Participants: Timothy Howe and Sheryl McWilliams
Series Code: WM
Program Code: WM000394
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00:35 Hi and welcome back to "Wonderfully Made"
00:38 My name is Sheryl McWilliams, 00:39 and I'd like to introduce you to our guest today... 00:42 Dr. Timothy Howell, who is from 00:44 Parkview Adventist Medical Center 00:46 Welcome Dr. Howell... 00:47 Thank you Sheryl... it's a delight to be with you 00:49 and we have a wonderful topic to talk about today. 00:53 Yes, we do... "atherosclerosis" 00:56 I can barely say it, and I'm not quite sure what it means. 00:59 Athero is an interesting word... it means "gruel-like" 01:07 ...sort of like sticky oatmeal 01:10 and sclerosis means "hardening" 01:13 Atherosclerosis is a process that takes place in our arteries 01:19 where we get gruel like plaques, or buildup, not of oatmeal 01:25 but of fat and cholesterol... lining the blood vessel 01:30 and gradually closing it off 01:32 And with it, associated hardening of the arteries. 01:37 It's the problem that leads to heart attacks, strokes, 01:42 and problems with our blood vessels in our legs, 01:46 peripheral vascular disease... 01:49 It all comes back to "athero-sclerosis" 01:54 Interesting, and how does this occur... What makes it happen? 01:59 Well, good question... How does it happen? 02:03 When does it happen? 02:05 Does it start just before you have the heart attack, 02:08 or does it start many years before? 02:11 They've done studies to find that in fact, 02:15 atherosclerosis in Americans starts quite young. 02:22 Those fatty deposits on the lining of our arteries 02:26 start when we're still in our teens or 20s... 02:30 Gradually over time they build up, narrowing the artery, 02:37 or decreasing the blood flow and decreasing our ability 02:41 to perform useful labor, and to get around. 02:45 When it happens up here in our neck, 02:46 it decreases blood flow to the brain and leads 02:50 to strokes ultimately. 02:53 So it's like a heart attack in your head. 02:55 A heart attack in your head... A brain attack! 02:56 That would be good if you had your heart in your head, 02:59 it would be a brain attack. 03:01 But all of that is from atherosclerosis. 03:05 Okay, so there's a buildup... 03:07 there's a hardening inside this vessel. 03:10 What is it that's actually causing that hardening? 03:13 Well, we need to step back a little bit, and look at the 03:17 process... what is really happening in the lining 03:21 of the blood vessel. 03:23 First of all, we need to look at fats. 03:27 Not all fats are the same. 03:29 There's good fats, and there's bad fats. 03:32 The fats that are particularly bad, that start the process 03:37 of atherosclerosis are oxidized fats. 03:41 Those are ones that give off free radicals. 03:46 Now free radical doesn't refer to something on a 03:50 college campus in the 60s. 03:53 It's something that happens in our bodies all the time. 03:57 We have to understand a little bit about oxidation as well... 04:01 because that's what generates free radicals. 04:05 Oxidation is the process of adding oxygen to something. 04:10 It can be adding oxygen to metal-that's called "rust" 04:15 Or, it can be the process of burning... 04:19 like if you come over to my house, and I live in Maine, 04:23 and so this time of the year it's quite cool, 04:25 and I heat with wood, I will have to oxidize that wood 04:30 to generate heat to warm up the house... that's oxidation 04:35 Our bodies oxidize our food, that's how we run, 04:39 that's how we move... it's through the process of oxidation 04:43 Oxidation isn't bad for us, it's good for us. 04:46 But let's look at oxidation for a moment. 04:49 Let's say you come and you visit me in my home 04:52 and I haven't been there for a few days, 04:54 and it's a little bit cool in the house. 04:56 And I say to you, don't worry, don't worry... 04:59 I will have this place warm in just a few minutes. 05:02 So I go out on my front porch, 05:04 and I get a bundle of paper, and a few sticks of kindling 05:09 and out there on the porch, I light it up 05:11 and I bring it in the house, 05:14 and I'm carrying it toward my stove... 