and big Pharma to the deficit of you and your family's health.
To give an example of this we will talk about heart disease and osteoporosis.
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If I ask most people on the street what was the main contributor to heart disease then cholesterol would be the first thing out of most people's mouth. If I ask you the number one way of maintaining healthy bones most people would say consuming more calcium. My question to you is: did you arrive at these conclusions by your own in-depth study of the research and science or have you opened up a medical textbook to determine how these conditions develop and exactly what these conditions are? Was it by extensive research that you come to these conclusions? Of course not you have been taught by television, radio and newsprint and even doctors.
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Let me give you some facts: one of the largest studies, I'm talking real-life studies not theoretical studies, was a Harvard study of 78,000 nurses. The facts are the nurses that consume the most calcium had the most bone fractures. Asian women living in their own culture eating their own cultural diet get one third the calcium that American women get and osteoporosis is extremely rare in their society. When they move to the US and incorporate the US diet they become the top risk group for osteoporosis.
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The next fact is the cholesterol theory of heart disease first gained its acceptance in the 1950s. Medical nutritionist Dr. Keyes supposedly correlated the level of fat intake with heart disease in six countries and even though his theory was rejected at the time he used political maneuvering by becoming part of the Heart Association and finally got his theory accepted. When you look at his original research you will see a study of 23 countries trying to make this correlation and he had to eliminate 16 of these countries in order to make his theory look correct statistically. When you add back the 16 countries he conveniently eliminated the correlation just doesn't stand up. And between the 1950s and about 1976 there are six different major studies trying to correlate fat in the diet with heart disease and they have all failed. In fact every major study from 1969 through the present has failed to support the cholesterol theory.
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One of the longest continual studies is ongoing today started in 1948 in Framingham Massachusetts. This study involves 5000 residents and has shown some amazing contradictions to the cholesterol theory of heart disease. In fact this study has shown after the age 47 the patients with the highest cholesterol outlive the patients with lower cholesterol levels. This study also shows those who ate more saturated fat weighed less and had more energy than those on the low-fat diet.
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In April 1996 the second International symposium on dietary fats and oils consumption in health and disease was hosted by the Southwest University medical school in Dallas Texas. Researchers from around the world presented their findings on the effects of fat in the human diet. After the presentations showing the subjects following the low-fat diet hadn't got rid of their obesity, and not lowered their cholesterol levels, had lowered their HDL levels (the good cholesterol), and had increase their blood levels of triglycerides (a major risk factor for heart disease), the moderators of the symposium pronounce the low-fat diet a failure.
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The strongest evidence points to inflammation as the soil in which obesity, diabetes, and heart disease develop from. So strategies to reduce inflammation will lead to the best chance of better health. This is where diet and lifestyle are very important. There are several factors that lead to inflammation in the body which include: junk food (highly refined carbohydrates), hydrogenated oils that include trans fats, elevation in bad prostaglandins and hormones like insulin which are produced by the overabundance of refined vegetable oils and refined carbohydrates and sugar, and the reduced amount of helpful antioxidants and pH balancing foods and beverages that reduce the excess acidity of the body.
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So as we look to diet and lifestyle (because even too much aerobic exercise without appropriate amounts of antioxidants in the diet can also lead to inflammation) then selecting the proper diet is crucial. Unfortunately there is no one diet that fits everybody and so you need to match the right ratio of fats, carbohydrates and proteins that fit your genetic makeup.
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The body typing system that I use consists of four different body types: thyroid, gonadal, adrenal and pituitary. These four types tend to correspond the four personality types: Sanguine (This type is characterized by spontaneity, optimism, enthusiasm, high energy, mental flexibility, novelty seeking, impulsiveness and curiosity)., Phlegmatic (These people are mainly defined by their social skills, such as their ability to express themselves and read other people face expressions and body language. They do well at connecting facts and seeing “the big picture”. They are nurturing, sympathetic, agreeable and emotionally expressive). Choleric (This type is associated with testosterone, which is also present in men and women, but more so in men. These people are direct, focused, tough, analytical, logical and strategic. They have a great deal of courage and like to compete, often against each other. They often have square jaws, high cheekbones and high foreheads and love to use words like “intellect”, “ambition” and “challenge”) and Melancholic (tend to be calm, loyal and orderly, just as their personality name sounds. They are cautious and conventional. These men and women inherited genes in the serotonin system and their favorite words are “family”, “loyal”, “respect”, “caring”, “values” and “moral”). Most people are unique blend of four different types of personality, where all of the traits are present to some extent.
