Heart Attack Is a Disease of Agribusiness, Not Longevity

Claims that primitive societies’ lack of heart attacks can be explained by shorter lifespans are based on nothing but wishful thinking. It seems logical, but there’s nothing behind the words.

It sounds good, so the claim that primitive people don’t live long enough to get heart attacks is routinely trotted out by modern medicine apologists. The problem is that it isn’t true—and no documentation has ever shown it to be true. There is, in fact, ample documentation demonstrating the opposite, that people who are not subjected to modern Agribusiness diets almost never fall victim to heart attacks, no matter what their lifespans.

Studies of the Kuna

The 1997 Study, Focus on Salt

The Kuna people live on islands in the Panamanian Carribean Sea. In one study, which we’ll refer to as 1997 study for the year it was published, focused on salt, but didn’t carefully analyze the food itself. It found that those who live a traditional lifestyle and eat a largely traditional diet, with or without salt, hypertension is a rarity and blood pressure does not rise with age.⁽¹⁾

The 1997 study’s primary focus is on salt intake. If they had any bias, the authors of the study would have leaned towards a typical modern medicine viewpoint. Their financing came from the Baxter Foundation, which was created by the pharmaceutical corporation, and the National Institutes of Health, which has supported the usual balderdash spouted by modern medicine regarding the causes of heart disease.

Of the 316 Kuna participants, 184 were isolated and lived traditionally, 84 lived and worked in urban Panama City, and 90 worked in the outskirts of Panama City and maintained a lifestyle that was a cross between the urban and isolated Kuna; the latter were referred to as suburban. Ages ranged from 18 to 82.

The isolated Kuna showed no hypertension and no age-related rise in blood pressure. The highest blood pressure readings in two subjects were 140 mm Hg systolic and less than 85 mm Hg diastolic. The body mass index (BMI) average of 22.5 (+/-0.5) kg/m2 was unchanged by age.

The urban Kuna living and working in Panama City showed significant blood pressure increases with age. Overall, 10.7% suffered from hypertension, and 45.1% of those over age 60 suffered from it. The BMI rose with age and was an average of 23.6 (+/-0.5) kg/m2.

The suburban Kuna’s blood pressure also rose significantly, though not as much as the urbanites’. The prevalence of hypertension in those over age 60 was 35.9% and average blood pressure rose with age. Their BMI averaged 22.8 (+/- 0.3), almost the same as the island-isolated group.

The isolated Kuna’s salt intake was analyzed. 50 of the 184 added salt to their food, a modern addition that the rest did not follow. Of the salt users, the added salt contributed 75% to their overall sodium. The range of salt intake was from 0.2 to 6 teaspoons per day. The islanders’ diet, as compared to the American diet, was low in fat and protein, and high in carbohydrates and fiber. It did not, of course, include any food from modern Agribusiness.

In spite of significant salt intake, the islanders suffered virtually no hypertension, while those who adhered to a more modern lifestyle and food intake did suffer from hypertension.

The 2007 Study, Focus on Flavanoids

The 1997 study did not closely analyze the Kuna diet. That was remedied in a study published in 2007. It revealed that the Kuna diet is significantly higher in fat than the typical American’s.

The 2007 study documented that the average meat intake, including fish, is identical to the average American’s: 8.6 ounces per day.

The Kuna routinely consume 40 ounces of a drink made from cacao every day. The study did not calculate its fat content, instead focusing on flavanoids, thereby completely missing the amount of fat consumed. American-based cocoa is made from defatted cacao, but the Kuna do not use that; they use the full-fat local cacao. It contains 44.2% fat by weight. The average Kuna’s daily fat intake is 8 grams more than the average American’s.

The 2007 study reports on the life spans of Panamanians as a whole and Kuna isolated on islands. The results are revealing:

The Kuna live significantly longer than Panamanians who lead more modern lives…

Read the rest here.