05:16 And I stick it in the stove, and then I go out 05:19 on the front porch, and I get some wood, 05:21 and I light it up, and I carry it through my house 05:24 across the carpets, and through the house 05:26 and around, and into the stove it goes. 05:28 What would you think? 05:29 I'd think you were crazy! Yeah, that's right! 05:33 And you know, it wouldn't be good for my house either... 05:36 I'd get sparks on my nice carpet. 05:37 I'd smoke up the ceilings. 05:39 I'd have all sorts of problems. 05:41 That's because of oxidation. 05:45 Oxidation is good... if it occurs in the stove, 05:49 and is controlled. 05:51 The same is true in our bodies. 05:53 We want to oxidize things in their proper place. 05:57 We want to oxidize them NOT BEFORE them come in, 06:00 but AFTER they're in. 06:02 Now, if you think about the foods we eat, 06:05 there are 3 basic categories. 06:07 There is sugar, and there's fat, and there's protein. 06:14 Which would be the easiest to oxidize? 06:17 If you were going to make a candle, 06:19 or a lamp, what would you use? 06:21 Would you use sugar to make a lamp? 06:24 Probably not... 06:26 How about protein? 06:27 We could take pure protein gelatin... 06:29 Would you make a lamp out of that? 06:31 Probably not. No, you wouldn't make a lamp out of that... 06:33 But could you out of oil, or fat? 06:37 Absolutely! Why is that? 06:38 That's because fat oxidizes the most easily. 06:43 But fat ALSO causes the most problems... 06:49 just like in my house if I'm bringing things across 06:53 through the living room oxidizing before I put them in 06:57 the stove... so in my body, if I eat things that are oxidized 07:03 before they get down to where they need to be 07:05 down into the cell and be oxidized down 07:08 in the mitochondria, I'm going to create problems. 07:12 I'll have sparks everywhere, and I'll be putting holes 07:15 in things... like in the blood vessels. 07:19 So, our body is prepared... just like if you came over 07:24 to visit me and you knew I was going to do that every time, 07:27 you'd bring your fire extinguisher with you 07:30 and you'd follow me around, and you'd spray out the sparks. 07:33 Our body has that too. 07:35 They're called "antioxidants" 07:38 That's what they are, and they follow around 07:41 and they try to prevent those sparks from damaging things. 07:46 Well in the blood vessels, there is a cell 07:50 underneath the lining of the blood vessel, 07:53 looking for oxidized fat. 07:58 And that cell's name is "macrophage" 08:01 Now a macrophage is a type of a white blood cell 08:04 and this blood cell works in a very interesting way... 08:10 it sits right underneath the lining, and it watches 08:14 if you will, and if it sees a particle of oxidized fat 08:19 coming along, it squeezes up through the lining of 08:25 the blood vessel, and it engulfs that fatty particle 08:29 that's oxidized, and pulls it down inside, and if you will, 08:34 EATS it 08:35 Now the ones that do this the most are LDL particles. 08:39 Now, you've heard of LDL probably... 08:43 LDL is a lipo-protein. 08:46 Lipoprotein means lipid AND protein. 08:52 And the lipid part is cholesterol and other fats. 08:55 The protein is the carrier molecule, 08:58 and LDL is like a truck, if you will... 09:02 and it carries fat from the liver and cholesterol 09:07 out to the cells. 09:09 And it needs to do that, it's not a bad thing. 09:11 We all need LDL. 09:13 But if we have ingested oxidized fat, or if the fat has become 09:19 oxidized in way, the macrophage sees it as a threat, 09:24 and goes up and engulfs it, and pulls it down... That's fine 09:28 What does macrophage mean, by the way? 09:30 Macro - big Phage - means to eat 09:35 So this is the Big Eater. 09:37 And he can eat a lot of those particles. 09:40 But, you know, if he eats too many of them, 09:44 he starts to swell, and get quite fat. 09:47 And then he needs more room and he starts pushing up 09:51 into the inside of the blood vessel. 09:56 And the body says, "Oh no, we got problems here" 09:59 "We got a macrophage that isn't staying down where he needs to. 10:03 and then you start narrowing the artery... Trouble! 10:07 And then, you break it, and it's like a cholesterol boil 10:12 just bubbling up and boiling into the blood vessel. 