Heart Disease In Men: Warning Signs & Simple, Life-Saving Changes

Transcript:

KARA: Welcome to Dishing Up Nutrition. Today's podcast is brought to you by Nutritional Weight & Wellness. I'm Kara Carper, a Licensed Nutritionist and Board-Certified Nutrition Specialist. I'm pleased to be here today with Melanie Beasley, a Registered and Licensed Dietitian.

February is American Heart Month, which is a time to raise awareness of heart disease and also give tips for prevention. You know, heart disease is the number one cause of death for both women and men in the United States.

MELANIE: Yeah, the statistics are alarming, really, when it comes to heart disease. But we're here today to give you and your loved ones nutritional and lifestyle solutions. And our topic today is specifically geared towards men and heart disease. Hopefully we've had some of our regular male listeners tuning in. So please take a moment, share this podcast if you have a male in your life who would benefit from hearing this information. Which really is everyone.

KARA: It really is. Yeah. So we encourage you to pass this on when you're done listening. The Centers for Disease Control reported that 50 percent of our population is actually at risk of heart disease. And there are multiple risk factors. We'll go over all of those. It's hard to wrap my head around this number, but the CDC also says one person dies every 34 seconds from cardiovascular disease. Essentially two people, two people die every minute from heart disease. And I find that just astounding.

MELANIE: Two people every minute. So in our show today, we want to be discussing the most common type of heart disease, Kara. I want to talk about the average age that men experience cardiac incidents versus women because we do hear a lot about women. So I love that we're focusing on our male population today.

KARA: I do as well. And we're going to go over the risk factors for men. Many risk factors are the same for women, but there are going to be some differences as well.

MELANIE: Yeah, and because we host a nutrition podcast, you can expect that much of our show will cover which foods will support your heart and cardiovascular system. This is something you have control over.

KARA: Lastly, there are many misunderstandings in the health and nutrition community when it comes to heart health. You may even know what I'm talking about, right? Here's an example. Am I supposed to eat butter or margarine because my cholesterol is high or perhaps if I had a heart attack, should I stop eating eggs and red meat?

MELANIE: And you know, Kara, you and I are going to answer a lot of those questions today. I just had a client today and she knows the information, but that echoing noise about cholesterol and heart disease. She just said, well, just to make sure, am I eating too much butter? So I'm excited that we're going to be talking about that.

KARA: I am too, because there's a lot of confusion around that topic. When you hear the term heart disease, what comes to your mind? It can be confusing because there are a lot of terms.

Types of heart disease & information surrounding it

MELANIE: Yup. Yup. And heart disease is a broad term. Problems with the heart can be categorized into three areas. Either the heart's valves, the heart's electrical system, or the heart muscle itself.

KARA: And, you know, when it comes to deaths occurring from heart disease, the most common cause is called coronary heart disease. And that accounts for almost 50 percent of the deaths occurring from heart disease in general. Coronary heart disease, it's the most common for both men and women. It's also known as coronary artery disease, and that's because it develops in the arteries that are supplying blood and oxygen to our heart muscle. These arteries can become hardened and narrowed from plaque buildup, and that's when the risk of having a heart attack increases.

MELANIE: Yep. And we know that many of you listening are familiar with the other heart disease terms, such as a stroke, which causes 18 percent of deaths and other issues such as high blood pressure and heart failure. And as we talk more about nutritional solutions, you will learn that risk factors can be lowered for all different types of heart disease by following a real food plan. It's magic.

KARA: Yeah. So what we're going to be talking about today is applicable, you know, whether you have family history of stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease. So please stay tuned. And I didn't know details about the different types of cardiovascular disease until my aunt was diagnosed almost overnight with congestive heart failure three years ago.

MELANIE: Oh my gosh.

KARA: Yep, almost to the day that we're recording here. In fact, I brought her in for the very appointment when she was first diagnosed. Basically, she never ended up going back home. And ended up passing away four months later in hospice care.

MELANIE: That's tragic.

