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“AHEARTTOHEARTTALK-Oh,the
thingsweneedtotalkabout...”
ByWilliamG.Winter,DVM
Everyoneknowswhatcausesheartattacks,thebiggestkillerofAmericans,right?Ofcourse.Aska
roomfullofpeopleandtheywillsaysomethinglike“cloggedarteriesoftheheart”.Samefor
strokes,“cloggedarteriesofthebrain”.Towhichtheywillmostoftenadd“fromeatingtoomuch
cholesterol,donchaknow”.It’soneofthosemedical“facts”thatwehaveallgrownupwith,
especiallysinceheartattacksandstrokeshavebeenontherisesincethe1950’s,heartattacksalone
nowkillingastaggering700,000ayear.ThankGodforcholesterol-loweringstatins,babyaspirins
andbloodthinners,right?Abouttheonlythingleftfordoctorstoargueaboutarethefinerpointsof
whatcausesplaquetoforminthearteries.But,aswearestartingtosee,thesecholesterol-lowering
techniquesarenotreallysavinglives,ifitworkedwhywouldsomanypeoplestillbedying?
Likewise,thesuper-expensiveproceduressuchasbypasssurgeryorstentsaren’tsavinglives
either.Somethingiswronghere.
Asitturnsout,thewholedarnmythisunraveling.Firstcamethesurprisingnewsthatthe“lipid
hypothesis”theoryofplaqueformationwasnevertrueatall.WecanthankDrRavnskovandhis
book“TheCholesterolMyths”forredeemingthereputationofpasturedbaconandeggsfor
breakfast,abiggobofgoodbutteronouroatmeal,andagoodgrass-fedsteakfordinner.Secondly,
thereistheembarrassingdiscoverythatmanypeoplewhodieofaheartattackdidn’thaveany
cloggingclotsintheirarteries!Correlationbetweencloggedarteriesanddeathfromheartattack,
varyatautopsywithstudiesfromaslowas7%upto90%,so,evenifyoutakethehighestnumber
everrecorded,whathappenedtotheother10%ofheartattackdeaths?Takingthisanotherstep
further,thelongerthetimebetweenheartattackanddeath,themorelikelytherewouldbea
blockageinthearteriesoftheheart.Thisdoesn’tmakesenseifcloggedarteriesarethecausal
factor.
ThestoryIamabouttotellyouislikealittlecherryIpickedoffofabananasplit,justforyou.My
cherryisfromthestunninglecturegivenbyholisticMDThomasCowanattherecentandglorious
WestonA.PriceFoundationAnnualConferencejustoutsideofPhiladelphia.TheWAPFconference
is,yousee,sortofa“firstcousin”toAcresUSA,thiscousinbeingthecitycousinwhothinksmore
abouteatingandwhattoeat,asopposedtothefarmcousinwhoeatstoo,butalsomakesallthe
food.Anyway,twoamazingconferences.LetmejustsaythatDr.Cowanisthefirsttoadmitthathe
is“outofthebox”,thatis,ratherunconventional.Scientific?Yes.Healingpatients?Verymuch
so.Mostofusthinkthathe’ssortofliketheThomasEdisonofmedicaldoctors!Afoundingboard
memberofWAPF,heguidesustoplaceswherenodoctorhasgonebefore.Here’sthatstoryI
promisedyou,directfromDr.Cowan.
OK,sowehaveestablishedthat(youhearditherefirst!)eatinggoodcholesteroldoesn’tcause
plaquebuild-uporanyofthesubsequentdiseasesit’sbeenallegedtocause.It’srelativelyclear
thatifonehashightriglyceridesinthebloodaswellasarterialplaquethatit’smorelikelydueto
eatingtoomanycarbohydratesaswellasother“oxidizing”factors.Wearealsosayingthathigh
bloodcholesterolisn’tevenariskfactorinpredictingheartdisease.Virtuallynocorrelation.But
whatiscorrelatedarethethreemainriskfactorsforheartdisease:Emotionalandpsychological
stress,Smokingcigarettes,andDiabetes.Riskfactorsthatareknowntoinflicttheirdamagemost
severelyinthetiniestofbloodvessels,thealmost-microscopiccapillaries.Oddly,theseriskfactors
haveneverbeenshowntodamagelargearteriesinanymajorway.Butwehavebeentoldfor70
yearsthatarteriesweresupposedtobetheproblem.Iftheknowntrueriskfactorswerereallyout
theredestroyingmajorbloodvessels,whydon’twehaveplaquebuild-upinthemajorarteries,the
bigonesthatgototheliver,thespleen,thekidneys,thepancreas,orotherorgans?Haveyouever
heardofsomeonehavinga“spleenattack”?Meneither.Something’sdefinitelywrongwiththis
theory,butdoctors,likefarmersIsuppose,resistchangingtheories,eveninthefaceofmassive
evidence!
