How do I optimize my diet for prevention of chronic disease?

The cause of most chronic diseases can be summed up using the Bad S’s: Sweets, Starches, Snacks, Seed oils, and Sitting, Smoking, Salt, Sleep Disturbance and Stress. 

Should I go on a diet?

There are so many diets out there: Paleo, Vegan, Ketogenic, Atkins, Zone, Mediterranean, Whole 30, Weight Watchers, and Nutrisystem to name a few. One of the main issues with dieting is that eventually you will go off, and then what happens? The whole plan falls to pieces and we typically regress to our original habits. The common promotion of eating three meals a day, “healthy” snacking, and counting calories create and perpetuate the problem. We are encouraged to graze like cows and eat to satisfy emotions. But we are not well adapted to that behavior.

We recommend watching this interview with Dr. Mark Hyman, one of the foremost leaders of health, from the Cleveland Clinic.

Our goal is to improve the way you view food and how it fits into your life and your health. 

How can I optimize my diet without “dieting”?

First, we recommend you start with a baseline body composition analysis. You improve what you measure, so don’t be discouraged by your initial reading if it is not ideal. This measurement helps you set an attainable goal and achieve it.

Weighing on a scale alone is not adequate. The body composition test allows you to know your muscle and fat mass, including your visceral fat. Visceral fat leads to diabetes and heart disease, so knowing this measurement is crucial to your overall health.

Come back regularly for additional body composition analyses. Seeing “The Judge” for detailed, measurable improvement over time will help you stay motivated.

Drink more water. Your urine should be copious and clear in appearance.

Avoid sweets (both natural and artificial). There is added, hidden sugar in every processed food. Avoid them all!

A rare sweet treat can be handled by most, but sugar is a toxin that should be avoided like tobacco.  Processed food companies became the new employers for the scientists who increased the addictive nature of tobacco.

Artificial sweeteners raise insulin levels without also raising glucose. Elevated insulin is THE MOST COMMON inflammatory stimulus, promoting prediabetes and arterial disease, among other chronic inflammatory conditions. These conditions dramatically flare when acute triggers, such as a virus, cause additional inflammatory sickness. Covid-19 is an extreme illustration of this effect. Artificial sweeteners are a “gateway drug” that strengthens your sweet tooth. They are a slippery slope to more sugar and carb cravings.  

Avoid starches including bread, pasta, white potatoes, and rice. Eat real food with no limits on vegetables, including sweet potatoes. 

Limited amounts of fruit provide micronutrients and fiber, but come with sugar. Do not juice. It removes  fiber that makes the sugar in fruits absorb more slowly with less rise in insulin. Avoid dried fruit, as it is almost pure sugar.

Stop snacking. Snacks are typically full of sugar and undermine our need to have periods of fasting to allow our insulin levels to drop. Fasting for 12-16 hours daily is a great “house cleaning” strategy.

Include good fats in your diet such as olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, seeds, olives, and avocados. Include lean protein such as salmon, sardines, and poultry, in your diet. Eat red meat on a limited basis. When purchasing red meat, look for grass fed and organic options if you can afford them.

Intermittent fasting (only drinking water, black coffee, and unsweetened tea) for 12-16 hours per day allows your insulin sensitivity to be regained by allowing your insulin levels to fall. I call it “window feeding” because you eat within a window or 6 hours as a goal.

Learn about the influence of your Microbiome. While probiotic supplements may help, eating a probiotic diet is even better. This includes fermented foods such as unpasteurized sauerkraut and KimChi. High fiber vegetables feed your good bacteria and can fix a great deal of health issues.

Get connected, motivated, and informed to support your changes.

Need help getting started? Request a complementary Discovery Call with Dr. Backs and begin your journey to better health.

What tests are done at the CureCenter to measure arterial disease and its root causes?

The true inflammation nature of arterial disease (which causes heart attack, stroke and dementia) is not the basis of mainstream medical care. New testing methods and technology enable the CureCenter to offer more individualized and effective treatments. 

Tests we perform and recommend not generally available from standard care include (but are not limited to):

• Carotid Intima Media Thickness (CIMT) Testing: CIMT measures arterial wall thickness and documents atherosclerotic plaque stage and thickness. A thicker artery wall is an inflamed, older and sicker artery wall. This indicator of arterial inflammation predicts formation of atherosclerotic plaque and related events such as heart attack and stroke.

  Arterial wall thickness (inflammation) is more relevant than luminal flow “blockage” in predicting new and unstable plaque formation. Unstable plaque rupture is the event we experience as a heart attack or stroke. This is more likely with new homogeneous unstable plaque. It becomes less likely as plaque becomes more homogeneous/healing and is minimal when plaque is calcified/healed/stable. Proactive optimal care can heal arterial disease and make your arteries healthier and younger with less risk of disability, death or need for rescue procedures.

• Screening carotid ultrasound (CureScreen): This limited lower cost carotid ultrasound using point of care Butterfly iQ probe and system) is like a screening pap smear, mammogram or PSA to detect early cancer. If we find no disease, peace of mind is the benefit. If, however, even a little bit of arterial disease is found (like a little bit of cancer) the images can be sent for a CIMT report (see above) and then followed to make sure you are safer by following your CurePlan.

• LpPLA2 (PLAC) Test: This enzyme rises when plaque and artery walls are inflamed or “hot.” You want your arteries to be “cool.” LpPLA2 drops with a less inflammatory diet, exercise, reduced insulin resistance, supplements (niacin, and bergamot and statins. It is a fire alarm or “meat thermometer.”

