What to Eat to Clean Out Your Arteries—Dr. Berg Explains

You know , heart disease is right at the top of the list among all causes of death .

And I talk a lot about what to avoid for heart problems and cardiovascular disease .

But today we're gonna talk about what to eat , to clean out your arteries , whether you already have an existing heart problem or you wanna just prevent some things .

So I'm gonna talk about what to eat , but I think it's gonna be important to also cover what not to eat .

Um So I just want to briefly talk about that and then get right into exactly what you should eat .

So that way , you know why you should eat certain things .

All right .

So where does this heart problem actually start and originate ?

Well , it starts on the inside of your artery .

There's a very uh thin layer of cells .

In fact , it's just a one cell layer of thickness inside your arteries .

And it's called the endothelial layer .

And it's permeable .

It allows things to go back and forth and it lines all your vascular system as well as the lymphatic system and uh your kidneys are connected to this .

So when you filter blood to the kidneys , you have this little thin wall that helps to filter things out as well as keep things in .

And so this cell wall um actually has a lot of different receptors for controlling blood pressure .

Uh There's hormonal interactions , there's a huge immune uh part of these cells .

So whatever is in your blood is going to affect that layer .

I mean , the obvious thing is like when you smoke or drink those things , those toxins and in your blood and it actually influences that cell wall .

And I do want to emphasize the word chronic because you have people that occasionally go off their plans , right ?

But then you have people that chronically do certain things , right ?

They're chronically exposing their arteries to whatever's in the smoke or whatever's in their food or alcohol .

And that really creates the big problem .

And you also have as another aspect uh stress can affect that cell layer and of course , sugar , refined sugars , especially refined carbohydrates , even sometimes worse than sugar , even the gluten and grains can irritate that cell wall .

And another big one is seed oils , ok ?

Canola , soy oil , corn oil , um it's cotton seed oil .

So when the inside layer of your uh arteries are exposed to these things , you induce inflammation and that is really the start of this cascade of things where your body starts triggering this healing response where you get this band aid , which includes proteins like fibrous tissue , uh called fibrin and then you have a combination of cholesterol and calcium .

So that's what makes up this clot .

And there's really some good tests out there , especially the coronary artery calcification test .

Uh The C AC test I would highly recommend to do that .

I had it done .

You want it zero and that's a really good predictor of mortality .

Another really good test is a heart rate variability test .

Uh There's a lot of research on that , uh which is a certain devices that you could hook up to even your finger or a band around your , your waist or your arm to pick up what's happening with the contraction and relaxation of not just the heart but all the vessels involved .

And from that test , you can tell what's happening with the cardiovascular system .

Uh it's really good , especially with the long distance runners who look healthy , but some of them are not healthy , maybe they're over training or something and they have inflammation going on in the arteries which then can create a problem like heart attack after they reach the finish line .

So you can't always go by how someone looks on the outside .

Um There's certain tests that can pick up things on the inside .

Another really good test would be to measure the small dense uh particle size of your LDLs , right ?

That's a really good indicator of something called oxidative uh LDL , which is basically is this protein carrier of certain fat that has been exposed to certain things and it's , it's a bit pathogenic because it can invade inside of that layer and get deeper into the area and it can create inflammation and it lingers around longer than the other LDL called the large buoyant , which I don't wanna get too deep into that topic .

But you just need to know that there's two types of LDL and there's kind of one that is more pathogenic and one that is uh not as pathogenic .

You also have this other bar marker , which actually indicates a B vitamin deficiency .

Ok .

And that would be homocysteine .

So that's another test that could be done if homocysteine is too high .

This means that you're deficient in certain B vitamins that are necessary to protect uh the inside of the artery .

And uh if you have high homocysteine , you can be at risk for heart attack and stroke .

And for that , you can need natural uh forms of certain vitamins like uh folate and also B six and also B 12 .

Because here's the thing , there is a certain genetic problem that a lot of people have and it's called MTHFR .

And if you have a problem with this , this means that you can't convert these synthetic versions of these vitamins to the active form .

A lot of people are deficient in that .

So then the homocysteine level goes up and they're at risk for a lot of problems .

So , a simple solution is just to consume more folate , not folic acid , which is in a lot of the enriched flour products and rich grains .

They also put in energy drinks and they put it in supplements .

You wanna stay away from folic acid .

And then we have this question of like how does the calcium end up in the arteries ?

Well , there's one protein in the body that helps you keep calcium from building up in the soft tissues in the arteries .

And that protein is controlled by vitamin K two .

So part of this list of foods are gonna be heavy in the vitamin K two because we want to keep the calcium out of the arteries .

Another really common deficiency that creates a lot of problems in the arteries because it's a real strong protective thing for the inside of the arteries is vitamin E .

So part of this list , it's also gonna include vitamin E and one food that really depletes your vitamin E is the refined grains .

Ok .

The problem with grains is it's loaded with gluten too .

And then you say , well , what if I have gluten free ?

Well , then it's refined .

So we have this higher sugar , this product that turns in the sugar faster and we don't want sugar to end up in the arteries .

Niacin is another really important nutrient that is going to be in these lists of foods .

