“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
― Hippocrates
People are obsessed with trying to find short-cuts to lowering cholesterol including the use of various pharmaceuticals. However, what the Ancient Greeks told us 2,500 years ago is that our medicine is right in the foods that we eat.
Watch this 4-minute video to learn about 3 foods we can eat daily to help us reduce cholesterol, detoxify the liver and improve our health in general:
We can classify this one under 'don't shoot the messenger' - beets, apples and carrots are all high in fiber and we know that fiber lowers cholesterol. The percentage of decrease in cholesterol may be unknown by eating these 3 foods - but we know they will certainly provide some level of LDL cholesterol reduction and/or other cardio-protective benefits.
Here are references to the benefits of these 3 foods:
We also know that eating a whole-foods, plant-based diet that includes vegetables and certain fruits will promote a healthy body weight and general well-being.
I don't know who he is. The health merits of beets have been established by medical studies. It is high in fiber and provides other important nutrients.
To enhance nitric oxide production in your endothelium to induce vasodilation (relaxation and expansion of arteries' lining), it is important to have one of these 4 foods daily:
- spinach
- arugula
- kale
- broccoli
These are also high in folic acid which is important for reducing the risk of blood clots. Half of all heart attacks and strokes occur to people who have normal to optimal cholesterol levels.
Yes you are right to mention Folic Acid as I read a study reported a few months ago that stated the only supplement worth taking was Folic Acid and it had benefits for cardio health.
Beets are high is sugar and when I tried some juice and powder the nitric oxide starts to give me a headache leading to a migraine so I have avoided it despite the benefits but now wonder if the 15g suggested a day of raw beet which is a smaller quantity would also do this? I only can try.
Does anyone know about APOE4 where one should avoid high sat fat and starchy vegetables? A Mediterranean diet with the starchy vegetables and beans is not too good and finding enough calories is difficult.
Beets may be high in fructose (not sugar) but they are also high in fiber which does not result in a high insulin response. Beet juice on the other hand is 'juice' fructose without the fiber - so beet juice, like all other juices should be avoided. Nitric oxide relaxes the blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. If you're on blood pressure medication or naturally have lower blood pressure, having beets in large quantities may trigger this reaction. However if your reaction was due to beet juice and some other added ingredient then the fault is not with the beet.
As far as APOE4 and Alzheimers - if you have that gene it does not condemn you to Alzheimer's Disease. AD is one of the least understood diseases and much of the medical literature in explaining its causes has now come into question.
Today, researchers are beginning to turn to the possibility that AD has nothing to do with beta amyloid plaques, but is instead a vascular disease. AD is now being called Type 3 diabetes. As such, following the Mediterranean Diet which is high in fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and low in animal protein, will contribute to reducing your risk for AD.
Beans are full of fiber and are perfectly fine for fighting any form of vascular disease. I don't know what other starchy vegetables you were referring to in the Mediterranean Diet, but in my case I avoid all potatoes except sweet potatoes.
Legumes (beans, lentils, chick peas, green peas) are a staple in my diet and my triglycerides are extremely low as is my HbA1C measure (4.7 mmol/l).
Stick to the Mediterranean Diet and avoid all juices. I do not have difficulty finding things to eat when I have the full array of foods in that diet.
Well the 15 grams of beets did not affect me so I guess it was the juice and dried beet powder I tried in the past as you say. Still concerned with BG rising at least 1 point after eating beans and I only eat sweet potatoes but it still hard to get all my calories and have been losing weight and hydration level. What I meant on APOE4 is that they all seem to be insulin sensitive and fat sensitive so it looks like they are all arriving close to T2D by the Dr Joseph Kraft assessment of hyper insulin response. The problem is laid out here and shows different approaches to vascular disease.
So with a smaller GI load will we get less calories which I could not find info on. Say a boiled sweet potato has a lower GL than a microwaved one. Of course this is a simplification as we are not just living om bread as some the Egyptians were.
Well 30grm of raw beet in short time ends up with a migraine all day. It is like they used to give a small dose of nitroglycerine or NOx to relieve chest pain but some people would get migraines.
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