"The rule of the artery is supreme," wrote Dr Andrew Still in the 1800's, and his message remains as true now as it did over a century ago. The key to health and vigour is an efficient circulation system.
When young our arteries are clean, smooth walled and extremely flexible. They meet varying demands for blood, including sudden surges in demand, by rapidly dilating or constricting.
But, as we age, our way of life takes a relentless toll. The arteries become as encrusted, thick and brittle as a length of old hosepipe left to rot in the sun. As early as our twentieth birthday we may possess the arterial system of a person 40 years older.
During the Vietnam War in the ‘sixties US army surgeons performing routine autopsies on American servicemen in their late 'teens and twenties were horrified to find advanced atheroma (clogging of the arteries) in 95 per cent of cases.
"Our arteries are literally choking with fat and cholesterol deposits," comments Dr Julian Whitaker, director of the California Heart Medical Clinic. "Like a river so clogged with silt that it becomes a sluggish stream", arteries narrowed by fat.
It is misleading to regard the arteries, or veins, as mere tubes. Complicated chemical reactions occur along the walls of the arteries between the components of blood and the walls themselves. For these reactions to occur normally it is essential for the blood to flow at sufficient velocity that the composition of the fluid (blood together with the end products of digestion) to remain within the system’s functioning capacity.
"You are as old as your arteries," wrote physician William Osler, in 1894. Until comparatively recently his view reflected conventional medical dogma.
"Today," comments Dr James Julian," it is more accurate to say: You are as young as your arteries." And he goes on to point out that arteries can be made younger as well as older by the way we live our lives.
In future issues of Grey Matters I shall be offering practical advice on how, by making lifestyle changes, you too can help maintain youthful arteries. But to conclude this vital topic here are six quick and easy to implement diet suggestions for helping bring about the beneficial changes on which your life may depend.
Six Foods that Help Safeguard Your Arteries
Starting from today you should increase your consumption of:
- Eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day – five portions is the general rule.
- Include some raw salad vegetables.
- Fish - especially oily fish such a herring, mackerel and sardines.
- Include some fresh nuts or seeds in your daily diet. Chopped brazil nuts or sunflower seeds could be added to breakfast cereal, for example, or you might try adding a spoonful of tahini (creamed sesame seeds) to soups or gravy immediately prior to serving.
- Organically grown foods.
- Wholemeal rather than refined bread and cereals.
In the next issue of Grey Matters I shall be describing seven foodstuffs that will help keep your arteries clean and your health vibrant. In subsequent issues we shall also be examining other practical, easy to implement, measures that you can use to promote a good, long, life.
