Genetics play a role in whether we have a predisposition for certain diseases, but we have a tremendous amount of control over whether genes are turned on or turned off. This has been shown repeatedly through careful studies on populations with shared cultural eating patterns and on people who share the same genetic makeup – specifically identical twins. There are few very lucky people out there with genetics that allow them to make it into their 90’s without dieting changes or restrictions, and no medication.
For those of us who are not so lucky, what we eat has clearly shown to determine whether we develop a particular disease or not. Here’s the crazy thing—as nutrition expert, Dr. Michael Klaper has pointed out—if you talk to medical professors or open a medical textbook looking for the cause of many of these diseases, you’ll often find these words: “Etiology (cause) Unknown.”
This prompts most doctors to prescribe medications to treat the symptoms, rather than to search for and treat the cause. The following is a list of inflammatory disease that are caused by food choices. Scientists refer to this process whereby what we eat turns on and off genes as Nutrigenomics.
Inflammatory Disease That Can be Controlled by Food
- Heart Disease (coronary artery disease, hypertension, angina, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, congestive heart disease)
- Many Forms and Stages of Cancer
- Strokes (more than 90%)
- Obesity
- Peripheral Artery Disease
- Type 2 Diabetes
- Complications of Type 1 Diabetes
- Asthma
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Most Allergies
- Metabolic Syndrome
- Crohn’s Disease and Colitis
- Irritable Bowel Disease
- Constipation
- Chronic Kidney disease
- Reflux Disease
- Inflammatory Joint Pain
- Auto-immune Disorders
- Back Pain
- Arthritis Pain
- Cramps and Hot Flashes
- Impotence
- Infertility
- Acne and Itchy Skin Disorders Such as Psoriasis and Eczema
- Anxiety and Depression
- Dementia
- Unhealthy Weight Loss
- Sleep Disorders
- And Many Others
The fact is, most of these disorders, diseases, and conditions are curable. Hundreds of doctors who implement a lifestyle of Nutrition as Medicine have thousands of extremely happy patients who can attest to this fact.
It is disheartening to know that the majority of Americans believe, and anticipate that their health will naturally worsen midlife, requiring them to take medication for the rest of their lives – but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Though signs of health deterioration become evident in middle age, many studies and autopsies have clearly shown that heart disease, diabetes, and several other diseases often begin in childhood, and possibly before birth. It all begins with the intake of animal sourced fat and protein.
Inflammatory Disease & Whole Food Plant-Based Diet
Fortunately, an abundance of evidence shows that diet can reverse many of these conditions and eliminate our dependence on medications and medical interventions. It all comes down to “beefing” up the number of vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, and grains that we eat and eliminating or seriously minimizing meat, dairy, eggs, salt, oil, and sugar.
How Does Science Explain a WFPBD and Inflammation?
Consuming a whole food plant-based diet reduces inflammation. Eating a diet high in fat and animal protein can result in strokes and heart attacks. How so, you might ask? Studies done in Japan in 2006, revealed a phenomenon that finally explained how fat collected between the linings of cardiac vessel walls. That is, it somehow leaked through the vessel lining from the bloodstream and collected on the other side, forming a fatty pocket that over time hardened into a plaque called atherosclerosis. Eventually, the inner vessel wall ruptures and clots are released traveling through the vessels to smaller areas where they block blood flow, resulting in strokes and heart attacks. We now know that this phenomenon is caused by a toxin called TMAO. It is a substance created in our liver that injures our vessel linings making them porous, allowing other toxins and fat to pass through—setting off a cascade of inflammatory disease.
TMAO, Trimethylamine-N-oxide is created in our liver through the consumption of animal sourced choline and carnitine. Choline is an essential amino acid that our bodies don’t make, but it is easily acquired by eating healthy sources from plants. Carnitine is a protein that our bodies do make, but when we eat exogenous forms of carnitine, there is an overload of fat and protein. This type of protein from animals causes the formation of toxic TMAO.
The highest concentrations of animal sourced choline is found in eggs, but it is also found in milk, cheese, and meat – including poultry and fish.
Though animal sourced choline has been shown to cause disease, plant sources of choline from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and nuts have shown to actually have healing effects. With this information finally becoming public, many American farmers are transitioning to producing plant-based milk products made from soy, oat, and nuts. More good news is that most plant based milks contain more calcium than cow milk – about 45% more.