In his books, newsletter, and interviews, Sinatra advocated treatment approaches that combine conventional medical therapies with nutritional and mind-body therapies that he thought enhance the body’s natural bioenergetics and heal the heart. He promoted his ideas of five specific pillars of cardiac health:
an anti-inflammatory diet rich in fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, and healthy oils, similar to the Mediterranean diet [Sinatra also developed an anti-inflammatory, low-glycemic nutrition plan called the Pan-Asian / Modified Mediterranean (PAMM) Diet];
nutritional supplementation that includes a high-potency multi-nutrient, fish oil, magnesium, vitamin C, and coenzyme Q10;
Sinatra believed in the impact one’s emotions have on overall health and the need to resolve so called emotional blockages as well as physical ones.[clarification needed] He stated that “whenever you confront a person with an illness, you have to involve everything, including the spiritual.… Every illness has a psychological and a physical component.”[5] He pointed to such interconnectedness in the relationship between unexpressed negative emotions—anger and sadness, for example—and the development of high blood pressure and heart disease.[5][17] Sinatra also believed that heart disease manifests differently in women than in men, and that such differences ultimately affect diagnosis and treatment of heart disease in women.[18]
Sinatra presented his ideas about "metabolic cardiology" at the American College for Advancement in Medicine’s 2005 Conference on Scientific Integrative Medicine.[19][unreliable medical source?] His proposed treatments included giving patients supplemental doses of substances that occur naturally in the body which he believed enhance metabolic reactions in cells. Sinatra believed coenzyme Q10, D-ribose, and L-carnitine are important in this proposed process because of the roles they play in the production and use of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the body’s basic cellular fuel.[unreliable medical source?] In this context, he called coenzyme Q10 a “wonder nutrient,” especially for women, as he believed it helps the heart pump more effectively.[17][20][unreliable medical source?] His ACAM presentation also suggested that low levels of coenzyQ10 may result in the development of heart disease.
Sinatra was often critical of what he saw as an over-emphasis on cholesterol as an independent risk factor for heart disease and of what he considered the over-prescription of statin drugs.[21] Most statin drugs, which block an enzyme pathway necessary for the body to produce cholesterol, also block the enzyme pathway by which the body naturally produces coenzyme Q10.[unreliable medical source?] Sinatra acknowledged that these drugs accomplish their goal of reducing cholesterol, but maintained that they also deprive the heart and other muscles of a vital nutrient and thereby set the stage for potential heart failure.[citation needed]
Sinatra was also critical of refined sugar, which he called “public enemy number one when it comes to heart disease, not cholesterol.”[22] He believed the surges of insulin that occur when too much sugar is consumed create a “yo-yo effect” that, over time, damages the inner lining of the blood vessels.[unreliable medical source?] He also believed that sugar is linked to the proliferation of cancer cells.[23]
"Grounding"
Sinatra advocated a controversial alternative health practice called "grounding" or "earthing." According to the theory of grounding, the earth's surface is negatively charged and contact with the earth allows electrons to neutralize free radicals in the human body.[24] One study, published in a fringe journal, attempted to show a reduction in blood viscosity and blood pressure, a key factor in cardiovascular disease, but has been highly questioned due to improper methods and questionable results.[25] Advocates say this can be accomplished by lying or walking barefoot on grass, sand or earth, or by lying on a special pad connected to the earth by grounding wires or a rod, or plugged into a wall outlet with a "modern earth ground system". None of these "treatments" have proven to be legitimate.
Books and publications
Sinatra was the author of the monthly newsletter Heart, Health & Nutrition (ISSN1554-2467), and has written or contributed to the following books:
Lose to Win: A Cardiologist’s Guide to Weight Loss and Nutritional Healing (Lincoln Bradley Publishing, 1992) 20:03, 31 August 2010 (UTC)
References
^Sinatra ST. Heartbreak and Heart Disease (Keats Publishing 1996, 1999).
^Sinatra, Stephen T. (2003). "Is Cholesterol Lowering with Statins the Gold Standard for Treating Patients with Cardiovascular Risk and Disease?". Southern Medical Journal. 96 (3): 220–222. doi:10.1097/01.smj.0000051743.83926.12. PMID12659350.
^Chopra, R. K.; Goldman, R.; Sinatra, S. T.; Bhagavan, H. N. (January 1998). "Relative bioavailability of coenzyme Q10 formulations in human subjects". International Journal for Vitamin and Nutrition Research. 68 (2): 109–113. PMID9565826.
^Sinatra, S. T. (2009). "Metabolic cardiology: The missing link in cardiovascular disease". Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 15 (2): 48–50. PMID19284182.
^Sinatra, S. T. (2009). "Metabolic cardiology: An integrative strategy in the treatment of congestive heart failure". Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. 15 (3): 44–52. PMID19472864.
^Stephen Sinatra’s Heart, Health & Nutrition, February 2008
^ abSinatra, ST. Heartbreak & Heart Disease: A Mind/Body Prescription for Healing the Heart. Keats Publishing: New Canaan, CT. 1996