Participants: Don Mackintosh, David DeRose
Series Code: HFAL
Program Code: HFAL000079
00:45 Hello and welcome to "Health for a Lifetime"
00:47 I'm your host Don Mackintosh 00:49 and today we're delighted to have in the studio with us, 00:51 Dr. David DeRose from the Lifestyle Center of America. 00:54 Welcome Dr. DeRose! 00:56 Good to be here with you, Don 00:57 We certainly are glad that you could take time 00:59 our of your busy schedule and we're excited about 01:01 what's happening at the Lifestyle Center... 01:03 Some of the people that are watching may not know 01:05 about the Lifestyle Center of America... 01:07 What exactly is that and what do you do at that facility? 01:10 Well Don, first of all, I'm a physician; 01:12 I have an MD degree, I have specialties in 01:15 internal medicine and preventive medicine... 01:17 And really, those are the kind of things 01:19 that we do at the Lifestyle Center. 01:20 We have an internal medicine approach... 01:22 In other words, looking at general adult diseases, 01:25 especially chronic diseases, 01:27 and there in southern Oklahoma, 01:29 we have a state of the art facility where we help people 01:32 from a Christian perspective 01:33 to address lifestyle-related diseases. 01:36 So things like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, 01:40 problems with weight, nicotine addiction, 01:43 a whole host of problems that relate to our health, 01:46 and our ability to serve and to minister; 01:48 these are the targets of our ministry 01:49 there at the Lifestyle Center. 01:51 So whatever the problem is... 01:52 well actually, these are the main problems in North America, 01:55 our so-called Western diseases... That's exactly right 01:58 Now I WILL tell you, we don't have a cancer treatment program, 02:01 and we don't deal with certain chronic diseases that are 02:04 outside of our range of expertise... 02:06 But really, the basic killing diseases like stroke, 02:10 heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, 02:12 and the risk factors are things that we're addressing. 02:15 Well today, we want to talk a little bit about 02:17 risk factors and, I guess, you mentioned to me 02:19 before the segment here that there are 02:22 literally hundreds of those now that we can identify 02:24 the lead to these killers... 02:26 One of those is really the subject that we want to 02:29 focus is on homocysteine... 02:30 What is homocysteine? 02:32 I mean... a lot of people say, you know, "What?" 02:35 Homocysteine is what we call an amino acid. 02:38 It's a protein building-block... 02:40 So if you look at a protein, it's kind of a 02:42 string of molecules and it's got these building blocks, 02:45 these amino acids and one of those amino acids 02:48 is homocysteine. 02:50 Now homocysteine isn't normally 02:52 something that we just conjure up. 02:55 It's made actually from another amino acid 02:58 that we call eat called "methionine" 03:00 Okay... methionine. 03:01 So we eat this and then it's built into homocysteine. 03:06 Well why is homocysteine so important? 03:08 Well, you know, a lot of people 03:09 didn't think much about homocysteine. 03:11 There is a rare genetic problem where people get these 03:14 really sky-high levels of homocysteine, 03:16 and they had accelerated risk of heart disease. 03:20 This has been known for years, 03:21 and when a physician-researcher by the name of "Kilmer McCully" 03:26 suggested that homocysteine in more moderate elevation 03:30 could be a heart disease risk factor, 03:32 he basically was kind of laughed out of the medical discussions; 03:37 this was some years ago. 03:38 But now Don, there's a whole wealth of medical research... 03:41 It's coming from Scandinavia. 03:43 It's coming from the United States. 03:44 It's coming from Canada. 03:45 It's coming from all over the world. 03:47 And it's saying that as our homocysteine level rises, 03:50 our risk of heart attack, stroke and blockage in blood vessels 03:54 in general, like blockage in blood vessels to the legs 03:56 all dramatically increases. 03:58 So maybe we should have, in our car, 04:00 a gas gauge, a water gauge, and a homocysteine level gauge! 04:04 Well, I mean, that would be taking it to the extreme... 04:06 But actually your point is well-taken... 04:08 Because homocysteine, for most people, 04:10 is not even on the radar screen... 04:12 And what we're seeing, in the medical community, 04:15 is this IS emerging as a very 04:17 important risk factor for heart disease. 