10:16 And THAT is atherosclerosis. 10:19 It starts with fats that are oxidized... 10:23 You eat too many oxidized fats, 10:26 or fats that oxidize in the process 10:29 The macrophage gets a hold of them, eats them, 10:33 but there are too many and he swells, 10:35 and he bursts into the blood vessel 10:37 and THEN you've got atherosclerosis. 10:40 And the body sometimes thinks... 10:42 "Oh no, we're having a broken blood vessel" 10:45 because it breaks through that lining... 10:47 and when it does, then you clot it off and that's 10:50 a heart attack or a stroke. 10:52 ...All from an overfed macrophage under the lining. 10:57 Of course the question has to come up... 11:00 "What can I do to prevent this from happening, 11:04 because THAT is so VERY important" 11:09 And I would say, "If we could do that, we would reduce 11:14 the RISK of heart disease and stroke tremendously" 11:17 ...and it is doable. 11:19 We know from studies that lowering our cholesterol 11:22 will do this, because if you lower your cholesterol, 11:25 you LOWER the amount of LDL, 11:28 and particularly if you lower the intake of oxidized 11:34 cholesterol and fat. 11:36 Well, how do you oxidize the fat? 11:38 You oxidize fat by heating it to high temperature 11:42 OR letting it go rancid. 11:45 So that then affects... I'm from the south, 11:48 we either boil it to death, or we fry it to death... 11:51 So I assume then, by heating the oil in the frying process 11:55 I'm then oxidizing the fat that I'm eating? 11:58 That's exactly right! 12:00 If you're going to use oil, or fat of any kind, 12:03 in your cooking, make sure you use it at a low temperature. 12:07 You're better off to bake, than to fry. 12:10 Whatever you do, if you're going to fix the food, 12:15 don't burn it... that's particularly bad. 12:20 Those charbroiled steaks and things, 12:25 now those are the ones that REALLY cause problems 12:28 with cholesterol boils... 12:31 because you have a fat that's oxidized coming right on down 12:35 and the macrophage sees it, comes up, 12:37 eats it, pulls it down but he has too many 12:41 and then you get that cholesterol boil, 12:43 and that BREAKING into the blood vessel, that FILLING up 12:47 all from overfed macrophages. 12:50 So oxidation is GOOD when it occurs in the right place. 12:55 And the right place is in the mitochondria of my cell, 12:59 not outside of it. That's right 13:01 So I need to be careful about the kinds of fat that I'm eating 13:04 and making sure that they're not oxidized. 13:07 That's right, you need to make sure, even with good fats, 13:10 like fats from nuts, or seeds, 13:12 you want to make sure that those aren't rancid 13:15 because if they're rancid, they're oxidized, 13:17 and if they're oxidized, it's not as good for you. 13:21 You also want to make sure that you eat fats that don't 13:24 raise your cholesterol. 13:26 And for a long time, you've heard about 13:28 "don't eat animal fats" 13:30 ...saturated fats I call them 4-legged fats, 13:34 you know, they come from those 4-legged animals. 13:36 That's very important because it pushes cholesterol up 13:39 Cholesterol can oxidize easily, and if it does, 13:42 we've started that whole process. 13:44 But it's even more important to avoid... 13:47 hydrogenated vegetable fats! 13:51 This is a topic that's becoming more and more prominent 13:54 in our society now. 13:55 I understand the manufacturers have recently, just this year, 13:59 been required to list it on their labels, 14:02 and the concept of hydrogenated fat, it seems to be everywhere. 14:06 Every bottle and package, or bag that I pick up 14:09 I'm careful to read for it, and I'm finding it in places 14:13 that I wouldn't expect to find it. 14:16 Yeah, hydrogenated fats are VERY interesting. 14:19 The industry hydrogenates the fat because 14:23 a hydrogenated fat is more stable, and less subject 14:27 to oxidation. 14:28 So, you'd say, "Oh, it's better" 14:30 No, because a hydrogenated fat actually pushes your 14:35 cholesterol, that your own body makes, up. 14:38 So you eat that hydrogenated fat, 14:41 and your cholesterol level goes up. 14:44 You don't want that because that too... can oxidize 14:47 and there we are, back to the cholesterol boil. 14:50 So if you're going to have vegetable fats, 14:53 make sure they're not hydrogenated into a trans fat. 14:58 And you'll see on many packages today... 