Happy Friday Everyone! Welcome back to another Friday blog. Did you know that a heart attack happens every 40 sec here in the U.S.? 😳Each year 805,000 people have a heart attack - 695,000 die from a heart attack - 1/5 are silent and create damage that we are completely unaware of. Often, the first symptom is death. Further, one person dies from CVD (cardiovascular disease) every 33 seconds!!! CVD is the leading cause of death and as of 2020 costs the US (taxpayers) $393 Billion per year - projected to increase to nearly 1.5 trillion by 2050. Even more terrifying is that 1/6 children ages 8-17 have elevated blood pressure! WHAT?!!! What can we do to protect ourselves and our children from CVD and a potential heart attack? Let's delve in.

Why is CVD still the leading cause of death - when most of us are taking blood pressure and/or statin drugs? Guess what, these drugs do NOT save you - or prolong your life. According to the CDC, 34 million adults (nearly 50%) in the US are on blood pressure medications. 54.5% of adults and 7% of children (6-19yo) are on statin drugs. So, why are we still dying at such a high rate? Aren't these drugs supposed to prevent it? An article published by JAMA Internal medicine stated that statins increased all causes of mortality in older adults - and found no benefit.  In the physical therapy world, most patients are on statins - and present with terrible damage to their muscles. I have seen a patient decline from mowing his own lawn to not being able to transfer from his recliner to his wheelchair after being on statins for a few years. 

I've seen many patients and clients on statin drugs with extremely low cholesterol (<100). Did you know that if your cholesterol is <200 you can't make adequate testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, adrenalin or vitamin D?!!!  Further, you can't build new cell membranes. Cell membranes throughout the body are 50% fat - with lots of cholesterol. However, brain cell membranes are 70% fat. If you can't make new cell membranes, you are in trouble. If you WANT ALZHEIMER'S, take a statin. You can't make new cells at all or heal your body. This is only one of many reasons why statins are so dangerous for the general population. Cholesterol is SO important for many functions of the body. It is an innocent bystander for the real culprit - triglycerides. It doesn't make sense to BLOCK it. That being said, particle size matters! We don't want a bunch of oxidized vLDL (very low-density lipoproteins) particles in our bloodstream!  FYI, they travel with triglycerides. A more important test than the typical lipid panel is a lipoprotein fractionation test to determine how many particles and size of the particle are present. This gives you information about your APO lipoproteins a and b. You want lots of a and very little b. So, what can we do to protect ourselves?

Let's take a close look at what is really happening and how we can prevent a heart attack in the first place. We have ~ 60,000 miles of blood vessels from large, easily visualized, down to microscopic - there can be >100 in an area the diameter of a hair. Some are so small that even an oxygen molecule (O2) can't get in. Nitric oxide (NO) dilates the blood vessel to push O2 in, preventing hypoxia. Every blood vessel is lined with a membrane - single layer of endothelial cells that form the largest internal organ, the endothelium. “Physiological functions of the endothelium include fine control of vascular tone, tissue hemostasis, barrier integrity, inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular permeability, and structural and functional integrity.”

Sprouting from the endothelium is the glycocalyx - a protective "hair-like" dense gel coating that provides a physical barrier to prevent platelets, leukocytes, cholesterol, fat and other molecules from reaching the endothelial cells where they can cause an ulceration that gets sticky, allowing a plaque to begin to form underneath the epithelium. These "soft" plaques can become unstable, rupture and cause a heart attack or stroke. “The vascular endothelial glycocalyx is a dense, bush-like structure that is synthesized and secreted by endothelial cells and evenly distributed on the surface of vascular endothelial cells.” It is made up of highly-sulfated glycoproteins (long carbohydrate chains and proteins) that create a negative charge to the barrier. It repels red blood cells - which are also negatively charged - literally propelling them along the bloodstream to deliver oxygen to the tissues. It is like a gatekeeper letting certain molecules in and keeping others out. Its electrostatic properties repel red blood cells and regulate permeability and fluidic balance. FYI - adequate sulfate is crucial for glycocalyx function, detoxification of harmful toxins, transport of neurotransmitters and so much more. Glyphosate interferes with ALL functions of sulfate. It also is an antibiotic - killing your microbiome and preventing you from making nitric oxide (NO), blocking enzymes involved in detoxification in the liver - making other toxins more toxic - just to name a few of the detriments. 

