On this interview, repeat visitor Dr. Malcolm Kendrick, a board-certified household doctor and writer of the guide, “The Clot Thickens: The Enduring Thriller of Coronary heart Illness,” critiques the underlying mechanisms for coronary heart illness, which for the final century has been the main explanation for dying within the U.S.
Of all of the books he’s written, that is my favourite, because it goes into nice element, supplying you with the organic understanding of the method of atherosclerosis resulting in coronary heart assaults and strokes. He additionally has stable methods for decreasing your heart problems danger.
By the way, when you perceive the illness course of, then you may as well perceive how each COVID-19 and the COVID jab can contribute to coronary heart illness. When requested why he’s taken such an curiosity in coronary heart illness, Kendrick replies:
“After I was coaching as a scholar in drugs, Scotland had the very best charge of coronary heart illness on the planet. Early on the reply for why was, ‘Oh, properly, it is as a result of now we have such horrible food regimen, and we eat garbage meals like deep fried Mars bars.’
So, you eat an excessive amount of saturated fats, the saturated fats will get become ldl cholesterol in your bloodstream, after which it’s absorbed into arteries and varieties narrowings and thickenings, which all sounds believable if you happen to do not give it some thought too exhausting.
However I additionally occur to go to France rather a lot, and what I observed about France was, they eat a variety of saturated fats. They eat extra, actually, than anybody else in Europe, and positively greater than Scotland. So, [this saturated fat] speculation definitely did not work for the French. They’ve the very best saturated fats consumption in Europe and lowest charge of coronary heart illness, and this has been the case for many years.
If you happen to took all the chance elements for France and Scotland [such as smoking, high blood pressure and diabetes], then the French had barely [higher risk], based on standard considering. However, actually, they’d one-fifth [the rate among age-matched men].
So, I believed, that is attention-grabbing. It does not make a lot sense based on what we’re informed. Then whereas I used to be in medical college, a tutor in cardiology stated … LDL can not cross the endothelium. On the time, I did not know what LDL was, nor did I do know what the endothelium was, but it surely sounded essential.
She had been coronary heart illness as a unique course of for many years … So, I believe that is actually the place I acquired began. When you begin questioning what the issue is, you find yourself questioning an increasing number of and also you begin considering, gosh, that is simply nonsense, is not it? This entire speculation is simply nonsense. So, I began choosing it aside.”
The Thrombogenic Speculation
“The Clot Thickens” is Kendrick’s effort to elucidate an alternate speculation for what truly causes coronary heart illness. If it’s not saturated fats and ldl cholesterol, what’s it? In 1852, a Viennese researcher, Karl von Rokitansky, developed what he known as the encrustation speculation of coronary heart illness.
As we speak, this speculation has been renamed the thrombogenic speculation. ‘Thrombo’ stands for thrombosis, i.e., blood clots, and ‘genesis’ means the reason for, or the beginning of. So, the thrombogenic speculation is that blood clots are the essential pathology that causes all coronary heart illness.
In a nutshell, when a blood clot varieties in your artery wall, which may occur for quite a few causes, it can sometimes be lined over and dissolved. An issue arises, nonetheless, if the blood clot shouldn’t be absolutely eradicated and one other blood clot varieties in the identical ‘weak’ space. This then turns into what’s conventionally known as atherosclerotic plaque.
“The atherosclerotic plaque is principally a buildup of blood clot, restore, blood clot, restore, blood clot, restore,” Kendrick explains. “If the blood clotting course of is quicker than the restore course of, you have got a plaque that regularly grows and ultimately thickens the artery wall till it narrows sufficiently that the ultimate blood clot, on prime of the prevailing plaque, is the factor that may trigger a coronary heart assault or stroke …
If you happen to reduce by the plaque and have a look at it, it virtually appears like tree rings. You’ll be able to see there’s been a clot, restore, clot, restore, clot, restore, clock, restore through the years.
It’s broadly accepted {that a} blood clot forming on an present plaque will trigger the plaque to develop in dimension. You could find 10,000 papers saying that that is the case. What the mainstream will not settle for is {that a} blood clot on a wholesome artery wall can provoke the entire course of.
So, to an extent, all I am saying to individuals is, properly, we all know blood clots trigger the ultimate occasion. We all know blood clots trigger plaques to develop. Why will not you settle for that blood clots are the factor that begins it within the first place? As a result of then now we have one course of all through, and it is smart, as a result of it suits with what you possibly can see.”
As famous by Kendrick, the traditional view is that low-density lipoprotein or LDL will get into the artery wall the place it initiates plaque formation. It then, inexplicably, stops initiating plaque, and the plaque continues to develop by the addition of repeated clots.
Nonetheless, Kendrick says, when you begin drilling down into the ldl cholesterol, aka LDL speculation, the entire thing begins to crumble. LDL merely can not clarify the illness development. But regardless of the various holes within the concept, the concept LDL causes coronary heart illness is touted as an absolute, undeniable fact.
What’s the Mechanism?
