Diabetes and Heart Attack: A Functional Perspective

The commonly accepted view of the relationship between Diabetes and a Heart Attack is that excess blood sugar damages blood vessels, promotes plaque buildup, leads to narrowed arteries and reduced oxygen supply to the heart, and affects the nerves that regulate heart function. From a functional perspective, however, the reduced Parasympathetic Nervous System function is considered the primary root cause of heart attacks, and diabetes is not viewed as a direct contributor to this mechanism. I present an alternative perspective that goes beyond the issue of narrowed blood vessels and instead focuses on how the body processes and utilizes excess sugar.

I affirm that elevated levels of sugar can contribute to a Heart Attack. This effect is not immediate; rather, long-term excessive sugar intake can damage blood vessels and nerves, including the Parasympathetic Nervous System, and affect Acetylcholine production, particularly in the presence of leaky gut.

In Human Heart, Cosmic Heart (p. 58), Thomas Cowan explains that during physical or emotional stress, adrenaline levels rise, prompting myocardial cells to break down glucose through Aerobic Glycolysis. This process shifts the heart’s metabolism away from its preferred and more efficient energy sources—ketones and fatty acids. When glucose levels are elevated, more glucose is metabolized, leading to increased glycolysis and the accumulation of Lactic Acid (a poison) within myocardial cells. The buildup of lactic acid interferes with calcium entry into these cells, reduces contractility, and contributes to cardiac events.

He also states that excessive carbohydrate intake stimulates increased insulin production, which can promote obesity; in turn, obesity contributes to inflammation. For this reason, he recommends measuring C-Reactive Protein as a diagnostic marker in individuals with heart disease.

Based on my brother’s experience after recovering from a heart attack, he made a major dietary change by avoiding most meats (beef and chicken) and relying heavily on Quaker Oats as his primary food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with some fruits and vegetables. Consuming oats in excess and as a near-exclusive food source had negative effects, leading to elevated blood pressure. When we asked him to stop eating the oats, his symptoms subsided.