Harvard Medical School that reveals C-reactive protein, an inflammatory marker, is now considered a better indicator of your cardiovascular health than cholesterol. That is a bold statement we should all take note of, especially when Americans are spending billions of dollars on statins annually, and thousands of doctors are still prescribing them based on medical science from over 50 years ago.

Cardiologist and other physicians are now revealing what Harvard Medical School also publicized, 50% of the heart attack victims have low cholesterol numbers, and the additional 50% have high cholesterol numbers. That is not statistically significant in favor of lowering cholesterol to prevent heart attacks. I am not advocating you ignore cholesterol as a health indicator. I am advocating that you take note of the new science, and get your C-reactive protein blood test!

You must recognize the villain — the robber of your health and quality of life. We put way too much emphasis on treating disease rather than on what is causing illness. Chronic inflammation is not a specific disease, as stated by NIH. And that is also why, according to Johns Hopkins University, there is not a lot of pharmaceutical research or drugs to address it. It is a mechanistic process of the immune system. Thanks to leading health institutions like Harvard Medical School and leading physicians for publishing books, we are learning the causes and ill effects of chronic inflammation.

William Davis, M.D., cardiologist, is the New York Times bestselling author of Wheat Belly books that forever changed the nutritional world. He challenged one of the biggest lies ever told; eat low fat and high carbohydrate diet.

In his book, Dr. William Davis states, “Most people are boiling pots of inflammation: hot, steaming, churning cauldrons of disordered, chaotic inflammatory responses due to the food choices that perform poorly to human dietary needs.”

Joseph Scherger, M.D. of Eisenhower Health and clinical professor of Family Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California writes in his book Fit and Lean, “Why do we keep poisoning ourselves… The real cause of the poisoning that has made most of us overweight or obese, with a staggering burden of disease, is a toxic food environment, of highly glycemic carbohydrates and inflammatory proteins.”

The point is not to list all the inflammatory causes but to make you aware that inflammation is your most significant health risk, and our foodie culture promotes many of the foods that inflame. Empower yourself. Take command of your life and live with the wellness you desire! Know your indicators like C-reactive protein, BMI and blood sugar levels as they are indicators of the danger lurking within.