04:19 So how does it work? What does it do? 04:21 When I have homocysteine in my blood, 04:23 I assume it's in the blood... It is... 04:24 and I have it swirling around in there, 04:26 what does it do that causes heart disease? 04:29 Well it seems to do a number of things. 04:31 The most CRITICAL thing that we pretty much nailed down 04:34 from what we call the "epidemiology" 04:36 that's the population studies... 04:38 is that as this level goes up, it increases heart disease risk. 04:42 Now the million dollar question is the one you're asking... and 04:44 WHY? Why would rising levels of 04:47 homocysteine increase the risk of blockage in the arteries? 04:51 And what it seems to be is that homocysteine 04:53 does a NUMBER of NASTY things! 04:55 I mean, it damages the blood vessel lining. 04:57 How exactly does it do that? 04:59 Well it seems to have to do with "free radicals" 05:02 These are very reactive compounds 05:04 that then can DAMAGE other tissues... 05:06 And the blood vessel lining seems to be one of the tissues 05:09 that is susceptible to this free radical damage 05:12 caused by homocysteine. 05:14 Free radical... that just sounds like something I want to BE 05:16 You know like... just BOOM, BANG, BANG! 05:18 But that's not GOOD... it's just like a missile 05:21 flying around and it damages everything it hits. 05:25 That's right... it's like a loose cannon, if you will, 05:26 and what's happening... these free radicals 05:28 they just bang into tissues damaging them... 05:31 And that seems to be one of the ways 05:32 that homocysteine does its dirty work. 05:34 Okay, so we have to negate homocysteine. 05:37 We have to do SOMETHING with it. 05:39 What should we do to lower our risk from these problems? 05:42 What can we do to LOWER the homocysteine level? 05:44 Well one of the things we know clearly, Don, is that B vitamins 05:47 3 particular B vitamins help to lower homocysteine levels. 05:51 They're B6, also known as pyridoxine; 05:54 folic acid, and then B12 05:57 Those 3 definitely lower homocysteine levels. 06:00 B6, folic acid and B12 06:03 What other things could lower it? 06:05 Well actually, this is the whole subject 06:06 of a lot of discussion in research right now. 06:08 In March of 2000, at the Lifestyle Center of America, 06:12 we actually published research 06:14 in the "Journal of Preventive Medicine" 06:15 on patients going through our program... 06:18 And what we found is without giving them any folic acid, 06:21 without giving them any B6, without giving them ANY B12, 06:25 these people dramatically lowered their 06:27 homocysteine levels about 13% in just one week! Wow! 06:32 And so the question was... Well, what are we DOING 06:34 in our lifestyle program that's causing this dramatic lowering? 06:37 And we discussed it in the paper... 06:38 We suggested, based on other research, 06:41 that there are some other things happening 06:43 that may give further benefits 06:45 when it comes to homocysteine lowering. 06:47 Such as... 06:48 Well, one of them has to do with 06:50 dietary choices besides B vitamins. 06:52 Case in point is FIBER. 06:54 Some research has actually looked at fiber 06:57 and how this contributes to folic acid levels in the blood. 07:00 There is research coming out that suggests that if 07:02 you eat more FIBER, more whole grains, 07:05 things of this nature... 07:06 You know, getting the wheat bran not just the white wheat flour, 07:10 what happens is somehow in the intestine, that changes the 07:13 normal good bacteria in an even more favorable way 07:17 so that the bacteria make folic acid. 07:20 It has actually been demonstrated that you can raise 07:21 folic acid levels in the blood by eating more fiber. 07:24 So that's one possibility. 07:26 A second one has to do with methionine... 07:28 Remember I was talking about that a little - Yeah, methionine 07:30 Now, you just hear the word "methionine" and you go... 07:32 Boy I need to have some of that! That sounds good! 07:34 Well actually, methionine is converted into homocysteine. 07:37 Oh, so it's not good... 07:39 It's not looking real good... and I saw a patient a while back 07:42 and he had a jar of methionine. 07:44 He thought it was good too, 07:45 and I told him there is some cause for 07:47 concern with methionine. 07:49 It's interesting, Don... the diet has been shown 07:52 to be the most effective in REVERSING blockages in 07:55 heart blood vessels... I know you know, 07:57 and many of our viewers know of the work of Dr. Dean Ornish. 