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These four body types can be divided into two groups. We can call one group the protein group (about 70% of US) and the other the complex carbohydrate group (30%) the protein group tends to be sensitive to carbohydrates particularly refined sugars and grains. The carbohydrate group tends to be sensitive to fats (eggs, butter and red meat), salt and spices. So a diet too high in sugars and grain can lead to inflammation in the protein type. A diet high in fats and oils can lead to inflammation in the carbohydrate type.
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So simply learning which body type you are and focusing on the correct ratio of fats, carbohydrates and proteins you can make a significant difference in your health.
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There are five laws of health that we encourage our patients to follow to regain and maintain good health over a lifetime. These laws are diet, exercise, rest and relaxation, positive spiritual and mental attitude and a healthy balanced nervous system.
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In the area diet this includes eating your body type diet but also consuming enough water for your body weight. In order to determine how much water you need to drink you divide your weight in half and consider that answer in ounces. For instance a hundred pound person their cleansing dose of fluids would be 50 ounces 80% of that would give you the minimum fluids they should drink which is 40 ounces. Dehydration can cause a whole host of conditions and cause any condition your suffering with to be a little worse. Since the EPA recommends boiling city water before drinking we encourage our patients to drink filtered water. Also when it comes to water you can get water in different pH ranges. If you're dealing with an inflammatory chemistry your body is going to be acidic. And so alkaline water can be very effective in the overall management of your body chemistry.
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As we consider water we also consider detoxification because we live in a toxic environment. And so most patients need to undergo some level of detoxification in order to remove important stressors in their ability to maintain normal function and better health. So drinking your cleansing dose of fluids can be helpful in detoxification. And when it comes to how much alkaline water we recommend you should drink about a liter a day. Too much alkaline water can produce negative effects for some people.
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When it comes to exercise there are exercises that work best with different body types.
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Rest and relaxation would also include quality sleep. New research indicates that sleep is one way that our brains are able to detoxify. But there's a growing list of health problems that are associated with the lack of proper sleep. The average adults should get between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.
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When it comes to positive mental and spiritual attitude than spiritual disciplines like meditation, prayer and helping others can be very important. When it comes to moods neurotransmitters can be important. Serotonin is considered an important neurotransmitter when it comes to depression or anxiety. What most people don't realize is your gut is your second brain and 80 percentage of serotonin is produced in your gut. Now the serotonin in your brain and the serotonin in your gut don't appear to intermingle. But when the level is out of balance in one area it will affect the other. Probiotics are extremely important in maintaining good gut health; your gut also is your second immune system.
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Healthy nervous system is an obvious necessity based on scientific understanding that the nervous system controls and coordinates everything in your body. It's just outside of chiropractic or osteopathic research most doctors don't know how to improve nervous system function. It is been my experience over the past 38 years in practice that through chiropractic adjustments we can enhance the body's function significantly. In fact the average chiropractic patient undergoing regular care has an immune system anywhere from 200% more effective than the average person on the street. Also recent research has shown chiropractic treatments are one of the few interventions that can raise the level of DNA repair chemistry in your body to help prevent disease and extend lifespan.
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If you have high blood pressure you should do the following:
Lose weight if you're overweight.
Quit smoking if you smoke.
Be more active, striving to exercise at least 30 minutes a day.
Eat a healthy diet based on your body type and if you’r salt sensitive stop salt.
Cut back on alcohol to no more than one drink a day for women and two a day for men.
Get your spine in proper alignment. (The “Journal of Human Hypertension” released a study indicating chiropractic neck adjustments lower blood pressure better than two medications given at the same time.)
For some people, this advice (and following through with it) is enough to get their blood pressure back to normal levels.
If the above recommendations don’t seem to correct the problem then there are additional things to consider.
Seeking emotional stability
If you are not handling stress properly we can help outline a program to resolve that.
Isometric exercises and breathing
New studies show that by using isometric gripping exercises you can reduce your blood pressure considerably. Also Controlled breathing, trying to maintain less than 10 breaths a minute can lower blood pressure. I would recommend two websites: zona.com and lowermypressure.com.
Minerals like potassium and magnesium can be the cause for some people’s high blood pressure if your low in them.
Foods that are high in potassium:
Apricots, avocado, bananas, cantaloupe, melons, kiwi, lima beans, milk, oranges and orange juice, potatoes, prunes, spin age, tomatoes, meat, fish, and poultry.
Foods high in magnesium:
Whole grain bread, dark green leafy vegetables, halibut, most kinds of nuts, especially almonds and cashews, soybeans, oatmeal, potatoes, peanut butter, black-eyed peas, and yogurt.
Other nutrients like garlic, Co-q-10, Hawthorne, L- arginine, fish oils, apple cider vinegar, cayenne pepper, ginseng and green or oolong tea have all been shown beneficial.
