How We Reversed Arterial Plaquetrue Stories
According to Dr. Cannon :
If we have a 30% blockage in the artery from soft plaque, the goal is to try to suck out the cholesterol from the inside so the plaque shrivels down to 15% and leaves nothing inside it.
Thats a great goal.
Are there true-life examples of people actually reversing plaque?
Yes. Ill cover 3 stories of significant plaque reversal: mine, John Lorscheiders, and Gerry Kurths. Youll see that there are patterns.
What Are The Side Effects
Intermittent fasting doesnt have life-threatening or serious side effects. Typically, the most common side effects of fasting include hunger, fatigue, low blood sugar, and possible changes in your bowel movements while your body adjusts. Intermittent fasting has more benefits than risks when it comes to your heart health.
While short-term fasting is safe, longer fasts can cause you to have an electrolyte imbalance, and depleted sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium left. If thats left untreated you could develop arrhythmias, or an irregular heartbeat.
Arrhythmia is common and is treatable by a medical professional, but, if you decide to try long fasts and begin feeling chest pain, dizziness or fluttering in your chest, you should consult with your doctor immediately.
Its vital that you stay hydrated to lower your risk of an electrolyte imbalance. In addition to water, try drinking bone broth, its an excellent way to replenish your essential minerals. Bone broth has calcium, magnesium, sodium, and it can help curb your hunger pangs, and keep your body balanced. Also, an electrolyte supplement taken once a day can do the trick.
When You Shouldnt Fast
Despite its many benefits, intermittent fasting plans may not be for you. If you have diabetes, are on blood sugar lowering medication or other drugs, or have low blood pressure, check with your doctor before you adopt the intermittent fasting plan. Additionally, there is rising popularity of dry fasting. Dry fasting increases risk for dehydration, which when mild, can impair our heart function and increase risk for cardiovascular events. It is best to stay hydrated and drink water frequently throughout a fast.
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How To Regulate Future Buildup
Theres no point in trying to clean your arteries if you keep clogging them up daily. So, here are 3 simple tips for regulating future plaque build-up while at the same time, helping UNCLOG current plaque.
1 Eat a heart-healthy diet
Diet can play a big role in improving your heart health and reducing your risk for a buildup of plaque. Its never too late to eat a healthier diet. Just as years of bad eating can damage your body, good eating can help heal it and it can happen quickly.
2 Exercise
First, we all need to move more. All we tend to do is sit all day long computer, phone, driving, eating, work, etc.
The reason exercise is important is because it helps improve your youth hormones, which then helps your body naturally get rid of toxins this includes plaque.
And in my opinion, resistance exercise is more important than cardiovascular. This means lifting weights which can be with free weights, machines, cables, or simply your own bodyweight.
And if you work out quickly, it will also give you a very strong cardiovascular workout at the same time.
You only need 3x weekly and I would add in daily walking as well.
3 Take Specific Supplements
Taking specific herbs, vitamins, and minerals that are clinically proven to help support healthy blood flow and circulation will give you the biggest and fastest improvements in preventing AND removing plaque buildup.
Intermittent Fasting Increases Plaque Stability
The composition of plaques, such as collagen content, size of necrotic cores, and thickness of fibrous caps, can affect plaque vulnerability. The results of HE staining demonstrate that necrotic cores, which contain cholesterol crystal and apoptotic foam cells derived from macrophages and/or vascular smooth muscle cells , were reduced by IF . In contrast, the thickness of fibrous caps , which mainly consists of VSMCs and extracellular matrix to cover necrotic cores, was increased by the IF .
FIGURE 2. Intermittent fasting increases lesion plaque stability. The aortic root cross sections were used to complete the following assays: HE staining with the quantitative analysis of necrotic core and fibrous cap areas . nc: necrotic cores marked by a black dotted line fc: fibrous cap marked by a blue dotted line. The expression of SMA and CD68 in plaques were determined by immunofluorescent staining with the quantification of SMA- or CD68-positive areas. *p< 0.05 .
VSMC is the major cell type in fibrotic caps and synthesizes/secretes extracellular matrix to stabilize lesions. We determined that SMA, a contractile VSMC marker, was elevated in the atherosclerotic plaques of the IF group . Macrophage/foam cells were the main cell types within plaques and the component of necrotic cores. Macrophage/foam cells produce pro-inflammatory cytokines and matrix metalloproteinases to reduce lesion plaque stability. CD68 expression was substantially decreased by IF .
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Observations On The Starving To Death In Dachau
After the outbreak of the Second World War, the Germans arrested František Bláha, head of the hospital ward in Jihlava, Czech Republic, and transported him to the concentration camp in Dachau to be a guinea pig. He survived a double infection with typhoid fever and was assigned to the camp research unit as a pathologist. This unit was well equipped with modern microscopes, microtomes, and other instruments needed for biopsies and laboratory diagnostics because it filled orders from German universities for experiments on human subjects.