KARA: Yeah, it was very, very difficult for the entire family. And believe me, I learned a lot about heart health as I was assigned her health directive. So I needed to learn everything I could to help make those end of life decisions. So like you said, it really, it's a tragic disease. And a lot of times can be prevented.

MELANIE: Yeah. I love putting the client in the driver's seat. And unfortunately, I have heard other stories similar to the one about your aunt. And it can be devastating, especially when the individual suffering from the heart disease was really unaware of their health status. And also, when family members are caught off guard. That's, it's just, it affects everyone.

Heart disease is not something that pops up quickly. When someone is diagnosed with heart failure or has a stroke or heart attack, most likely the inflammation in the blood vessels have been going on for years or even decades and they just, a lot of times weren't aware.

KARA: And it, it's kind of like when we talk about someone being diagnosed with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes. When your doctor gives you a diagnosis of high blood sugar levels or high glucose and they say, you know, you have prediabetes or your blood sugars have increased to the point of having type two diabetes, you know, that's not something that pops up overnight.

First, the body starts becoming more insulin resistant. That may take a decade or more of being insulin resistant before the actual fasting glucose or A1C starts creeping up. But it's actually been an underlying issue for years. So it's the same thing when it comes to heart disease.

MELANIE: Yeah, it's really common for men to develop heart disease 10 to 15 years earlier than women. And the average age men are most likely to have a heart attack is age 65. And for women, the average age is 72. I know my, my grandfather, who was a doctor, had a heart attack at 65. And then he also didn't leave the hospital.

So although research is showing an increased trend of people younger and younger having heart attacks, you may be wondering, why are men more likely to develop heart disease 10 to 15 years earlier than women? I mean, that's a great question to ask.

Overview of risk factors for heart disease

KARA: That's a significant amount of years, 10 to 15 years earlier than women. So, there are a couple of reasons. First men are at higher risk because of hormones. Now, remember, both men and women have reproductive hormones. We all have estrogen. We all have progesterone, and we all have testosterone. But by nature, men have more testosterone and less estrogen and progesterone compared to women.

Estrogen and progesterone have protective qualities for the blood vessels, which can naturally lower risk of heart disease. And women, of course, naturally are producing more estrogen and progesterone, those reproductive hormones, compared to men, at least up until perimenopause or menopause.

MELANIE: Testosterone also has protective qualities for the blood vessels, but by age 40, testosterone can start declining, which increases the risk of heart disease in men. So low levels of testosterone are associated with a higher risk of coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure, and that's according to the American Heart Association that we pulled that information.

KARA: And while testosterone levels in men start declining at age 40, the average age that women will start having a decline in progesterone and estrogen, it's a little bit later than 40. That average age of menopause for women, it is age 51. So women do have an increased risk of heart disease as they age. But that is one reason that it's occurring about a decade after men start having that higher risk.

MELANIE: Yeah. There really is a lot of discussion and research lately also around erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction is the inability to get or maintain an erection. And while this can be frustrating, it's important to know that erectile dysfunction can be a symptom of other health problems, especially related to vascular health.

KARA: Erectile dysfunction, you may hear that even on commercials or hear someone talking about it as the acronym ED. An erectile dysfunction can be a sign of heart disease because both of those conditions involve a reduction in blood flow. It's really important for men to talk with your doctor about any changes in sexual health, and that's because of this connection between ED and heart disease.

MELANIE: Yeah, so what happens is the inner lining of the blood vessels, which is the endothelium, plays a crucial role in vascular health because it regulates blood flow.

KARA: Exactly. And if there's endothelial dysfunction, this can not only lead to erectile dysfunction, but also high blood pressure, high blood sugar, abnormal cholesterol levels, diabetes, and obesity. Kind of all of those diagnoses that we have under the umbrella, metabolic syndrome.

MELANIE: Yes, and we really, we are so interconnected. Everything is interconnected. So you think one, it's easy to think one thing is not related to the other, but everything is related to the other and hormones play a big role. But the difference in where and how men store body fat compared to women also increases men's risk of heart disease. So this is not across the board, but typically men store most of their body fat around the belly.