Here is an illustration:

The glycocalyx also functions as a sensing organ constantly sending and receiving information - evaluating when and where to dilate the arteries to enhance blood flow to any part of the body that requires it. “Research has proved that glycocalyx can maintain the stability of many physiological functions, such as maintaining the permeable barrier of microcirculation, preventing trigger inflammation and coagulation response, and conducting the shear force of blood flow…protect the functions of vital organs including the brain, heart, lungs, and kidneys.” Shedding of the glycocalyx “appears to be required for leukocyte adherence to the vessel wall, because, under normal conditions, leukocytes are supposed to be shielded from contact with their adhesion molecules by the glycocalyx.”

Okay, it is easy to see that damage and destruction of the glycocalyx makes us very vulnerable to vascular dysfunction and CVD as well as damage to other organs, such as the brain. One of the functions of the glycocalyx is to stimulate the endothelial cells to produce NO (nitric oxide) to dilate blood vessels. When the glycocalyx is intact and working well, eNOS (enzyme that makes NO) is coupled and NO is produced. When the glycocalyx is damaged or the hair-like structures have had a "hair cut" or is entirely absent, eNOS is uncoupled - and we cannot produce NO. NO is a gas that, once produced, is gone in less than a second. It is a signaling molecule that activates secondary messengers that begin a cascade of actions throughout the body. It is involved in insulin's ability to deliver glucose to cells - and involved in signaling the enzyme to come to the cell membrane to pick up the glucose. This is one reason diabetics ALWAYS end up with cardiovascular dysfunction on top of their diabetes!  Another important function of NO is stimulating our stem cells to wake up, differentiate, and go to parts of the body that need repair and/or to replace dysfunctional tissue! When these processes are disrupted because NO is not there, we experience high blood pressure, an advanced aging process, and experience a host of other unwanted symptoms.

It is worth noting that we have microbes that produce NO in our gut and in our mouth!! If you are KILLING off your oral microbiome with antimicrobial mouthwash and fluoride, your blood pressure will go up because you’ve lost the ability to produce oral NO - you lose the protective benefits of exercise. Further, if you are starving your good microbes from the fiber they require, you won’t be making any in your gut either. Research has demonstrated significant damage to the glycocalyx after just ONE high carbohydrate meal - with degradation occurring for 6 hours and requiring 12 hours or longer to restore. “Results indicate that after acute degradation of the glycocalyx, 5 to 7 days are required for the layer to endogenously restore itself to its native hydrodynamically relevant thickness in vivo."

Loss of NO is the first step toward high blood pressure and basically all the chronic disease processes we are facing today. Some of the first signs include a rise in blood pressure and/or ED (erectile dysfunction) - sexual dysfunction in both men and women! Why? This is due to damage to the micro vessels and inability to get O2 delivered to the tissue. Did you know 50% of men over the age of 40 self-report some degree of ED! WHAT?!!! This leads to insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, metabolic dysfunction, elevated triglycerides, inflammation, oxidative stress, poor exercise tolerance and mild cognitive impairment to name a few. For example, you may experience some shortness of breath climbing a flight of stairs - or forget where you left your car keys or why you went into a room. These are all SYMPTOMS that your body is not getting enough O2 where it needs to go - lack of the ability of the endothelium to produce adequate NO is the root cause. We need to be paying attention! 

Many things damage the glycocalyx: high-carbohydrate diet, poor nutrition, infection, SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, high alcohol consumption, sedentary lifestyle, chronic stress, lack of sunshine, lack of sleep...Consider this scenario of completely destroying a human's life by making a person sick and dependent on pharmacological drugs as early in life as possible in order to extract the most revenue: First, put them on the SAD (standard American diet) i.e. follow the government's food pyramid, spray herbicides and pesticides (glyphosate) on the food to kill the gut microbiome, put fluoride in the municipal water supply to kill the oral microbiome, over-prescribe antibiotics to finish the job, give them an antacid or PPI (proton pump inhibitor) to suppress stomach acid and block their ability to breakdown their food and absorb nutrients, give them a statin drug to lower cholesterol <200 where they can't make testosterone, estrogen or vitamin D - that has severe consequences disrupting cell signaling and NO production - causing obesity in children so they will need Ozempic or another obesity drug that they will need for LIFE!!! Does this sound familiar?

This is what the pharmaceutical industry is doing to us through manipulation of the medical profession (which is a financially driven business)!!! We are unaware. Many of our MD’s mean well but are unaware as well! A recent study revealed "approximately 70% of MDs obtain their information from advertisements within medical journals." WHAT?!!! They aren't even reading the studies for the most part. Who do you think pays for this advertising? - the pharmaceutical industry. Further, MDs reimbursement rate is dependent on writing prescriptions to "treat" cardiovascular disease and other disease processes. So, prescriptions keep getting written for all of these drugs - and the drugs are not helping us. 

