Words like surgeons, bypass surgeries, angioplasty, etc. tend to make even a healthy person anxious. Most of the patients who visit me for the first time often have preconceived notions like I’ll be suggesting some serious lifestyle changes. They assume they’ll never have the pleasure of eating delicious spicy food, or even that their heart has become a ticking bomb which can explode any time.
Hence, as a doctor, I try my best to manoeuvre from such heavy anxiety-triggering words and explain solutions to heart problems in a friendly and straightforward way to make it more like a conversation and less like medical consultation.
My first role is to eliminate this anxiety from their minds. For which, I share some generalized facts and figures showing how common and curable heart problems are. My other role is to create a hopeful mindset within them. I believe that the first step in treating any heart disorder is to generate the will power to fight and conquer that disorder.
Here’s the first fact I share with all my patients: the primary cause of coronary heart diseases is ageing, something which you cannot control. As we age, our arteries consequently become harder, leading to fat depositions. Hence, a true treatment option would not be focused on how it can be cured, but on how this process of artery hardening can be stopped for preserving the heart. This is the real goal of a ‘
Preventive Treatment’.
Hence, when a patient with severe artery blockages approaches us for treatment, we provide a range of non-invasive options which focus on curing the condition as well as ensuring that it doesn’t reoccur in the future.
Primary Causes Of Coronary Heart Diseases:
Free Radicals:
Free radicals that are consistently produced as a by-product during our metabolism process are mainly responsible for such blockages. These free radicals are usually excreted from the body via sweating, peeing or pooping. However, due to the overuse of specific organs and tissues, when they aren’t controlled or expelled appropriately, they increase within the body and give rise to a condition known as ‘Disturbed Metabolism’.
Diabetes and High Blood Pressure:
Next primary causes of artery blockages are uncontrolled diabetes and blood pressure. Almost all patients with these two conditions that cause metabolic disorders are sure to have some blockages. And consequently, there are a variety of by-products that increase in are body due to metabolic disorders. These by-products lead to symptoms such as:
• Skin darkening
• Hair fall and bald patches
• Joint stiffness and pain
• Fibromyalgia – a condition due to which one experiences severe body pain while bending or standing up
• diabetes and high blood pressure
• Either drastic weight loss or gain even with proper diet
• And these metabolic disorders can easily be controlled by following a
strict exercise and diet routine prescribed by your doctor.
Pollution:
Pollution was considered to be the least important cause of heart problems in the old days. However, with the growing use of polluting elements and machinery, it is now considered to be the second most important cause of heart problems. The water we drink has become more impure than ever due to the addition of chemical purifiers. Our food is contaminated with the overuse of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Air pollution, as we all know, is rising exponentially and is causing various adverse effects on our body which we are often unaware of.
Mental Stress:
We are also aware of the fact that the expected lifespan in India has reduced dramatically. If you observe, most of the diet still consists of the similar foods that our grandparents used to eat and live much longer and healthier lives. If so, then what could be the reason for this degrading effect?
Here’s a recent example to answer that question: A young patient who suffered from a brain stroke visited me. I observed that he was under tremendous stress and his wife and three daughters depended on him, and he couldn’t bear the thought of the problems his condition could cause in all their lives. His wife was more stressed out about her husband’s wellbeing and their future. This, in turn, will put their kids under stress and worry for their parents. The answer is mental stress.
Parents often think that timely feeding their kids with nutritious food and providing everything they need is enough to keep them healthy. But I believe, a real parent is one who also understands how their stress and problems affect their kids and hence strive to keep themselves healthy.
Effects Of Vitamin Deficiencies On The Heart:
We are well aware of the fact that conditions like diabetes, free radicals, tobacco, etc. can cause artery blockages. What we haven’t discussed yet is the fact that lack of minerals, vitamins and other essential nutrients in one’s diet can also lead to coronary heart diseases. Hence, in our treatment practice, we often prescribe micronutrients of vitamins and minerals to our patients to improve their muscle strength and their heart’s pumping capacity. This technique works even on patients with 15 -20% pumping capacity.
Importance of Vitamins:
Water-Soluble Vitamins:
Now, let’s discuss vitamins. Vitamin B and Vitamin K are water-soluble vitamins.
