CRP levels. CRP is a marker produced by the liver as a response to injury or infection and is a sign of inflammation in the body. The focus on cholesterol levels came from the pharmaceutical industry – you can’t watch TV very long without seeing a plug to ask your doctor if statins could be right for you. But that approach is about economics, not good medicine. Research has also linked insulin resistance and leptin resistance to cardiovascular disease much more strongly than cholesterol. Insulin and leptin resistance create smaller, denser LDL cholesterol particles that can squeeze between cells that line the arteries, get stuck, and turn rancid (oxidize), causing inflammation in the lining of the arteries and plaque formation. Nature’s own nitric oxide does more good than any man-made drug to prevent a heart attack. It helps dilate blood vessels, prevent blood clots, regulate blood pressure, and inhibit the accumulation of arte- rial plaque. It is an antioxidant that reduces the underlying inflammation that promotes plaque. Beginning in early adulthood, nitric oxide levels gradually decline, most often due to damage to the endothelial cells caused by things like an inflammatory diet and a sedentary lifestyle. America’s health care system
doesn’t encourage doctors to take the time to consider so many factors – it is much quicker to just prescribe a statin and send a guy on his way. But taking a shortcut when it comes to your heart just isn’t the better path.
Martha M. Grout, MD, MD(H) is a holistic physician who special- izes in reversing chronic illness, including heart disease. She has two
decades in emergency medicine, a decade in homeopathic medicine, and is the medical director of the Arizona Center for Advanced Medi- cine. Phone 480-240-2600 or visit
ArizonaAdvancedMedicine.com. See ad on back cover.
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER TO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT June 2011 27
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