Medical Myths About Cardiovascular Disease
September marks the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall. The changing of the season and kids going back to school for many. These days for me are spent continuing my crusade of nitric oxide education and awareness. Each year I tell myself I will slow down, not commit to so many conferences or events and take more time for myself. However, each year I find myself doing more, traveling more and committing to many more lectures. That leaves people always asking me, when are you going to slow down. Everyone tells me I don’t know how you do it and how you’ve been doing it for so long and with so much energy and enthusiasm.
The truth is that I feel I do not have an alternative. I have a responsibility and an obligation. I see cardiovascular disease continuing to be the number one killer of men and women worldwide. I am starting to see kids die on the athletic field. Young people are having heart attacks, strokes and blood clots. Yet, some of the best trained and experienced doctors do not seem to have the tools, knowledge or proper therapies to help them or to predict the events. Having spent more than 20 years in Academia, teaching, researching and discovering the root cause of cardiovascular disease, it is my job to change the course of history or at least help provide scientific evidence and the basis for overcoming the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease.
Myth 1: Cholesterol Causes Heart Disease
My first question is always why. Why are doctors not able to predict, treat, prevent, cure or reverse cardiovascular disease when the science is very clear? Why is the answer lost in translation from science to clinical care? It is because old myths or ways of thinking are taught and perpetuated throughout medicine. Data from the Sevens Country Study by Ancel Keys in the 1950’s which we know today was contrived and the data misinterpreted, suggested that consumption of saturated fats and an elevation in cholesterol caused heart disease. Therefore, the target for treatment became diet low in red meat and drug therapy designed to lower cholesterol. Yet today, the incidence of cardiovascular disease is still the number one killer despite more than 35 years of treatment with cholesterol lowering medication and a government recommended food pyramid that suggested low or no red meat consumption. We know cholesterol does not cause cardiovascular disease so of course treating cholesterol will have no effect on the onset and progression or treatment and reversal of cardiovascular disease. That is the myth that has been busted over the years, yet doctors keep trying to treat cholesterol.
Myth 2: Cardiovascular Disease Is Purely Genetic
The other myth is that cardiovascular disease is genetic. Many people comment that since my family has a history of heart disease, it is just part of my genes. That is not true either. Yes, there are some genes that are associated with increased risk of heart disease, but association is not causation. In my recent interview with Dr. Lou Ignarro, 1998 Nobel Prize Winner for the discovery of nitric oxide, Dr. Ignarro claimed that only about 10% of heart attacks can be explained by a genetic component.
Therefore, 90% remains completely avoidable. Genes are your body’s blueprint, but they do not predict whether the protein from that gene is expressed or functional.
The True Solution: Restoring Nitric Oxide
Loss of nitric oxide is what is responsible for the onset and progression of cardiovascular disease so we must focus on this single molecule if we want to prevent cardiovascular disease and change the course of history. My goal is to educate and inform people all around the world, both health care practitioners and the public, on the science of nitric oxide. I lecture at medical events, biohacking events where both physicians and lay people attend, investor conferences to prevent money being deployed on therapies that cannot work, dental conferences, Chamber of Commerce meeting, grand rounds at hospitals, nutritional conferences, chiropractic conferences or whoever invites me. All the basic science data and clinical data reveal that nitric oxide is the cause and the solution to cardiovascular disease. When you lose the ability to produce it, you get disease. When you take steps to restore its natural production or get a source of nitric oxide, you can prevent it, treat it, cure it and even reverse it.
When you eliminate things that disrupt natural nitric oxide production, it has an impact on cardiovascular disease. Eliminate fluoride toothpaste, antiseptic mouthwash, antacids and foods that cause an increase in blood sugar, and this will help your body produce nitric oxide. Once you eliminate the things that disrupt or inhibit natural nitric oxide production, now you can do the things that we know can improve your body’s production. This includes physical exercise, nasal breathing, sunlight exposure, eating a balanced diet in moderation that includes nitrate enriched vegetables along with intermittent fasting and caloric restriction. This last paragraph is the most important lesson you can implement immediately.
Myth 3: Beet Products Provide Nitric Oxide
However, there is another myth you must beware of. That myth is that beets are nitric oxide. Many supplement companies are trying to sell you beets and claim they will help with nitric oxide. These marketing companies do not understand the science of nitric oxide or what it takes to improve your body’s ability to produce it. Furthermore, putting any ingredient, including beets in a gummy or a chew, cannot and will not provide any nitric oxide effect. Whereas my objective for years was to educate, inform and bring awareness to nitric oxide, I now find myself trying to correct the record on the misinformation around nitric oxide. Educating is hard enough but trying to undo all the misinformation appears to be even more difficult especially when companies are spending tens of millions of dollars on TV and radio advertising perpetuating this beet myth. In fact, I would actually recommend you avoid beets and beet products since most provide no real nitric oxide benefit, and beets contain high sugar and oxalates.
Taking Control of Your Heart Health
Please share this blog with your friends and family so these myths eventually work themselves out of society but more importantly, people can take control of their own health and become empowered on their own to make the proper changes in their life to improve their health. I have followed this advice and routine for decades now and in a recent cardio check up with imaging, I have zero plaque in any of my coronary arteries, my blood pressure is perfect, I am physically active and my mind is sharper than ever with normal cholesterol and perfect labs. And I eat meat at every meal. I think it is time to revise recommendations for optimal health. The goal of medicine should be the elimination of medicine. That is my goal.
You can find my nitric oxide products at www.n1o1.com. Use coupon code NSB10 for a discount.
About Dr. Nathan S. Bryan
Dr. Nathan S. Bryan is a biochemist and physiologist that has more than 25 years of basic science and clinical research. His many seminal discoveries have resulted in dozens of issued U.S. and International patents. He is an international expert in nitric oxide and molecular medicine. Dr. Bryan is an innovator and successful entrepreneur whose product technology is based on his discoveries to restore nitric oxide production and signaling. This content is not intended to replace medical advice from a physician.
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