08:01 Dr. Ornish, back in 1990, first published research 08:05 showing that you could REVERSE blockages in heart arteries 08:09 by using a lifestyle program that included 08:13 basically what was a vegetarian diet. 08:16 ...Almost a total vegetarian diet. 08:18 OH NO, so you're going to take away all our good foods? 08:20 Well actually Don, that's not our motive. 08:23 What we're trying to do when these people come 08:25 to us at the Lifestyle Center, for 2 or 3 weeks often, 08:29 they're wanting to get the maximal results in a short time. 08:32 And if they've got heart disease diabetes, high blood pressure, 08:35 a vegetarian-type diet seems to work the best 08:38 for those conditions. 08:39 Here's the point though, when it comes to methionine, 08:43 these foods in the vegetarian diet, 08:45 tend to be much, much LOWER in methionine, 08:48 than an animal-based diet. 08:50 For example... You take a standard serving 08:52 of hamburger or some other flesh food, 08:55 and you're going to have 600 to 900 milligrams of 08:59 methionine in those foods. 09:00 That then goes right into homocysteine. 09:03 Let me just contrast that for a minute. 09:05 You take carrots or potatoes or whole wheat bread, 09:08 you may be getting 10, 20, maybe 40 milligrams 09:12 of methionine per serving. 09:13 So you see, when you're talking in the 100s... 800, 900 range 09:17 for some of these flesh products you want to stay away 09:19 from those things if you're trying to get your 09:22 homocysteine levels down. 09:23 Do vegetarians EVER have high homocysteine levels? 09:26 They can... and, in fact, vegetarians are at RISK 09:30 for high homocysteine levels if they're not careful 09:33 with their vitamin B12 status. 09:35 Okay, so they HAVE to have a very BALANCED, 09:38 AND maybe supplemented diet, 09:40 because vitamin B12 is not produced in the diet, is it? 09:44 That's correct, it's not produced in the body 09:46 and it is the product of bacterial action, 09:49 so hopefully, it's not produced in your diet. 09:50 That would mean your food has been sitting out 09:53 unrefrigerated or something. 09:55 But the point is Don, when people go on a 09:57 total vegetarian diet... when they're trying to get 09:59 rid of all the animal products, 10:00 that will TEND to decrease the methionine load, 10:03 but they do want to ensure an adequate 10:06 source of B12, that's very important. 10:07 So what other supplements then that you recommend 10:10 at the Lifestyle Center... 10:12 What do you do for the vitamin B12? 10:13 Okay, if someone has mildly elevated levels of homocysteine 10:17 ...since we've demonstrated that our overall lifestyle 10:20 approach LOWERS homocysteine, 10:22 we say... Listen, go with our standard program, 10:25 have the homocysteine level rechecked in 2 or 3 months. 10:28 If their level is very high... 10:30 Now someone is probably saying, what's high, what's VERY HIGH? 10:32 Normal range probably around 9 to 11 10:36 Ideal is below 7 and I won't go into the 10:40 technicalities of the unit measurements... 10:42 It's in micromoles per liter... 10:44 Anyway, remember the number 7 as being ideal. 10:49 What we want to do... Let's say someone's level is 15, 10:53 TWICE IDEAL... We'll probably, in that case, 10:57 put them on B vitamins, and I say "probably" 10:59 At the Lifestyle Center, we're not in a dictatorial mode. 11:02 It's not like... I'm the commander-in- chief 11:03 as one of the physicians and you listen to me... 11:05 it's working with the... We call them even our "guests" 11:09 ...we don't call them patients - 11:11 We work with our guests and try to get them to look at 11:15 these issues and say - Are you interested in taking 11:17 a B12, a B6 and a folic acid, 11:20 and we'll often use that combination regimen... 11:23 About 1000 micrograms of B12, 11:26 25 milligrams of B6 11:30 and about a 1000 micrograms 1000-2000 mcg of folic acid. 11:35 This may be totally off the subject, but you know today, 11:38 one of the things that's really in vogue is what's called 11:40 "high protein diets" that help people lose weight rapidly 11:44 and whatnot... 11:45 And, they say that you can eat ALL these foods that are 11:47 VERY high in probably methionine... 11:50 Is this dangerous in terms of homocysteine? 11:52 Actually, one of the arguments that people are starting to 11:56 put forward when it comes to the dangers 11:58 of these high protein diets, is what is happening 12:01 to homocysteine levels. 12:02 Now to my knowledge, Don, no one has studied this yet. 12:05 From what we know about methionine, 12:07 we'd expect that these levels would be rising on these diets. 