At this writing I don’t have all the facts behind the death of this man who had such an impact on all of us. Many of you are thinking, “How could this happen to a man who was so young?” (Jackson was only 50 years old.)

If Jackson indeed died of a cardiac arrest, as is suspected at this time, the disease process could have started many years ago. Remember, poor diet, lack of exercise, stress and inadequate sleep can cause insulin resistance, which raises the circulating blood insulin level in the body.

High insulin levels cause inflammation of the lining cells of the arteries. This is compounded by the fact that the body also releases a lot of inflammatory chemicals (interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor, or TNF) in the bloodstream. This also causes the lining of the cells of the arteries to become inflamed. The cell-lining inflammation sets the scene for hardening of the arteries (arthrosclerosis), and plaques begin to form and grow, especially if your cholesterol level is over the 150-200 range).

The heart’s three major arteries are often involved with this arthrosclerosis. As the heart arteries narrow, occasionally a plaque will break loose and block the artery, and then blood can’t reach the heart muscle. This causes a heart attack (also known as myocardial infarction). If the damage involves a large area, it can cause death. This is called sudden death syndrome, and we see it in men in their 50s and women in their 60s. Sudden death syndrome affects up to 30 percent of “young” people who have heart attacks.

You can also have problems with the beating of the heart, called arrhythmia, which results in the heart fibrillating (beating 200 times or more per minute). Fibrillating hearts don’t effectively pump blood, which can result in death. Arrhythmia can also be caused by drugs, both prescription and illegal.

If the death of Michael Jackson caused you some anxiety about yourself and the general state of your health, it’s time to start following what we have been blogging about. Watch your diet, start exercising, control the stress in your life, get adequate sleep (7 to 8 hours a night), stop smoking, minimize your drinking and take time in your life to put yourself first. If you are overweight, it's time to get the excess weight off.

Michael Jackson was an important man in my life. For all of his shortcomings, I loved the guy. I thought he was one of the best entertainers of our time. I put him right there with Frank Sinatra. The last few days have been tough with the loss of Farrah Fawcett yesterday (at 63), as well as the May 1 passing of Las Vegas entertainer Danny Gans (who in his 50s). Gans was “Entertainer of the Year” in Las Vegas for 11 consecutive years.

I love you guys, Michael, Farrah and Danny.