The diet that can save your legs
At this moment, 8 million Americans are struggling with the debilitating pain of peripheral artery disease -- and millions more are on the verge of joining them.
But there's one step you can take today that will practically guarantee a life free of the misery of peripheral artery disease, in which your leg arteries start to narrow and practically choke.
And all you have to do is follow the diet I've been recommending all along.
It's the healthy and delicious Mediterranean lifestyle, and what's especially remarkable about the new study is that it didn't put this diet up against the unhealthy modern diet of processed foods and other junk.
No, in this case it went head-to-head (and leg-to-leg) with the supposedly healthy low-fat diet that the mainstream pushes on everyone.
But while the low-fat diet did almost nothing to stop the leg arteries from closing up, the Mediterranean diet kept them free clear. It was so effective that the study of nearly 7,500 adults between the ages of 55 and 80 finds following it closely will slash your risk of the disease by up to two-thirds.
Seems to me like the time is long overdue for the mainstream to stop "villainizing" all fats -- because clearly, not all of them are as bad as advertised. And there's no lifestyle richer in healthy fats than the Mediterranean diet, which allows you to eat fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds.
Those essential fats can do more than just protect the arteries in your legs. They can also protect your entire cardiovascular system, which is why a major study published last year found this diet can reduce your risk of major cardiovascular events by a third, and stoke by nearly half.
But let me get back to peripheral artery disease for today, because diet alone isn't the only cause. You could dedicate yourself to a perfect Mediterranean lifestyle and still suffer, because this disease can also be caused by exposure to metals, especially arsenic.
And you don't have to be a poisoning victim or work in a factory to have high levels of it inside you right now -- because arsenic is turning up in food (especially chicken) and even tap water. (Read more about this threat in this free report from my House Calls archives.)
A holistic doctor can test you for arsenic and other metals. If you've been exposed, natural therapies such as chelation can help you to detoxify.
For complete testing and treatment in the Southern California area, make an appointment to see me at my clinic outside San Diego.
Not in the area? I'm also available for telephone advice. Call 855-DOC-MARK to learn more.