12:11 But it's not been looked at in any of the papers that I've seen 12:13 I will tell you this though... 12:15 A recent paper showed that by eating more 12:17 fruits and vegetables, you LOWER homocysteine levels. 12:22 Okay, so REALLY, the best plan is that simple vegetarian diet 12:27 which is high complex carbohydrates, 12:29 and kind of low in the protein area, 12:32 when you're looking at this homocysteine thing... 12:35 Plus making sure, especially for the vegetarian, 12:38 that you have the vitamin B12 in your diet. 12:41 Right, and the thing really on the HIT list is the meat protein 12:44 not so much protein per se, but meat especially. 12:47 Now, it is true, plant sources of protein do have some 12:50 methionine but usually in much 12:52 lower amounts than the animal sources... What about tofu? 12:54 Tofu actually is moderate in methionine content. 12:58 You know, it's looking in the range of 100-200 mg/serving 13:03 compared to 600-800 for meat. 13:05 That's probably because it's concentrated? 13:07 Well, it is a concentrated food; 13:10 soy is a rich source of protein and protein has that methionine 13:13 as one of the building blocks in it. 13:15 We're talking with Dr. David DeRose 13:17 from the Lifestyle Center of America 13:18 You've probably sensed a little energy in this interview... 13:20 I hope that you have and that type of energy 13:23 will continue in the next half, I'm sure, 13:25 as we talk more about homocysteine and your health 13:27 If you would like to contact the Lifestyle Center of America, 13:30 let me give you a web page... 13:31 www. lifestylecenter. org 13:37 or you can contact us here at 3ABN, 13:39 and get information on how to contact Dr. DeRose 13:42 in the Lifestyle Center. 13:44 Join us when we come back! 13:47 Have you found yourself wishing that 13:49 you could shed a few pounds? 13:50 Have you been on a diet for most of your life, 13:53 but not found anything that will really keep the weight off? 13:56 If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, 13:59 then we have a solution for you that works! 14:01 Dr. Hans Diehl and Dr. Aileen Ludington 14:04 have written a marvelous booklet called... 14:06 "Reversing Obesity Naturally" 14:09 and we'd like to send it to you FREE of charge. 14:11 Here's a medically sound approach 14:13 successfully used by thousands 14:15 who are able to eat more and lose weight permanently 14:18 without feeling guilty or hungry through lifestyle medicine. 14:22 Dr. Diehl and Dr. Ludington have been featured on 3ABN 14:25 and in this booklet, they present a sensible approach 14:28 to eating, nutrition and lifestyle changes 14:31 that can help you prevent heart disease, diabetes 14:33 and EVEN cancer. 14:35 Call or write today for your free copy of... 14:37 "Reversing Obesity Naturally" 14:39 and you could be on your way to a healthier, happier YOU! 14:42 It's ABSOLUTELY free of charge, so call or write today. 14:48 Welcome back, we've been talking about your health. 14:50 We've been talking about homocysteine. 14:52 We've been talking about heart disease. 14:53 All those big words, let's just recapitulate a little bit. 14:56 Homocysteine is a protein or amino... 14:59 Amino acid, a building block of protein. 15:02 That just kind of swirls around in the blood 15:04 when we have foods that are high in methionine 15:06 that come from the meats and the dairy products 15:08 and those different kind of things in our diet, 15:10 and then that causes free radicals that just MESS US UP! 15:14 Is that right? That's putting it in a nutshell... 15:16 I mean it's taking a few leaps with some of the suggestions 15:20 there is in the medical research literature, 15:22 but I think that's putting a pretty good capsule on it, Don. 15:25 Okay! We talked about ways to AVOID having that problem. 15:29 Avoid developing the atherosclerotic plaques 15:33 that come from having high homocysteine levels. 15:35 One of the things that you mentioned was the importance of 15:38 B12 vitamins and then having foods as grown, 15:41 simple plant foods and whatnot... 15:44 And then you mentioned FIBER 15:45 but are there ANY OTHER THINGS that can help us avoid 15:50 high homocysteine levels? 15:51 There are - and maybe before we get into those, 15:54 I need to re-emphasize something... 15:56 Because, you know, as a scientist and a researcher 15:59 as well as a clinician, I have to be sensitive 16:02 when we are communicating to the public... 16:04 And what's very well-established with homocysteine... 16:07 is that folic acid supplements, B12 supplements... 16:12 these lower homocysteine levels. 