The Health Freedom Expo is a dynamic three-day event featuring the most prominent keynote speakers, 90+ informative lectures and interactive workshops and 200+ exhibitors showcasing the finest in healthcare products and introducing cutting-edge discoveries in natural health.
The Expo is supported by the HealthKeepers Alliance, a not-for-profit lobbying organization that works year round to protect consumers’ rights, defends practitioners who use natural and nutritional cures, and lobbies against laws which remove the individuals freedom to make informed healthcare choices.
It’s economics, really. The more natural health products people use, the fewer drugs they buy. The pharmaceutical industry is taking steps to slow the shift toward natural healthcare. With the support of the medical establishment, Big Pharma is striving to gain monopolistic control over the use of drugs and make them the only measure available to treat illness.
The Health Freedom Expo is committed to defending your right to know what’s available to you and protecting your freedom to make informed healthcare choices.
The “wellness” trend is a major force in today’s society. Over the past 28 years the exploding grass roots movement towards natural healthcare and the financial boom in consumer spending for vitamins and supplements has created a climate that challenges traditional medicine and the use of prescription drugs.
This market shows no signs of slowing down. Consumers are looking for the latest products and they find them at the Health Freedom Expo. Our Exhibitors share their positive results and why they return to the Expo year after year:
•Ed Begley Jr.: “The traffic is great and the kind of people who attend are great. My sales have been really brisk. It’s perfect for me. It’s a great fit.”
•Dr. Sherri Tenpenny: “This was the biggest Expo yet…there were a lot of people carrying purchases. We had a TON of traffic at our booth – thank you very much!”
•Jim Cartmell, CEO: “The Health Freedom Expo reaches our type of people…those who are looking for alternative health products that make a visible difference in their lives.”
•Dr. Joel Wallach: “The name tells you what it does. It gives us an opportunity to use our first amendment rights and gives people all the options available…”
Dr. Mercola speaking to a PACKED room!
Was able to make my way to the front row
Dr. Mercola signing my book ('Take Control of Your Health')!!
:)
My buddy Ryan & Dr. Mercola
Me creepin on Dr. Mercola haha!
Beautiful.
I also got to meet Sean Croxton (UndergroundWellness.com)!!
Some of the other speakers included: Jeffrey Smith, Jonathan Emord, Dr. Julian Whitaker, Dr. Joseph Mercola, Mike Adams, Dr. Carolyn Dean, Dr. Leonard Coldwell, Mariel Hemingway, Deidre Hall, Ed Begley, Jr., Kevin Trudeau, Dr. Bill Sheppard, and MANY more.
Greg’s book, ‘The Myth of a Christian Nation‘ is based on a sermon series titled ‘The Cross and the Sword’. In the book and sermon series, he argues from Scripture and history that whenever the church gets too close to any political or national ideology, it is disastrous for the church and harmful to society.
The basic distinction we need to learn as Christians who live “in the world but not of the world” is this: we live in the Kingdom of Darkness but serve the Kingdom of God. The message was about the different ways these two kingdoms understand the use of power. Because the use of power was the topic, the issue of politics is inevitably involved. Greg did not propose support for one political agenda or another, but helped us assess how we, as citizens of heaven, are to understand political involvement.
The Bible is emphatic that nothing is to compete with God. God is Absolute—first and foremost in all things. God is the beginning and the end. We are to love God above all and our neighbors as ourselves. One result of living in this way of thinking is that we understand the Kingdom of God, is not of this world. Our loyalties are not ultimately with anything of this world, but with God. Things get confusing when something of this world begins to take on too much importance. The Bible uses the strong language of “idolatry” when this happens, and the consequences are severe!
Greg pointed us to several passages that help us make distinctions between the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God (Matt. 20:25-28; 26:51-53; John 18:35-36). Two preliminary points were made: 1. The Kingdom of God works the opposite way that the kingdom of this world works. Power is not used to coerce obedience and control behavior; love is the power that draws all unto God through Christ’s sacrifice and willingness to suffer on our behalf. Kingdom of God power is always self-sacrificial and is always willing to suffer for the sake of Christ (Eph. 5:1-2; Lk. 14:27, etc.). 2. Christ had the power of the sword available to him, but he chose to love instead. He refused to play by the rules of the kingdom of this world. We too must take care not to be co-opted into the world’s ways (what Greg referred to as “methodology”). God’s ways are higher than that of the world.
