President Bush, Eat your Broccoli!

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

The President of the U.S. enjoys many perks and huge power. George Bush has Air Force One available at a moment's notice. And with the push of a button he could start a devastating nuclear war. He can also say, "I'm President of the United States and I don't have to follow Mother's dictum to eat that damn broccoli anymore."

Naturally this recent remark didn't please American farmers who proceeded to dump a truckload of broccoli on the White House lawn. And I doubt his memorable remark would have pleased President Bush's Mother. But who was right? The President or his Mother?

President Bush recently sent shivers through the country, and the rest of the world, when he developed an irregular heart beat. We were told it was due to an overactive thyroid gland, easily treated with medication.

But could it also be from not eating broccoli? After all, this wouldn't be the first time presidential physicians have issued a false diagnosis to ease the public psyche.

Efficient action of the heart requires the right balance of calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium. Potassium plays a critical role. A deficiency of this mineral can cause fatigue, muscle weakness, and mental confusion. And Mr. President, it can also trigger an irregular heart rhythm.

Sir Ferguson Anderson, a noted English gerontologist, reported in Executive Health that some elderly people in the United Kingdom develop potassium deficiency due to a diet low in potassium. Or from the use of too many laxatives.

Dr. Louis Tobian, at the University of Minnesota, says that apart from a few Stone-Age tribes, most of the world suffers from potassium deficiency. I'm sure he would tell George Bush that, coupled with an excess of sodium, it's a recipe for cardiac disaster.

Tobian claims that the structural integrity of arterial walls is weakened when a lack of potassium occurs. And that cardiovascular problems begin when weakened arterial walls are subjected to increased blood pressure.

The Minnesota researcher says we should all consume about 10 times as much potassium as sodium in our diet. Stone-Age people foraged for nuts, roots, fruits and tubers and ate very little meat. It was a diet high in potassium and fiber, but low in sodium and fat. He claims modern man's diet has degenerated ever since that time.

But why does Dr. Tobian point to the lack of place potassium as the major culprit of the modern diet? After all, it's hard to pick up a newspaper without reading that excesses such as cholesterol are the main causes of heart disease.

Tobian attempted to repeat an experiment which researchers claimed proved that potassium could prevent hypertension. So he loaded rats with sodium to produce high blood pressure and then dosed them with potassium trying to lower it. But nothing happened.

Luckily Dr. Tobian examined the rats kidneys. He discovered that potassium decreased the damage of hypertension by 50 per cent. The walls of the arteries showed none of the usual thickening seen in induced hypertension.

Tobian then repeated the experiment on a strain of rats particularly prone to stroke. He found that a high potassium diet reduced the mortality by an amazing 93 per cent. And at post mortem examination there were no significant lesions in the arteries of the brain.

But does potassium enable human arteries to withstand excessive stretching and pounding from hypertension? Dr. Tobian thinks so. He calculates that Stone Age people consumed between 200 and 250 milliequivalents of potassium a day. Contrast this to whites in North America today who get 70 milliequivalents daily and poor blacks in the U.S. who receive only half that amount. The result? Blacks exhibit 18 times as much kidney disease and more strokes than whites.

The Scottish people also consume less potassium. Their climate is not conducive to growing fruits and vegetables. They too have a high rate of strokes and heart disease. Conversely, in southern England, France, and Italy where vegetables and fruits are more available, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases are lower.

So, Mr. President, no doubt you need radioactive iodine to treat hyperthyroidism. But if your Mother were preparing breakfast on Air Force One she would make sure you ate grapefruit, melon, peaches, oranges, bananas or rhubarb all loaded with potassium.

I'm equally sure she would place fish, meat, cauliflower, brussel sprouts and potatoes on your plate for lunch and dinner. And when you were not looking she might even toss some broccoli in your soup! That, Mr. President might provide extra insurance against irregular heart beats, and against other cardiovascular problems.

W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones

Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod