All Degenerative Diseases are Caused by Vascular Disease

We have always been told to exercise, stay trim, and eat healthy.  But how exactly does this pertain to staying healthy?  The answer lies in the thousands of miles of vascular system branching to every cell in your body.  The human vascular system has been understudied and ignored when researching potential causes of disease.  By simply learning about how the human body works, and what we know about each disease, you too will be convinced that vascular disease is the main culprit in todays diseases.  Degenerative diseases, arthritis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, eczema, etc.  are all caused by vascular disease.  Seems like a radical notion, perhaps? Not really if you think about it.   Vascular disease is already implicated as a symptom of many diseases.  But if you swap cause and effect around, you get a clearer picture of how most diseases are caused (and prevented, and cured).  All I am asking is to consider that heart disease is not the result of other diseases, but the cause.  It is my hope that this blog can change how we look at disease, and that prevention is the real cure .  By dissecting what we know about each disease, and then discussing the effects of atherosclerosis and inadequate capillary density, it is easy to see the connections.   This website is going to be under constant revision to the point where maybe it will be published.  Of course it is my hope that people will become more concerned with their own health and their children’s.  Another benefit is that we could reverse our nations financial problems since it is really up to us to keep ourselves healthy, not a billion dollar government subsidy.

Let’s start with the basics.  Heart disease is really vascular disease of the heart.  The slow loss of blood flow supplying the heart muscle of vital nutrients.  But what happens when one of the hundreds of other arteries in the body become hardened or clogged?  Or if poor eating habits keeps a lot of the arteries and capillaries from fully developing through childhood and early adolescent?  There are 60,000 miles of vascular system in the average human body.  Most of this is made up by a web like network of capillaries that are the real exchange points of oxygen and nutrients into, and waste and carbon dioxide out of every one of the cells in your body.  These capillaries need to be within 7-40 nm of a cell for the cell to live.  As capillary density is reduced, the distances between functioning capillaries is increased.  The result is an exponential decrease in the health of the surrounding cells.  Double the distance means 6 times the number of cells to service.    As these vessels are lost, so are cells.  Dead cells are not out of the ordinary, but large areas of insufficient capillary supply mean an increased risk of tumors (mutated cells have an easier time of growing if they don’t have to compete with healthy cells).  All categorized diseases and their symptoms are a result of this loss of cellular health.  The manner in which is manifests itself is different in every person, resulting in different diseases, symptoms, severity of disease, and ease of recovering.  The human body is remarkably adaptive and can prevent disease, but only if the cells that constitute it are properly nourished with good vascular support.  But we have a lot more in common with one another than is commonly given credit for.  The same “cures” are used for everyone.  Whether bedridden or striving to win set a record for your sport.

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How to prevent vascular disease, and feel the flow

It takes hard work and dedication to get the vascular system healthy again.  The great thing is that by doing all the recommendations at the same time, you make gains faster and easier than doing only one at a time.  After trying a few of the recommendations, I am sure that you will see a great improvement in overall health.  A new feeling starts to take over, powered by a better understanding of your body.  Changing habits is hard, but the changes  you see in your self and outlook makes it easy.  By taking the mystery out of disease, you can make better decisions to improve your health the real way.  I think deep down we all knew there were shortcuts to getting and staying healthy, now it is time to start doing them!

1.   Exercise.  Get moving!  Cardiovascular exercise is the best preventative for vascular disease that exists.  The muscles are natural pumps.  As they contract and relax while exercising, blood is circulated much more quickly.  This produces nitric oxide naturally, which dilates and relaxes the artioles and arteries of the body.  The heart muscles becomes stronger and more flexible to absorb the extra blood returning.  As your body becomes used to regular workouts,  it becomes easier and more fun to keep pushing your limits.  30 minutes a day of walking is minimum.  As that becomes easy, consider higher intensity or longer workouts.  Heart rate is an excellent gauge to exercise with.  Mix in strength workouts.  When lifting weights, make sure to relax between reps for a second or two.  This lets blood back into the muscles vascular system.  The idea is to build the vascular system in the muscle as well, so that the muscle have good blood flow throughout the week, not just when working out.  Torn up and tight muscles do not lead to healthy vessels or muscle fibre. Health muscles lead to improved vascular health of the whole body.

2. Eat less fat.  A diet high in fat prevents many of the tissues from absorbing nutrients and getting rid of waste.  Some fat is necessary, but try to limit any foods high in fat(cheese, excess nuts or seeds, and high fat meats).  Some nuts are OK, as well as low or non-fat dairy.  Become friends with the nutrition label on foods, as well as stick to healthy meals when eating out.  Big meals when dining out are just as bad as most fast foods.  Cutting fat down to 40 grams of fat a day is a good starting point.  This clears up the lymph system after awhile (the lymph system absorbs fat from the digestive tract and empties it into the bloodstream via the lymphatic duct.  The lymph system needs to be able to flow easily to remove toxins and break down toxins.)  It is OK to occasionally eat more fat, just not on a regular basis, and not when trying to recover from a particular affliction or disease.  The human body wants to continually build new capillaries, but can’t when always inundated with a high fat diet.