15:00 it will say... "NO trans fats" 15:03 But you have to be careful with that... because 15:05 you can say... No trans fat IF there's less than 1 gram/serving 15:12 But if there's only 0.99 grams/ serving, I can just shrink 15:18 my serving size down, and so it's less than 1 gram, 15:22 and I can say, "No trans fats" 15:24 The best thing is to avoid ALL hydrogenated fats 15:28 but particularly the trans fats... 15:30 And that's where vegetarians get into trouble with this 15:33 atherosclerosis... 15:34 They say, "Well I'm a vegetarian I don't eat any beef. " 15:37 "I don't eat any pork" 15:39 "I don't have the 4-legged fats, so I'm fine" 15:42 Wait a minute... how about hydrogenated fats? 15:45 READ the labels... it's very, very important, 15:49 because they too can cause problems with that 15:52 cholesterol boil, and the start of atherosclerosis. 15:57 So, hydrogenated fat causes my own liver to produce 16:01 more cholesterol than it normally would? 16:04 That's correct... not only hydrogenated, but saturated, 16:07 and really, that's the same thing. 16:09 If I hydrogenate a fat, I SATURATE the fat. 16:14 It's adding hydrogen to the fat. 16:16 And industry does this to make the fat more stable 16:20 and to make it RESIST oxidation. 16:23 And that's good, but then the problem is... 16:25 hydrogenated fats, or saturated fats - same thing, trigger 16:30 the body to make more cholesterol. 16:33 So our cholesterol goes up, and that too can 16:36 cause a problem as we know with this cholesterol boil. 16:40 ...This fatty boil just underneath the blood vessel 16:43 that can PUSH UP and cause that sudden heart attack 16:47 or that sudden stroke that gives us so many problems today. 16:51 So cholesterol only comes from animals, 16:54 and animal products, we are animals; 16:56 therefore, we produce cholesterol. 16:59 That's right! We do produce cholesterol... 17:02 And cholesterol isn't bad. 17:03 Cholesterol is VERY important in our bodies. 17:06 It is the basic building block for all our hormones. 17:11 We NEED cholesterol to make hormones. 17:13 I don't know about you, but I don't want to 17:15 do without my hormones! 17:17 We need them for life. 17:19 And, it is also a building block for all of our cell walls. 17:23 We need cholesterol, but we need it in the right place, 17:27 in the right amount at the right time, 17:29 and CERTAINLY not oxidized. 17:31 Because it's that oxidized cholesterol 17:33 that causes the problem. 17:36 So, we've talked about cholesterol, 17:39 and we've talked about cholesterol boils... 17:41 Let's say I've got atherosclerosis, 17:44 how do I get rid of it? What do I do? 17:46 Well, we've talked about eating fats, but there are other things 17:50 that push the cholesterol up. 17:53 First of all, let's look at fats... 17:55 #1... Avoid hydrogenated or SATURATED fats. 18:02 Those are the vegetables oils that are hydrogenated. 18:05 Avoid the trans fats particularly because they 18:08 push up the cholesterol the most. 18:11 Secondly, avoid 4-legged fats. 18:14 Four-legged fats are those fats that come from 4-legged animals 18:19 And those are more saturated. 18:21 Now you understand this, because land animals 18:24 of course, if their fat wasn't saturated, 18:26 they would have real problems. 18:29 Saturated fat is a SOLID at room temperature. 18:33 The vegetable oils are unsaturated naturally. 18:37 Can you imagine, Sheryl, if your fat was unsaturated? 18:41 Why you'd look like an onion! 18:43 You know, all that fat that gives you the rounded cheeks, 18:47 and what not, would be down around your ankles, 18:49 and it would just be kind of wagging in a bag 18:51 Now I'm glad for saturated fat in humans. 18:55 I'm glad for saturated fat in the cows and the pigs 18:58 That's not a problem... it gives them the shape, we like that! 19:01 BUT, when we eat it, we've got problems, 19:05 because it pushes our cholesterol up. 19:07 You want to stay AWAY from the saturated fat. 19:10 So that's IMPORTANT, to stay away from it, 19:12 and the hydrogenated from vegetable oil. 19:16 Stay away from 4-legged fats. 19:18 You also want to reduce your cholesterol INTAKE 19:21 and that's found in chickens, and turkeys, and fish... 19:25 there is cholesterol in those. 