Vitamin B and its types like Vitamin B12 are considered to be a nervine tonic that reacts on our nerves and muscles. Hence, deficiency of Vitamin B often leads to nerve-related problems and muscle weakness, which ultimately weakens your heart.
Vitamin K is also a highly essential vitamin whose deficiency can lead to terminal causes like cancer. It is responsible for healing damaged and dead tissues everywhere in the body. When the arteries harden, their inner surface is subjected to severe friction which causes wounds and swelling. Consuming enough vitamin K, either through a healthy diet or medications, helps in healing these arteries and improving their functionality. And you can find this nutrient in the cheapest food item, i.e., lemon juice.
Fat-Soluble Vitamins:
Vitamin A, E, and D are the essential fat-soluble vitamins. Of which, vitamin D and E are more important for heart patients
Around 98% of Indians are deficient in vitamin D today. It is primarily produced in the body when exposed to sunlight. Hence, walking out in the sun between 10 am and 3 pm for 10-15 minutes can help you develop enough vitamin D. You can also consume vitamin D through tablets and tonics.
Vitamin E is responsible for boosting cell-reproduction and replacing dead cell tissues in the body. Hence, it is as essential for heart patients as vitamin K.
Effects of Fat and Cholesterol Levels On The Heart:
When it comes to understanding fat and cholesterol, we tend to predetermine them as the enemy of our body and something to be avoided at all costs. This is a false notion, and you need to better understand at least the fundamental importance of body fat and cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a lipid molecule (insoluble in water) which every animal body needs to produce healthy cells. It is divided into two types, i.e. good cholesterol and bad cholesterol
Body fat also exists in two types as ‘good fat’ and ‘bad fat’. Fatty acids like Omega-3 are good fats that are essential for the body. Omega-6 on the other hand, are bad fats that form the blockages in the arteries.
And the food item that is most scrutinized due to fat content is edible oil. But here’s what you need to know: Any type of vegetable oil is completely harmless when consumed raw. Edible oil in its natural form contains good fat which turns into bad fat only when it is heated, overexposed light or air.
Hence, while preparing food, try and use less oil and avoid deep fry recipes altogether. Consume more foods that are rich in good fats like omega-3, monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats.
The most prominent foods which contain a high amount of good lipids like good fats and good cholesterol are:
• Flex seeds (javas)
• Mustard oil (sarso ka tel)
• Nuts like groundnuts, walnuts, almonds, etc.
And I strongly suggest staying away from dairy products, including milk. The milk available today isn’t up to its ideal standards, and several other foods provide calcium.
EDTA Chelation Therapy:
We provide an IV line based non-invasive
EDTA Chelation therapy.
It this therapy, specific chemicals are induced in the body via an IV line.
These chemicals reach the arteries and react with the free radical ions blocking them. At the end of this chemical reaction, these ions are detached from the arteries and excreted from the body. Unclogging the arteries improves blood flow through the heart and thus solves any coronary heart-related symptoms.
However, to sustain the results of this chelation therapy for the rest of your life, it is vital to follow some guidelines, such as:
• Prefer more vegetarian food in your diet
• Have sufficient intake of micronutrients
• Always keep you BP and sugar in check
• Make exercise a fixed part of your routine for at least 45 minutes every day as it boosts the production of HDL cholesterol which is essential for our body.
• Avoid smoking, drinking or consuming any kind of tobacco-based drugs.
Also, here are some of the essential foods that act as natural chelators and remove free radicals from your body, performing the natural chelation process. Hence, you must include these following foods in your diet to avoid heart problems:
• Bottle gourd juice
• Corriander leaves
• Holy Basil leaves
• Mint leaves
• Coriander seeds and cumin seeds (boiled in water)
• Cinnamon powder
• Lemon and honey (diluted in water)
• Turmeric powder
• Foods rich in vitamin K
I meet a lot of heart patients who over-think and over-care about their condition leading to unwanted anxiety and worsening of their problem. I want my patients to understand that these heart problems are curable via several methodologies. Hence, my final statement to all my patients is to stay relaxed, let go of the greed for more and serve the needy, as these actions are a spiritual medicine for preserving your healthy heart.
