It has been said Einstein’s E=mc2 (energy=mass x C speed of light squared) is the world’s most important scientific equation. Unfortunately, it created the atomic bomb that killed thousands in the Second World War.
But I believe my equation, EP = a2 (extra pounds = atherosclerosis squared), is the world’s important medical equation. Regrettably, it’s killing more millions every year than E=mc2.
Think again if you believe this is exaggerated.
Consider human obesity. Nothing, including the thousands of books on weight loss and diet, has been able to stop the epidemic of obesity that gets worse worldwide every year.
Nor does anyone have the solution to the problem of increasing numbers of people developing Type 2 diabetes. The U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that one in 13 North Americans has diabetes. And one in four over the age of 65 suffers from this disease.
Then there are an estimated 14 million people in North America who don’t even know they have diabetes!! And millions more have prediabetes, just one step away from diabetes and its complications. All these figures increase every year.
So how does this combination kill? It’s because EP (extra pounds) = a2 (atherosclerosis), causes the rust that collects in all of our arteries as we age. We have known for years that people who are obese or have diabetes or both always develop more of this deadly rust that is composed of fatty deposits and cholesterol.
The deadly trio of obesity, diabetes and heart attack will eventually bring our health-care system to its knees. Years ago, this scenario was rare. More people died from infection. Now, since we live longer, the Gifford-Jones law has a major effect on longevity with the development of degenerative diseases. Gifford-Jones law states that one disease often leads to another, and another. The best example is that obesity leads to Type 2 diabetes and 50 per cent of diabetics die of a heart attack due to atherosclerosis.
The problem isn’t complicated. If all the toilets in the country stopped flushing due to plugged pipes, civilization as we know it would quickly end. If the organs of our body lack oxygenated blood due to plugged arteries, our own lives on this planet end.
It’s been said that you can whip a tired horse only so long before it drops. Extra pounds, similarly, put tremendous stress on the pancreas. It eventually collapses and stops producing insulin.
When I graduated from Harvard Medical School 65 years ago, only five per cent of people had Type 2 diabetes and 95 per cent was due to genetics. Now, 95 per cent develop Type 2 diabetes (better called lifestyle diabetes) due to obesity. And obese children usually become obese adults. This means they face increased risk of blindness, kidney failure, leg amputation and heart attack.
Atherosclerosis is therefore the ultimate destroyer, gradually decreasing the amount of oxygenated blood and other nutrients that are necessary for all organs. Just as a car cannot run without gas, the pancreas and other organs falter without oxygen.
So what is going to happen in the future? The answer is that EP=a2 will continue to kill more than Einstein’s equation. The blunt truth is that only draconian measures by government and citizens will stem the epidemic of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. Hell will freeze over before that happens.
But there is a simple, natural way to put a dent in the progress of our No. 1 killer, heart attack. Eat right and exercise often.