19:26 In fact, there is MORE cholesterol in 19:29 white breast meat chicken, than there is in beef. 19:32 ...75 mg versus 72-73, not much of a difference 19:37 In chicken, the fat is a little better, and that's good 19:41 BUT, we've got a problem because the cholesterol is up. 19:45 So, you can't be like one of my patients... 19:47 I told him what to do to lower his cholesterol, 19:49 and he went home and he ate his diet, he came back... 19:53 and his cholesterol was higher than ever. 19:55 He said, "Doc, I don't understand it, I been eating 19:57 chicken 3 times a day, and my cholesterol is high. " 19:59 Of course it's going to be higher, because there's 20:01 cholesterol in it. 20:03 The other thing that's very important to keep in mind is 20:06 NOT only will FAT push your cholesterol up, 20:09 but so will SUGAR! 20:13 SUGAR will push your cholesterol up, 20:14 and here's how it does it... 20:16 If you have a lot of sugar, you need a lot of insulin 20:20 because insulin moves sugar out of the bloodstream 20:23 into the cell... and when it moves it in, 20:26 that's good, but if you eat enough sugar, 20:29 you need more insulin, and insulin signals the body 20:33 ..."Hey, we've got plenty of energy here, 20:36 we're going to do some building" 20:38 It's a growth hormone. 20:40 And what's the basic building block of cell walls? 20:43 Cholesterol. 20:44 So if you have a high insulin level, 20:47 you're going to have to have a high cholesterol level 20:49 and, indeed, that happens. 20:51 So sugar... refined sugar getting your blood sugar up 20:55 and consequently your insulin level up, 20:58 pushes your cholesterol up. 20:59 Saturated fat pushes it up. 21:02 AND so does protein... certain kinds. 21:09 Casein from cow's milk will push your cholesterol right up. 21:14 It will do a very good job of it 21:17 Soy protein will push it down. 21:20 Animal proteins tend to raise your cholesterol. 21:25 Plant proteins tend to DROP your cholesterol. 21:29 So, you know, what I'm doing is, I'm pushing you toward 21:32 a vegetarian diet... You're stepping on my toes! 21:34 I know it, and I'm pushing you right toward a vegan diet 21:38 AVOIDING the milk, and the meat, and the eggs, 21:43 and the cheese, and the chicken... WHY? 21:47 To LOWER your risk of heart disease. 21:49 Now, some people say to me, "I don't want to do that" 21:52 "I just want to take a pill" 21:54 I had a patient that did that. 21:55 He came into me... He said, "Look, just give me a pill" 21:58 So I gave him 1 pill for his cholesterol. 22:00 His cholesterol was still over 250. 22:02 I gave him 2, I gave him 3... 22:04 I had him on 4 medicines for his cholesterol. 22:06 His cholesterol was still 245. 22:09 I said, "Listen, just do diet for 2 weeks... that's all" 22:13 "Just 2 weeks" "Stay on your medicine, 22:15 but for 2 weeks, I want you to go on MY DIET" 22:18 He said to me, "What's that, bushes, berries and twigs?" 22:22 I said, "Well, it's not QUITE that, but you know... " 22:25 So, we put him on a vegan diet for 2 weeks, and in 2 weeks 22:28 his cholesterol dropped from 245 down to 127. 22:37 In 2 weeks! On a good diet, plus medicine. 22:41 Now, he could have gotten by with much LESS medicine 22:45 if he had been on a good diet. 22:48 See, a pill won't fix everything. 22:50 We, some of us, because of genetics need medication 22:54 but it is a very, very low amount. 22:57 There are some genetic problems, maybe 2-3% 23:00 But most of us will do fine with a very good diet. 23:04 This has been shown by multiple researchers... 23:07 Dr. Esselstyn at the Cleveland Clinic showed this. 23:12 He took a group of patients that ALL had heart disease. 23:16 He was a heart surgeon... still is a heart surgeon 23:18 and he had done many, many surgeries 23:24 But he said, "I'm going to see what I can do with 23:26 diet and a little of medicine... just a little" 23:29 Everyone of the patients that followed his program 23:32 their heart disease went away! 23:35 There were NO more cardiac incidents... 