With a view to justify a speculation, you have to have a mechanism of motion. When you perceive the mechanism of the particular illness course of, then you possibly can put the puzzle items collectively. Kendrick begins his clarification:
“Your blood vessels are lined with endothelial cells, a bit like tiles on a wall. Endothelial cells are additionally lined themselves in a factor known as glycocalyx. If you happen to attempt to choose up a fish, it’s going to slip by your fingers; it’s totally slippery. The explanation it is slippery is as a result of it’s lined in glycocalyx and the glycocalyx is extremely slippery. It is nature’s Teflon.
So principally, in our case, the glycocalyx [is inside] our blood vessels, to permit the blood to journey by with out it sticking, with out injury occurring. So, you have got this sort of damage-repellent layer on prime of your endothelial cells.
Now, if that layer is broken, after which the endothelial cell itself beneath is broken, then the physique will say, ‘Oh, we have injury to a blood vessel, we will need to have a blood clot there as a result of we may bleed out.’ So, a blood clot varieties on the world of injury, and instantly stops [the bleeding].”
The blood clot doesn’t simply carry on rising and rising. If it did, you’d die anytime you had a blood clot. As a substitute, when a clot varieties, different processes step in to stop it getting too massive, which is why each blood clot doesn’t trigger a stroke or coronary heart assault. As soon as the clot has stabilized, and has been shaved down, the world is roofed over by endothelial progenitor cells, made within the bone marrow, that float round in your blood stream.
When a progenitor cell finds an space that has been broken, it attaches itself to that space, together with others, forming a brand new endothelial layer. The remaining blood clot is now mendacity ‘inside’ the artery wall itself. So, principally, it’s the restore course of that may result in plaque buildup throughout the artery wall. In time, if injury outstrips restore, this could slim the artery and scale back blood movement.
What Damages Endothelial Cells?
The query is, what can injury the endothelium within the first place? Right here, Kendrick makes use of the SARS-CoV-2 mechanism for instance:
“The COVID virus enters endothelial cells by the ACE2 receptor. It prefers endothelial cells as a result of they have ACE2 receptors on them. It will get into the endothelial cell and begins replicating, then bursts out, damaging the cell. Bingo, you’ve acquired an space of injury.
In fact, added to this, when cells have viruses inside them, they ship out misery alerts to the immune system saying, ‘I have been contaminated, come and kill me,’ and so the immune system begins to have a go on the endothelial cells. For this reason you may get an issue, as a result of the endothelial cells are being broken and stripped off.
Blood clotting happens on the factors of injury and hey, presto, you are having clotting, you are having strokes, you are having coronary heart assaults, which is the factor that individuals at first could not perceive [about COVID-19]. But it’s totally clear that what’s taking place is you have acquired injury to the endothelial cells.
Clearly, you and I each know that if you happen to get a [COVID jab], the cells are triggered to provide the spike protein, and these cells are sending out misery messages saying, ‘I’m contaminated.’ You must be very cautious if you wish to stick one thing into cells that then says to the immune system, ‘Please come and destroy me,’ as a result of that is what the immune system goes to do.
However transferring on from that, what different factor may cause endothelial injury? The reply is issues like smoking. Smoke particles get out of your lungs, they go into your blood vessels they usually trigger injury … You smoke one cigarette and a complete bunch of microparticles seem in your bloodstream, which suggests endothelial cells are dying.
Fortunately as endothelial cells die, one other message is distributed to the bone marrow saying, we want extra endothelial cells and it stimulates endothelial progenitor cell manufacturing. These endothelial progenitor cells rush round overlaying over the areas of injury.
Some people who smoke have sufficient restore happening and if you’re youthful, it is okay. As you become older and your restore techniques start to fail a bit, cigarette smoking turns into an increasing number of of an issue.”
Different issues that may trigger endothelial injury embody:
• Excessive blood sugar ranges and diabetes. The protecting glycocalyx layer is manufactured from proteins and sugars — Excessive blood sugar damages the glycoprotein layer, thinning it down in a measurable means. Excessive blood sugar can scale back the glycocalyx layer by as a lot as two-thirds. This, in flip, exposes the endothelial cells to the bloods and anything damaging that is perhaps there.
The injury to the glycocalyx is why diabetics are liable to each arterial and capillary (small vessel) illness. You’ll be able to’t get atherosclerosis within the capillaries, as there’s no room. As a substitute, the capillaries change into damaged down and destroyed. This in flip may cause ulcers, as a consequence of poor circulation within the pores and skin of your legs and toes.
Peripheral neuropathy because the ends of nerve cells are disadvantaged of oxygen. Additionally visible issues (diabetic retinal injury) and kidney injury. Blood strain may additionally change into elevated as your coronary heart has to work tougher to push blood by a community of broken/lacking small blood vessels.
• Heavy metals comparable to aluminum and lead.
• Hypertension, because it places stress on the endothelium — Atherosclerotic plaques (atherosclerosis) doesn’t happen except the strain is raised, including biomechanical stress.
Repairing the Glycocalyx
As defined by Kendrick, the glycocalyx layer resembles a garden, with slippery filaments that stick up. Inside this glycocalyx layer you have got nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which produces nitric oxide (NO), and you’ve got NO itself, in addition to quite a few different anticoagulant proteins. The glycocalyx is definitely a potent anticoagulant layer, so it stops blood clots forming. If glycocalyx is broken, your danger of blood clotting will increase.