To make things a bit more real for us today, Greg pointed out that the kingdom of this world is not all bad. The orderly structures of this world are designed to uphold justice and right behavior, and this is a good and necessary thing in a world where God is not universally accepted as Lord and obeyed. Rom. 13 teaches that we are to obey our leaders so long as it does not conflict with God’s will for us. After all, Paul (who wrote Romans) was no stranger to Roman jails! So there is a good and necessary reason for the world to have sound political structures that serve the good of the whole of the human race and all of creation. Greg’s advice is to be good citizens, but keep the Kingdom of God first (we should always be seeking first the Kingdom of God!). A Christian person should never rejoice over the destruction of other human lives regardless of what they did to “deserve” our wrath, as though we too do not deserve God’s wrath every bit as much.
Vote your conscience, but be sure to maintain the values of the Kingdom of God. Don’t be co-opted by the world’s agendas and the methods the world uses to accomplish them. Sin is dealt with on the cross for us all, not in the voting booths where we legislate punishment for a sin someone else is guilty of, but ignore our own – where we vote to our own benefit at the expense of helping others who have much greater need. Vote your conscience, but do not forget which kingdom you are fighting for!
Greg challenged directly the misleading nature of the political claim that we ought to “Take America back for God!” This simply cannot be done. Why? Because America never belonged to God. We were never a Godly nation. Even if measured in terms of the standard unit of individuals who claim to be Christian, it is a historical fact that the percentage of people in Christian churches has steadily increased ever since the beginning of this nation! The further back we go, the less Christian our nation really was. The idea of taking a nation back for God requires that there must have been a “golden era” when things were really good. Greg insightfully challenged this by sketching a portrait of our history at various times to see if any of them might qualify as the “good old days.”
Was it while we were destroying (20 million were killed) the indigenous people of this land? Or later when we enslaved Africans (3-4 million enslaved and untold masses died on their way here) for our prophet? Their forced labor is a huge source of our economic strength. Much can be accomplished on the backs of slave labor. It worked for the Romans, the Egyptians and our forefathers as well. There are no good old days where we were truly operating by kingdom principles. And when the Church aligns itself with the kingdom of this world, it is the church that is compromised and the kingdom of darkness that is being built. We are Christians before we are Americans. If not, then we are not Christians. God does not accept second place to any human being or organization.
The early church exploded with growth because people were living kingdom values. They were willing to suffer and die for their faith. There was enormous power in this. They refused to take up the sword; rather, they chose the cross. When this is done, the power of the sword is undermined and the evil is exposed. Once the Church gained political power through Constantine, everything began to change.
The sword was now wielded by the church. Being a Christian began to have perks and benefits for those who would enlist. While the church was under persecution, being a Christian was a difficult thing and one really had to have conviction and strength to endure, even to the point of death. Christians who once turned the other cheek now cut of heads. Christians who once loved their enemies and willingly died at their hands now burned their enemies alive. Christians who learned to bless those who persecuted them now persecuted others. Can we not see that this is not victory for the kingdom but defeat? How we accomplish the building of the Kingdom of God is every bit as important as whether it gets built. Every time the church has picked up the sword, it has damaged its witness in the world. We who are to be known by our love demonstrate against ourselves. And don’t think the atheists don’t notice this! Be cautious of those who would tempt you to blend your passion for serving God with their political agenda. Few things are more dangerous than those who wield the sword with the passion of misplaced faith.
We need to be suspicious of any attempts of others or ourselves to try to gain power over others. This is not the way the Kingdom works. It is how the kingdom of darkness operates as is demonstrated frequently in Scripture (1 John 5:19; Jn. 12:31; 14:30; 16:11; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; Luke 4:5-7; Rev. 11:15). What is clear is that Satan is indeed the god of this world, of this present darkness, and we need to be weary of the ways this regime operates. Power over others is not the true path of love. In fact, Scripture is so clear on this distinction between God’s Kingdom and Satan’s domain over the world that it teaches us to think of ourselves as not truly citizens of this world (1 Pet. 2:11; Eph. 2:19; 6:12; Phil. 3:20)!