3.  Eat more greens and fish.  Besides lots of other good benefits, they are high in magnesium, which in turn helps to break up calcium deposits in the vascular system.  I highly recommend a chelated form of magnesium supplement( or magnesium malate) to increase intake to balance with modern calcium intakes.  The RDA of 1000mg of calcium is a great goal.  More calcium than that doesn’t necessarily make it into the bone where it needs to be.  It ends up lining the blood vessels, creating a hard, rough surface that become increasing thicker with fat, calcium, mineral buildup, and inflammation of the underlying cells.  Try to take in at least half as much magnesium in the diet as calcium (500mg for every 1000mg of calcium).

4.  Get the muscles loose.  Tight muscles don’t let blood flow easily.  Get a massage and pay attention to areas that hurt or are tight.  These are trouble spots and affect the blood flowing though them to other areas of the body.  Trigger therapy or massage is a good daily routine to get into.

5. Eat less carbs, plus drink more water.  Carbohydrates (notice the hydrate in the name?) absorb fluid out of the bloodstream.  Dehydration means capillaries have to shut down for longer periods of time.  Combined with fatty foods, you have the start of atherosclerosis.  Carbohydrate likes to be in a 7% solution with water.  Overall throughout the day, these balance out, but the constant pull from the bloodstream has a negative effect on vascular health.  In addition to dehydration, excess carbohydrate also leads to high triglyceride levels.  Carbohydrate is converted to fat (triglycerides).  These are another substance which tends to block capillaries and coat vessels.  Plus, high carbohydrate foods tend to increase growth of bad bacteria in the gut, as well as create excess inflammation of the gut (see # 7 as to why this is important).

6.  Add niacin to your diet.  Start with 10 mg and work up to 100 mg a day.  This (in the b-3 niacin form, not time release or no-flush nicotinamide).  This a potent vasodilator of the capillaries, increase flood flow to all the tissues, not just your skin.  A harmless flush appears quickly and disappears within an hour.  You may feel hot and itchy at first, but these are areas of the body that need to be healed.  After a week or two, the pain will start to subside, but you will still get very flushed.

7.  Keep the digestive tract healthy.  Any inflammation or infections in the digestive tract lead to increased permeability of undigested food into the blood stream.  The body can easily deal with digested protein and fats.  But when whole proteins or undigested fat makes in through, this is not absorbed by the cells of the body.  It easily clogs the vascular system and must eventually be broken down or removed by the liver.  Increase intake of water, healthy intestinal flora (l. acidophilus, l. bifidus, etc.) , garlic (a potent anti-fungal agent).  Some fiber is important, but you don’t need huge amounts.  Digestive enzymes or dried papaya is a very good idea.  Keep regular.  Increased motility is important to keep toxins from building up.  Avoid excess alcohol and coffee.  These tend to irritate the digestive tract if overused.  Avoid “cowboy coffee”, the kind that leaves coffee on the bottom of the cup.  These extra bitter solids end up in the stomach and digestive tract.  Don’t sweat it too much if things aren’t perfect right away.  It took years to create unhealthy situation, so be patient for results.

8.  Add other supplements that affect healthy vascular system.  L-arginine relaxes the muscles surrounding arteries and artioles(.5-5 mg a day).  Drink the juice of watermelons(include the white part of the rind) if you don’t like l-arginine(or the price). Eat fatty fish or take fish oil supplements.  These are the fats that the body can really use to rebuild cell walls with, which helps the digestive tract as well as the vascular system.  Fruits, vegetables, and many herbs are chock full of anti-oxidants that help keep inflammation to a minimum.  A cup of coffee in the morning in a good source of antioxidants, niacin, as well as help to keep you regular.  (Although more than that has a tendency to cause stress on the digestive tract, as well as affect deep sleep).

8.  Quit smoking.  Smoking is the #1 cause of heart disease.  By smoking, you may be negating anything healthy that you do for yourself.  Smoking quickly irritates all of the pulmonary arteries and capillaries, causing arterial plaques.  This causes enough problems as is, but the tar and chemicals being absorbed by the lung tissue (remember, lungs have the surface area of a tennis court) must be removed quickly before cells start to die and revert to scar tissue.  A weakened cardio-pulmonary system can’t push blood through the body nor oxygenate it well.  No wonder you get stressed out easy and need frequent cigarette breaks (talk about a vicious circle).  Plus anything healthy is no fun nor enjoyable anymore.  You can’t taste healthy food, nor enjoy a hike without coughing up a lung.  Quitting smoking not only save you money and health problems, but those around you too.