16:13 This is VERY conclusive, okay. 16:15 B6 does not seem to make as much difference 16:20 in a fasting state, as far as your fasting homocysteine level. 16:24 It seems to be more important when you eat. 16:26 These other things we've been talking about... 16:28 methionine - the amount of methionine in the diet 16:31 and some of these other lifestyle factors, 16:33 there is some very intriguing and suggestive evidence 16:35 including the research we've done at the Lifestyle Center, 16:38 but I have to tell you that it's a step BELOW where we're at 16:42 ...where we are with the B vitamin supplements. 16:45 In other words, someone listening to the show, Don, 16:48 I don't want them to walk out with the main message 16:50 being... if they've got sky-high homocysteine, 16:53 they should eat a little less meat. 16:55 They really need to FIRST think about taking the folic acid, 16:58 the B12 making sure they get 17:00 the blood levels up on those B vitamins. 17:02 Now someone is going to say... "Don, I know this" 17:04 They are going to say, "But Dr. DeRose, I want to do 17:07 a natural approach" 17:08 And I think as long as you're working with a physician, 17:12 it's fine to go through these 17:13 lifestyle measures we're talking about. 17:15 But by all means, don't just rest assured that your 17:18 homocysteine is going to be great 17:20 if you're doing these lifestyle things, 17:21 because there is still a lot we don't know; 17:23 this is an emerging risk factor. 17:25 So, you need to get your level checked. 17:26 That's right... that's the first step. 17:28 If it's HIGH, in addition to these other factors, Don, 17:31 3 things that we exclude at the Lifestyle Center 17:34 seem to worsen homocysteine. 17:37 That's why we EXCLUDE them... 17:39 COFFEE, ALCOHOL and SMOKING 17:42 Okay now, how does that work? 17:44 Well, different mechanisms... 17:46 The alcohol, for example, seems to interfere with... 17:50 Oh boy, this is biochemistry... 17:52 Methyl groups... Boy, I know we're losing everybody now 17:57 The chemistry of homocysteine, 18:00 when it is gotten rid of in the body... 18:03 One way to get rid of homocysteine is to ADD 18:05 a chemical structure called... "a methyl group" 18:08 You add that to the homocysteine and it becomes methionine again, 18:12 and then the body can get rid of it. 18:13 You put it in reverse... That's right, you put it in reverse! 18:15 But when you drink alcohol... 18:16 It seems to mess up some of those methyl group 18:21 shuffling in the body. 18:22 A car can only go forward; it can't go backward. 18:24 So, you're headed to the precipice. 18:27 That's one way of looking at it! 18:29 I wouldn't say it's completely locking that path, 18:32 but it does seem to make some problems. 18:34 The mechanisms for smoking and for coffee intake 18:41 are not really as clear in my mind... 18:43 They've been shown in what we call "epidemiologic studies" 18:45 when we look at large groups of people... 18:47 It seems clearly that smoking does seem to WORSEN the problem. 18:51 Coffee has been suggested in one of the large Norwegian studies 18:55 and the question is... Does that really apply 18:57 to American coffee as well? 18:58 I'm looking here at the article that you published in 19:01 "Preventive Medicine" in the year 2000 19:06 and I see here that you can get it on the web, is that right? 19:10 You can actually contact us, and we do have a handout 19:13 that summarizes that in lay terms. 19:16 Yeah, maybe those folks that really do like the biochemistry, 19:19 they're sitting down... "What did he say?" 19:21 And they want to just try and read and find out... 19:22 Yeah, we go through the biochemistry and the paper 19:24 and there is a nice diagram of things and all. 19:27 www. lifestylecenter. org 19:30 They can figure out how to get this or calling you there 19:33 at the Lifestyle Center. 19:34 Well let's talk a little bit about some other factors. 19:36 What are some other things besides 19:38 cutting out the coffee, the smoking and the alcohol 19:43 from our diet? 19:45 Well a real exciting one has to do with "phytoestrogens" 19:50 These are plant estrogens... I'm getting it, 19:53 it's in the paper but let's unpack it a little bit. 19:56 Yeah, let's kind of step back a little bit 19:58 because what we KNOW in women that estrogens 20:02 seem to help lower homocysteine levels. 20:04 This is pretty clear in a number of the research studies. 20:09 But what the question is... the bigger leap 20:11 is if you're getting these phytoestrogens, 20:13 these plant estrogens... 