Making the connection between diet and nutrition and cardiovascular and Alzheimer's diseases

Houston, we have a problem, and it involves the Apo E gene as it relates to heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and the environment that goes with an individual’s particular set of Apo E genes. This means the Apo E gene requires a gene-supportive environment in the form of the food chemistry of every meal, every day. Does the dietary environment of the individual matter to support cardiovascular health and neurovascular health? The answer seems to be a solid yes.And we also now know that the technological remedies of allopathic medicine don’t always get the job done. Integrative medicine brings a new paradigm of thinking that looks at all options for disease management and prevention. The new integrative medicine provider embraces all the clinical tools we have at our disposal to give a greater advantage to the patient.In addition, it’s important to utilize the cultural/traditional whole food diets we now realize are optimal for human health. We need to closely reexamine and place greater emphasis on the powerful role of the person’s environment by utilizing not just external food sources, but also examining their established internal feeding system based on their unique body composition. A person’s current body composition is likely very poor if the wrong nutritional input for their individual genetic expression has been chosen.Returning to the question I wondered about almost 30 years ago—as I walked slowly back across the famous square at St Bartholomew’s, stopping once again to check the ice in the fountain—I pondered the question even further: do people’s diets cause these horrible diseases? I am now asking the question again, and with some true clarity can say nutrition and diet are strongly connected. Are they the only cause? No, we don’t have the full picture yet, but I think we can say that diet is a powerful contributing factor.Once the medical field has a clearer understanding and acceptance of diet as a powerful tool, not just for prevention but also as a powerful treatment option, we will begin to change disease patterns by leaps and bounds. The climate is now ready for a strong, simple answer. As with most epidemics, the best outcomes are from the simplest, most fundamental remedies—practical processes clinicians on the front lines can use, such as good nutrition.

Conclusions

I know I am not alone in this search for answers. Many of you are asking the same questions as I am. The goal is to work with what we know and provide what is safe for the individual. The individual has to eat. Guiding people to make better choices around diet and nutrition is the key to helping. Exploring why people consume the foods they consume can be helpful. For example, people like hot beverages in the morning, yet is it the coffee they like or is it the hot fluid, the pretty warm cup, and the time they give themselves to drink a warm, nurturing beverage? Changing from coffee to green tea is not too much of a shift, yet the health benefits can be enormous.Keeping an open mind to new science and treatment options regarding genes and diet, simple steps can be incorporated into current medical practices that can help in a big way. One interesting way to understand how powerful this is: try it for yourself. There is no substitute for personal experience.