9. Quit excessive drinking.  A glass of red wine is often thought to be good for the heart, but more than that, and the body has too many toxins to deal with.  The blood thinning properties of alcohol also tends to circulate any fatty acid in the digestive tract as well as in the circulatory system.  The liver quickly backs up after a few drinks, leaving the toxins in the bloodstream, causing further damage.  Alcohol is the bloodstream tends to destroy the lining of the capillaries, as well as the arteries.  Excessive release and thinning of the fatty acids builds up on the damaged circulatory walls.  Then to top it off, most people go for horrible choices of food when drinking (pizza and beer?).  Keep it to a minimum, and keep your wits about you when eating afterward.

Of course, it is hard to do all of these recommendations consistently.  But by keeping on top of most of them, you should eliminate most common causes of an unhealthy vascular system.  In addition, you start feeling really good, looking better, and enjoying life more.  Which in the long run is what we really want.  When you are a kid, you want your cake, ice cream, chocolate, Cheetos, all the time.  But as you grow up, you see that what really makes you happy isn’t some temporary fix, but long term peace of mind and happiness.  Sometime it is so long since you felt deep health and happiness, all you have are the easy pleasures, but in the long run, that is all you life ends up being.

When talking about heart disease, the first thing that comes to mind is fatty deposits clogging up large arteries. But the body normally will take excess blood lipids(fat) and deposit them in appropriate fat storage cells in the body.  But if the arteries are rough and hard from inappropriate calcium uptake, then the lipids accumulate on the inflamed lining of the arteries.  It is the hardening of the arteries that one must fight as well. When the arteries have taken up calcium in the lining, then you have atherosclerosis. Why is calcium deposited in the lining? It is magnesium levels that affect the uptake of calcium the most. When magnesium levels are low, calcium tends to be taken up by all cells, especially the lining of arteries. Common recommendation is to keep a 1:2 ratio between magnesium and calcium intake. Most people in America easily meet the 1000mg recommended by the FDA (it is 700 mg in Canada). In fact we are still worried about getting more calcium, and often take supplemental calcium just to make sure(often putting most people above 2000mg a day). But what about magnesium? Magnesium is prevalent in leafy green vegetables(especially spinach) and fish(especially halibut). But the amount of these foods necessary to balance with common calcium intakes is staggering(meaning several cups of cooked spinach every day). So the daily supplements we take should help, right? Unfortunately, magnesium oxide is the common form used in supplements. This is a cheap version that tends to stay in the digestive tract, never making it into the bloodstream to be carried to cells. Worse, it tends to pull water into the digestive tract, causing stomach trouble.

So, look at how much calcium you are getting (dairy, supplements, and energy/protein supplements, etc.) If excessively high, cut back, since you need good capillary bed getting to you bones for the calcium to get where you want anyways. Then get a good form of magnesium to supplement with(magnesium malate, chelated forms of magnesium). Increased vegetable and fish intake is important too, but if you have eaten a normal diet most of your life, you need a little extra help to break up calcium deposits.

How is this idea even possible?

Wouldn’t it be cool if everyone was happy, healthy, and took care of each other?  What if hospitals were for treating accident victims , not treating lifelong diseases that seem to have no cure.  What if we used the billions spent on healthcare, and spend millions instead supporting infrastructure that keeps people active and healthy.  But it is possible.  By first working on getting ourselves healthy, we can start to help those around us, which creates a huge ripple effect and can lead to these changes.  It all starts with our cells.  Our cells are what makes us who we are.  The human organism depends on blood to these cells to maintain health.  The heart, arteries, arterioles, capillaries and veins all work together to keep all the cells of all the organs working in concert.  When looking at how the body works on a cellular level, and all the symptoms and results of diseases, you’ll see a pattern.  In a nation where we routinely ignore heart disease unless it results in heart problems, we need to look again at vascular disease.  We might find that what is almost considered a byproduct of aging is actually a cause of all diseases.

The big question is why hasn’t anyone figured this out before?  It seems to be that the forest isn’t seen through the trees.  Perhaps we expect to find a cure, much like polio and other infectious diseases.  Perhaps todays doctors and nurses are overworked with people who don’t take care of themselves (and don’t want to).  Perhaps the medical industry is looking for miracle drugs because that is what people want?  Maybe there is a certain amount of naivety that exists in the medical industry that they are smarter than humans inherit design.  Whatever it is, if we could all agree on some basic info to help motivate people to eat better and get in shape, we wouldn’t have to look for stopgap measures in the busy doctor’s offices.  I believe that most doctors are intimately aware that the more out of shape the patient, the more severe the symptoms.  But common belief in most medicine is that it is a genetic trait or imbalance in the body that must lie at the root of disease.  They are right, but I believe it is in the genetics of a person to have certain areas of their body with less vascularity.  As poor diet and inactivity leads to a decline in vascular health, these areas become a weak point in the bodies overall health.  But by adopting the healthy pointers pointed out in “How to feel the flow” blog, this shouldn’t be a life sentence.  The human being is amazingly strong and can adapt to most situations, given a healthy diet and time to heal and adapt.  In short, medicine seems to be more intent on trying to put a band-aid on the cellular reactions(and caught up in the after-effect of poor blood flow on the cells) that are thought to be the cause of the disease, rather than eliminate the cause of the imbalance in the first place.  Our health system seems to be enabling our addiction to an unhealthy lifestyle, bent on keeping the status quo in place.  But people can’t continue this decline without consequences to future generations.  Health care practitioners need to be encouraging of a healthy lifestyle by talking about it to their patients.