20:15 Can THIS lower homocysteine as well? 20:18 And we're suggesting this may be one of the ways 20:21 that a vegetarian diet - that uses things like 20:23 soy products can help to lower homocysteine. 20:26 Again, right now I've got to say, Don, 20:28 this is some speculation... 20:30 It's kind of a little bit of leap as far as the 20:33 research literature, but I think it's very promising 20:35 and research studies are being proposed 20:37 that will look at this question. 20:38 So you're seeing these trends at the Lifestyle Center, 20:40 you're just trying to figure out WHY it's happening, 20:43 and document some of those different OTHER factors 20:45 besides just the folates which everybody knows about. 20:48 And I actually have to back up because the REASON 20:51 we have this question has to do with other research, 20:54 and results that we've seen at the Lifestyle Center 20:57 and other centers where we're seeing people actually 20:59 IMPROVE their heart disease status; 21:02 whether it's decreasing their anginal pain, 21:04 less angina attacks, whether it's Dr. Ornish's study 21:08 that showed the blood vessels could open up... if you will, 21:11 but we're saying "Why do these things happen" 21:13 Cholesterol alone doesn't explain it. 21:15 There's got to be something else happening... 21:17 And that's what inspired us to look at homocysteine. 21:20 What about exercise? 21:21 Exercise... that's a very good question. 21:24 Scandinavian researchers in Norway have done some 21:27 EXCELLENT work on homocysteine. 21:29 In one of those studies, they actually show that people 21:32 that exercise MORE lower their homocysteine better. 21:36 So exercise may be a factor, 21:38 and we're looking at this in some research 21:40 we're currently doing at the Lifestyle Center of America. 21:43 You need more folks there for more research, don't you? 21:45 Well, we're always excited for people who have a vision 21:49 to learn about what's happening in their bodies. 21:52 You mentioned something else to me about ICEBERG LETTUCE... 21:57 and this could really have some connection with homocysteine. 22:01 It really could... You know Don, we were talking 22:03 there at the break how you and I were both educated 22:07 to stay away from that iceberg lettuce... 22:09 You know, eat the romaine, and the deep green... Kale, spinach 22:12 There you go... The interesting thing is that iceberg lettuce 22:16 is a VERY, VERY rich source of CHOLINE. 22:20 CHOLINE! YES, CHOLINE! 22:22 I just never would think of it - Give me some choline! All right 22:25 Actually choline is a very important molecule. 22:27 It's used in the makeup of building in your body 22:31 of something called "acetylcholine" 22:33 For your nerves... That's RIGHT! There you go! 22:35 But of interest, choline is also transformed in the body 22:40 into something called "betaine" 22:42 Isn't that just fascinating? 22:43 BE-TAINE! Explain betaine. 22:45 Betaine actually is another one of these compounds 22:48 that can shuttle around methyl groups... OHHHH 22:52 You see - starting to sound familiar? 22:53 We've GOT TO have that. 22:55 Can bring that methyl group to the homocysteine... 22:57 It's the REVERSE! There you go! 22:58 It turns it back into methionine. 23:00 All right, so it's headed... that free radical is going to 23:03 SLAM into it but then it gets the choline group 23:05 and says... oh oh oh oh oh, I'm going to go the other way! 23:08 The methyl group from the choline. 23:10 I'm going to go the other way. There you go! 23:12 So ICEBERG lettuce... there's more, it's just the TIP 23:15 of the iceberg lettuce when you eat it... 23:16 ALL these things happen! 23:17 Well, I won't try to elaborate on that. 23:22 But Don, it's not just iceberg lettuce, 23:24 even MORE RICH in choline are peanuts! Peanuts? 23:28 Peanuts are even a better source of choline then iceberg lettuce. 23:31 But haven't I heard that peanuts can be harmful in heart disease? 23:34 I don't know who you heard that from... 23:37 Actually, the research is suggesting, Don, 23:40 that nut consumption has beneficial effects 23:43 when it comes to heart disease and peanuts, 23:45 even though they're a legume, 23:47 in the studies that look at nut consumption, 23:49 it often seems that peanuts is the main nut 23:52 that people are consuming at least here in America. 23:54 So they used to call vegetarians and those that ate 23:56 a plant-based diet "peanuts" and that's not a BAD name 24:02 if you're trying to address the homocysteine thing! 24:04 Well, peanuts have some benefits. 