An ironic paradox today is the
fact that heart disease is the number one killer in the United States and while
it is a vital organ we need it to live a productive life and experience
longevity. What’s even more disturbing
is the majority of cases of heart disease and related deaths are self-induced
by poor diet and exercise practices.
Check out these amazing facts
about your heart and circulatory system provided by The Cleveland Clinic:
The heart beats about 100,000 times each day
In a 70-year lifetime, the average human heart beats more than
2.5 billion times
Your system of
blood vessels -- arteries, veins and capillaries -- is over 60,000 miles long.
That's long enough to go around the world more than twice!
The adult heart pumps about 5 quarts of blood each minute -
approximately 2,000 gallons of blood each day - throughout the body.
Blood is about
78 percent water.
Blood takes about 20 seconds to circulate throughout the entire
vascular system
So what causes heart disease?
There is no one right answer to that question but in recent year’s cholesterol
has been tagged as the major cause of heart disease. According to Dr. Barry Sears in The
Anti-Inflammation Zone, many cases of heart disease are rooted in what he calls
chronic “silent” inflammation that can negatively affect the entire body
without the individual being aware.
One of the great physicians of
the nineteenth century was Rudolf Virchow.
Nearly 150 years ago he stated that atherosclerosis in an inflammatory
disease based on his observations of autopsies of the very rare number of
people who actually died from heart disease.
At the turn of the century,
according to Dr, Sears, the greatest physician in America was Sir William
Osler. Osler was the author of a classic
textbook on medicine and when asked why he didn't include a chapter on heart
disease, he replied that the disease is so rare that most physicians would
never see it! Today it’s the number one killer in America.
So why the increase in heart
disease related illness? According to
Sears, while cholesterol plays a role in heart disease, it is not the
catalyst. His view is the major issue
with most research is cause vs. correlation. While you may have correlation
between something in the blood and heart disease, that doesn’t necessarily mean
that the same clinical marker is the actual cause of heart disease.
This is analogous to a
correlation by being struck by lightning and the phase of the moon. However
this does not mean that the phase of the moon caused you to get struck by
lightning.
Dr. Sears’s states there are
over 200 risk factors that are associated with heart disease. His assertion is that silent inflammation in
the body and circulatory system in particular is a major factor in heat
disease. Next week I will share Dr. Sears’s thoughts on how silent inflammation
negatively affects many aspects of our health including heart disease.
HERE’S TO BEING FIT FOR LIFE! Chris is a Certified Personal Trainer, USA
Triathlon Level 1 Coach, Group Exercise Instructor, exercise and endurance
enthusiast. He competes yearly in
numerous running races, marathons, ultra marathons, triathlons and other
endurance events. He is a member of the
2015 QT2 Systems Advanced Team.