KARA: And you might hear about someone being more of an apple shape, and that's what that looks like.

MELANIE: Yeah, and I feel like we're seeing that being the predominant problem with weight gain across the board.

KARA: Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. I would agree. That's also due to hormonal differences. Now, here's a test that men can do at home to help assess risk of heart disease. And it's simply to take a measurement of the belly. So you want to measure the belly about halfway between your lowest rib and your hip bone. This is usually right around the belly button area, but that can vary a little bit from person to person.

MELANIE: According to the Mayo Clinic, a waist measurement of more than 40 inches indicates too much belly fat and a higher risk of multiple health problems, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and a host of other issues.

KARA: So the difference in male hormones compared to female hormones and also where men have a tendency to store body fat, those are two reasons that they tend to be at a higher risk of heart disease 10 to 15 years before women are at risk. And there are other risk factors that are all connected. Being overweight or obese, having high blood pressure or high triglycerides, and having elevated glucose or blood sugar levels all increase risk of heart disease.

MELANIE: And we'll talk more about this when we come back from break. You're listening to Dishing Up Nutrition. Just about everyone is on social media these days, and it has become a prominent resource of information, especially when it comes to health and nutrition. Did you know that we have a Dishing Up Nutrition private Facebook page that you can join? It's a great way to stay apprised of our current topics and discussions. We'll be right back.

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KARA: Welcome back to Dishing Up Nutrition. I'm Kara Carper here with Melanie Beasley. Melanie mentioned before break that we have a Dishing Up Nutrition Facebook page. If you're on Facebook, be sure to do a quick search for Dishing Up Nutrition and select join.

Our administrator will accept your invitation within a day or two, and you'll be able to connect with other like-minded people who are also passionate about nutrition and their health goals.

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Elaborating on elevated blood sugar’s association with cardiovascular disease

MELANIE: And now before we went to break, I wanted to talk about a study that had over a million people followed over 16 years. And so the conclusion was that people who had a fasting glucose, which is your blood sugar, of over 90 milligrams per deciliter or higher were associated with higher risk of major cardiovascular outcomes. This was compared to the group who had a fasting blood sugar under 90 milligrams per deciliter. The biggest increased risk was of having a stroke in this study. So, blood sugar matters.

KARA: Blood sugar is huge, and an important test that everyone should have is, first of all, fasting glucose. And that's very simple. You just have to abstain from eating for about 12 hours. It's a quick blood draw at your doctor's office. Other locations are also offering blood draws as well. You know, I was researching this, and you can go, I believe, directly to LabCorp or Quest.

MELANIE: Any Lab Test Now is another one.

KARA: Any lab? Oh, yeah. Another great one. Thank you.

MELANIE: An optimal range for fasting blood glucose, if you have it done, is between 70 and 90. But based on the study we referenced, as well as many other scientific resources, lower is better. We don't want glucose to get too low, but anything in the 70 90 range will keep men at a lower risk of heart disease.

KARA: Recently, I was reading some research about fasting glucose numbers related to cardiovascular health and Melanie, you know, I shared this with you before the show. It was an example of a patient from a renowned heart surgeon; was really interesting.

MELANIE: Yes. I mean, I'm, we're such nutrition nerds. So this stuff fascinates us. This was so fascinating, but as a registered dietitian, not surprising because I've seen this in clinic for over the past 30 years is the heart surgeon had a patient who weighed close to 400 pounds. His fasting blood glucose was slightly elevated at 104 and this would be considered prediabetic.

That doesn't sound too scary, but to most physicians, this wouldn't really be that alarming. In fact, my clients tell me that when their doctors test blood levels and they say 95 or 100 or 110, their doctors say, well, let's just keep an eye on this.

KARA: You know, and that reminds me of my aunt too, the one I shared that passed from congestive heart failure three years ago; she had just been diagnosed with prediabetes the year prior.