Sohere’swherethemedicalfogisbeginningtolift,laidoutinverylogicalsteps.Alltheserisk
factorsdodamagecapillariesandthedamageismostapparentforcellsinorgansthathavemassive
needsforallthethingscapillariesdeliver,thatisoxygenandfood.Theseorgansalsomakealotof
waste,thatis,carbondioxideandmonoxide.Ifthere’sinadequateoxygenorfood,oriftrashbuilds
up,permanentdamageiseminent.Thosetwoorgansarethebrainandtheheart.Almost70%of
theoutputofthebodyfeedsandtendstotheravenousbrainandhearttissue.Notonlydothesetwo
organshavehighneedstheycannevertakeabreak.Notevenforafewminutes!Iftheprecious
networkofcapillariesbecomedamaged,foodandoxygendoesnotarriveinadequatequantities.
Toxicanaerobicfermentationoccurs,lacticacidbuildupresults,thepHofthetissuegetstooacidic
andthetissuebeginstodie.Hello!Heartattackiscoming!Thisdeathofportionsoftheheart
musclethatprecedesactualpatientdeath,isalsopainful,somethingwecall“angina”.It’salast
minutecryforhelp.
Dr.Cowansaysthenit’slikeabeaverdam.Oncethereisnecrosisanddamageinthetissue,blood
cannotflowandthereisabuild-upofdebris(clotsandfibrinogen)upstream,inthiscaseinthe
coronaryarteries.So,whatreallyhappensisthatpartoftheheartdiesfirstandthentheupstream
arteriesbegintoclogup.Thisiswhytherearemoreblockedarteriesinpatientswholiveawhile
afterthe“heartattack”.Thereismuchmoretimetobuildupdebrisandclots.Thisiswhysomany
heartattackcauseddeathsshownoevidenceofaclotorcloggedartery.
HowdoesDr.Cowanpreventhispatientsfromdying?BeingastudentofRudolfSteiner,thefounder
ofBiodynamicFarming,whoalsodiscoveredthatmanyplantsintheworld“containpartsofus”.
Steinerrevealedallthisaspartofhisunifyingtheory,hebelievedthatatonetime,longagoin
Creation,wewereallone.Now,ifwegetsick,wejustneedtogolookingforour“missingparts”out
thereinNature,it’sintherocks,theplantsandsometimestheanimals.Therearemanyplantsthat
bearcardiacglycosides,isn’tthatinteresting?OneplantcontainsaglycosidecalledOubain
(pronounced“WAH-bah-een”,afunwordtosay!)asubstancethatislike“insulinfortheheart”.Ina
complicatedseriesofsteps,oubainisemergencyhelpforthekeepingtheheartaliveand
healthy.Thismedicineslowsthewaveoftheheartbeat,thusbringinginmoreoxygenandeven
convertingthetoxiclacticacidtopyruvate,ausefulfoodforheartmusclecells.
Evenmoreinteresting,alongtimeago,doctorsfoundoutthatwemakeourownoubain,it’sfrom
theadrenalcortexanditnourishesourownheart.EveryonecandothisTodiscoverit,thescientists
trackedit’spathwaytotheheartbytaggingthesubstancethatcarriesitthere.Canyouguessthe
natureofthatsubstance?Wereyouthinkingcholesterol?Well,that’swhatdoesthework!Youneed
cholesteroltomakeitwork.Whenin-the-boxdoctorsgiveusstatindrugs,itlowersthepresenceof
ourownoubainby85%.Whichgetsusbacktothebeginning!
Dr.Cowanstartsallhiscardiacpatientsonaseriesofmoreorlesstraditionalbloodtestsand
cardiacevaluations.Helooksfortrueindicatorsofcardiacrisk(youwillalsofindtheseexplainedin
AlWatson’sneatlittlebook“21DaystoaHealthyHeart”)suchastriglyceridelevel(howmuch
carbohydratesyou’vebeeneating),yourC-reactiveproteinlevel(atestofhowinflamedyouare),
andahemoglobinteststhatrevealsyouraveragebloodsugarleveloverthepastweek.Ifyouhave
diabetes,hewillneedtogetthatundercontrolfirst.Hewillalsoputyouona“Nourishing
Traditions”diet,whichisahighanimalfat,lowcarbdiet(hey,whynotstartnow?!),perhapsthe
GAPSdiet,whichwatchesglutenandcasein,he’llprescribetakingcodliveroil,CoQ10(anatural
heartenzyme)andseveralnutriceuticals.Hestartsyouonasuperslowexerciseplanthatworksup
torepetitionsofsuchthingsas12quickuphillclimbsperweek.Nothingtootough.Throughouthis
past5yearsoftreatingheartdiseasepatientsinthismanner,hehasnotlostonepatienttoa
myocardialinfarct(heartattack).Canyourdoctorsaythat?BonAppetit!