People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before age 40 have a high risk of developing cardiovascular disease within 10 years. They tend to suffer with heart attacks at a much younger age than the general population. High blood sugar is very bad for the health of your heart.

The study involved 142,587 patients who were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and 388,410 age and gender matched people who didn’t have diabetes. None of the people had atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease at the start of the study.

The researchers used linked nationwide registries in Denmark to determine the age at which newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes is associated with an increased cardiovascular disease risk.

Overall, the 10 year risk of cardiovascular disease in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes was 12 percent. The risk was higher for people under the age of 40.

Coronary heart disease is responsible for one in six deaths in the United States and is right up there as one of the biggest killers worldwide. It's not surprising that most people are concerned about the health of their heart and want to do whatever it takes to keep it healthy. You may not be aware that looking after your blood sugar helps protect your heart.

It is commonly thought that if you eat too much fat you'll end up with fat clogging your arteries. The truth is heart disease and atherosclerosis are far more complicated than that. Saturated fat has very little effect on overall cholesterol levels in most people, and it even has the ability to raise the "good" HDL cholesterol. Sugar on the other hand is capable of causing a range of metabolic disturbances that lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Diabetes may harm your heart in the following ways:

  • Elevation of total cholesterol
  • Elevation of triglycerides
  • Raising LDL "bad" cholesterol
  • Promoting the oxidization of LDL cholesterol (oxidized LDL is more likely to cause harm to the artery walls)
  • Elevating uric acid (raises the risk of gout and kidney stones)
  • Reduces HDL "good" cholesterol
  • Altering platelet function in a way that makes the blood thicker and more prone to clotting
  • Raising blood pressure
  • Promoting the development of fatty liver disease
  • Promoting the development of leptin resistance. This increases the risk of weight gain and it increases hunger and cravings for carbohydrates, making weight loss much more difficult

When eaten in excess, sugar and carbs have disastrous effects on metabolism and cardiovascular health. Each person has a different tolerance level for carbohydrate and sugar; some people can get away with eating more of it and not suffering these consequences. If you have a family history of type 2 diabetes or if there are overweight people in your family, your tolerance for carbohydrate will usually be lower. As we get older, our carbohydrate tolerance usually becomes lower.

How to protect your heart

Look after your liver. Your liver is the most metabolically active organ in your body. Two of its main jobs are fat burning and detoxification. If your liver is healthy you will find it easier to maintain a healthy weight. If your liver is healthy you will also have a healthy level of cholesterol in your blood. If you have a fatty liver, please follow the guidelines in my book Fatty Liver: You Can Reverse It. If you are carrying excess weight on your abdomen, my liver tonic, Livatone Plus, should help to shift it more easily.

Sugar and carbohydrate rich foods can raise your cholesterol because your liver turns them into fat. Therefore, cutting down or cutting out foods like bread, pasta, rice, breakfast cereals, sugary drinks and any food that contains flour or sugar is a very useful way of keeping your cholesterol in the healthy range. Sugar and carbs can be addictive for a lot of people despite their best efforts to stay away from them. That’s when a blood sugar balancing supplement can really help. The herbs Gymnema and bitter melon, as well as the minerals chromium, magnesium and manganese all help to stabilize blood sugar and thereby reduce hunger and cravings. Glicemic Balance capsules contain these ingredients and are best taken with each meal.

Avoid industrial seed oils. Most vegetable oil is far too high in omega 6 fats which promote inflammation. When these fats are heated (during cooking) they are further damaged and become very harmful to the body. They can destroy your mitochondria. Poor mitochondrial health is behind most chronic diseases. The healthiest fats to include in your diet are avocados, extra virgin olive oil, macadamia nut oil, organic coconut oil, pastured butter and ghee and animal fats.

Control your blood sugar with berberine. Berberine is a natural plant extract that can help people with insulin resistance or diabetes to reduce their cholesterol. This is because it inhibits an enzyme in the body called PCSK9. This facilitates the removal of LDL cholesterol from your bloodstream. Berberine actually has the same mechanism of action as the new cholesterol lowering drugs called PCSK9 inhibitors, but without the typical side effects of flu like symptoms, back pain and joint pain.

For more information see my book Cholesterol: The Real Truth.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.

Reference