And I remember she consulted me as her niece, but also being a licensed nutritionist. And I was concerned. She had elevated blood sugar levels, but she said, you know, the doctor and the hospital dietician just said, let's keep an eye on it.

MELANIE: Yeah. And that is, that's the problem really.

KARA: It absolutely is, you know, slightly elevated blood sugar levels that are festering and increasing for decades, they're a huge risk and an indicator of heart disease.

MELANIE: Yes.

Fasting insulin: predictor of risk of heart disease & diabetes

KARA: So we're going to talk about a more accurate test. It's still important to get that fasting glucose, but fasting insulin should always be tested, especially if you are struggling with weight, maybe you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol or family history of heart disease.

MELANIE: So this patient we mentioned had his fasting insulin tested. It was 108. Keep in mind, a healthy fasting insulin level is 5. Five. So his 20, this was 20 times the normal range, which put him at extreme risk of diabetes and heart disease. So that's, it tells more of the story.

KARA: And listeners, your doctor or practitioner may not offer up a fasting insulin test. Usually you do have to ask, but please do ask for this lab. It shouldn't cost much. It really could save your life in the long run to know your fasting insulin level. And just remember five or less is considered healthy and normal.

MELANIE: An insulin test is a better predictor of risk of heart disease and diabetes.

Nutrition tips to reduce heart disease risk

And if you have any of the risk factors we've been talking about, elevated blood sugar levels or insulin levels, waist size that's close to 40 inches or more, or maybe you're concerned about the heart disease because of a family history, there are simple steps you can take with your nutrition choices to lower your risk.

KARA: And Mel, I always think of you, you know, you're so skilled at teaching your clients how to switch to eat real food meals. If, especially if they've been relying on quick processed foods. So could you start us off on this nutrition journey and give some of your go to tips?

MELANIE: Well, you've probably all heard the advice to shop the perimeter of the grocery store, but that's really not a wise statement anymore. The grocery stores have gotten wise to putting things in the perimeter. So most of your real proteins, like meat, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, dairy products, you know, the refrigeration are on the perimeter of the local store. So again, I'm going to say it, if you can't name the plant you pluck it from or the mother it came from, it's not real food. Step away.

KARA: Yeah, I love that. That's a really good reminder. Now I'm picturing my head when I go to the grocery store. And, you know, a lot of the foods you just talked about, the proteins, the produce, will be on the outside rim. A heart healthy grocery list, really, you know, you can also add in some frozen protein, just please avoid the breaded, avoid things that have oils in them, but like a nice piece of wild caught salmon in the freezer. That is considered real food.

MELANIE: Yep. You're not going to find in nature, a chicken running around with bread coating and seed oils all over his flesh. So avoid it.

KARA: I cannot picture that. That's true. So yeah, stick to the clean protein, clean meat, chicken, fish, eggs, whole milk, and plain dairy products if you can tolerate dairy.

MELANIE: Yep. And I'm going to say, last time I was at the grocery store, I found that they were sneaking protein drinks in the refrigerator section of the perimeter. If it says a protein drink, I have not found one I would recommend that isn't full of things that are harmful. So a protein drink is not chicken, fish, beef, turkey, bison, eggs.

So lots of vegetables and fruit, preferably organic, fresh and frozen are both good choices. And one of the best ways to lower blood sugar levels and reduce dangerous belly fat is to focus on eating vegetables at every meal. We love that fruit. We love that fruit because of the natural sugar.

But focus on the vegetables. If this sounds challenging, you can start with eating vegetables at lunch and dinner. Ideally, even breakfast will have vegetables and don't let this be daunting. If you order an omelet, there's usually vegetables in there and no one died. So I like to sauté spinach with my eggs. What do you do for vegetables at breakfast?

KARA: Yeah. Great question. I actually do the same thing when I'm having eggs as you, sometimes I'll sauté green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and a little spinach. Delish. Otherwise, I will switch that up and have a protein shake. Not to be confused with the kind Melanie talked about, you know, avoid the ones at the grocery store that are pre made.