Ask yourself this question.  What causes disease?  When you ask this question in modern medicine, you will have to sit through hours of dissection and research.  In the meantime, they ask that you sit tight and donate to charities that are hard at work “curing” the disease.  The amount of information is staggering and the desire for even more information(especially as it pertains to genetic research and stem cell therapy) never actually gets you to a conclusion.  I am not saying that all of the information is unimportant or wrong, but that seminal moment that denotes when a disease is beginning is not taken into consideration by modern medicine.  Hopefully this website will begin to make sense if you actually want answers.    I think we as a human race have enough problems on our hands without having a health epidemic too.  There is a lot more information to come on this subject.  My main motivation is to inspire people to eat healthier and exercise, but I also feel the need to go deeper into the exact cause of various diseases from a medical standpoint.

I don’t feel that this is a health revolution, nor even a rebellion.  I think alot of our current ideas stay in place.  Only Doctors and hospitals will be here to actually get healthy, and get fixed up from accidents and injuries. Drug companies may look into increasing vascularity in those who can’t exercise yet, as well as increase the digestive systems healthy barrier.

Once this information is published, the idea is to complete medical school and start to advance healthy ideas as THE answer to medical problems.  Why didn’t I go this route to begin with?  When I was still in college starting pre-med, I had none of these ideas formulated.  I was indeed into sports (competitive cycling and running), but the concept of a healthy diet had’t occurred to me yet.  A lengthy and mysterious illness without any usable answers form doctors sent me on my quest.  Yes, doctors can usually find the answer to a medical problem given enough tests and time, but not practical or definitive answers.  I wanted to be able to exercise again and KNOW what was really going on.  Pre-med gave me the basics of the human body, combined with the idea that vascular disease is really at the root cause of most of my problems.  It took many years for me to land on the tenants of preventing vascular disease.  At times it seemed an impossible task, and I lost faith many, many times.  But as I started to work on the project again, I revamped my own health habits, and gained the insight to really feel deep down in my marrow that what I wanted to say was truth.  As the years went on, and I became interested in helping other people gain health, I went back to pre-med studies and saw the concrete links obvious in the puzzle that is human disease.  Even the medical community seems to be gaining a bent on actually getting people healthier, not rely on short sighted science.

Cancer

This is the most misunderstood, and not one that you would normally associate with heart disease.  We know that there is direct correlation between obesity and chance of cancer, as well as smoking.  Both of these are known corollaries to heart disease as well.  This is not a coincidence.  That is because cancer is the direct result of vascular disease.  The cells of your body are part of you.  But if you decrease the health of your vascular system, they cells can mutate.  They get just enough nutrients to lie in limbo. The accumulations of cellular toxins surrounding the cells have nowhere to go, and the lymph system is overloaded as a result.   Hence the transport of  cancer cells through the lymph system.  Less than optimum health of cells sets up the growth of tumors (most of which are non cancerous).  It is common knowledge that deviant cells occur many times a year in most people.  But the surrounding healthy cells suppress their growth.  Increase the health of all the cells in your body by building a strong vascular system that reaches all your bodies cells. Less carbs, less fat, more water, more exercise (overall strength, cardio, flexibility) etc.

There will never be a pill that cures any disease(except some infectious diseases).  But by increasing vascularity, capillarization, and general health, you can prevent cancer.  We all know deep down that there is going to be some hard work in our lives to get healthy.  Don’t wait until something like being stricken with cancer motivates you to start getting healthy.  Even Lance Armstrong knows this.

But what about the hereditary influence on cancer.  Why does some types of cancers seem to run in genetic the code?  Simple, those are areas that don’t have a genetic predisposition for strong capillary and venous development.  The vascular system is at it’s maximum development when we are young, unless we eat right and exercise enough throughout our adult lives to more networks and capillary development.

What about carcinogens?  Aren’t they what cause cancer?  Actually, cells can vary in how susceptible they are to the carcinogens.  A strong healthy cell is going to be much less likely to be genetically altered by the carcinogen.  Many carcinogens do affect the vascular system though.  Smoking is the easily the most destructive carcinogen, and is well known to cause heart disease as well and lung cancer.  The nicotine and chemicals associated with smoking irritate the lining of blood vessels, making it much easier for calcium and fat to build up along the epithelial cells lining the vessels.  Chemicals, drugs, barbituates all contribute toward cancer, and certainly have a deleterious effect on the health of the vascular system.