The salt myth
Research shows that for the vast majority of people,natural salt (sea salts) consumption does not raise blood pressure. The truth is avoiding salt can be dangerous to your health.
One study in the “Journal of Human Hypertension” (13:777-80, 1999) concluded that substituting table salt for potassium, magnesium, sodium salt... 9 out of 20 elderly hypertensive patients experienced an 11 point drop in their daytime systolic blood pressure. It turns out that natural sea salt rich in natural potassium, magnesium and sodium helps to normalize healthy blood pressure levels. un less your sodium sensitive, chances are your high blood pressure stems from a lack of the correct ratio of key minerals. Salt is basically sodium chloride and sodium ions, the two major components of salt, are necessary for survival for all known living creatures, including humans.
Don’t be afraid of the sun
Vitamin D is plentiful in sunlight, and it is necessary for a healthy immune system. The UV rays from the sun have been found to boost mood, which may lower blood pressure.
Get a good nights sleep
Not getting enough sleep can raise your blood pressure. If you don’t feel like you’re sleeping as well as you should, and especially if your sleeping partner complains that you are snoring more than normal, you might want to get a snore guard from our office to improve your sleep.
Eat more chocolate
A recent study published in the “Archives of Internal Medicine” found that eating or drinking cocoa lowers blood pressure and reduces the risk of death in older men. A substance known as flavan-3-ols found in dark chocolate has been shown to lower blood pressure and improve the function of cells lining the blood vessels. Men who ate chocolate regularly over a 15 year study were found to have lower blood pressure than those who didn’t, even when weight, smoking, physical activity and other factors were taken into account. Remember it’s dark chocolate, I recommend finding one that has cocoa content 80% or higher. Don’t eat the whole bar just break off one layer per day.
Drink your water
Dehydration can increase your blood pressure.
Water needs are based on body weight. The formula is half the body weight considered in ounces. For example a 100 pound person’s cleansing dose would be 50 ounces of fluids per day. 80% of that would be the minimum dose, for instance 80% of 50 ounces is 40 ounces. For a hundred pound person they should drink between 40 to 50 ounces a day to keep hydrated otherwise they become dehydrated which can lead to several different health problems, high blood pressure is just one of them.
We physicians with all our training, knowledge and authority often acquire a rather large ego that tends to make it difficult to admit we are wrong. So, here it is. I freely admit to being wrong. As a heart surgeon with 25 years experience, having performed over 5,000 open-heart surgeries, today is my day to right the wrong with medical and scientific fact.
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I trained for many years with other prominent physicians labelled "opinion makers." Bombarded with scientific literature, continually attending education seminars, we opinion makers insisted heart disease resulted from the simple fact of elevated blood cholesterol.
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The only accepted therapy was prescribing medications to lower cholesterol and a diet that severely restricted fat intake. The latter of course we insisted would lower cholesterol and heart disease. Deviations from these recommendations were considered heresy and could quite possibly result in malpractice.
It Is Not Working!
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These recommendations are no longer scientifically or morally defensible. The discovery a few years ago that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be treated.
The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences.
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Despite the fact that 25% of the population takes expensive statin medications and despite the fact we have reduced the fat content of our diets, more Americans will die this year of heart disease than ever before.
Statistics from the American Heart Association show that 75 million Americans currently suffer from heart disease, 20 million have diabetes and 57 million have pre-diabetes. These disorders are affecting younger and younger people in greater numbers every year.
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Simply stated, without inflammation being present in the body, there is no way that cholesterol would accumulate in the wall of the blood vessel and cause heart disease and strokes. Without inflammation, cholesterol would move freely throughout the body as nature intended. It is inflammation that causes cholesterol to become trapped.
Inflammation is not complicated -- it is quite simply your body's natural defence to a foreign invader such as a bacteria, toxin or virus. The cycle of inflammation is perfect in how it protects your body from these bacterial and viral invaders. However, if we chronically expose the body to injury by toxins or foods the human body was never designed to process,a condition occurs called chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation is just as harmful as acute inflammation is beneficial.
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What thoughtful person would willfully expose himself repeatedly to foods or other substances that are known to cause injury to the body? Well, smokers perhaps, but at least they made that choice willfully.
The rest of us have simply followed the recommended mainstream diet that is low in fat and high in polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates, not knowing we were causing repeated injury to our blood vessels. This repeated injury creates chronic inflammation leading to heart disease, stroke, diabetes and obesity.
Let me repeat that: The injury and inflammation in our blood vessels is caused by the low fat diet recommended for years by mainstream medicine.
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What are the biggest culprits of chronic inflammation? Quite simply, they are the overload of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods.
