The food we eat can have a tremendous impact on our likelihood of developing heart disease or even diabetes later in life. Specifically, the intake of carbohydrates needs to be monitored and controlled. Carbohydrates provide our body with energy, but too many daily carbohydrates over the span of many years can add up to create significant health problems since they are stored in the body as fats.
I’ll provide a focused example from San Diego County where I live. According to livewell.org, in San Diego County, diseases of the heart are the second highest cause for mortality. The San Diego County HHSA report states that, 6.2% of San Diego County adults had been diagnosed with heart disease, and over 1 in 11 San Diego County adults had been diagnosed with diabetes. Notably, in San Diego County diabetes related deaths among those 25-64 years old is 8.4%. In stark contrast, it is 111% among those 65 and over. The importance in knowing these numbers helps us determine how prevalent the conditions are in our area. It is also important to understand what has been implemented to decrease these numbers and if it is working. For example, in San Diego, the numbers of heart disease have decreased over the past 20 years. Live Well San Diego suggests that the year-round health education work of communities and organizations like those in the Be There San Diego initiative are having a measurable impact on chronic disease prevention. From this, we understand that education (specifically science-based) can work toward prevention.
Functionally speaking, when we eat the right amount of carbohydrates, they enter the bloodstream and increase our blood glucose levels. Next, the pancreas releases insulin. Insulin brings blood sugar into our cells providing them with energy. Insulin keeps our blood sugar stable and manages our body’s energy needs. If we eat too many foods with carbohydrates, our bodies will have too much insulin but no more cells available to deposit it. The additional blood sugar will end up in the belly and the liver. When chronic carbohydrate intake happens, type II diabetes could result, and overtime the pancreas wearing out, and type I diabetes will be the outcome.
Diabetes and heart disease have a close correlation. Dr. William Sears says, “The incidence of just about every age-related illness (including diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and arthritis) goes up as your blood sugar rises.” Extra sugar that can’t fit in the cell accumulates in the bloodstream, tissues, and organs. Following this, inflammation, oxidation and glycation damage the blood vessels, tissues and organs. Eventually, high blood sugar levels can cause type I and type II diabetes and heart disease, along with heart attacks. Also, high amounts of sugar in the bloodstream becomes fat that clogs the blood vessels, narrows them, inflames them, and causes them to wear and tear. Therefore, the high volume of insulin causes the kidneys to retain sodium, which leads to high blood pressure, and the beginning of disease in the heart (Diabetes and Heart Disease Threat to Your Prime-Time Years, Dr, Sears).
It is important to understand that avoiding or limiting certain foods and living an active lifestyle are two steps we can make to prevent heart disease and diabetes. Prevention is key, since these diseases are influenced by poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles. There are four ways we can help our body stabilize insulin, they are: lower stress, stay L.E.A.N., move (exercise), and change your diet (eat right fats and limit carbohydrates). In addition, there are seven steps we can make to also support our digestive system with the goal of maintaining a healthy lifestyle in our prime-time years: eat often, enjoy smoothies, chew slowly, eat pure and fresh, quality food over quantity, relax your gut brain, and be kind to your colon. With these adaptations we can make great progress in preventing heart disease and diabetes.