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Skipping Breakfast Increases Heart Attacks |
| During the 1991 National Conference on Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure Control, cardiologist Renata Cifkova gave us some very useful information. Ms. Cifkova was studying blood platelet activity at the Memorial University of Newfoundland when she made her "discovery." |
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During the 1991 National Conference on Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure Control, cardiologist Renata Cifkova gave us some very useful information. Ms. Cifkova was studying blood platelet activity at the Memorial University of Newfoundland when she made her "discovery."
She was working on ways to measure platelet activity in people with high blood pressure. (Platelets determine the "stickiness" of the blood and are responsible for blood clotting.) For several days she had been drawing and analyzing the blood of 20 men and women. On each occasion, the participant's platelet activity (determined by the presence of a protein marker called beta-thromboglobulin) remained the same. On one morning, however, two of the individuals had seven times the normal amount of platelet activity. Questioning revealed that the only thing these individuals did differently that day was skip breakfast!
This prompted Ms. Cifkova to perform additional studies. This is when she discovered that fasting overnight and skipping breakfast increased platelet activity an average of 2 1/2 times!
In practical terms this means that something as simple as eating breakfast could help prevent heart attacks. For years we've realized that heart attacks occur most frequently shortly after waking. This has been attributed to everything from increased levels of sexual hormones to straining at the stool. It now appears that platelet stickiness is lowest during the night and climbs to its highest levels in the morning. In healthy individuals, this may not pose a problem. However, in someone whose arteries are narrowed by atherosclerosis, the clumping of platelets could very well trigger an early morning heart attack.
Several years ago, I reported on the Alameda Study performed by Dr. Lester Breslow. His research revealed that people who regularly ate breakfast lived longer lives. At the time, it was felt that breakfast increased longevity by stabilizing blood sugar levels, which in turn decreased the workload of the adrenal glands. Now we know it also influences platelet activity.
If you want to minimize you risk of heart attack, eat breakfast. To improve the odds even more keep the following items in mind. Nutritional supplements like vitamin E, bromelain, omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils), flax seed oil, garlic, niacin (vitamin B3), pyridoxine (vitamin B6) and vitamin C can all inhibit platelet aggregation which leads to clotting. If you take any of these, it would be well advised to do so in the morning.
Whatever you do, don't eat margarine for breakfast (or at any other time for that matter). Margarine (even though it's "cholesterol free"!) promotes platelet aggregation or stickiness (Am J Clin Nutr 75;28(6):601-5).
Dr. Williams is known for his independence and down-to-earth personality. He also has a hard-earned reputation as one of the world's leading authorities on natural healing. Often years ahead of the conventional medical establishment, he has traveled worldwide to locate, evaluate, formulate, and write about proven treatments and cures for practically every major health concern today.
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Posted 2009-02-12 14:16:25 By David Williams
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