Initially, Bláha only performed autopsies on the victims of medical experiments. From 1942, he also had to carry out autopsies of the corpses of prisoners who had died in the hospital block, and beginning in 1943, all of the prisoners who died in the camp on average, there were 35 autopsies per day. In total, he performed â¼10,000 autopsies on men who had died of starvation. A quarter of them had been staying in the hospital block before their death, so it was possible to carry out blood tests on them the others had been doing hard physical labor until their death. Like other prisoner-doctors working in the experimental research department, Bláha secretly collected copies of test reports and other evidence of German crimes. After the war, he handed them over to the American Military Tribunal, thus playing a leading role in the Dachau trials.
What To Consume When On Coumadin
So, heres a person trying to heal their atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries by consuming a low-fat diet, and their arteries are clogged. Then, doctors put them on Coumadin, which blocks Vitamin K1, so you cannot get the K you need from vegetables. If you want to take Vitamin C, where do people usually look? A pill, which is usually synthetic and only further aggravates everything.
If youre on Coumadin, you also need to eat the right amount of vegetables that have low vitamin K along with them. So, heres my protocol for reversing atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries:
- Get your Vitamin C from vegetables
- Take Vitamin K2
Heal the original problem.
You can take Vitamin D3 and even some calcium, especially if you have cramps in your calves . But, and this is important, most people can get all the calcium and Vitamin K2 they need in foods because theyre eating cheese, egg yolk, and other calcium-rich foods. The only time I recommend a calcium supplement is if a patient has the following conditions:
- Cramps in the calves
- Osteoporosis
- Osteopenia
I recommend, overall, you get your vitamins naturally from food. Vitamin D is important, but you need Vitamin K2 to keep it out of your tissue. Overall, if you reduce Fat Storing Hormone, eat lots of vegetables, avoid calcium supplements, and take K2, youll be able to create a highly positive change over time. Also, avoid antacids, which are calcium carbonate and basically cement.
Up Next:
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Intermittent Fasting Regimens For Heart Health
There are different regimens for intermittent fasting, including two most popular:
- The 16:8 protocol, also known as time-restricted feeding. The majority of studies on IF and heart health are based on this regimen.
- 5:2 fasting plan, where you eat normally for 5 days, then eat less than 500 calories for 2 days.
Remember, youll get the best results if you eat fresh, natural whole foods like on the Mediterranean diet. During your 8-hour eating window, choose fish, nuts, low fat dairy, leafy greens, fruits, and whole grains. These are all low in refined sugar, saturated fats, and a meal plan rich in these foods are shown to reduce your risk for heart disease.
Inflammation And Heart Health
Understanding what causes inflammation in the body has long been a focus of medical experts.
According to Minisha Sood, MD, an endocrinologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, reducing inflammation can improve the cardiovascular environment at a microscopic level.
So when we think about cardiovascular risk, what are we really worried about? Sood asked. Were worried about the microenvironment on the blood vessels, and is there an environment that is favoring the deposition of unfavorable cholesterol molecules and the recruitment of the immune system because of inflammation into those areas.
Sood explained that this could build up plaque in blood vessels, which may eventually rupture, causing a cardiovascular event.
So, getting at the root of what could potentially improve inflammation is critical, she noted.
research also finds IF is not only effective at reducing body weight and blood sugar levels, but also at reducing insulin resistance.
Insulin is essentially the key to open the door to let glucose into our cells, where glucose is used to produce energy, Barry said.
When the body becomes resistant to insulin, glucose is unable to enter the cell and remains in the blood, he explained.
The pancreas, which makes insulin, will try to make more insulin to get glucose out of the blood and into the cells, Barry said. Eventually, our pancreas cant keep up the increased insulin production, and blood sugar levels continue to increase.
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Other Ways To Prevent Clogged Arteries
Stop smoking. According to the AHA, smoking is a major risk factor . It directly damages the arteries and can make fatty deposits grow faster and become larger.
Stress reduction. Psychological stress levels may also cause a reaction in the body. Stress-reduction techniques, including yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises may help some people relax during a hectic day.
Autophagy Could Reverse Major Cause Of Heart Attack
Autophagy may provide an entirely new target to reverse atherosclerosis.
Autophagy, a pathway preserved during evolution, functions to engulf and digest cholesterol accumulated in artery walls. Researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Canada are now finding that this process may also provide an entirely new target to reverse atherosclerosis.
The finding that autophagy also functions to digest and liberate cholesterol from cells and the fact that we know this pathway is regulated offers hope for the development of new drugs that could activate export of cholesterol from the walls of arteries, Yves Marcel, PhD, director of the HDL Biology Laboratory at UOHI, said in a statement.
There is an urgent need to understand how cholesterol accumulation in arteries can be reversed, Mireille Ouimet, a doctoral student in Marcels lab and a major contributor to the study, added. The research, which was published in Cell Metabolism, illustrates how cholesterol buildup itself triggers autophagy, facilitating the release of cholesterol for transport back to the liver for elimination from the body.
It is possible that some patients with coronary artery disease have an impaired ability to clear arterial cholesterol by the autophagy pathway, said Marcel.