If cancer is already diagnosed, do what your doctor says, but also consider this a time to take care of your cardiovascular system, as it’s important role in preventing cancer is just as important when trying to recover.  Get protein, healthy fats from fish, lot’s of fluids less carbs and sugar than usual.  Gentle cardio exercise and a massage program to keep limber is important.   Any inflexibility, especially along the spine, can greatly affect the health of the organs that are enervated by the nerves emanating from the central nervous system .  Simply laying on your back with a massage ball on the side of the spine can identify ( by tensing) any tight areas.  Keeping the pressure on the tight area will release the tension of the muscle after a period of 30-60 seconds.  Do this all along the spine.  Loose muscle let blood and nerves function properly supplying the vital organs.

As a follow-up, some of the latest news is that aspirin is now being considered as effective prevention for cancer.  This makes sense, in that by thinning the blood (The main action of aspirin), it allows more effective blood flow throughout the bodies vascular system.  This is yet another clue that should point towards vascular insufficiency as the ultimate cause of cancer.

Start Exercising

There are many great cardio exercises to start a program with.  For example; running, cross-country skiing, rowing, hiking, swimming, any number of machines at the gym.  After running throughout high school and college, I developed a love for it.  I also developed injuries that wouldn’t go away.  So I became a cyclist.  But beyond being good for you, it is one of the easier exercises on your body(read less wear and tear) so that you can keep up a daily program of it without injuring yourself.  It is easy to fit into your daily routine.  Most cities in America have some bike trails and paths to start on without cars, and as you progress you start to feel more comfortable around cars.  This is when you want to start commuting by bike.  Distances up to 10 miles are easily covered on a bike in reasonable time. By spending most of your free time fighting traffic, you can spend a little more time on your bike, racking up some great strength and cardio exercise(and usually able to zip by increasingly slow commuters stuck in their cars).  I have experienced commuting in sub freezing temperatures as well as up to 115 degrees.  It is a matter of acclimatizing and dressing appropriately (and knowing when to workout inside, too).  The healthy vascular system copes easier with exercise and temperature extremes with less stress.

The benefits for the environment are well documented.  We already know that we are addicted to oil.  What we don’t see is the infrastructure of our government highly subsidizes automobile use.  Whereas most advanced countries levy many of the taxes used to pay for road construction in the fuel prices, we have a comparatively low fuel surcharge, instead rely on general tax money to pay for roads.  Our country was built on the backs of interstates and automobiles.  But at a certain point, we got caught in the dream of automobile freedom, and got stuck in a nightmare instead.  Besides that, keeping a relatively new car in the garage consumes 18%(on average) of our funds to keep running and gassed up.  Another issue with cars we could do without is the fatalities and injuries.  Besides helping to fatten our country, automobile accidents account for well over half of the injuries seen in hospitals (70% in my county), and a very large percentage of accidental deaths.

So get a good bike, one that fits well, is durable, and efficient (you’ll be more likely to ride more often if it is comfortable and not constantly breaking down).  I recommend a good bike shop to get you started in the right direction.  Some general guidelines are :Adjust the seat so that the knee angle ends up at 30 degrees(+/- 5 degrees) of flexion at the bottom of the pedal stroke with the foot angled slightly toe down.  Another way to check seat height is to straighten the leg completely while the ball of you foot is over the pedal, your foot should be parallel to the ground.  This method is cruder, but gets you in the right 25 to 35 degree range very nicely.  The forward kneecap should be straight above the end of the crank when the crank is parallel with the ground.  With the seat at the right height, the grips should be about the same level as the seat for a good do it all position.  Arms should be perpendicular to the back when reaching out to the bars.  These are a good guide to get started, but don’t take into consideration positions for cruisers, Townies, track bikes, or racing bikes.  Seat height it still very important to get dialed, so as not to cause wear on the knees.

Start with general riding, to get familiar with your bike, traffic, and the routes in your area that are safe.  Then start with some workout rides.  The idea is to warm up, spinning and getting the muscles and lungs working together.  Sometimes if your commute is short, the entire ride is a warmup.  Just make sure that you take the long way in to work a couple of times a week to get a decent workout.  After a 15 minute warmup, put it in a bigger gear (or spin faster on a track bike) so that you can raise the heart rate.  The ventilatory threshold is what you want to pass.  This means that your breathing jumps beyond the casual shallow breathing that you normally have, to a steady, deeper breath.  You can still talk to someone without cutting sentences short, but work is occurring.  A heart rate monitor gives you great feedback, but takes some time to learn what your numbers mean.  As you roll into work(or school, or the store) do some easy stretches of the hamstrings, back, and quadriceps before locking the bike up.

I find normal roads and sidewalks are great for riding, as long as they have a shoulder so cars aren’t forced to wait or veer out of their lane to get around you.  Of course some roads are barely able to handle the amount of cars on them, let alone a cyclist too.  Maybe if we get enough people to “Go With the Flow”, more room will be made for us cyclists.