23:38 No heart attacks, no angina, NOTHING in those that 23:41 followed a VERY careful vegan diet, 23:44 and SOMETIMES medicine, though not all. 23:47 Heart disease is reversible with careful diet. 23:51 Complete reversible... that's the atherosclerosis part, 23:55 the cholesterol boil is reversible. 23:58 Well, when you think about the cost of healthcare, 24:01 at least in the United States, and in many nations 24:04 around the world, the concept that cardiovascular disease, 24:08 or atherosclerosis could possibly be reversible 24:12 ...that could have HUGE monetary impacts! 24:15 It CERTAINLY could. 24:16 The amount of money spend in this country on 24:20 heart disease is absolutely staggering. 24:23 And to understand that this IS reversible 24:26 with careful diet, and in a few people 24:29 cholesterol-lowering medicine... 24:32 But even if you have to take that, it's best to keep the 24:36 amount very, VERY low. WHY? 24:39 Every medicine I know of has side effects. 24:43 Every single one! 24:45 You can't take it without risk. 24:48 It's far better to eat a good diet... so much better 24:53 Because they're very low risk. 24:55 I don't know many risk at all to eating a carrot, 24:58 unless you don't chew it thoroughly... you might choke. 25:01 But, it would save money... 25:04 We can't afford NOT to do it. 25:06 It's so very, very important. 25:09 The whole concept of being able to REVERSE disease 25:13 and the savings in health, the savings in healthcare 25:16 and healthcare dollars... that's pretty powerful 25:19 information! 25:20 That does, however, require that we change our behavior. 25:24 That we change the way we live our life. 25:26 And that's a bit uncomfortable. 25:28 I've grown very accustomed to living a fairly fast-paced life 25:32 and a fairly fast-paced lifestyle. 25:35 That, in and of itself, has changed my eating habits 25:40 so what I hear you saying is I need to pay closer attention 25:44 to what I'm doing and how I'm living my life. 25:46 The only fast thing that you want to do is exercise. 25:50 You know stress itself will raise your cholesterol. 25:53 No question about that. 25:55 And, it will raise your risk for heart disease. 25:57 It's important to be careful that you don't live too fast. 26:02 Cholesterol is important to control. 26:06 HDL cholesterol, that's the good cholesterol. 26:09 It's important to push that one up... How do you do that? 26:12 Eat good fats... nuts, olives, avocado... ALL of those 26:17 will lower your risk for heart disease by RAISING the HDL 26:21 HDL is that protein that goes out in your body 26:23 and collects the bad cholesterol and takes it back to the liver 26:27 for reprocessing. 26:29 Exercise will increase that and those good fats will increase it 26:33 It's important to find that balance. 26:35 But whatever we do, we MUST remember that STRESSORS 26:40 can overcome all of this. 26:43 You know if you have a broken heart, 26:45 there's only one person that can heal your heart, 26:47 and that's Jesus. 26:49 Going to Him and asking Him to help change your life 26:56 and your diet... 26:57 You know, changing your diet is hard, 26:59 but Jesus will give you the strength to do it. 27:02 He will... He's promised! 27:05 He can make a difference. 27:07 There's no question about it. 27:09 Only ONE will give you a new heart. 27:12 And he's promised to give us new hearts, hasn't He? 27:15 Yes He has. 27:17 So, atherosclerosis... by paying attention to what we eat, 27:22 by getting some physical activity, 27:24 by paying attention to the amount of stress that 27:26 we have in our life, we can decrease our risk. 27:29 But the most important thing that we can do 27:31 in ALL of our health is to rely upon Christ 27:34 and our Creator to help us achieve long-lasting health 27:38 and wellness. 27:40 Jesus is the only One who's promised to give us a new heart 27:44 A heart transplant, and He does such a wonderful job of it... 27:48 Diet is important, exercise is important... 27:52 They're all natural methods, 27:54 but the best of all is to turn to Him. 27:57 He alone can give you a new Heart. 28:02 Thank you for joining us today on "Wonderfully Made" 28:05 and thank you, Dr. Howell, for sharing your wisdom with us. |
Revised 2014-12-17