We have only one command, love God first and love our neighbors as ourselves. These are our marching orders and our enemy is clear: it is the kingdom of Darkness and its ruler, not any other human being or human organization (Democrats, Republicans, gay rights activists, CEO’s, abortion doctors, protesters, etc.). When we do this, we will be dying for our enemies, not rejoicing over their destruction at our hands. Our unique authority and power as Christians is not our right to vote, but our right, no our obedience to God’s command that we suffer for righteousness sake, that we love sacrificially and serve our enemies for the sake of winning them to Christ. The test is clear when we COULD pick up the sword, will we choose the cross?
Sermon 1:‘Taking America Back for God?’ Greg Boyd – sermon length 38:44
Greg questioned the slogan “Taking America Back for God” by discussing the differences between the kingdom of this world and the Kingdom of God. As Christians, we are to belong first and foremost to God’s Kingdom, yet live under the governments of this world. How does that work?
Sermon 2:‘The Difference Between the Two Kingdoms’ Greg Boyd – sermon length 43:43
The kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world are two very separate things. One uses the sword (power over) to influence people; the other uses love (power under). To understand this distinction is much easier than letting it affect the way we live. Greg continued to discuss the differences between these kingdoms and how we are to live within the distinction.
Sermon 3:‘Abortion: A Kingdom of God Approach’ Greg Boyd – sermon length 38:41
The Cross and the Sword series continued with this sermon, which covered two more consequences of fusing the kingdom of God with the kingdom of the world. To illustrate the damage this can cause, Greg discussed using the Kingdom of God approach with abortion: don’t limit ourselves to the options given by the kingdom of the world, but ascribe unsurpassable worth to others (mother and baby) at cost to ourselves. This is the unique mission of the Kingdom of God, and it’s not easy.
Sermon 4:‘Is the Church the Guardian of Social Morality?’ Greg Boyd – sermon length 44:28
The Cross and the Sword series continued with this sermon, which covered the final effect of failing to distinguish between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world: we Christians begin to see ourselves as the “protectors” and “fixers” of social morality, as the moral standard bearers. But our only job as the body of Christ is to look like Jesus, the one sinless human, who stood in unity with others and met their needs. Greg also addressed the idea that America is a theocracy.
Sermon 5:‘Be Thou My Vision’ Greg Boyd – sermon length 38:19
Human beings have deep and fallen passions that propel us into continual conflict with one another, the theme behind “Troy,” the movie based on Homer’s “Iliad.” We are stuck in a pattern from which we can be freed ONLY by embracing the paradoxical kingdom of God. Christians are to imitate Christ, period; we are not called to create another version of the kingdom of the world.
Sermon 6:‘”In” But Not “Of” the World’ Greg Boyd – sermon length 51:30
In this sermon, Greg responded to the top five questions he received while preaching “The Cross and the Sword” series. Maybe you’ve been asking some of these questions: “What’s the difference between turning the other cheek and letting yourself be abused?” and “Are you saying that the church is politically irrelevant?”
If we are to take America ‘back’ for God, it must have once belonged to God, but it’s not at all clear when this golden Christian age was.
Were these God-glorifying years before, during, or after Europeans “discovered” America and carried out the doctrine of “manifest destiny” – the belief that God (or, for some, nature) had destined white Christians to conquer the native inhabitants and steal their land? Were the God-glorifying years the ones in which whites massacred these natives by the millions, broke just about every covenant they ever made with them, and then forced survivors onto isolated reservations? Was the golden age before, during, or after white Christians loaded five to six million Africans on cargo ships to bring them to their newfound country, enslaving the three million or so who actually survived the brutal trip? Was it during the two centuries when Americans acquired remarkable wealth by the sweat and blood of their slaves? Was this the time when we were truly “one nations under God,” the blessed time that so many evangelicals seem to want to take our nation ‘back’ to?
