There is a lot of confusion over what dietary habits contribute to heart disease and what diets are best for heart disease prevention and treatment. Is red meat good or bad? What about dietary fats and cholesterol? Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, there is no one-size-fits-all diet. We are all very unique when it comes to our biochemistry. Recent studies are revealing that our response to a specific type of food may be due, in part, to our genes. So, while saturated fats, red meat, grains or fava beans may not be an issue for one person, they may be for another. Rather than arguing…

In the previous articles, I’ve discussed some of the more direct causes of heart disease, but what about risk factors and testing? Current lab testing revolves around cholesterol. But, did you know that LDL cholesterol levels are elevated in only 25% of those with heart disease? In other words, 75% percent of those with heart disease have optimal cholesterol levels! You may not be too surprised by this if you’ve read my last two articles on this topic – especially since I mentioned that cholesterol doesn’t really cause heart disease. As I pointed out, the LDL particle number is a much better marker for heart disease risk than LDL cholesterol…

In my last article, I talked about the role of LDL particles in heart disease. But, we still haven’t gotten to the true cause of this whole process – endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial dysfunction is generally considered to be at the center of what triggers the cascade that leads to the formation of a plaque. Endothelial cells (ECs) are the cells that form the internal lining of our blood vessels. But, they do much more than just sit there lining our arteries. Endothelial cells are very interactive with their environment and sensitive to changes in that environment – changes in blood pressure, oxidative stress and hormone levels among other things. Similarly,…

We have all heard of cholesterol and what we’ve heard is that cholesterol is bad. Oh sorry, actually we are told there is a “bad cholesterol” and then there is a “good cholesterol.” So, one is good and one is bad. One gives us heart disease and one helps prevent it. But, is this actually true? Well, not exactly. The fact is, cholesterol itself isn’t really the cause of heart disease, though it tends to get the most attention. In this first article on heart disease, I’d like to clarify what cholesterol is, what it does and its role in heart disease. Cholesterol is a type of lipid – known…