Other types of exercise are just as good for you, but harder to fit into a daily routine than bike commuting.  Whatever you do for exercise, what may seem like work at first becomes easier and more fun as you progress.  You may notice that you have to go faster and further than you did previously to reach respiratory threshold and get a decent amount of time of exercise in.  It is important to keep in this aerobic heart rate zone (55-75% max heart rate) for at least 4 hours a week to see steady progress at first.  By all means exercise more if you feel like it, but don’t get into the weekend warrior type schedule, keep exercising throughout the week.  Some resistance work is important to keep and improve muscles, tendons, and bones.  Usually twice a week is good.

Some Guidelines

It seems that there are many aspects that affect heart health.  Exercise, diet, stretching, etc.  What is most important to start with?  I recommend to get diet in order first.  Drink more water, keep moderate carbs and lean protein, cut out as much fat as you can except for omega-3 (fish oil especially).  Then work stretching and identifying tight spots in the body(these are roadblocks to overall vascular flow).  Then add in moderate cardio exercise.  Too much exercise at first will throw hunger pangs and muscle stiffness your way.  Heavy weight training can also lead to tight muscles.  Slowly add longer and more intense workouts as it becomes easier and more fun.  Over time(maybe years), these will turn into habits.  Perhaps you will find in the off season(too hot, too cold, too wet) is a good time to address diet and stretching, while exercising outdoors as much as possible during the good seasons.  I find a good balance of all three throughout the year to be best.

Starting Book Project

I am currently in the middle of working much of the info in this blog into a book.  It has been awhile since the blog has had a new post, but the gears are in motion for a book one day.  Any ideas or thoughts or concerns you have regarding this blog, drop me a line and I’ll try to work it into the book!  Any feedback is always appreciated(good or bad).

Get fit, get rid of disease?

It seems that by increasing your fitness, you can decrease your chances of most degenerative diseases.  How is this you ask?  Perhaps a closer look at how the bodies vascular system works is important to understand how critical even the smallest blip in vascular health creates a ripple effect that leads to everything from diabetes, to cancer, to arthritis.  The cells of the body need a constant supply of blood nearby to bring needed nutrients and oxygen to the cells, while also removing carbon dioxide and toxins.  This doesn’t necessarily happen naturally.  The vascular system can be compromised as we know, most famously in the vessels supplying the heart.  But every cell in the body needs a healthy supply.  This is vastly overlooked in medicine today.  It is well known already in medicine that every cell in the body needs to be within 6-9 nanometers  of a capillary  to be healthy.  As capillarization is compromised from poor diet, dehydration, and lack of exercise, then the distance becomes greater from capillary to the cells.   At 10-20 nm (nanometers) the cells are seriously compromised, not only from the distance (and resulting slower transit time, extra toxin buildup), but also having to compete with over three times the number of cells per capillary.   At 20-25 nm, the cells die.  The modern diet and lifestyle guarantees that this is happening in nearly everyone to a certain degree.

So what does this have to do with the diseases that have not been linked to vascular disease?  All degenerative diseases have a list of symptoms that usually include a specific organ or gland that is malfunctioning.  A list of accompanying symptoms may of may not be present.  The idea that this malfunctioning organ creates the outlying symptoms is much more clear when thought of simply being affected by the same vascular insufficiency that is creating the original organ to malfunction.

Get a good amount of cardio exercise, drink a good amount of water, limit dietary fat(perhaps supplement with fish oil/omega-3), stretch.  Take care of yourself!  Then help take care of others.

How does inherited disorders fit in?

One of the big questions I’ve been getting involves inherited  disorders (different from hereditary disorders like Down’s Syndrome).  Many people accept to live with a disease or ailment because it runs in the family.  There are two main reasons why we inherit these problems.  One is the response of vascular density programmed by the DNA.  The second is the tendency for poor diets to be passed down the family line.  If your parents tend to eat high fat, unhealthy food, it is hard to change later in life.  Thankfully, the reverse is true with healthy families.

The DNA carries with it the ability to differentiate each cell in to exactly what it was meant to do (mainly controlled by the stem cells).  Part of the cells that are masterminded by the DNA are the blood vessels.  When we don’t exercise growing up or eat too much carbs(what kid doesn’t), the body doesn’t have a chance to keep building new blood vessels.  Early vascular development is very important to long-term health and abilities.  But the modern diet for kids is giving them the short end of the stick for the rest of their lives.  They emulate their parents, and if the parents don’t make a concerted effort to keep them healthy(through activities and being a healthy role model themselves), the poor diet choices continue for life.  P.S., thanks mom for making sure I went out and rode my bike every day!