Maybe someone would suggest that the golden age occurred after the Civil War, when blacks were finally freed. That doesn’t quite work either, however, for the virtual apartheid that followed under Jim Crow laws – along with the ongoing violence, injustices, and dishonesty toward Native Americans and other nonwhites up into the early twentieth century – was hardly “God-glorifying.” (In this light, it should come as no surprise to find that few Christian Native Americans, African-Americans, or other nonwhites join in the chorus that we need to “Take America Back for God.”)
If we look at historical reality rather than pious verbiage, it’s obvious that America never really “belonged to God.” As we’ve said, when the kingdom of God is manifested, it’s obvious. It looks like Jesus. There was nothing distinctively Christlike about the way America was “discovered,” conquered, or governed in the early years. To the contrary, the way this nation was “discovered,” conquered, and governed was a rather typical, barbaric, violent, kingdom-of-the-world affair. The immoral barbarism displayed in the early (and subsequent) years of this country was, sadly, pretty typical by kingdom-of-the-world standards. The fact that it was largely done under the banner of Christ doesn’t make it more Christian, any more than any other bloody conquest done in Jesus’ name throughout history (such as the Crusades, and the Inquisition) qualifies them as Christlike. (pg. 98-99)
Just listen to Frederick Douglass, a nineteenth-century slave who taught himself how to read and write, as he expresses his view of how Christian America was:
“Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference – so wide, that to receive the one as good, pure, and holy, is of necessity to reject the other as bad, corrupt and wicked. . . . I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ; I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity.” (pg. 101)
As much as God wants governments to operate justly, Jesus didn’t come to establish a perfect worldly government. He came to establish the kingdom of God as a radical alternative to all versions of the kingdom of the world, whether they declare themselves to be “under God” or not.
When we misguidedly loop Christian talk into American kingdom-of-the-world talk, we do great harm to the work of the kingdom of God. Among other things, we leverage the credibility of God’s kingdom on someone believing that it was God’s will – “manifest destiny” – for whites to carry out the barbarism they carried out toward Native Americans, Africans, and a host of other nonwhites in the course of American history. We compromise the purity and beauty – the holiness – of the kingdom of God by associating it with typical “power over” injustices that this country has largely been built on. And we encourage the sort of “power over” behavior among religious people that we see today as they attempt to “take America back for God” by political means. Allegiance to the kingdom of God is confused with allegiance to America, and lives that are called to be spent serving others are spent trying to gain power over others. (pg. 102)
Still, a citizen of the kingdom of God need not deny the positive outcomes that have resulted from Europeans discovering and conquering America. Yes, the process was largely immoral and extremely bloody, as it typically is when versions of the kingdom of the world collide. But the bloody injustices don’t negate the fact that America has arguably now become, by historic and global standards, a relatively good version of the kingdom of the world. Still, we must never confuse the positive things that America does with the kingdom of God, for the kingdom of God is not centered on being morally, politically, or socially positive relative to other versions of the kingdom of the world. Rather, the kingdom of God is centered on being beautiful, as defined by Jesus Christ dying on a cross for those who crucified him.
To promote law, order, and justice is good, and we certainly should do all we can to support this. But to love enemies, forgive transgressors, bless persecutors, serve sinners, accept social rejects, abolish racist walls, share resources with the poor, bear the burden of neighbors, suffer with the oppressed – all the while making no claims to promote oneself – this is beautiful; this is Christlike. Only this, therefore, is distinct kingdom-of-God activity. (pg. 103)
If your response is that this “power under” approach is impractical, if not morally irresponsible, perhaps this too reveals that you have been conformed to the pattern of the world (Rom. 12:2) and have allowed yourself to trust “power over” rather than “power under.” Perhaps it reveals that you have placed more faith in worldly “common sense” than in the resurrection. Perhaps it reveals that worldly effectiveness has replaced the kingdom faithfulness as your primary concern.
When Jesus was crucified, it looked as if he were losing. More often than not, when the kingdom of God is being authentically carried out, it looks that way, at least initially. The cross didn’t look effective on Good Friday, but God raised up Jesus on the third day. And our task is to believe that, however much it looks like we may be losing, God will use out Calvery-quality acts of service to redeem the world and build his kingdom. However much we lose – even if it’s our own life – we are to believe in the resurrection. Ultimately God wins, and each one of our acts of loving self-denial will eventually be shown to have played a role in this victory.