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What Causes Plaque Buildup In Arteries Anyway
A common misconception about arterial plaque is that itâs mainly caused by high LDL cholesterol levels. But the thinking in this area is evolving, and Dr. Ford Brewer, MD, MPH, a board-certified preventative & occupational medicine specialist, says itâs only a small part of the picture.
So whatâs the big culprit?
“Insulin resistanceâhaving prediabetes or diabetesâis the most common cause of atherosclerosis, and therefore heart attack and stroke, kidney disease, blindness, etc,”says Dr. Brewer.
âLDL matters, but only a fraction as much.â
Typically, he adds, insulin resistance is caused by a high-sugar, high-carb diet or having excess body fat.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around a third of Americans have insulin resistance, a condition in which cells in your muscles, fat, and liver donât respond well to insulin and canât easily take up glucose from your blood. This, in turn, elevates levels of insulin and glucose in the bloodstream, which creates widespread inflammation, and can damage the lining of arteries over time.
âThe damage weakens the arterial lining and makes it easier for cholesterol molecules to enter through the artery wall,âsays Dr. Brewer.
âThis cholesterol builds up inside the artery as plaque, which narrows the opening in the artery.â
Some Of The Common Intermittent Fasting Methods Are As Follows:
The 16/8 Method: Fast for 16 hours each day This method involves fasting every day for 14-16 hours.
Eat-Stop-Eat This involves a 24-hour fast, either once or twice per week. For instance, you can fast from dinner one day, to dinner the next, this amounts to a 24-hour fast.
The Warrior Diet This method involves eating small amounts of raw fruits and vegetables during the day and then eating one huge meal at night.
The 5:2 Diet: Fast for 2 days per week This method involves eating normally 5 days of the week while restricting calories on two days of the week .
Alternate-Day Fasting This means fasting every other day.
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Attempts To Treat The Emaciated
Until the Second World War, no one knew how to cure the hunger state. One of the first attempts to treat hunger edema was made in 1941 by Archie Cochrane, a future pioneer of randomized controlled trials in medicine. He was taken to a German POW camp in Salonica, where the prisoners received meals of only 400â500 calories a day. Appointed the chief doctor at the camp hospital, he discovered that prisoners were showing symptoms of edema of the lower limbs. Convinced that this was a symptom of beriberi, he smuggled yeast into the camp and used it in experimental therapy. The yeast proved to be an effective remedy, but not for the content of vitamin B but a small amount of protein, which restored the bloodâs capacity to store water .
Eat Less Sugar And Industrialized Foods
Industrialized, processed foods, from white-flour muffins to potato chips, and highly sugared foods and drinks can damage our arteries in multiple ways, such as raising triglyceride fats, blood glucose, and inflammatory levels, not to mention packing on the pounds.
Many people dont realize that having type 2 diabetes, the all-too-common result of our highly processed American diet and sedentary lifestyle, dramatically increases the risk of a heart attack. The chance of dying from heart disease for people with diabetes is two to four times higher than those who do not have diabetes.
Another heart attack promoter is a pre-diabetes condition called the metabolic syndrome. The root cause of metabolic syndrome is a poor diet and excess body fat. You have the metabolic syndrome if you have at least three of the following five conditions:
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Fasting Against Clogged Arteries
According to a study, a person who fasts for one day each month may have a reduced risk of clogged arteries by 40 percent.
Researchers from the Intermountain Medical Center and the University of Utah conducted a survey of 515 people wherein 92 percent of whom were Mormon who suffered from clogged arteries.
The involved people in the study were asked about a number of habits associated with the practice of the Mormon religion which includes observance of a day of rest, church attendance, donation of either time or money to charity, avoidance of caffeine and alcohol, and fasting one day per month.
Based on the data gathered, results revealed that out of the five religious practices, only observance of the monthly fast showed any correlation with heart disease rates. It was found that only 59% of regular fasters developed heart disease as compared to 67% of those who did not fast. Even if the researchers have already adjusted some factors such as weight, age, and health status such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes still the difference between fasters and non-fasters remained.
Results of this study were presented at a conference of the American Heart Association.
Improved Indicators Of Metabolic Health
Study participants were between 21 and 70 years old. They were instructed to fast twice per week for 24 hours at a time for the first 4 weeks of the study, and then only once per week for the next 22 weeks.
A control group was allowed to eat whenever and whatever they wanted for the study period.
The findings suggest that intermittent fasting as it was practiced in this study didnt improve cholesterol levels, but it did significantly improve markers for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome.
Researchers also found that the fasting group had increased levels of a substance called galectin-3.
Ryan Barry, DO, a cardiologist at Staten Island University Hospital in New York, told Healthline that its a key protein for the body that plays a part in many cellular processes.
Benjamin Horne, PhD, principal investigator of the study, said galectin-3 is associated with inflammatory responses, and higher levels could mean reduced health risks.
In finding higher levels of galectin-3 in patients who fasted, these results provide an interesting mechanism potentially involved in helping reduce the risk of heart failure and diabetes, he said in a statement.
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