The statistics on heart disease in America are frightening. As a society we have been avoiding the truth that heart disease continues to escalate despite pouring billions of dollars into research, medications, medical testing, and the search for the “cure.” Heart disease is the leading killer in the U.S. and now claims 910,000 American lives every year. One out of every 2.9 deaths is attributed to heart disease.1 You can no longer hope that you will not become a statistic. The odds are that heart disease is not only in your future, but chances are that you already have it! Statistics do not play favorites.
The following are the latest facts from the American Heart Association’s 2010 update on heart disease in America: 2
- 2300 Americans die every day of a heart related issue – equaling 1 death every 38 seconds.
- 1 in 8.6 death certificates in 2006 mentioned heart failure.
- The probability at birth of eventually dying of a major heart related death is 47% (a 50-50 chance).
- Every year 795,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke.
- 74.5 million Americans have hypertension (also known as high blood pressure which is a risk factor for developing and eventually dying from heart disease).
- The total direct and indirect cost of heart disease and stroke in the United States for 2010 is estimated to be $503.2 billion.
We live in a society that tells us to wait until a symptom shows up, fill prescription after prescription, and then, as a last resort, remove organs from our bodies. The “health” care system in America is broken and the statistics prove it. If this system worked, these numbers would be going down and not skyrocketing every year. It’s no longer a secret just how dangerous chronic inflammation is to our health and longevity, and just how inflammation-packed the American diet really is today. Now, even U.S. News & World Report is acknowledging this deadly threat. In the March 2011 issue titled “How to Live to 100,” the author states that chronic inflammation plays a role in the development of diseases from “cancer to heart disease to Alzheimer’s.” 3 The real issue, however, is that most of us who have chronic inflammation don’t know it until it’s too late.
So, what can you do to prevent chronic inflammation? Anti-inflammatory foods, such as omega-3 fats found in cold water fish and flax seed oil, and avoid the rancid and trans fats found in packaged foods and vegetable oils. Sugar and poor sources of protein also contribute tremendously to inflammation along with toxicity from our modern world and the use of medications.
Putting good fuel in, and keeping bad fuel out is a good start, but ultimately the machine needs electrical power in order to run at maximum capacity! Your machine’s power supply is the brain and spinal cord, so a healthy spine and nervous system also play a key role.
Chronic inflammation is not only damaging your immune system, leading to the diseases that are killing five out of six people in your local area, but it is also leading to leptin resistance and weight gain! 4 Would you like to get as far away as possible from this pitfall? Would you like to lose weight and add years to your life in the process?
It is time to take health into your own hands and avoid becoming one of the above statistics! Learn not only the cause of heart disease, but more importantly how to prevent it and how to fight it if you are already suffering!
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1 Carter, Mary. Heart Disease still the most likely reason you’ll die. CNN Health . Oct 30,2006
2 Lloyd-Jones D, et al. Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics—2010 Update: A Report From the American Heart Association. http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/reprint/121/7/e46
3 How to Live to 100. U.S. News & World Report. Mar 2011. pp 18-20.
4 Touchette N. Leptin the Appetite Hormone Rewires the Brain. Genome News Network. April 16,2004.