This is faith in the resurrection. This is the kingdom of God. (pg. 104-105)
“I believe a significant segment of American evangelism is guilty of nationalistic and political idolatry…”
Carbohydrates cause nearly all age-related diseases. Age-related diseases are thought of as unavoidable. Many people consider it normal to get one or more of these diseases as they age. They rationalize that they are simply unlucky or that others have “better genes,” neither of which is true. Their health problems are most likely caused by their belief in the many popular myths and distortions about nutrition. Most likely they got hooked by the low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet craze and are now suffering as a result.
The most common excuse used instead of identifying the real culprit, carbohydrates, is heredity. People flippantly say, “It runs in my family,” or “My mother also had diabetes,” or “My father also had high blood pressure and heart disease.” Age-related diseases could best be described as “Excessive Carbohydrate Consumption Syndrome.”
The scientific evidence is clear. Carbohydrates are a sinister, sly food category that has been getting away with murder. Carbohydrates have powerful allies. They grow, manufacture and market thousands of different carbohydrate products made from fruit, grains and starchy-vegetables. The supermarket floor space allotted to these manufactured carbohydrate foods is about 80 percent of the store, and yet the scientific minimum requirement for carbohydrates in the diet is ZERO.
Carbohydrates are not an essential element for health. In fact, optimal health lies in keeping the amount of carbohydrates in the diet to a minimum. The supermarket departments that contain the healthy essential proteins and essential fats are the fresh meats, fresh fish and seafood, dairy and non-starchy vegetables. Everything else in the store is very high in carbohydrates, which turn to glucose, hype the metabolism and trigger the release of disease-causing hormones like insulin, cortisol and adrenaline.
A low metabolism is ideal for long life and good health. A high metabolism excites hormones in the body that eventually cause age-related diseases. A low metabolism is analogous to diesel engines that are known for longevity and high mileage without a breakdown. Diesel fuel is an oil that the engine uses for energy similar to fats in the diet. A high metabolism is analogous to a nitro-methane drag racer that gives a tremendous burst of energy but explodes after a few races. The nitro-methane fuel is fast burning similarly to sugar in the diet.
The pathogenic effects of carbohydrates are slow but sure. The “20-year rule” was coined to describe the length of time between the start of the high-carbohydrate diet and the onset of disease. The number of diseases, severity and time to develop are directly related to the percentage of carbohydrates in the diet. In the advanced stage many diseases are prevalent in the sufferer before death occurs.
Carbohydrates displace essential protein and essential fats in the diet to cause a double health reversal. The carbohydrates themselves cause disease, and the deficiency of protein and fats contribute or cause other diseases.
The consumption of carbohydrates generally begins showing the disease effects in either one of two directions.
Body fat accumulation leads to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, gallbladder disease, degenerative bone diseases and many others.
Damage to the intestinal tract leads to leaky gut syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases and a medical textbook listing of autoimmune diseases. These illnesses generally make the sufferer underweight and deficient in vitamins and minerals caused by poor digestion.
The primary high-carbohydrate foods to avoid are sugars, flour, grains, and starchy-vegetables (ex. potatoes).
Whole grains cause disease in both humans and animals. Whole grain breads and bagels are not the healthy food as people are lead to believe. All grains have a very high level of omega-6 fatty acids, which are pro-inflammatory. Grains are a poor source of protein. Grains are the most allergenic of all foods. Multiple sclerosis, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are rare in populations where no grain products are consumed such as the Paleolithic (hunter-gatherer) diet.
The Awful Truth About Eating Grains
Grain fed to feedlot steers makes them fat and causes intestinal diseases. The feedlot diet given to steers is almost identical to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. Both diets are very high in grains. The feedlot operator is deliberately making the steers fat. Fatty beef is given higher grading, receives the best price and has the best flavor. The time in the feedlot is short and the steer is sent to slaughter prior to developing any serious health problem. People get fat and develop disease for the very same reasons. Grains are worse for humans because we are omnivores. Steers are herbivores, but the grains still make them fat and give them diseases.
Primitive cultures that primarily ate meat from the hunt lived in relative good health. Those people who switched to a grain-based diet obtained from the cultivation of grains suffered poor health, diseases and a smaller stature.