• Myeloperoxidase (MPO): A rise in MPO should trigger a search for neutrophil involved inflammation, especially from the mouth. MPO indicates inflammation and erosion of the inner lining of the artery known as endothelium. A sudden rise should trigger a search for the inflammation that can cause arterial inflammation, leading to heart attack or stroke. Think of a caustic chemical spill inside your arteries. Like a skin abrasion, blood clots form and can occlude flow.

• Microalbumin/Creatinine Ratio (MACR): MACR rises most commonly when blood pressure and blood glucose are poorly controlled.  This causes dysfunction of the arterial wall endothelium, allowing albumin to leak into the urine in greater amounts. A leaky endothelium fails to protect the intima from processes that lead to inflammation. Think of it as another fire alarm.

For more information about these and other tests, go to

https://www.knowyourrisk.com/

and other information from Cleveland Heart Lab, a major source of our testing

• Haptoglobin Genotype: Your Haptoglobin genotype determines if Vitamin E offers protection or increases risk of arterial disease. In addition, individuals with the Hp 2-2 genome are more sensitive to gluten, forming an inflammatory mediator called zonulin that makes your gut “leaky” and raises the risk of autoimmune disease. 

• Insulin Resistance Testing: Optimally measured through an oral glucose tolerance test, insulin resistance (prediabetes) testing is important in identifying individuals who could be developing vascular complications before a Type 2 Diabetes diagnosis. The glucose tolerance test can identify insulin resistance long before the glucose starts to rise.

  • However, if there is other evidence of insulin resistance that does not require a visit to the lab, we can skip this step. Clues are seen in levels of nonoptimal HbA1c, glucose, triglycerides above 100, low HDL, and presence of small dense LDL (Pattern B).

    The earliest detection for insulin resistance can be measured through body composition testing. At the CureCenter, we use the InBody 570, a device that can monitor insulin resistance response to changes in diet. Reducing insulin resistance is generally healthy for everyone, regardless of risk.

• Homocysteine: Elevation increases risk of:

• Osteoporosis - bone thinning

• Atherosclerosis 

• Thrombosis (blood clotting)

• Heart Attack

• Stroke

• Dementia

• Kidney failure

• Neuropathy

Treatment is supplementation with methylated folic acid. Dietary sources of folic acid are leafy greens like spinach and kale.

This paper from the American Heart Association offers a good summary of Homocysteine.

• Coronary Artery Calcium Score (CACS): This CT scan detects mature calcified plaque in the coronary arteries. However, it can miss new noncalcified plaque. This test is not useful in monitoring therapy progress/benefit. We recommend CACS when CIMT does not reveal disease but there is still suspicion of coronary artery disease. If this test detects disease that would have otherwise been undetected, a more proactive approach to address root causes will be encouraged. Beware of the slippery slope to a stress test, stents or surgery. Coronary Calcium Score is a “loss leader”for interventional cardiology programs. Call us first before scheduling further tests.

• Home Sleep Testing and Auto Titrated CPAP: These tests have made diagnosis and management of sleep apnea more affordable and effective. Sleep apnea is a root cause of heart attack, stroke, atrial fibrillation, hypertension and heart failure. Treating it can lower your risk of these events, lower your blood pressure, and reduce arterial inflammation.

• Oral Microbiome Testing: Oral microbiome testing involves taking a sample of saliva, and analyzing it in a laboratory to identify the types of bacteria present. If high risk bacteria species are found, they can contribute to arterial inflammation. In some cases, this can affect management of periodontal disease, which contributes to heart attack and stroke risk. 

  Knowing the nature of your oral “neighborhood” can prompt a more proactive approach to your oral hygiene. If there are dangerous criminals in your neighborhood, you will be more careful to “lock your doors” and augment your security for protection. The chronic diseases affected by your oral microbiome include periodontal disease, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 Diabetes and prediabetes, and even some cancers and dementia.

What are the important facts and statistics about heart attack, stroke, and atherosclerosis?

• Most heart attacks and strokes are due to arterial disease known as atherosclerosis or "hardening of the arteries."

• Over 2,000 Americans die each day from heart attacks and stroke – one out of every 3 deaths or one every 40 seconds.

• Cardiovascular disease claims more lives than all forms of cancer combined.

• Heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the world and the leading cause of death in the United States, killing over 375,000 people per year.

• Stroke is the #5 cause of death in the United States, killing 129,000 people per year. 

• About 795,000 people have a stroke every year in the US.

• Stroke is the leading preventable cause of disability.

• About 8.5 million Americans are living with some consequence of cardiovascular disease or the after-effects of stroke.

• About 635,000 people in the US have a first time heart attack each year and 300,000 have recurrent heart attacks.

• Screening for arterial disease can be more effective, less invasive, efficient, and less expensive than most of us think. Here is why you should schedule a CureScreen Ultrasound appointment:

• It is very common. In reality, eveyone should be presumed guilty until proven innocent, or free of disease. It is a Catastrophic Unseen Reversible Epidemic thst stands for CURE.

• Six of every ten Americans who have suffered a heart attack never knew they had cardiovascular disease.

• Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, yet most are not screened optimally compared to screening for cancer.

• Only 54 percent of women recognize that heart disease is their number one killer.

• Arterial disease kills and disables far more women than all the cancers combined, yet most women (and men) are not screened optimally for arterial disease.

• Even those with exemplary lifestyles and those who pass standard testing (like stress tests) can suffer events. Standard testing misses all but the more advanced most dangerous stages of the disease. Early detection and treatment is the hallmark of any successful strategy for disease cure when it is infection or cancer. It should and can be the same for arterial disease.

Take the first step in preventing heart attack and stroke. Schedule a simple, 15-minute CureScreen or request a complementary Discovery Call with Dr. Backs.