You may think you are genetically predisposed to cardiovascular disease because of your family history - but you need to realize genetics only contribute ~ 5%. 95% of your health fate is due to diet, environment and lifestyle. Genetics may load the gun, but your choices pull the trigger. 

How can we protect our glycocalyx and endothelium to enhance NO production and keep ourselves healthy and free from pharmaceutical drugs throughout our entire lives? We MUST optimize our electrons. The more electronegative we are, the healthier. We are designed to get 2/3 of our electrons from sunlight, 1/3 from food (photosynthesis). As you can see it is necessary to gain control of our morning schedules and begin to live in accordance with nature. How many of us are only focused on the 1/3?

• See sunrise sunlight for optimal red/IR/NIR balanced with blue light.
  • This STARTS YOUR ENGINE - sets your biological clocks, particularly the SCN (suprachiasmatic nucleus) in the brain.
  • Red light activates mitochondrial cytochromes allowing CCO (cytochrome C oxidase) to make biological water. Near Infrared (NIR) energizes the water so that the outer 1/3 formed is "exclusion zone water" and contains 1 million free electrons that run our biology - creates the battery or electrostatic charge of your cells and creates biologically active water - the 4th phase of water [Gerald Pollock's work]. EZ water is formed with interactions with hydrophilic molecules such as EVOO polyphenols that have amphiphilic properties that can promote organization and structure of EZ water and aid in the exclusion of unwanted molecules such as plastics and oxidized fat. Infrared light can penetrate clothing and hats - so even if it's cold outside, you can absorb red light.
  • Morning UVA sunlight changes the oxidation state of hemoglobin from Fe+3 state - ferric (unable to deliver O2) to the Fe+2 state (ferrous) able to deliver O2 to tissues.
  • We make our hormones in "cool" UV light that activates POMC gene. This gives us endorphins (natural opioids), ACTH (hormone), melanin (alpha MSH), regulates immune function (beta and gamma MSH) and more. Sunrise until around 10am is crucial to balance hormones, prevent depression, activate mitochondria, create biological water and so much more. Sunrise light is "cool" because it is 1,800-2,000k that slowly rises as the day progresses. By noon it is 5,750k (same as your device screens) - and by late afternoon it is ~ 16,000k. TIMING MATTERS.
• Get plenty of midday UV sunlight in eyes and on skin to liberate NO to dilate blood vessels, lower blood pressure, sulfate cholesterol and synthesize vitamin D. For those of you still believing the dermatologists and ophthalmologists that "purport" UV light is dangerous, ask them why our entire surface is coated with UV light detectors if we were not supposed to get light? Sulfating cholesterol and turning it into vitamin D lowers and balances cholesterol, particularly LDL-C.
• See Sunset - it mirrors sunrise but is less intense and tells your brain it is the end of the day and to start getting melatonin ready to be released for sleep.
• Protect eyes and skin from isolated blue light from technology devices and non-native EMFs - understand without protection every time you look at your phone you tell your brain and body it is solar noon. Protect from microwaves, radio frequencies, and 3G-7G coming from satellites. Wear blue-light blockers after dark (red) if you are around any light, except red. Cover your skin if you are watching tv and wearing blue light blockers over your eyes. Change indoor lighting during the day to incandescent bulbs. Get outside in bright sunlight (high lux) to send appropriate signals to your body.
• Optimize sleep - keep lights off after sundown. Use low lux red lights for safety but sleep in complete darkness. We release melatonin 4 hours AFTER our eyes perceive darkness. Sleep 7-9 hours. Get to bed early - most of the clearing of toxins and amyloid proteins from the brain through the glymphatic system happens before midnight. It takes around 8 hours for this cleaning to take place.