We have some great recipes on our website, weightandwellness.com for protein shakes. You know, you just start with a liquid, maybe water or some unsweetened almond milk. I like to do half of an avocado. I will put in a cup of frozen riced cauliflower.

MELANIE: Here's where I double dog dare you; try some riced cauliflower, like Kara. It tastes like, it's like ice cubes. You don't even taste it.

KARA: There's zero flavor. Now, a second test would be, can you add a little green in there? Maybe some kale, some spinach, maybe that's part two of your vegetable journey with the smoothie.

MELANIE: And I find that kale and spinach have literally no flavor, but they're adding some great great bioflavonoids and antioxidants and your powerhouse cruciferous vegetables in there. So it's a win win. You know, you walk away with breakfast feeling a little righteous, you know, because you had those vegetables.

So you might be asking us, okay, why are you pushing vegetables at breakfast? They love us a little bit less after that conversation, but there's a reason there's a why behind this is that vegetables have their inflammation fighters. Cardiovascular disease is an inflammation condition. So we're trying to not only remove what harms your cardiovascular health, but also introduce what fights for you for cardiovascular health. And when you are incorporating vegetables, you're fighting inflammation. Because if the vessels are inflamed, that's what causes cardiovascular disease.

KARA: Yeah, and that plaque buildup, so many people hear the term plaque buildup, that really starts with inflammation in the blood vessels and the arteries. Right? And so we can reduce inflammation with what we're putting in our mouths.

MELANIE: So if you don't want to plow through a salad at breakfast, incorporate this smoothie idea that we're telling you. It's an easy way to hide it. And sometimes when I'm just, a lazy girl. I make a smoothie. I might want to eat my protein and not use a protein powder. There's some great ones out there, but I like to chew my protein. Anyway, I will make a smoothie, and this is what I do, is I will freeze, all summer I freeze leafy greens; wash leafy greens in silicone Ziploc bags.

I break off a handful of leafy greens. I put three or four big broccoli florets in there. A lot of times it's frozen. It might be riced cauliflower. I splash two tablespoons of organic lemon juice in there and sweeten it with stevia. Always drink it with a glass straw because a glass straw makes everything taste better.

It's delicious. Oh, and I cube cucumbers and freeze them, the seedless cucumbers. It's very fresh. It is so good. The cucumbers and the lemon juice and the stevia. Make it with some leafy greens.

KARA: I love that. So just to clarify, this is all going, you're blending this all up and then maybe, separately, you're having like some chicken breast.

MELANIE: Yeah, or I might do turkey, chicken sausages and eggs or, you know, if you can do dairy, which I can't, you could do cottage cheese and a half cup of blueberries on there and then just drink your vegetables.

KARA: Great. I love that idea. You don't have to necessarily have everything going in the blender. Just the vegetables and a liquid.

MELANIE: And a little stevia, lemon juice, and cucumbers to brighten it. So it doesn't taste like you're drinking earth.

KARA: I'm going to try that. Thanks for that tip. So I want to circle back to carbohydrates. We have established that vegetables are key, right? We've talked a lot about non-starchy vegetables. At our house, we also enjoy some of the starchier grains and vegetables, things like red potatoes, sweet potatoes, wild rice, and brown rice. But because those are starchier, in general, potatoes and grains by nature are higher starch, more concentrated carbohydrates, so they will spike blood sugar more quickly. So you need to pay attention to portions. Half to three quarters of a cup is plenty when it comes to starchy vegetable.

MELANIE: Yeah, our bodies really were not designed to handle a load of starchy carbohydrates at one time. And, if you go to a Noodles & Company and order something with one cup of cooked noodles, that's like 45 grams of carbohydrates, which converts to 11 teaspoons of sugar that's dumped into your bloodstream.