24:06 Now I'm not telling people to LOAD up on them... 24:08 A FEW! A little dab will do ya! 24:09 Moderate amounts of peanuts are part of a good healthy diet, 24:12 and that's what the research seems to be suggesting. 24:14 Iceberg lettuce, peanuts, and all these other plant foods 24:19 that have the estrogens in it... 24:21 Anything else we should be eating? 24:23 Well I think, we've hit on the main high points... 24:26 I mean, the clear thing is making sure you're getting 24:28 adequate amounts of these critical B vitamins 24:31 ...No question about the importance of those. 24:33 The U.S. government has been MOVED by research 24:37 on folic acid and heart disease to have 24:41 universal really supplementation with folic acid. 24:44 Now, of course, this helps to prevent pregnancy defects 24:47 what we call neural tube defects in infants as well, 24:50 but folic acid controversy has kind of moved a step beyond 24:54 with the homocysteine research. 24:56 So the B vitamins are critical. 24:58 The plant-based diet seems to have some unique benefits. 25:00 Staying away from the alcohol, the tobacco, the coffee, 25:04 these things have some definite pluses going for them 25:08 when it comes to homocysteine. 25:10 So you check for homocysteine levels at the Lifestyle Center, 25:13 but can you go to your local physician, 25:16 and can he order that test? 25:17 Most commercial labs are able, now to obtain 25:20 homocysteine levels and we're encouraging people 25:23 to check their homocysteine level. 25:25 What else should people be checking for with heart disease? 25:28 Very important... we don't want to spend a whole talk on 25:32 homocysteine and people think that the OLD risk factors 25:35 are not important anymore. 25:36 Cholesterol is still critically important! 25:38 People should know what their cholesterol is. 25:40 They should know what their LDL cholesterol is 25:42 which is the bad cholesterol. 25:44 Very important... those things are critical as far as 25:46 heart disease risk. 25:48 We should STOP smoking, even if homocysteine 25:50 isn't on our radar screen... 25:52 Even if this presentation hasn't changed anybody's minds, 25:55 smoking is still a potent risk factor for heart attack. 25:58 Bigger than homocysteine. 26:00 Right now, if you have to focus on one of the two, 26:06 STOP smoking first, then get concerned about 26:08 the homocysteine, okay? 26:10 The OTHER thing is that we don't want to minimize is 26:13 blood pressure and DIABETES. 26:15 These 2 diseases dramatically increase the risk of 26:18 heart disease; these things need to be controlled! 26:20 Obesity? Obesity, it's a big one too. 26:23 The deadly quartet. The deadly quartet! 26:25 The so-called "deadly quartet. " 26:27 Well, we've been talking with Dr. David DeRose 26:29 He is a physician at the Lifestyle Center of America 26:31 where they've been doing cutting-edge research 26:34 and helping people REVERSE the common diseases. 26:38 We've been talking about homocysteine. 26:39 If you're interested in more information about homocysteine 26:42 they have a handout on that at the Lifestyle Center 26:44 You can get their number by calling us here at 3ABN 26:47 or by contacting them over the web at 26:50 www. lifestylecenter. org 26:53 Any closing thoughts for those who really sense that they 26:57 have a problem with heart disease... 26:58 You are a Christian physician working at a 27:01 Christian-motivated center... 27:04 What is your counsel for the folks in our last 30 seconds? 27:07 You know it's encouraging to me, Don, 27:09 is you look at the original diet that God gave 27:12 to Adam and Eve... it was a plant-based diet 27:15 and it's interesting that when you move to that diet, 27:18 you not only address homocysteine, 27:20 you tend to lower your cholesterol, 27:22 you tend to promote weight loss, 27:24 you tend to lower your risk of diabetes, 27:27 and it seems that God REALLY gave Adam and Eve 27:30 a diet that was designed for eternity 27:33 there in the Garden of Eden! 27:35 Thanks for joining us today on "Health for a Lifetime" 27:38 Boy, I've learned a lot today! 27:40 My head is kind of swirling a bit with all these 27:42 methyl groups and different things that I've learned, 27:44 but I have learned that there is one simple answer 27:47 and that's relying on God, His diet, His way, 27:50 His plan for your life. 27:52 Thanks so much for being with us, doctor, 27:54 and we thank YOU for being with us... 27:56 And we hope that as a result of today's program 27:58 you have Health that Lasts for a Lifetime! |
Revised 2014-12-17