“It’s a really sophisticated layer,” Kendrick says. “It is like a jungle filled with issues that say, ‘Do not persist with this, avoid this.’” Inside it, you even have albumin, protein advanced produced by the liver. Albumin accommodates the proteins that assist keep and restore the glycocalyx. A reality that almost all medical doctors are unaware of is that, when you’ve got a low albumin stage, you are considerably extra more likely to die of coronary heart illness.
The excellent news is that whereas the glycocalyx layer could be quickly destroyed, it may also be quickly repaired. (Experiments have proven that in an space the place the glycocalyx has been fully stripped off, it may be fully repaired in a single second.) Dietary supplements like chondroitin sulfate and methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) could be useful on this regard.
“If you happen to attempt to clarify that by the LDL mechanism, it simply does not work,” Kendrick says. “They’ve found that if you happen to give chondroitin sulfate as a complement — which usually is for arthritis and stuff like that — it reduces the chance of coronary heart illness fairly significantly. How do you clarify that? Properly, you possibly can clarify that since you’re defending your glycocalyx.
These are the form of issues that make no sense if you happen to like wanting on the standard concepts of coronary heart illness, however are instantly and simply defined if you happen to say, ‘We have now to maintain our glycocalyx wholesome and now we have to maintain our endothelial cells beneath them wholesome.
In any other case they are going to be broken and stripped off, after which we are going to get a blood clot, and if we maintain getting blood clots at that time, we are going to find yourself with a plaque and ultimately one of many blood clots on that plaque will kill you from a coronary heart assault or a stroke.”
Blood Move Restriction Coaching
A life-style technique that may assist restore endothelial injury is blood movement restriction (BFR) coaching. In response to BFR, your physique produces vascular endothelial development issue (VEGF), which acts as “fertilizer” for the endothelium. You’ll be able to study the ins and outs of BFR in my free BFR report. VEGF additionally induces the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasodilator, and it stimulates endothelial progenitor cells.
“NO protects the endothelium. It’s anticoagulant — probably the most potent anticoagulant now we have within the physique. It’s actually the magic molecule for cardiovascular well being,” Kendrick says.
“At one time NO was generally known as Endothelial Derived Rest Issue (EDRF) NO was one thing nobody believed may presumably exist within the human physique. NO is definitely a free radical. Everybody says free radicals are terribly damaging and unhealthy.
To that I reply, ‘Properly, chances are you’ll want to know that the chemical that’s the single most essential protecting chemical within the physique for the cardiovascular system is an extremely free radical known as nitric oxide.”
Some anticancer medicine are designed to dam VEGF, because the tumor wants angiogenesis — which is the creation of latest blood vessels which might be required to offer enough ‘vitamins’ With out these new blood vessels, the tumor dies off. Sadly, if you happen to block VEGF, you additionally block NO, which then raises your danger for coronary heart illness.
“These medicine had been virtually faraway from the market,” Kendrick says, “as a result of regardless of their anticancer exercise, they had been procardiovascular illness to fairly a scary diploma.
[That’s why], if you’re given bevacizumab or Avastin as an anticancer drug, they now provide you with angiotensin changing enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors), that are blood strain decreasing tablets, and ACE inhibitors have a particular affect on bradykinin, which will increase NO synthesis.”
Methods to Decrease Your Thrombotic Danger
In his guide, “The Clot Thickens: The Enduring Thriller of Coronary heart Illness,” Kendrick critiques many alternative methods that may decrease your illness danger. Right here’s a short-list of examples lined in far higher depth within the guide, in addition to a few of my very own suggestions that I deliver up within the interview:
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Keep away from pointless use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) comparable to ibuprofen, aspirin and naproxen — Whereas they successfully inhibit irritation, they’ll trigger platelet aggregation by blocking COX-2. In different phrases, they activate your blood clotting system, making blood clots extra possible. |
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Get loads of wise solar publicity — Solar publicity triggers NO that helps dilate your blood vessels, decreasing your blood strain. NO additionally protects your endothelium, and will increase mitochondrial melatonin to enhance mobile vitality manufacturing. |
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Keep away from seed oils and processed meals — Seed oils are a main supply of the omega-6 fats known as linoleic acid (LA), which I imagine could also be way more dangerous than sugar. Extreme consumption is related to most all persistent illnesses, together with hypertension, weight problems, insulin resistance and diabetes. LA will get embedded in your cell membranes, inflicting oxidative stress, and might stay there for as much as seven years. Oxidative linoleic acid metabolites (OXLAMs) are what’s inflicting the first injury, together with endothelial injury. |
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Decrease your insulin and blood sugar ranges — Easy methods to perform this embody time-restricted consuming, consuming a food regimen excessive in wholesome fat and low in refined carbohydrates, considerably limiting your LA consumption and getting common train. |
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Deal with persistent stress, which raises each blood sugar and blood strain, promotes blood clotting and impairs your restore techniques. Cortisol, a key stress hormone, reduces endothelial cell manufacturing. |
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Give up smoking. |