That's how the body perceives it. So most restaurants servings of pasta are more than one cup. If you got one cup of pasta, you'd probably be angry because we're so used to a platter. And a serving of spaghetti with meat sauce at the Olive Garden has 90 grams of carbohydrates. So if you divide 90 by four, that's over 22 teaspoons of sugar. And don't get me started on the unlimited pasta bowl.

KARA: Oh, do they have unlimited?

MELANIE: Well, they used to. I haven't gone in so many years, but I mean, you can do some damage with all those carbohydrates. So that is an inflammatory condition of spiking your blood sugar. It creates that inflammation we were talking about.

KARA: Our bodies, like you said, they're not meant to be bombarded with over 22 teaspoons of sugar in the bloodstream, especially in one sitting. Many people do not know that a true serving of pasta is a half cup and that's cooked. And I know Melanie, you've said before that that just makes people angry. And I know you're someone that would choose to not have any pasta versus a half cup of cooked.

MELANIE: There is no pasta bush. I'm a strict, I'm a strict nugget. I admit it, but you know, just try it. Try eliminating some of these processed carbohydrates for a while.

KARA: And there's good substitutions as well. Everybody's heard about spaghetti squash.

MELANIE: Or zucchini. If you just take a zucchini and a good peeler, peel it down to where it's just a bunch of ribbons and you barely toss that in some warm olive oil with a little garlic. That's a great way to get vegetables in and something to top your spaghetti and meatballs.

KARA: Yeah, actually, I've really started to enjoy zoodles, I guess; spiralized zucchini.

MELANIE: I don't like the ones that are already zoodled.

KARA: Have you ever zoodled your own?

MELANIE: Yes.

KARA: Okay.

MELANIE: But I, when you buy them frozen, wah, wah.

KARA: I agree. I agree. Fresh is so much better because then you have a little bit of al dente kind of crisp. So, you know, in general, to reduce abdominal belly fat, that visceral fat that makes you at higher risk of cardiovascular disease as well as things like diabetes, if you want to lower blood sugar levels and reduce risk of heart disease, fill that plate with high quality protein, five to six ounces with each meal.

Liberally eat those non-starchy vegetables. You know, an example might be a steak salad for lunch or for dinner perhaps you like roasted cauliflower and broccoli, and then you have that with some chicken and olive oil and some herbs. We have a ton of great recipes on our website, weightandwellness.com, and you can look up other vegetable dishes there.

We've got some great soups and stews. You know, I had a client a couple of years ago came to me with erectile dysfunction and he was 22. Processed food is primarily what his diet was; fast food and processed food. So, we put him on a low inflammation diet. So, we'd remove the processed food, the sugar, we removed gluten, and it was magic. He started feeling so much better. He started doing well. His erectile dysfunction went away. His body was able to do what it was supposed to be doing at that age.

But I've had a few male clients come to see me for an appointment after also having a heart event and a common scenario is when they have a stent placed in a blocked or partially blocked artery to keep it open and blood and oxygen flowing. These clients are obviously scared and they've often been given a little, very little dietary advice while in the hospital and they're looking for more answers. Well, we, we've got them.

Common dietary advice given in most hospital settings

KARA: We do, but first let's talk about common dietary advice that's given in most hospital settings, not all, but most. So common dietary advice that is often given after someone has a heart attack or a stroke would be to avoid eating red meat, eggs, or other foods that contain cholesterol or saturated fat. You know, maybe they're told to eat low fat or no fat or switch from butter to margarine.

MELANIE: Yeah. And that cholesterol that's creating plaque is not coming from diet. So, that's a misconception is we think if we eat cholesterol, it's going to cause the plaque formation. What causes the plaque formation is the vessels inflamed or damaged, and the body sends out packing material, like a Band Aid, to package up and get rid of that inflammation or put a Band Aid over it. Well, if you get too many Band Aids stacked on each other, what's going to happen to that blood vessel is it gets thinner and thinner and thinner

KARA: Or it's narrowed, right?