Fruit is Not as Healthy as Many Claim
Fruit is not the healthy food many claim. Fruit is mostly fructose sugar with some vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. Those vitamins and nutrients are easily obtained from meat and non-starchy vegetables without the fructose. The body processes fructose from fruit in the same way as it processes fructose from soft drinks. There is no difference. Fructose is fructose no matter what the source. Fructose causes insulin resistance as proven in scientific tests. Fructose is highly addictive and most people simply refuse to give up fruit no matter how sick they become. This is identical to lung cancer patients who continue to smoke cigarettes.
Fructose, weight gain, and the insulin resistance syndrome.
Tissue-specific impairment of insulin signaling in fructose-fed rats.
Carbohydrates Trigger Disease-Causing Hormones
The hormones involved in the carbohydrate disease loop are not the sex hormones but rather metabolism hormones. The process starts when carbohydrates are eaten in the form of sugars such as sucrose, fructose, lactose and others. Simple carbohydrates are molecules made by chains of glucose that are short. Longer glucose chains form carbohydrates that are classified as complex. The body breaks the chains apart until individual molecules of glucose are released into the blood stream. Then the problems start. The body is very sensitive to the amount of glucose in the blood, commonly called blood sugar. A small part of the brain called the midbrain that is about 1 inch (25 mm) long and red blood cells require glucose as they lack mitochondria (powerhouse of the cell) and cannot use fatty acids for fuel.
The lack of glucose (hypoglycemia) as energy for the brain can cause symptoms ranging from headache, mild confusion and abnormal behavior, to loss of consciousness, seizure, coma and death. The body can maintain an ideal level of glucose by creating it in the liver from amino acids derived from protein and/or from triglyceride fatty acids in a process called gluconeogenesis. The low-carbohydrate diet results in a perfectly controlled and stable blood glucose level in this way. On the other hand, the high-carbohydrate diet results in the body’s constant attempt to prevent blood glucose swings both to the low-side (hypoglycemia) or the high-side (hyperglycemia). This control is regulated by the hormone insulin to reduce the glucose level and the hormone adrenaline to act as an emergency method of raising the glucose level.
Hypoglycemia is the train whistle signaling the diabetes train is coming down the track. The diabetes engine is powered by carbohydrates and gaining speed. Nibbling complex carbohydrates throughout the day to control the blood sugar swings will do nothing more than slow the train a year or two. The diabetes train can be stopped dead on the tracks only by avoiding all carbohydrates. The condition of uncontrolled blood sugar swings is called diabetes mellitus, or type 2 diabetes, and has become epidemic in all English-speaking countries. It will soon become a catastrophe.
Younger people appear to handle carbohydrates without a problem because the cells of the younger body readily accept the glucose with a small insulin response and turn the glucose into energy. However, the cells get resistant to this constant bombardment of glucose, and increasing levels of insulin are necessary to maintain a normal blood glucose level. As the cells become resistant, the insulin assists in the conversion of the extra glucose into triglycerides, which raise the triglyceride level in the blood and are deposited as body fat. Carbohydrates cause obesity, not fat. The high carbohydrate diet is a natural killer for many reasons.
Insulin is a Disease-Causing Hormone
Insulin is a hormone made by the beta cells in the islets of langerhans in the pancreas. Body cells require insulin in order to use blood glucose.
A high level of blood insulin causes many unhealthy body reactions, which eventually lead to diseases of all types. Glucose from the excessive consumption of carbohydrates is turned to body fat by the high insulin level and is also deposited in the arteries and organs causing arterial diseases, heart disease, strokes, blood clots and other diseases. High blood glucose signals increasing insulin production until the pancreas becomes fatigued after many years, making the disease seem age-related. Glucose rises uncontrollably when insulin production drops. The result causes diseases of the eyes, kidneys, blood vessels and nerves.
