Apparently I am getting old…my old college buddies are dying.

I just got the news of a college friend dying of “old age.”  He was 39.  He died of a heart attack, leaving his wife and two pre-teen daughters.  

I haven’t seen him in years, and heard of this from a mutual friend I still stay in touch with.  Along with the grief for his family and for him, I feel a “wake up call.”

As you probably know, this type of death is virtually 100% preventable.  All he had to do was watch a few lab markers and this may never have happened.  The lab markers may have told him to change his lifestyle, well probably, as he was greatly overweight…but it also would have told him what he could have done nutritionally to support his “less  than perfect” lifestyle.

And, let’s face it, I don’t know anyone with the perfect lifestyle, eating the perfect diet, relaxing daily, vacationing away from stress, exercising daily, detoxing regularly from our toxic environment.  Heck, I detox regularly from my lifestyle choices!

Most of us are out of shape, eat convenience foods way too often, medicate ourselves with sugar, caffeine, and/or alcohol, and what? Relax?…I’m too busy to relax.  I can say that all these items are on my list…eat my veggies, relax and vacation, exercise, and detox…and stay on my list as needed improvements…but they are at least on my list. 

The wake up call for me is the people suffering from pretending, faking, ignoring, or otherwise not facing reality.  Part of that looking away is that the mainstream alternative is taking drugs and a talking to about your diet.  Many people are becoming aware of the dangers of taking drugs to manipulate your symptoms…and, yes, high cholesterol is a symptom, inflammation and oxidation are symptoms.  So if the treatment makes you worry, and the reality makes you worry…well I might ignore the whole situation too. 

My brand of medicine offers solutions to the less than perfect people (all of us) that are safe, effective, and will shift dangerous lab markers.  The worse your lifestyle, the more supplements you need to take, and there are never enough supplements if you don’t follow a couple simple rules for diet.  But, they are supplements…nutrition, plants, proteins…and they are safe.

This is what I would have done for my friend, if I had the chance…

Test him: 

Blood sugar and cholesterol.  The combo of fasting blood sugar, along with the ratio of triglycerides to HDL (good cholesterol) provides an accurate assessment of how up and down his blood sugar swings.  Big swings are highly predictable of heart attack as well as other diseases. 

Inflammation:  Cardiac C-Reactive Protein, SED Rate, and Fibrinogen provide a complete look at how inflamed your body, blood, and arteries are.  Inflammation is directly correlated to incidence of heart attack. 

Oxidation:  This is commonly known as the “rusting” process, but for heart, it is the oxidation of fats that really do you in.  You virtually eliminate atherosclerosis, or fatty build ups in the arteries, if you don’t oxidize your fats, called lipid peroxidation.  This process was featured on one of the evening news shows a couple years back, using a measurement called T-Bars, which is the lab equivalent of fat oxidation, and a supplement that contained several botanical antioxidants designed to slow the aging process.  And, true, the less you oxidize, the slower your tissues age, but as long as you breath oxygen you will age (and not breathing oxygen leads to decomposition, so that’s not a good strategy). 

Hormones:  Along with the blood sugar evaluation mentioned above, perhaps the other lab everyone should have done is the Adrenal Hormone Panel.  It is virtually never done in medicine, as there is no treatment for any abnormal finding.  It is a measure of how stress is affecting your hormones, and the primary stress hormone, cortisol, is directly linked to high blood pressure, a direct correlation to heart attack. 

Treat him…

If his blood sugar readings showed signs of significant swings, there are many options to help.  Lifestyle and diet are very important, but a few simple strategies could allow him to be less than perfect.  For instance, simply focusing on adding more protein or fat with each meal and snack slows the blood sugar spike.  Eating acidic foods slows the spike.  Adding certain nutrients and botanicals, such as chromium, vanadium, zinc, magnesium, gymnema, fenugreek, cinnamon, and others, slows the spike.  Exercise slows the spike.  He would have to make some changes, but he would have a goal and a focus, rather than pretending it ain’t so.

If he was inflamed, we would definitely add fish oils, which would also help the blood sugar, being a fat, and a really healthy one at that.  We could consider adding ginger or turmeric to his diet.  Taking sesame seed oil with carbs reduces inflammation.  Reducing grain consumption in favor of potatoes and rice decreases inflammation. 

If he was oxidized, we could help clear his vessels with some of the botanical antioxidants suggested on the program I mentioned, or make some strategic food choices such as blueberries and spinach. 

If he was stressed out to the point of hormone changes, we could have used adaptogens (ginseng, ashwagandha, holy basil, etc.) to help restore hormone balance at least.  Doesn’t change his life, but it makes him more resilient to whatever he is experiencing.  

He could have been proactive and taken some steps.  I am sure his goal was not a heart attack.  He simply didn’t have the information needed to become proactive.  With options, actions, and some change, with a goal and focus, he may still be here watching his little girls grow up. 

My job is to reach more of you, especially you pretenders, with a message that you don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to take drugs, and you can, even you… you can save your life.

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