Women's Health

Heart Fact Sheet

I. Annual deaths in the US: (all age groups)

Heart disease & stroke more than 1,000,000
Cancer approx. 500,000
Accident approx. 100,000
Pneumonia & Flu approx. 100,000
Diabetes less than 100,000
All other causes approx. 350,000

Fat intake is believed to be a contributing factor in the 2 leading causes of death in this country

II. Percentage of all deaths due to heart disease, by age group:

70% 75 and above
59% 65 - 74
50% 55 - 64
42% 45 - 54
29% 35 - 44
l3% 25 - 34

III. Recent studies have documented that lifestyle change (including nutrition and exercise) and meds are just as effective as bypass surgery. Surgery needs to be repeated in 3 to 5 years without lifestyle change.

IV. How much fat is "safe"?

1. No more than 15% of total calories should come from fat

Fats cause damage by:
a. preventing efficient sugar metabolism
b. forming a sticky film around formed elements in the blood (particularly red blood cells)
c. Increasing total cholesterol or triglyceride levels in the blood stream
d. Promoting tissue anoxia which as much as a l0% reduction in oxygen to the cells

2. Of that amount, less than 10% of your total calories should be polyunsaturated oils
a. It is important to balance your unsaturated oils; equal amounts daily of Omega 3 vegetable oil (preferably safflower or sunflower) and Omega 6 fish oil
b. At values greater than 10% of total calories, polyunsaturated oils contribute to liver cancer, liver disease, blood dyscrasias and vitamin deficiences (particularly fat soluble vitamins)
c. Polyunsaturates are harmful because they increase triglycerides, increase LDL, decrease vitamin E, produce free radicals, and promote peroxidation (tissue destruction)
d. Never fry in polyunsaturated oils; when heated to 140º, they are carcinogenic. For many years, researchers have been injecting laboratory mice with heated oils to study tumor production and carcinogenesis; fry or cook only in monounsaturated oils (olive, peanut or sesame)

Good Sources of "Fish Oils"/Omege 6 Fatty Acids
Cold Water Fish, Only: best to worst choices
Eel
Fresh Mackerel
Fresh Salmon

Large Drop in Amount (1/2 or less)
Fresh Herring
Whitefish
Carp
Trout

Large Drop in Amount (1/3 or less)
Canned Sockeye Salmon (Not pink)
Catfish
Perch
Tuna in Oil (Not Albacore)
Bass

Vegetable Source (very minor amounts)
Beets, cooked beet greens
Carrots
Celeriac Root
Ginger Root
Jerusalem Artichokes
Parsnips
Yams
Rutabaga
Turnip/Turnip Greens
Winter Squash

V. What does an "ideal" diet look like?
If you eat 10 bites of food, those 10 bites should break down:
4 bites of vegetables
2 bites of fruit
1 bite of skim milk
l.5 bites of seeds and whole grains
l.5 bites of fish, fowl and lean meat

Does this apply to you? If so, see our information on Consultations.

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