Carbohydrates drive insulin production that causes cardiovascular heart disease (CHD). Many heart attack patients first learn they are diabetic in the hospital emergency room, but they may not be told about the close relationship between their two conditions. Blood insulin reaches high levels and remains high as one progresses from hypoglycemia to Type II diabetes where insulin production collapses. Insulin is a very strong anabolic hormone. It pushes blood glucose into cells. It turns blood glucose into triglycerides and stores them as body fat. This sudden appearance of heart disease has been described by the author as the “Instant Atherosclerosis Cycle” (IAC).
Insulin also pushes small dense LDL molecules into the artery wall to start the atherosclerosis process. Animal research with insulin has proven many years ago that the artery will plug with atherosclerosis just downstream from the point of injection.
Carbohydrates cause the LDL molecules to be the unhealthy small, dense variety. The high-fat, low-carbohydrates diet causes the LDL molecules to the safe large fluffy light density variety. Higher LDL blood levels on the low-carbohydrate diet do not present the same CHD risk as do LDL levels on the USDA Food Guide Pyramid diet of 60 percent carbohydrates.
High-Insulin (Hyperinsulinemia) Increases Cancer Risks
High-Carbohydrate Diet Implicated in Pancreatic Cancer
Low-Fat, High-Carbohydrate Diets Contribute to Hyperinsulinemia and Hypertriglyceridemia
Diet and Colorectal Cancer: The Possible Role of Insulin Resistance
Fasting Insulin and Outcome of Early-Stage Breast Cancer
Diet, Lifestyle, and Colorectal Cancer: Is Hyperinsulinemia the Missing Link?
Carbohydrates drive blood insulin production that causes cancer. There are strong associations between a high-carbohydrate diet and many diseases that present a secondary cancer risk. Cancer risks are greatly increased with diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease and many other unhealthy conditions caused by the high-blood glucose and high-blood insulin levels.
Insulin Resistance is an Important Determinant of Left Ventricular Mass in the Obese
Insulin Resistance Syndrome Predicts the Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke
Coronary Heart Disease Mortality Risk: Plasma Insulin Level Is a More Sensitive Marker Than Hypertension or Abnormal Glucose Tolerance
Hyperinsulinemia as an Independent Risk Factor for Ischemic Heart Disease
The only way to prevent diseases caused by insulin spikes and plunges is to eat a low-carbohydrate diet. Many primitive societies have lived with very few carbohydrates in the diet and have proven diabetes and all the diseases of consequence do not exist. A great example is the Eskimos of the far north prior to the introduction of white-man food.
The bad effects of insulin do not end here. High insulin spikes signal the body to release cortisol and adrenaline hormones, which also contribute to disease.
Cortisol is a Disease-Causing Hormone
Cortisol is the major stress hormone of the natural glucocorticoid family, which regulates metabolism and provides resistance to stress. Glucocorticoids are made in the outside portion (the cortex) of the adrenal gland and are chemically classified as steroids. Glucocorticoids increase the rate at which proteins are catabolized (broken down) and amino acids are removed from cells, primarily muscle fiber, and transported to the liver.
Glucocorticoids cause amino acids to be synthesized into new proteins, such as enzymes. They also raise blood pressure by constricting vessels, which is a benefit in case of injury. They are also anti-inflammatory. All of this is well and good in a healthy individual with normal glucose and insulin levels. Unfortunately, high cortisol levels cause many unhealthy reactions.
Understanding Adrenal Function
“An excessive ratio of carbohydrates to protein results in excess secretion of insulin, which often leads to intervals of hypoglycemia. The body, in an attempt to normalize blood sugar, initiates a counter-regulatory process during which the adrenals are stimulated to secrete increased levels of cortisol and adrenalin. It follows that an excessive intake of carbohydrates often leads to excessive secretion of cortisol.”
Excess cortisol:
Diminishes cellular utilization of glucose
Increases blood sugar levels
Decreases protein synthesis
Increases protein breakdown that can lead to muscle wasting
Causes demineralization of bone that can lead to osteoporosis
Interferes with skin regeneration and healing
Causes shrinking of lymphatic tissue
Diminishes lymphocyte numbers and functions
Lessens SIgA (secretory antibody productions). This immune system suppression may lead to increased susceptibility to allergies, infections, and degenerative disease
High-cortisol levels caused by excessive carbohydrate consumption and high-insulin levels cause the body to extract high-tensile strength collagen protein fibers from bones, remove the mineral matrix by demineralization and weaken connective tissue at the joints. The protein loss is accelerated by a low-protein diet, and the bone minerals are lost in the urine. One is literally peeing his/her bones away. The result is a rapid and shocking diagnosis of osteoporosis and degenerative disk disease where the spine can lose as much as one inch (25 mm) in height in as little as one year. Bones fracture more easily, and the dreaded hip fracture is much more likely to occur.
