Triple Threat, Part 1: High Blood Sugar Levels, High Blood Pressure Levels, and High Cholesterol Levels that lead to Cardiovascular Disease
Part One: Dealing with Cardiovascular Disease and Cholesterol (with target values listed below)
Cardiovascular disease
In the simplest of terms, cardiovascular disease involves the heart, arteries and blood vessels and is the cause of heart attacks and strokes. There are several medical names applied to describe the different conditions and events of cardiovascular disease but the “bottom line” for those of us who may be developing CVD, it means that we are at increased risk of heart attack or stroke.
From the viewpoint of a diabetic:
According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the primary cause of death for people who have diabetes. Diabetes, a condition of higher than normal blood sugars, is also recognized by many health authorities as being a major risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disease. All diabetics must be under the care of a doctor and it is hoped that on their periodic visits to the doctor’s office that in addition to their high blood sugar levels, they are also monitored for high blood pressure and possible developing heart problems
It is frequently the situation that a person with high blood sugar levels will develop high blood pressure and also be found to have high cholesterol levels, all typical of cardiovascular disease. Diabetes is serious enough when it is the only major problem that the diabetic has to face. The added health complication of cardiovascular disease (CVD) requires even more special efforts in order to bring its conditions under control and to minimize the effects of CVD as much as possible.
Heart disease, can be treated and reversed?
Many recent books and articles published on the subject claim that heart disease can be treated and prevented from developing to a more serious level, although different cardiologists may suggest different approaches. There are several cardiologists who insist that, in addition to accepted mainstream medical treatment, it is also necessary to supplement with various vitamins, minerals, and other non-pharmaceutical products. Among those supplementary products named are CoEnzyme Q10, l-carnitine, d-ribose, magnesium, potassium, vanadyl sulphate, l-arginine, some of which have, in the past, been associated with treatment of diabetes to reduce blood sugar levels, especially by physicians who recommend a nutritional approach.
In today’s newsletter of the Mayo Clinic, January 19, 2011, under the heading “Get more Potassium”, it states:
. . . to lower blood pressure you should consume less sodium and more potassium because sodium increases your blood pressure whereas potassium can minimize the damage through the lessening of the effects of sodium on blood pressure. Good sources` of potassium include bananas, cantaloupe, strawberries, tomatoes, peas and spinach.
So, for those of us who face the possibilities or likelihood of CVD, the question remains, what should we do? Not all doctors will necessarily be aware of the various supplementary types of treatment suggested by other specialists in the field, or perhaps in some cases, may not wish to deviate from the “standard” treatment, whatever that may be.
In my case, I think I will choose to add to my current prescription medications, by implementing the supplementary approach within reason and to the extent of affordability – the cost for supplements appears to be at least $100 per month for the main supplement items alone.
Cholesterol or saturated dietary fat?
There appears to still be a difference of opinion on the role of cholesterol in the risk of heart disease. For a long time in the past it was thought that high levels of cholesterol in the blood were a primary cause of heart disease but, in recent years, some heart specialists have placed less emphasis on cholesterol and have claimed that the real culprit is too much saturated fat in the daily diet, among other things.
The American Heart Association publications state that cholesterol plays a major role in heart health and that it is important for everyone to know their cholesterol levels in addition to knowing the other risk factors for heart disease and stroke. A more detailed explanation of cholesterol and the recommendations of the American Heart Association can be found at:
http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4500
In September of 2007, researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine published their conclusions that the risk of heart attack and stroke is greatly increased by cholesterol that suppresses the activity of a key protein that normally should protect the heart and blood vessels.
About cholesterol levels
The determination of cholesterol in the blood is made by measuring substances called lipoproteins, referred to as LDL’s (low density lipoproteins) and HDL’s, (high density lipoproteins) which are measured in mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter). The LDL’s are commonly referred to as the “bad” cholesterols.
In addition to the cholesterol values categorized and noted below, many other factors are also taken into consideration when assessing the risks for heart disease
According to the American Heart Association, when the LDL and HDL are added together:
- Total Cholesterol Level should be less than 200 mg/dL.
Any level above 200 mg/dL raises the risk for coronary heart disease. - Cholesterol Levels between 200 to 239 mg/dL are considered as being “borderline”.
- High blood cholesterol levels are those of 240 mg/dL and above.
Persons with high cholesterol levels have a greater than twice the risk of coronary heart disease as those with cholesterol levels below 200 mg/dL.
The levels and categories for the individual HDL and LDL are:
HDL:
- An HDL level that is less than 40 mg/dL in men, or less than 50 mg/dL in women, is considered to be a major risk factor for heart disease.
- An HDL level that is 60 mg/dL or above is considered as being protective against heart disease
LDL:
- An LDL level that is less than 100 mg/dL is considered to be optimal
- An LDL level between 100 and 129 mg/dL is also considered to be good or above optimal
- An LDL level between 130 and 159 mg/dL is considered to be Borderline High
- An LDL level between 160 and 189 mg/dL is High
- An LDL level between 190 and above is Very High.
Wow. I was certainly shocked to see that there is still someone in the United States who still believes that Diabetes is an incurable disease.
Of all of the 10,000 or so chronic diseases that afflict modern Americans, Diabetes stands-out in my mind as being the one disease that is the easiest to treat with a Raw Foods Diet. Diabetes responds so rapidly, and so easily, and so reliably to a Raw Foods Diet, that most people who start the diet are cured within 5 days.
I am not a doctor. But I have eyes, and I have ears. And with all of the information that is being published about how easy it is to treat Diabetes, I would think that you would avail yourself of the information that is out there, and stop misleading people with your erroneous doomsday information.
Do yourself a favor, and check-out the following YouTube Video: Dr. Gabriel Cousens’ Reverse Diabetes Program – Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-O6gH6QbPfw
That should be enough to get you started in your litereature search. The internet is absolutely FULL of testimonials of people with both Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes who no longer require insulin of any kind to keep their blood sugar in the normal range.
Isn’t that the definition of a cure ?
Best wishes in your quest for better health.
Hi Larry Hegi,
I appreciate your comments regarding diabetes and agree that there are dietary approaches, as you suggest, that are effective in dealing with the diabetic condition and in effect represent a cure. I have written about those in other articles on my websites and expressed my support for those methods and referred to several well-known medical practitioners have long advocated such an approach.
Having said that, and not for the sake of being argumentative, the fact remains, from a medical perspective, that once diabetes is confirmed to exist in a person the condition does not ever go away — the treatment you suggest, which is primarily a dietary and a lifestyle modification — and other forms of treatment, can lower or eliminate the risks and the effects of the disease, which may seem to be a cure but is really containment — change back to the previous way of life and the blood sugar levels will again rise to above normal levels.
In writing about diabetes I use the word “incurable” to emphasize its seriousness, but I usually do also add that there are ways to bring the elevated blood sugar levels that characterize the disease, under control.
The real-life situation is that most of the millions of diabetics will not adopt a vegan, vegetarian, or low carbohydrate way of life, human nature and a lack of knowledge contributes to that circumstance, those, I believe, are the realities.
Thank you for your interesting comments which, in the main, have my support, and I am familiar with the book you referred to. I would also like to suggest a simple dietary approach that I have found to be effective — if I stick to it — and that is the DASH Diet, it’s well known and there is a slight variation of that diet that I quite like, advocated by Dr. Gabe Merkin, you can find his writings on the internet, usually brief and to the point, I recommend his blog.
If you care to add more thoughts here that others may benefit from, feel free to do so
Thanks, Jim R.