• Ground - gain free electrons from the earth. Grounding repolarizes red blood cells so they repel each other as well as the glycocalyx, preventing coagulation. Make sure you are grounding in a safe place (no underground wiring/stray electricity). Best place is grounding in the ocean on dark sand, but your wet clean grass in your backyard works well too. Spend 30 min or more barefoot outside to gain electrons and discharge inflammation into the earth. Check your home for stray EMFs - particularly where you spend the most time and where you sleep. Get a grounding sheet to enhance sleep cycle rhythms to get into a deeper more restorative sleep.
• Eat Fish - our body uses DHA in the sn-2 position. Fish eat algae that has DHA in the sn-1,3 positions and change it to sn-2. We need high levels of DHA in our central retinal pathway (highest level), thalamus (second highest level), brain and nervous system as well as the heart. Wild caught fatty fish are best, but any fish is better than none. Salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, anchovies, fish roe, shellfish like shrimp, scallops, oysters, clams, etc. If you want to heal the brain, go outside into the sun and eat fish and seafood. Do this every day for a week and see how much better your brain functions and how good you feel. 
• Eat a low deuterium diet. Deuterium is "heavy hydrogen" and toxic to mitochondria. Wild-caught, pasture-raised, grass-fed animals are naturally low in deuterium, as well as healthy fats like coconut, olive, tallow and lard. Conventionally raised animals are kept in close quarters with no exercise and are fed the lowest quality HIGH DEUTERIUM, glyphosate-loaded food (including expired skittles!) as well as being given the majority of antibiotics produced. We are what we eat! These are the things your tissues are made from. If you want a good quality body, you must put in good quality ingredients. If you are sick with anything - even cancer - you can drink deuterium-depleted water which helps your mitochondria significantly. A high deuterium load causes a thicker more viscous blood.
• Eat local in season foods - the light "barcode" in the locally grown food matches the light "barcode" on your skin and in your eyes. This is eating an anti-inflammatory diet. Eating things out of season or that don't even grow where you live creates metabolic chaos, which is inflammation. Inflammation blocks the cofactor for eNOS enzyme thereby preventing NO from being produced. Remove the foods that are a problem - highly processed foods, inflammatory seed oils (canola, safflower, vegetable oils), high sugar and sodas, GMO and glyphosate-sprayed foods like grains and soy. 
• Lower triglycerides <60 - when elevated >60, damage to the glycocalyx is occurring - FYI, they travel with vLDL! Sunlight helps lower triglycerides. EVOO, healthy fats and proteins also lower triglycerides. Triglycerides reflect the amount of sugar and carbohydrates you are consuming. (You can get away with more carbs if you are in the sun)
• Increase minerals such as magnesium - Celtic sea salt has 3 forms of magnesium - eat dark leafy greens full of chlorophyll that is high in magnesium.
• Filter your water to remove fluoride, chlorine, heavy metals and other toxins. Fluoride is an antiseptic and neurotoxin - it destroys the oral microbiome that are your NO producers - and also destroys the thyroid.  Add minerals back to your filtered water.
• STOP using fluoride toothpaste! Neurotoxin, mitochondrial toxin, kills microbiome. Use a re-mineralizing natural toothpaste.
• STOP using antimicrobial mouthwash - brush and floss. Use a natural toothpaste free of fluoride and other harmful chemicals that destroy oral microbiome
• Filter the air in your home - it can be up to 560x as toxic as outdoor air due to off gassing of furniture, rugs and building materials. Use a HEPA filter. These toxins sit on the receptors for your hormones and neurotransmitters. The brain is particularly vulnerable.
• Practice nasal breathing - the nasal epithelium is much like the vascular endothelium and when we activate the mechanoreceptors, it activates eNOS to generate NO!
  