Take a moment to visualize rubbing a stiff brush repeatedly over soft skin until it becomes quite red and nearly bleeding. you kept this up several times a day, every day for five years. If you could tolerate this painful brushing, you would have a bleeding, swollen infected area that became worse with each repeated injury. This is a good way to visualize the inflammatory process that could be going on in your body right now.
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Regardless of where the inflammatory process occurs, externally or internally, it is the same. I have peered inside thousands upon thousands of arteries. A diseased artery looks as if someone took a brush and scrubbed repeatedly against its wall. Several times a day, every day, the foods we eat create small injuries compounding into more injuries, causing the body to respond continuously and appropriately with inflammation.
While we savor the tantalizing taste of a sweet roll, our bodies respond alarmingly as if a foreign invader arrived declaring war. Foods loaded with sugars and simple carbohydrates, or processed with omega-6 oils for long shelf life have been the mainstay of the American diet for six decades. These foods have been slowly poisoning everyone.
How does eating a simple sweet roll create a cascade of inflammation to make you sick?
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Imagine spilling syrup on your keyboard and you have a visual of what occurs inside the cell. When we consume simple carbohydrates such as sugar, blood sugar rises rapidly. In response, your pancreas secretes insulin whose primary purpose is to drive sugar into each cell where it is stored for energy. If the cell is full and does not need glucose, it is rejected to avoid extra sugar gumming up the works.
When your full cells reject the extra glucose, blood sugar rises producing more insulin and the glucose converts to stored fat.
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What does all this have to do with inflammation? Blood sugar is controlled in a very narrow range. Extra sugar molecules attach to a variety of proteins that in turn injure the blood vessel wall. This repeated injury to the blood vessel wall sets off inflammation. 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.
While you may not be able to see it, rest assured it is there. I saw it in over 5,000 surgical patients spanning 25 years who all shared one common denominator -- inflammation in their arteries.
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Let's get back to the sweet roll. That innocent looking goody not only contains sugars, it is baked in one of many omega-6 oils such as soybean. Chips and fries are soaked in soybean oil; processed foods are manufactured with omega-6 oils for longer shelf life. While omega-6's are essential -they are part of every cell membrane controlling what goes in and out of the cell -- they must be in the correct balance with omega-3's.
If the balance shifts by consuming excessive omega-6, the cell membrane produces chemicals called cytokines that directly cause inflammation.
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Today's mainstream American diet has produced an extreme imbalance of these two fats. The ratio of imbalance ranges from 15:1 to as high as 30:1 in favor of omega-6. That's a tremendous amount of cytokines causing inflammation. In today's food environment, a 3:1 ratio would be optimal and healthy.
To make matters worse, the excess weight you are carrying from eating these foods creates overloaded fat cells that pour out large quantities of pro-inflammatory chemicals that add to the injury caused by having high blood sugar. The process that began with a sweet roll turns into a vicious cycle over time that creates heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and finally, Alzheimer's disease, as the inflammatory process continues unabated.
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There is no escaping the fact that the more we consume prepared and processed foods, the more we trip the inflammation switch little by little each day. The human body cannot process, nor was it designed to consume, foods packed with sugars and soaked in omega-6 oils.
There is but one answer to quieting inflammation, and that is returning to foods closer to their natural state. To build muscle, eat more protein. Choose carbohydrates that are very complex such as colorful fruits and vegetables. Cut down on or eliminate inflammation- causing omega-6 fats like corn and soybean oil and the processed foods that are made from them.
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One tablespoon of corn oil contains 7,280 mg of omega-6; soybean contains 6,940 mg. Instead, use olive oil or butter from grass-fed beef.
Animal fats contain less than 20% omega-6 and are much less likely to cause inflammation than the supposedly healthy oils labelled polyunsaturated. Forget the "science" that has been drummed into your head for decades. The science that saturated fat alone causes heart disease is non-existent. The science that saturated fat raises blood cholesterol is also very weak. Since we now know that cholesterol is not the cause of heart disease, the concern about saturated fat is even more absurd today.
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The cholesterol theory led to the no-fat, low-fat recommendations that in turn created the very foods now causing an epidemic of inflammation. Mainstream medicine made a terrible mistake when it advised people to avoid saturated fat in favor of foods high in omega-6 fats. We now have an epidemic of arterial inflammation leading to heart disease and other silent killers.
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What you can do is choose whole foods your grandmother served and not those your mom turned to as grocery store aisles filled with manufactured foods. By eliminating inflammatory foods and adding essential nutrients from fresh unprocessed food, you will reverse years of damage in your arteries and throughout your body from consuming the typical American diet.