‘No one needs (or is destined) to have high blood pressure, diabetes, or any of the major cardiovascular illnesses, even cancer.’
IN this era of health consciousness, people, in general, are seeking ways to live healthier and maximize longevity through prevention. This was one of the reasons why I wrote the book Let’s Stop Killing Our Children, a primer on healthy lifestyle and disease prevention at the cellular (DNA-telomere) level pre-emptively and proactively to protect damages to our DNA and severely minimize the risk for the development of hypertension, diabetes T2, heart attack, stroke, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer (Central Books).
Our society seems to have surrendered and accepted the development of these diseases as natural, a matter of course, and normally expected as humans grow midlife and older. There is nothing further from the scientific truth.
No one needs (or is destined) to have high blood pressure, diabetes, or any of the major cardiovascular illnesses, even cancer. These are preventable to a great extent. Lifestyle plays a great role in what happens to our bodies and our lives. The strategy includes diet, exercise, and staying away from toxins and poisons, and anything harmful to our body. Our goal is maximal health and longevity. As long as we can feed, shower, and help ourselves, the older we get, even to 100 or beyond, is a more wonderful blessing.
Self-inflicted
Some people seem to have programmed their minds and beings to self-destruct. Many of us, including the most educated ones, often disregard well-publicized evidence-based medical guides for a healthy lifestyle. Although we know that a certain habit, practice or behavior is unhealthy, we still do it. Examples of these involve three major culprits: food, alcohol, and tobacco (FAT).
Scientific articles abound about the hazards of smoking, where zero tolerance is the rule, including vaping (e-cigarettes), which have been found to be as dangerous as regular cigarettes. Even the tobacco industry, indicted by the United States government, finally admitted that cigarettes were harmful to health and could cause various types of cancer, and yet many continue to smoke or vape.
Alcohol use is another: While it was medically recommended in the past that it was safe for non-pregnant women to have one drink a day, and men to have two drinks a day, new medical studies reveal that there is really no safe level of alcohol. Ethyl alcohol (the ingredient in our cocktails) is still an alcohol, which is toxic to our liver.
Occasionally, I love to have Beefeaters Martini during lunch and Pinot Noir with my dinner especially during my younger years, but my burning GE reflux now punishes me when I indulge even in one drink. Perhaps, my liver and I should thank my acid-reflux for my abstinence today.
Diet is vital
The dozen or so types of diets are confusing. To simplify, two factors are important: quality and quantity. Low carbohydrates (especially in rice), high plant-based food items, low fat, high protein diet with at least eight glasses of filtered water daily is the easiest rule to remember. Personally, I prefer a modified Mediterranean diet, eliminating items with high gluten and lectins. Daily physical exercise is a natural and a vital part of this regimen. Just observe our animal friends and see how active they are, always on the move. That’s nature teaching us something.
So, let’s stop self-inflicting harm to our body, and get out of that self-destruct (almost suicidal) mode most of us, if not all, appear to have programmed our mindset to. Let’s be healthy and enjoy life.
Harmful substances
Studies have revealed that lectin (different from lecithin, which is good for health), a protein discovered in 1888, is found in almost all food items which could cause damage to our cells and a cascade of inflammation and auto-immune reaction. It is also anti-nutrient, undigested by our body. Some people are so intolerant of lectin that they develop weight gain, leaky guts and other illnesses.
Many foods contain lectin, whose harmful substance is greatly reduced by cooking, sprouting, and fermenting. Nonetheless, it is best to minimize our intake of lectin and gluten. The following are some of the food items which have high lectin levels: all soy and wheat products (most breads), most cooking oil, all varieties of rice, quinoa, barley, rye, grains, oats, dairy products, foods with gluten, and the so-called nightshade foods, like tomatoes, beans, peas, squash, lentils, eggplants, sweet and hot peppers, potatoes, peanuts, cashews. Meats and seafood also contain lectin. Those with low lectin level are all vegetables not on the list above, dark chocolates, almonds, walnuts, macadamia, extra virgin oil, tea/coffee (without cream and sugar), and stevia, the only sugar substitute on the list. Again, cooking reduces lectin to a safer level. The lower, the better.
Those who continue to smoke tobacco (including e-cigarettes), which are toxic to the body, and can cause a host of illnesses, especially cancer, or those who imbibe excess alcohol, which is literally toxic to the liver, no matter how little (new studies show there is no safe level for alcohol intake), are virtually committing slow suicide. While a bit exaggerated, this is nonetheless a medical truism.
Together with daily exercise (low-impact brisk walking is in, and joint-busting jogging is medically discouraged), diet is vital to our health and longevity. We are indeed what we eat. Both physical exercise and proper diet significantly reduce our risk for the development of all major diseases, including Alzheimer’s and cancer.
Dr. Google on-call
If unsure or in need of information about anything, we have Dr. Google (available 24/7) at our fingertips, free of charge. In my case, I don’t need Google, because my wife knows everything, as printed on my T-shirt from Cancun, Mexico, a gift from my eldest daughter, Sheillah.
In all seriousness, though, our state of health and longevity are greatly in our hands, within our control to a significant extent. Disciplining our mind (and mindset), harnessing and utilizing all the information about healthy lifestyle and disease prevention readily available and accessible today, plus regular meditation and daily prayers, are the fundamental ingredients of the recipe for a healthier, happier, more productive, and maximal longevity. Life is wonderful. Let’s have more of it.
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Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a cardiac surgeon emeritus based in Northwest Indiana and Las Vegas, Nevada, is an international medical lecturer/author, health advocate, medical missionary, newspaper columnist, and chairman of the Filipino United Network-USA, a 501(c)3 humanitarian foundation in the United States. He is a decorated recipient of the Indiana Sagamore of the Wabash Award in 1995, presented by then Indiana Governor, US senator, and later presidential candidate Evan Bayh. Other Sagamore past awardees include President Harry S. Truman, President George HW Bush, Muhammad Ali, Astronaut Gus Grissom, scientists, and educators. (Source: Wikipedia). Websites: www.Today.SPSAtoday.com, www.feuMedAlumni.org, Amazon.com: Where is My America? Email: scalpelpen@gmail.com