So we are taught bad health?  Yes.  But it is inherited too.  The mastermind that is the DNA also picks and chooses where blood vessels are strongest.  Giving a great diet, lot’s of water and exercise, all blood vessels can grow and branch easily as needed in development.  But how many kids get it perfect?  So defects show up.  Areas where blood vessel development is compromised.   So the conclusion is?  Get cardio exercise, eat healthier, eat a bit less, work on flexibility and strength.  All the usual.  Always work towards a solution, don’t get caught up in the details. Bad knees run in the family?  Work on strengthening the muscles of the entire leg, as well as keeping the muscles loose with massage, yoga and trigger therapy.  Diabetes run in the family?  Get out there and exercise, sweat, balance carbs and water, eat less fat, etc.  The solution for better health is the same for everyone, we just have to target personal problems and weaknesses.   Now get out there and get moving!

New Years Resolution-Deconstructed

After studying cellular respiratory, human anatomy, and the mechanisms of disease, a question popped up in my mind.  What happens if there is not enough blood flow an area of the body?  What if that area was a vital organ?  What if it was only partial occlusion?  What would be the result?  And then it lead the idea that maybe their is another disease that mimics all known diseases.  Vascular disease.  It would certainly lead to the same exact symptoms of known diseases.  It would even fit in with the known preventative modalities (exercise, healthy diet , no smoking) that are known to greatly decrease the incident of known degenerative diseases.

Then, as I explored this idea, I found  a total lack of study on vascular diseases links to other diseases.  It was almost as if the medical community shunned this idea all together. It would be one thing if some studies came back inconclusive, or negative.  But no significant studies.  There is certainly a strong connection between vascular health and overall health.  But the idea that vascular health is THE determinant of disease progression has been ignored.  Bingo!  It makes total sense and is an idea that fits perfectly into all we know about disease.  The medical research is heavily based on the RESULTS of unhealthy cellular activity, and what needs to be done to supplement or erase the consequences RATHER than what needs to be done to restore healthy cellular activity programmed into our DNA.

The coolest thing is that by attacking vascular disease from all angles, you can easily prevent and reverse many health problems on your own.  Start exercising, eat less fat, eat less carbs, drink more water, eat more natural green leafy foods(to prevent calcification of the vascular system), take care of bodily hygiene and the digestive tract (the protective barrier that keeps bacteria and excess undigested food out of the bloodstream).  Sound like a new years resolution doesn’t it?  Well hopefully these ideas can motivate you even more!  Don’t run scared from disease, run towards health (or in my case bike towards health).  Happy New Years!

What to Expect

So you want to get healthier.  What should you expect if you start with the recommendations in this blog?.  The answers depend on a large number of factors, primarily how healthy you have been your whole life, and how well you stick to the guidelines.  Many changes happen as vessels become healthier, and new vascular connections are made.  Many of us have strengths  and weakness .  Some people eat very healthy, but don’t exercise, or vice versa.  By realizing this and keeping on top of any problem areas in your body, it is relatively easy to get healthy with these guidelines.  Your body is going to go through some changes.    If you are tired, rest.  Try some restorative yoga, especially the inversion poses, or simply lie on you bed with your legs raised above your heart for 10-20 minutes.  Resist plunging into a quart of Ben and Jerry’s when stressed.  After a busy workweek,  use the weekend to recharge, eat light, stretch, get fresh air.   Your daily routine should include a balance of  foods, exercise, stretching, and rest.  Normal stuff.

Hopefully you already have some of the recommendations in your daily routine already.  If not, start with drinking more.  That will give you the energy and blood flow to start the process of bringing blood flow to and from the cells.  Then start with stretching, massage, and light exercise.  Cut back on sugar, carbs and fats, increase protein, green vegetables, add magnesium (malate or chelated)niacin(10mg a day to start, 100mg max).  Then after that add in cardio exercise and strength exercises.

Breast Cancer

The three main dietary changes that affect vascular health are also implicated in Breast Cancer.  Lower fat diet, less carbs, and healthy balance between calcium and Magnesium.  In countries where there is a low fat diet, breast cancer occurrence is much lower than America.  In America, it seems you either get too much calcium from dairy, or dairy substitutes, as well as many women take calcium substitutes to ward off osteoporosis.  Many countries do not push calcium intake on the women.  It makes sense from what we know about calcium’s role in the start of vascular disease to re-evaluate this practice.  Coincidentally, it is the milk producing glands of the breast where the cancer originates.

Cutting back on calcium intake (I recommend Canada’s RDI of 700mg) is not the sure fire ticket to osteoporosis as many people have been told.  The calcium in the bones in not easily lost, it is constantly recycled.  You don’t need to supplement more calcium to build new bone, you must let bone cells into denser, better shapes.  The body has a fine balance system the breaks down bone, and then rebuild it again healthier.  In addition, keep Magnesium intake up to at least half of your calcium intake (for 700 mg of calcium, 350 mg of Magnesium).  See the column on Osteoporosis for more info.

Osteoporosis

For the bones to get stronger, they need many vitamin and minerals, but if capillary density through the bone (yes there is a capillary bed-the Haversian canals) is restricted by poor vascular health, these nutrients won’t make it into the bone.  At the joints, where there is a better blood supply, excess calcium is taken up, mis-forming the joint(see arthritis), but in other areas, the bone is left weak and thin, despite calcium being present.  The main concern should be to increase blood supply to the bones, not increasing just one of the building blocks of bone(calcium).  In fact, I recommend decreasing calcium intake for healthier bones, including less fat, more exercise, more water, more magnesium, etc.