Women are told to drink lots of milk and eat plenty of yogurt to get additional calcium with the promise it will prevent bone loss, but the advice is based on faulty logic. The additional lactose in the milk and yogurt plus the additional sugar and fruit added to yogurt only serve to increase the dietary carbohydrate load. The net result is harmful to the bones as many are discovering.
All of this can be prevented by eating a high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet.
Adrenaline is a Disease-Causing Hormone
Adrenaline (epinephrine) is the “fight-or-flight” stress hormone. Epinephrine is a neurotransmitter secreted by the adrenal gland that is associated with sympathetic nervous system activity. It prolongs and intensifies the following effects of the sympathetic nervous system.
-Causes the pupils of the eyes to dilate.
-Increases the heart rate, force of contraction, and blood pressure.
-Constricts the blood vessels of nonessential organs such as the skin.
-Dilates blood vessels to increase blood flow to organs involved in exercise or fighting off danger, skeletal muscles, cardiac muscle, liver, and adipose tissue.
-Increases the rate and depth of breathing and dilates the bronchioles to allow faster movement of air in and out of the lungs.
-Raises blood sugar as the liver glycogen is converted to glucose.
-Slows down or even stops processes that are not essential for meeting the stress situation, such as muscular movements of the gastrointestinal tract and digestive secretions.
All of these effects are great if one is being chased by a lion or attacked by an intruder into the home. However, these effects are unhealthy to a person sitting in an office, watching a football game or simply going about his everyday life.
The last item on the above list is very disruptive to the intestinal tract and leads to intestinal diseases. People are advised to eat more high-fiber whole grains and high-fiber fruit to overcome the constipation resulting from this slow down of the intestinal system, but this advice is backward. These are very high-carbohydrate foods, which cause a surge in insulin and adrenaline that shut down the digestive processes.
High-insulin and hypoglycemia (low-blood sugar) cause adrenaline to increase when no fight-or-flight stress situation exists and thereby causes unhealthy body changes. The helpful body responses to adrenaline become a health hazard when adrenaline is elevated over a period of time. The long-term elevation of adrenaline is very unhealthy and leads to many diseases.
These changes include effects to the cardiovascular system that increase the risk of coronary heart disease. The low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet as recommended by the USDA Food Guide Pyramid is disease causing because it promotes hypoglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, hypertriglyceridemia and hyperadrenalemia. Prolonged elevated adrenaline has the following effects on the cardiovascular system:
-Increases in the production of blood cholesterol, especially the undesirable LDL.
-Decreases the body’s ability to remove cholesterol.
-Increases the blood’s tendency to clot.
-Increases the deposits of plaque on the walls of the arteries.
Adrenaline addiction is very common. Type-A personalities become addicted to their excessive activity by the stimulation and arousal of adrenaline. People who are constantly angry, fearful, guilty, or worrisome arouse their adrenaline hormone even though they may sit around doing nothing else. People who are excessive in their participation in jogging, exercise, bodybuilding, aerobics, sports, skiing, mountain climbing, car racing or flying aerobic airplanes become addicted because of the adrenaline rush from their activity. They describe the “rush” they get from their activity and feel depressed when they can’t participate for some unexpected reason.
James F. Fixx was addicted to running and wrote the famous jogger’s book, The Complete Book of Running. He was a marathon runner and vegetarian on a diet of high-carbohydrates and low-protein. These were a perfect setup to arouse and maintain a high level of adrenaline. He died on his daily run of a massive heart attack proving to the world that exercise does NOT prevent coronary heart disease. Fixx admitted in his book that his own research showed the athletes from his university alumni had a shorter life span than the “couch potato” students. This difference may have been caused by the difference in adrenaline between the two groups. Hypoglycemia and stress are a deadly combination.
