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Hard on the Heart
by author Patrick Wright, PhD

The idea that too much animal fat and a high cholesterol level are dangerous to our hearts and blood vessels is nothing but a myth, according to Swedish scientist Uffe Ravnskov, MD, PhD. In reality, excess animal protein, processed carbohydrates and sugar are the true causes of heart disease and arteriosclerosis, yet fat and cholesterol are still declared to be the prime health hazards.

Many studies have proven the contrary. In his review of 22 controlled cholesterol trials, Dr Ravnskov found that claims about lowering cholesterol values to prevent heart disease were based on preferential citations of supportive trials in the Science Citation Index. He concluded that "lowering serum cholesterol concentrations does not reduce mortality and is unlikely to prevent heart disease."

Heart attacks are actually the result of an excess of stored animal protein in the interstitial space between heart muscle cells. This protein blocks the flow of nutrients to the cells and waste material from the cells. The acid level rises in the heart and causes a heart attack after it has passed a threshold value with acids from carbohydrates and sugars.

Protein Disease

Human beings are herbivores by nature. Mother’s milk makes that absolutely clear. Human milk has a low percentage of protein and a high percentage of carbohydrates, while in carnivores it’s the opposite. That’s why the human body has only limited storage capacity for too much animal protein but unlimited storage capacity for fat. Fat is correctly stored under the skin and doesn’t cause disease.

More than 20 studies have shown that people who have had a heart attack haven’t eaten more fat than others. Attempts to lower cholesterol levels with drugs is only dangerous, according to Ravnskov. These drugs may stimulate cancer and shorten life.

Americans consume approximately 200 pounds of meat, fish and poultry per year. That’s far too much. It permanently overfills the temporary protein storage areas in the blood, on artery and capillary walls, inside the organs and on cell membranes. Normally these temporary storages secure a steady supply of protein to cells for their regeneration. When they’re permanently overfilled, we develop "protein diseases" such as heart attacks and diabetes.

When excess animal protein narrows the liver’s storage area, cholesterol stays in the blood and thickens it. That’s because the big molecules of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol have only this one exit from the blood stream–through the liver sinusoids. In an effort to thin the blood, the body deposits LDL cholesterol on artery and capillary walls along with the excess animal protein.

Finally, even the smaller molecules of good high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol can’t pass through the thickened blood vessels. That puts additional pressure on the body to thin the blood. It also increases blood pressure to bring oxygen and nutrients through the thickened blood vessels, increasing the risk of heart attack.

Without excessively consumed animal protein, there wouldn’t be an excess of LDL cholesterol in the blood. Temporary protein storages in organs like the heart (heart disease), kidneys (kidney disease) and brain (strokes) would not be overfilled. There would not be clogged cell membranes (cause of diabetes) and plaque on artery and capillary walls (arteriosclerosis).

Cholesterol Production

Cholesterol is made from sugar and carbohydrates. The body produces more than it ingests. Because North Americans consume too much processed food–including an average of 227 grams (half a pound) of sugar per day–much of it is converted into cholesterol. The breakdown of this much sugar creates acetate fragments and acetic acid.

Acetate fragments are the building blocks of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) and cholesterol. If acetate fragments are produced faster than they’re burned by everyday activities, the body makes SFAs and cholesterol. This reduces metabolic problems caused by excess acetate.

When allowed to accumulate in our systems, excess acetate becomes more toxic than excess fat and cholesterol.

By making saturated fatty acids and cholesterol with the acetate, the body reduces the acidic load from metabolizing isolated carbohydrates. This eases the strain on the heart. An acid heart is ripe for a heart attack!

Heart Disease is Cardio-muscular

In the Office of the US Surgeon General, Dr Georgio Baroldi has published pictures of the hearts of people who had died from heart attacks. These pictures prove what Dr Lothar Wendt has explained since 1948 in 60 publications–heart attacks have nothing to do with clogged coronary arteries!

Heart attacks are not caused by a plaque of cholesterol and fatty substances deposited on the walls of the coronary artery as the medical profession tells us every day. Baroldi’s pictures show that the coronary artery is filled with blood behind the clot.

Wendt explains that heart attacks are caused by too much stored animal protein in the interstitial (space between the cells) of the heart muscle. Accordingly, heart disease is a cardio-muscular disease, but not a cardio-vascular disease. That’s why bypass surgery does not prevent heart attacks. It addresses the wrong cause: people have had heart attacks after surgery!

Researchers at Duke University found in a 2001 study that "42 percent of bypass patients show a significant decline on tests of mental ability, probably from brain damage caused by the surgery."

Patrick Wright is Director of the Institute for Research of Food-related Disease and author of Food For Humans. He resides in San Rafael, CA.

Source: alive #223, May 2001