• Hum - the vibration of humming activates the Vagus nerve (parasympathetic nervous system), lowering blood pressure and cortisol as well removing deuterium from the brain. Chewing masticating gum also helps here. Choose natural re-mineralizing gum.
• Take an Epsom Salt bath - this is magnesium sulfate! We need both magnesium and sulfate to penetrate the skin. Keep your feet in the bath - as much of the absorption is through the feet. Heat also dilates blood vessels to lower blood pressure. Be careful getting out of the tub. I recommend using a large cup to rinse yourself with cold water several times before getting out. 
  
• Cold plunge - one of the fastest ways to lose fat and enhance mitochondrial function. Cold thermogenesis causes the mitochondrial cytochromes to shrink their distance, enhancing the spin of the ATPase - optimizing at 9,000 rev/sec.
• Ween off antacids or PPIs that suppresses HCl (hydrochloric acid) stomach acid - these drugs were only FDA approved for acute GERD episodes, not to be taken daily - the pharmaceutical industry knows this, so made them available over the counter!! Now we have people taking these every day for the rest of their lives! These drugs inhibit an enzyme that leads to an accumulation of ADMA that is an inhibitor of NO production!! Further, they prevent the breakdown proteins into amino acids. These peptide fragments of partially digested proteins can cross the gut lining, activating the immune system - creating antigens that lead to foodborne allergies and the development of autoimmune diseases. You also prevent the production of NO from the dietary conversion of nitrates to NO. So, these drugs create a global blocking of NO production.
• Re-acidify your stomach.
  • We should have a pH of ~ 1.5 - this is designed to rid deuterium from the food for elimination through urine or stool. 
  • Petroleum destroys the mucin lining of the stomach, allowing the acid to destroy tissue. ALL pharmaceuticals are made with PETROLEUM!!! Work to get off all drugs.
  • H. pylori infection? They horde deuterium - deplete deuterium (drink deuterium-depleted water).
  • Parietal cells that produce HCl require sodium chloride (salt), sodium bicarbonate, iodine, zinc, betaine HCl. Take a pinch of sea salt and 1-2T of ACV (apple cider vinegar) diluted with a little water before meals.
  • Don't overeat and overload the stomach.
• Get off statin drugs and work with your doctor to come off blood pressure meds as you heal your endothelium and glycocalyx. Iatrogenesis: (medical error - what your doctor tells you to do or prescribes for you - is the third leading cause of death in the US. Work to prevent cardiovascular disease.
• Exercise enhances production of NO, increases delivery of oxygen to mitochondria as well as oxygenation of tissues. Your muscles can take up glucose from the blood without the help of insulin - like a sponge. HOWEVER, you must use caution if you have "thick" blood - as this is heavy with deuterium. Muscles have a lot of water - this water will be deuterated, impairing mitochondrial function if you don't deplete deuterium before putting too heavy a demand on muscle tissue. 
• Narrow eating window - try a 6-8 hour eating window, starting with eating a protein (50-60g) and fat breakfast 30 min after waking. Eat outside in sunlight. This gives 16-18hrs without food coming in, allowing your body to get into autophagy. You can take a shot of HP-EVOO (1-2T) before bed to enhance sleep and autophagy.
• Heal your microbiome - stop fluoride and mouthwash that destroy your microbiome. Get outside in sunlight as they require sunlight to function optimally. get sunlight onto abdomen - consume natural probiotics in cultured and fermented foods like sauerkraut, Greek yogurt, kefirs, kimchi, natto…
• Include herbs like oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley - they contain carvacrol known to increase NO production. They also are nature's detoxifiers - put them in everything!!!
  
• HP-EVOO (high polyphenol extra virgin olive oil) - high in polyphenols like oleocanthal, hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein help to heal the endothelium of blood vessels as well as the BBB (blood brain barrier). Polyphenols in EVOO enhance the production of "exclusion zone water" we talked about above. “Hydroxytyrosol is capable to counteract oxidative stress, inflammation, vascular aging, and arterial stiffness; thus, it is beneficial to preserve endothelial function both in vitro and in vivo.” Oleic acid in EVOO also improves the pliability and function of cell membranes. “Olive oil bioactive compounds exhibited a potent capability to attenuate oxidative stress and improve endothelial function through their anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-thrombotic properties, therefore reducing the risk and progression of atherosclerosis.”

So, until next time my friends…Drink, Drizzle, Digest HP-EVOO at least 4 TBS raw daily, - use more for cooking and drizzling onto your food - eat the rainbow of LOCAL organic or wild-sourced veggies and fruits - eat according to what is growing at your latitude and location in season - eat wild-caught, pasture-raised, grass-fed - get early morning sunrise light, plenty of sunshine during the day, sleep in the dark, check your vitamin D3 level and supplement if needed: D3, K2, magnesium, zinc, and boron (- get your trace minerals and electrolytes with good sea salt - Celtic is hand-harvested and Himalayan was formed before plastics - eat foods high in lutein - drink plenty of filtered water. consume digestible and indigestible fiber for your gut microbes - adaptogens (such as mushrooms) and methylation donors (kale, beets, spinach, cruciferous, lion’s mane…), marjoram, rosemary, oregano, parsley and other herbs to detox, enhance overall health and reverse aging and disease - exercise your body and mind - ground barefoot to gain as many electrons as possible, add a few minutes of mindful meditation and breathing exercises to your day to combat stress - take a hot Epsom salt bath and follow with a cold shower/ice plunge - remove EMF (electromagnetic frequency) devices and blue light - use IR (infrared) from incandescent lighting, non-toxic candle or light a fire to enhance sleep and...turn off the light!!   #HP-EVOO 

This blog is intended for informational purposes only. Discuss strategies with your Healthcare Practitioner.