MELANIE: Or if it's narrowed and that's, you know, generally from, it's made from cholesterol yes, but that cholesterol is generated from the body. It is not what's coming from the diet. And how do we make our good cholesterol that gets rid of that package? You know, we've got that band aid and what is it that gets rid of it is HDL. How do we make HDL? By eating cholesterol. HDL is what gets rid of the plaque. So cholesterol is not something to be afraid of, even though it's been noise for decades in our head.

KARA: Cholesterol is not the bad guy. And in fact, if I had a day where I ate zero dietary cholesterol, my liver would produce more.

MELANIE: Exactly.

KARA: Because that's how important cholesterol is. You know, that's what produces our hormones.

MELANIE: Yes.

KARA: All of our reproductive hormones.

MELANIE: It protects our brains for memory. And, you know, this has been a misconception that foods containing cholesterol should be avoided to prevent heart disease. And there is no research to back up that claim. There are so many books written, you know, The Cholesterol Myth. There's a ton of books out there you can find that explain this process.

But the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015 were updated to say “There is no longer a limit on eating cholesterol. Because it's not a nutrient of concern for cardiovascular disease.” So, if you love a little bacon, you love a ribeye steak, go for it.

KARA: Another update that was made to those guidelines is they removed the limit on total fat consumption. There used to be a limit of 35 percent of calories or less were supposed to be eaten from dietary fat. But those updated guidelines in 2015 changed to say “Reducing total fat does not lower cardiovascular disease risk.”

The emphasis should be on optimizing type of fat and quality of fats and oils and not reducing total fat. So neither foods with cholesterol or saturated fats are concerns when it comes to cardiovascular disease.

MELANIE: Yes. So if we get a mile high above this and we look at the low fat era when everyone was eating low fat and we started eating canola oil, that was a thing, vegetable oils and canola oils, cardiovascular disease rose in our country. It did not go down.

KARA: It skyrocketed.

MELANIE: Yeah. Our owner, Dar, at Nutritional Weight & Wellness has been spreading this very message for the past 30 to 40 years. It just took a while for the national guidelines to catch up. I mean, she's a wise woman.

KARA: Eat the eggs, the yolks are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, lecithin, choline, magnesium. Those are all heart healthy nutrients and good for the brain.

MELANIE: Good for the brain. I eat on the average probably 12 to 15 eggs a week.

KARA: Same.

MELANIE: I had four eggs for lunch today. So there's no need to avoid foods with fat or cholesterol. The real culprits are the ultra-processed or highly processed foods. Those are the devil. Stay away from those.

Summary

KARA: And we've said this in our show before, but just to summarize and kind of start wrapping this topic up, heart disease stems from inflammation. Yes, inflammation can even occur on the inside of the vessel walls. And so it's really just the processed foods, the foods that are high in sugar, preservatives, additives, and those vegetable oils that are creating this inflammation.

MELANIE: Yep, and I, just to hammer this home, saturated fat is also not an enemy. I want to bring up another study we came across when preparing for the show. The Journal of the American College of Cardiology published a meta-analysis. The research found no beneficial effects of reducing saturated fat intake on cardiovascular disease and death.

In fact, the research instead found protective effects against stroke when the study participants ate foods that had saturated fats. So, mind blown if you're someone that grew up in the decades of low fat eating. So I want to say that when the study participants ate foods that were high in saturated fats, they not only didn't have cardiovascular disease, but there were benefits.

KARA: Protective against stroke. So interesting. So Melanie, I don't know if you remember over 10 years ago when Time Magazine came out with a cover. It was in 2014 and the tagline read, eat butter, scientists labeled fat the enemy, why they were wrong.

MELANIE: Oh, I loved that. I love that. I had it on a stand in my office for the longest time. So, just to sum up, eat the saturated fat, eat the meat, lots of vegetables, and avoid fast food, processed food and seed oils and that's the segue right there.

That's the segue to good cardiovascular health and disease prevention. So our goal at Nutritional Weight & Wellness is to help each and every person experience better health through eating real food. It's a simple yet powerful message. Eating real food is life changing. Thank you for listening to us today.