And of course , vitamin C is gonna be in there as well because that's a very important antioxidant that can help decrease some of the uh damage that you're exposed to in the environment with the foods you eat and other things .

So let's dive right into the list .

OK .

Number one is the heavy on the omega three fatty acids .

That would be of course , salmon , other fatty fish , sardines , very , very important .

And there's one more thing too that I consume on a regular basis .

And you probably heard of cod liver oil , but you may have not heard of cod liver .

That's right .

Cod liver .

So , here's an example of it right here .

Cod liver .

I don't know if you can see that cod liver in the oil and sometimes I crave it .

So I'll do this , you know , maybe once or twice a week has my protein source .

It's bathed in this omega three fatty acid .

So I wouldn't drink all that .

I , I would just have the salmon and maybe feed the oil to your , your animals like dogs , for example , they like it .

But uh , it's a lot of oil to consume and sometimes I'll do sardines as well .

And of course , the sardines , I do an olive oil .

So that would be number two , olive oil , olive oil has a lot of great properties for the cardiovascular system to help people prevent the high blood pressure .

It's a really good fat , it's loaded with heart , healthy , supportive things for the endothelial cells .

And you really wanna make sure that it's extra virgin olive oil from a location or farm that really cares about their olive oil .

That does a good job of producing it compared to some of the olive oil that you , you take .

It's just so bland , it's not even real .

And there's also a lot of fake olive oil out there .

So make sure you have the good stuff .

I like the stuff from Italy , but there's also great stuff from Greece Spain France all over the place .

And number three , dark leafy green vegetables .

OK ?

So you can put the olive oil on that dark leafy green to help extract these phyto nutrients .

Because a lot of the phyto nutrients in plants , especially salad are fat sable .

And the dark leafy green vegetables have a good amount of vitamin C , OK ?

They also are loaded with folate , which is the natural form of B nine .

And the dark leafy green vegetables also has magnesium as well as potassium .

OK ?

And the next food I'm gonna recommend is a type of cheese that you'll put on your salad .

Now , a lot of people use the American version of this called the Parmesan cheese , right ?

Which is , I think by craft from my viewpoint , doesn't even compare to the real stuff that um they specialize in a certain part of Italy to create this one type of cheese , which is loaded in vitamin K two , which is really important in keeping that calcium out of the artery and please excuse me , if I butcher the name of this , but it's called Parmigiano .

And you can usually find this at any store .

You have to make sure that you get the right kind because a lot of times the regular Parmesan cheese that you get in America , they have this added ingredient called cellulose , which is from wood pulp , kind of like a filler .

Like , let me ask you this , why would you want to put a filler in this cheese ?

I will guarantee if you get the real stuff from Italy , they're not gonna put wood pulp in there , ok ?

In the form of silos .

And they actually did a tour of how they make this cheese and they put a lot of care into this traditional cheese .

It's dynamite on your salad .

So you get all this vitamin K two .

Yeah , the extra virgin olive oil on there .

And then I also put on nutritional yeast .

OK ?

Remember when I said unfortified , right ?

You want to get the one that's not fortified with anything synthetic , if you fortify it with natural vitamins , fine but not with synthetics like most companies do .

But the point is that this nutritional yeast has a good natural form of B nine .

And the one that I recommend which I'll put a link down below also has the right form of B 12 , which is methyl CBO amine , but it gives it a natural boost of B vitamins including B one for stress .

And it also has a nice little cheesy taste to it .

I love it .

So there's another food that I'm gonna add to this list that's loaded with vitamin K two and loaded with vitamin C .

In fact , it is the top food that I know of that has the most vitamin C of anything .

And it's raw sauerkraut .

So it's very important not to buy sauerkraut in um a bottle that has been pasteurized .

You want it raw , but sauerkraut is loaded with vitamin K two and it's also a probiotic .

It's a prebiotic .

And it also has a lot of vitamin C like 700 mg per cup .

The next heart healthy food , I'm gonna recommend almonds , believe it or not are loaded with magnesium and so is spinach and also vitamin E , but both of those are loaded with oxalates .

So , if you have cheese close to the meal , ok , you'll have the calcium that will bind with the oxalates and prevent that potential irritation to your kidney or even a kidney stone if someone is predisposed to it .

All right .

The next food I'm gonna recommend is liver .

That's right .

And you can do beef liver , you can even do this cod liver , right .

It's liver or chicken livers , make sure they're quality .

But I know you might disagree with me on this point , but just think about it .

If you have a high quality liver product , um like a beef liver or whatever look what you're getting , you're getting pretty much all the nutrients you can imagine .

I mean , almost every vitamin that's in there in , in great quantities .

It has the foliate , which is high in vegetables and it has vitamin K two .

So we're about to tell you the last one and then I'm gonna explain why I'm telling you this .

Ok .

Um , first of all , if you do a search on heart healthy foods , they will give you , you know , vegetables , fruits , whole grains , right ?

Which we know is not very healthy from my viewpoint .

And then they say , stay away from , you know , sugars , junk food .

And then they say red processed meat and that is everywhere .

So they're including red meat is being very dangerous to your heart .