But really, less Calcium for healthier bone?  Healthy bone is in a constant remodeling process.  Their are cells on the bone that are contantly breaking up old bone and building new bone in it’s place.  Osteoblast cells takes calcium out of the cells and destroys them, Osteoclast cells lay down new, stronger bone in its place. This remodeling affects the shape and density of the bone.  If remodeling does not occur, the old bone thins(osteopenia) or becomes porous (osteoporosis).  More calcium is not necessary for this to occur.  The remodeling is a constant process in healthy bone, that means healthy blood supply, as well as healthy capillary density.  The capillaries in the bone are always dealing with calcium, in and out as bone is remodeled.  Adding excess calcium to the equation does not build stronger bone, it stops up the permeability and eventually the flow of blood through the bone capillaries.  It is important to have the right balance of magnesium to calcium, not only for the health of the bodies vascular system (to prevent Monckenberg’s arteriosclerosis), but to keep calcium depositing only where it should be (in bone and a small amount free in the blood stream for muscle contractions).  The recommendation of 700 mg a day is about right (a little more if you are sweating alot while exercising).  It is much more important to have healthy, dense, well shaped bone.  Big bones are not necessarily healthier.  If the bones of the spine (or knee, or jaw) grow too much, (or vice versa, not grow enough) they don’t fit properly with the bones next to them (like puzzle pieces, they are made for each other).  If the bones that allow blood vessels and nerves to pass through them grow too much, then blood and nerves are pressed on.  Healthy muscles, tendons, and periosteum (the tissue covering bone) affects the underlying bone greatly.

So, cut back on calcium (from dairy, supplements, fortified milks, energy bars, and protein supplements)to about 700 mg a day.  Add magnesium from natural sources (such as halibut, green vegetables, and small amounts of nuts) as well as a chelated supplement (magnesium malate is great).  Stay hydrated, keep all of the muscles in shape and loose especially around the spine. Get some sun, not just for vitamin D, but to crenate old red blood cells that accumulate in the tissues(bilirubin).  Keep protein and some good fat in the diet, as this promotes healthy hormone levels.  Add loads to the bone with running, weight lifting, etc. as bone responds to loads by building denser, thicker bone.

Anemia

Anemia is known to be caused by three situations.   First is the loss of blood through either a major accidents, or from continual bleeding, such as nosebleed, ulcers, or polyps in the intestines.  The second situation is when inadequate amounts of red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow.  This is commonly caused by vitamin deficiency.  The third is hemolytic anemia, which is when red blood cells are destroyed quicker than they can be created.

Chronic bleeding is one type of anemia that is greatly influenced by capillary density.  Tissues that should be intact is thin and easily ruptured when there is inadequate blood flow.  By staying better hydrated and working on creating a stronger cardio-vascular system, tissues can get stronger, essentially eliminating this type of blood loss.

When inadequate amounts of red blood cells are produced, it is usually as a result of vitamin and mineral deficiency.  Certainly the poor diet that is usually consumed today won’t provide all of the nutrients, but more important is getting those nutrients absorbed though a healthy digestive tract, and then carrying those nutrients though a healthy vascular system though the capillaries in the bone to the marrow.  Even with genetic disorders such as thalassemias and sickle-cell anemia, a healthier diet and exercise are important to allow the body to stay as healthy as possible despite the disease.  This means that instead of having 97 octane blood, you may be at 85, so you want to keep the engine and pipes clean for maximum power.  Having a double pumper holley under the hood creates more power than higher octane anyways.  The body does a great job of regulating itself if given the chance.

Hemolytic anemia is less common, but usually associated with an auto-immune condition.  Auto-immune conditions find great relief with adoption of the Flow Diet, creating less inflammation in the body, leading to less destruction of the red blood cells as balance returns to the body.

So, again, work on overall vascular health, especially the muscles of the legs and hips, which cover the bones where the most marrow is contained.  Pick up iron bi-glycinate, a chelated iron supplement that is absorbed and transported more easily, instead of being stored in the tissues.  A big cause of  sluggish digestive tract motility.

Leukemia

In medical circles, the cause for Leukemia is not know.  Heart disease and vascular disease account for Leukemia too, and here is how:  The normal development and progression of the stem cells in the bone marrow depends on adequate blood flow to bring nutrients and remove toxins.  As blood flow is impeded from a modern poor diet and lack of exercise, the chromosomes in the cells are given a chance to mutate and cause unimpeded growth.  The resulting anemia, combined with possible vascular disease in other areas of the body, causes weakness, fatigue, paleness, enlarged liver and spleen.  What we know about leukemia, like most diseases, is not what I am debating, it is the unknown cause that no medical circle seems to be searching for.