Heart surgeon reveals 4 meals which are ‘actively poisoning’ you… together with ‘wholesome’ alternative that’s as unhealthy as alcohol
A top heart surgeon has revealed the foods and drinks he avoids that are ‘actively poisoning’ you body.
Dr Jeremy London, a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon in Georgia, shared the top foods he avoids to lower his risk of cardiovascular disease, America’s number one killer that takes 1 million lives every year.
The disease, which includes coronary artery disease, heart attack and stroke, among others, kills more Americans than cancer and dementia combined, and experts estimate it is on the rise nationwide.
Health authorities expect by 2050, more than 60 percent of Americans will have some form of heart disease.
In a recently resurfaced TikTok video, Dr London highlighted four food and drink categories that he doesn’t eat or drink, including one beverage touted as healthy.
Dr London said: ‘If we are working so hard to optimize our health, the least you could do is stop actively poisoning your body.’
Below, Daily Mail details the four items Dr London has cut from his diet.
Dr Jeremy London (pictured here), a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon in Georgia, took to TikTok to share the foods he never eats due to increased risks of heart disease
‘Edible food product’
Dr London steers clear of fast food because most options are ‘not even considered real food’ and are loaded with saturated fat and sugar, both of which can clog arteries and lead to heart disease.
Fast food has long been proven to be detrimental when eaten regularly, but Dr London stays away from it entirely.
‘Most of what’s available in fast food chains is “edible food product.” It’s not even real food,’ he said.
This means while fast food staples like burgers and fries are technically safe to consume, they lack enough vital nutrients to be considered food and instead are loaded with saturated fat, sugar, sodium and calories.
Fast food is also generally ultra-processed with additives such as emulsifiers, thickeners and artificial colors, which have been shown to induce inflammation and raise blood pressure, putting increased strain on the heart.
‘Liquid death’
Artificial sweeteners in diet sodas have been linked to strokes and heart disease, Dr London warned (stock image)
Dr London also warned against both regular and diet soft drinks. He called sodas sweetened with either sugar or artificial sweeteners ‘liquid death’ due to their health risk.
A typical 12-ounce can of soda contains about 40 grams of added sugar, about the same as four Krispy Kreme donuts.
The daily added sugar limit in the US is 50 grams. Sugar increases blood pressure and LDL (bad) cholesterol, which cause arteries to become clogged. Additionally, excess sugar intake raises glucose, which gets stored as fat and leads to obesity.
Diet drink are touted as healthier alternatives to full-fat soda, but while they have no calories or sugar, they are often loaded with artificial sweeteners, which have increasingly been linked to heart attacks, strokes and irregular heartbeats.
They can contain artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose and acesulfame potassium (Ace K).
One study published earlier this year on mice found aspartame was linked to atherosclerosis, a disease that causes plaques to build up in the arteries, compromising blood flow.
Research from the University of California, Irvine also found that people who consumed artificial sweeteners regularly were at an 18 percent greater risk of stroke and a nine percent higher risk of developing heart disease.
The researchers suggested these risks could be due to high blood pressure, inflammation and weight gain caused by the sweeteners.
‘Think twice’ about milk products
Dr London warned that full-fat dairy such as milk may raise heart disease risk, though the science is mixed (stock image)
Milk products such as chocolate and cheese are also out of the question due to high saturated fat content, though some studies suggest fermented dairy such as yogurt may lower heart disease risk.
Dr London said: ‘We are the only mammals that drink milk outside of infancy, and we drink it from a different species. Think about it.’
Milk can be high in saturated fat, which raises cholesterol, though research on milk and heart disease is mixed.
A 2016 review found regular- and low-fat milk were associated with neutral or positive heart disease outcomes, and no individual products were linked to a greater heart disease risk.
Another study in The Journal of Nutrition found people who consumed higher amounts of full-fat dairy had a 24 percent lower risk of developing heart disease compared to those who consumed the least.
While saturated fat in high amounts raises heart disease risk, experts believe the protein and calcium in full-fat milk protects against inflammation and coronary artery plaques.
‘Absolutely toxic to every cell’
Lastly, Dr London warned that alcohol is ‘absolutely toxic to every cell in our bodies’ and said ‘even moderate and occasional use’ can raise heart disease risk.
Long-term drinking has been shown to damage the heart muscle, a condition called cardiomyopathy, which weakens the organ over time. Drinking also increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which raises heart rate and blood pressure, putting more wear and tear on the heart.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend no more than one drink daily for women and two for men, though the World Health Organization states that no amount of alcohol consumption should be considered safe.
Additionally, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies alcohol as a group 1 carcinogen. This is the highest risk group, which also includes asbestos, radiation and tobacco.