And so they kind of lump in all this meat together , ok , into one category but hasn't man consumed red meat for quite some time , haven't we evolved , done red meat ?

I mean , is that really the source of all of our heart problems ?

Red meat ?

Really ?

And of course I'm talking about the grass fed , I'm not talking about grain fed and I know a lot of farmers in the area and a lot of them use grains to fatten the cattle because it makes the meat marbleized and the same thing with pigs and even horses , right ?

You could give too much grain to a horse or a pig , they get fat .

I mean , what about humans ?

Why would we want to recommend like 65% of our carbohydrates being grain ?

Why , why do we want to make that push if you consume grass fed grass , finished beef , it's leaner and it's healthier and uh I raise my own beef and it's extremely healthy for the heart .

It has all of the B vitamins I talked about including folate and B six and B 12 .

It has iron .

People aren't gonna be allergic to it .

It's not gonna irritate your gut .

It's not loaded with glutamine , which is good for inflammation .

So I just wanna talk a little bit more about this red meat because uh there's been an extensive extensive very large credible study that was done fairly recently that I want to share with you and I actually found it in an article uh from Time magazine titled Eat Less Red Meat .

Scientists said now some believe that was bad advice .

So check this out .

This is the evidence is too weak to justify telling individuals to eat less beef and pork .

According to the new research , the findings erode public trust critics said which I'm gonna get to what why they're saying that if there are health benefits from eating less beef and pork , they're small .

The researchers concluded indeed , the advantages are so faint that they can be discerned only when looking at large populations .

The scientist said , and are not sufficient to tell individuals to change their meat eating habits .

I mean , that's incredible because I mean , look at what they're trying to push with this red meat .

They're trying to get rid of the cows , uh you know , mainly for environmental thing , but they throw in there that it is bad for your health , uh which is absolutely based on no real evidence already .

They have been met with fierce criticism by public health researchers , the American Heart Association , the American Cancer Society and Harvard Chan School of Public Health and other groups .

Some called for the journal's editors to delay publication altogether .

In a statement , scientists at Harvard warned that the conclusions harm the credibility of nutrition science and erode public trust in scientific research .

Now let me just ask you a question if we find something based on science that is more true .

That's a kind of a new piece of knowledge .

What you think that's because it's conflicting with what we've been told before .

That's gonna erode trust .

It's gonna basically increase trust and who's telling us that ?

What should we just ignore this new finding ?

Because , you know , we don't wanna um confuse the public .

I mean , for me , I wanna know the truth .

That's what builds trust , hiding it from the public or telling a different narrative creates more distrust .

I mean , it's so funny , it harms the credibility of nutritional science .

Well , if nutritional science was based on good studies , then they wouldn't be harmed because they would be telling the truth .

The Physicians Committee for responsible medicine , a group advocating a plant based diet .

And Wednesday filed a petition against the journal with the Federal Trade Commission .

Wow .

So you're gonna attack a research paper based on your disagreement .

Now you're gonna start involving the Federal Trade Commission .

Like this is like ridiculous .

This is not science in science .

We want to welcome opposing viewpoints .

We don't wanna science the other side , the competition basically .

Uh this is what they said in the study says the World Health Organization International Agency uh for research on cancer has indicated that consumption of red meat probably carcinogenic to humans .

Whereas processed meat is considered carcinogenic to humans .

These recommendations are however primarily based on observational studies that are at high risk for confounding and thus are limited in establishing causal inferences nor do they report the absolute magnitude of any possible effects .

Furthermore , the organizations that produce guidelines did not conduct or assess rigorous , systematic reviews of the evidence were also limited in addressing conflicts of interests and did not explicitly address population values and preferences raising questions regarding the adherence to guideline standards for trustworthiness .

So in other words , this idea that red meat is a probable cancer is based on information that has conflict of interest , which I've already been through that research .

And uh I'll share more of that down below with some links .

So check this out .

Our analysis has several strengths .

We conducted five separate rigorous systematic reviews , addressing both the evidence and randomized trials and observational studies regarding the impact of unprocessed red meat and processed meat on cardiovascular and cancer outcomes and community values and preferences regarding red meat and processed meat consumption .

Despite our findings from our assessment of intake studies versus dietary pattern studies , their conclusion is that unprocessed red meat and processed meat are unlikely .

The causal factor for adverse health outcomes .

I wanted to bring that up because one of the things that the tobacco industry used to do or started to do , which then the ultra processed food companies are doing is putting doubt into your mind about what is good and what is bad to keep everyone confused .

And one definite thing about red meat is to put doubts in your mind that that could be bad for you .

And so here you are avoiding it when really it's not based on sound science at all just going forward .

I'm gonna predict that they're gonna continue this .

There's gonna be a lot of bad pr on how unhealthy red meat is .

I mean , it's really important to look at the source of this data that's being pushed out there , who's pushing it out there and who's really gonna benefit from people not eating beef but red meat when it's a high quality is very good for the heart , especially if you're not consuming with it , these grains and sugars and junk food .

Now , if you enjoyed this video , there's another video talking about the best meal for your arteries to keep your arteries really clean .

If you haven't seen that video , which is very popular , I'll put that up right here .

Check it out .