Diet wins over stents and drugs

[Guest guest]

Diet wins over stents and drugs

 

 

A multi-billion-dollar medical industry has arisen from great

marketing as opposed to good science. This newly created industry

involves giving as many stents as possible to cardiovascular

patients to reduce the risks of a second heart attack. It sounded

like a good idea. In fact, it sounded so good that no one ever

tested it. In the meantime, thousands of cardiologists were suddenly

ordering stents for their patients, and they started making money

just like heart bypass surgeons without going through years of

surgical training. Now they, too, could be surgical heroes instead

of pill pushers.

 

Now the bad news. A study was done to compare pushing pills to a

heroic push to get the patient into surgery for cardiovascular

stents. The results indicate that drugs and stents do an equally

good job of preventing death and future heart attacks. Given the

choice of surgery or taking pills, most patients would probably opt

for the pills. But if your real goal is to live longer and better

with heart disease, then put your trust on real science. The Lyon

Heart Diet study has indicated a 70-percent reduction in

cardiovascular death rate for people following a diet rich in fruits

and vegetables with adequate protein coming from fish and chicken

and monounsaturated fat and a diet low in omega-6 fatty acids. The

best drugs could do was a 20-percent reduction in cardiovascular

mortality. The GISSI study has indicated 1 gram per day of EPA and

DHA generates a 20-percent reduction in overall cardiovascular

mortality compared to those taking the standard drug therapy without

fish oil. The JELIS study has indicated 20-percent reduction in

mortality in patients taking statins and 1.8 grams per day of EPA

over those taking statins alone.

 

Let's see. Consume a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with

adequate amounts of low-fat protein, low in omega-6 fatty acids and

rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as EPA and DHA, and you live

longer than you would through stents or drugs. That dietary approach

sounds suspiciously like the Zone Diet to me.

http://www.drsears.com/zonemondaydetailopen.member?zoneMondaysID=274