|
You play a very important role in determining your
risk for heart disease. With so much misinformation about heart disease
you'd be well off to read the following facts and change your habits. You
have the power and choice to control this epidemic problem.
IMPORTANT: You
may THINK you know the risk factors (and you are probably correct on some of
them), but before you go further, read
The Cholesterol Myths,
The Danger of Hydrogenated Or
Partially Hydrogenated Fats Or Oils, and a detailed discussion of
fats. Various food
industries, the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart
Association and the FDA aren't telling you the truth. In fact, if you follow
their recommendations, you have a higher chance of developing heart
disease.
|
Patterns Which Contribute To Heart Disease Risk |
How
To Minimize Heart Disease |
| Sedentary lifestyle |
Get
aerobic exercise at least 3 times per week |
Smoking or tobacco use:
Smoking increases the risk of heart disease. Nicotine increases the
fatty buildup on arterial walls causing vasoconstriction and decreased
blood flow, thus increasing your susceptibility to heart attack. Women
smokers are nine times more likely to die from coronary heart disease
than non smokers. Deaths in general from coronary heart disease are
70% higher in smokers. |
Quit
smoking or using tobacco |
| Avoid high levels of processed omega-6
vegetable oils, especially soy, corn, cottonseed and safflower oils.
Go ahead and enjoy those juicy animal fats! You'll be VERY surprised
that if you don't get enough fats, you have a higher chance of
developing heart disease. See what the research says. |
Read about fats and the myths
Read about
cholesterol myths
Read why hydrogenated
fats are harmful
Stay away from
Olestra |
| Consuming excess alcohol |
Limit alcohol intake |
| Excess weight as determined by
BMI and
body fat distribution. |
Attain and maintain a healthy weight |
| Stress |
Understanding Stress |
| Caffeine can lead to ventricular fibrillation
and possible heart attacks. People that drink at least six cups of
coffee a day increase their risk of heart disease by 120%. |
Read about
caffeine here. |
| A diet high in sugar will cause platelets to
clump, damage to arteriole walls, and eventually hardening of the
arteries. Diets high in refined carbohydrates (white sugar, white
flour, etc.) can cause the liver to overmanufacture cholesterol. |
108 Ways
Sugar Ruins Your Health |
| Birth control pills, estrogen replacement
therapy, long term intake of vitamin D pills, all increase the
likelihood of heart problems. |
Hormone
Replacement Therapy - The Risks |
| A toxic bowel won't be able to eliminate
cholesterol well and can lead to fatty deposits in the blood vessels. |
Get
tested by a practitioner. Take adequate amounts of
enyme supplements so
your food is digested properly, and ensure that your liver is working
adequately. These include Zypan,
Multizyme,
Betaine Hydrochloride,
Lact-Enz,
B6-Niacinamide, and
Zymex II. |
| A person with an underactive thyroid will
have an increased amount of blood fat and be more susceptible to heart
attacks. |
Read about the
thyroid. |
| Hypoadrenia causing lowered
aldosterone output can cause cardiac arrhythmias as can
ileocecal
valve syndrome. |
Take our free
test which can reveal these two conditions. |
| Nerve pressure in the upper thoracic spine
can cause heart problems. |
Read about
how Chiropractic removes nerve pressure. |
| A vitamin B deficiency can cause heart
palpitations. |
Take our free
test which can reveal vitamin B deficiencies. Get a
hair tissue mineral
analysis which can reveal vitamin/mineral imbalances. |
| Ulcer patients fed a high milk diet have
twice the incidence of heart attacks as ulcer patients not on a high
milk diet. |
Drink real
milk which contains the enzymes necessary for proper digestion to
take place. |
| A lack of magnesium appears to produce heart
problems. Low hydrochloric acid, high protein diet, dairy products,
and a diet high in refined foods, all tend to produce magnesium
deficiencies. |
Get a
hair tissue mineral
analysis which can reveal vitamin/mineral imbalances. |
| Alcohol, vegetable oil, and margarine, all
cause red blood cells to clump together. This can block blood flow to
capillaries and cause decreased oxygen supply, damage to the
circulatory system and cells it supplies nutrients to. |
Read about fats
and the myths that have been generated.
Read about
cholesterol myths
Read why hydrogenated
fats are harmful
Stay away from
Olestra |
| Hardening of the arteries due to any of the
above causes or any other factor that decreases oxygen supply can
cause angina. Not dressing warmly enough can stimulate angina. |
Take our free
test which can reveal this. |
| A hiatal hernia can mimic heart problems. |
Read about
hiatal hernia. |
If you have already have
heart disease, reduce your risks of complications by learning more about and
following advise on self care for people
with heart disease. Learn more about
health care for people with heart disease.
Top
Certain
medical conditions can increase the risk of developing heart disease.
Treating those conditions properly can help to maintain heart health.
Two other factors that can contribute
to one's risk of heart disease are age and a family history of heart
disease.
Your age may increase your risk of
heart disease if:
- you are a man over the age of 45 years old
- you are a woman over the age of 55 years old.
Your family history may increase
your risk for heart disease if:
- your brother or father had a heart attack before the age of 55
- your sister or mother had a heart attack before the age of 65
Your risk for heart disease increases
with the number of risk factors that apply to you. You cannot control your
family history, or your age, but you can improve lifestyle risk factors
through appropriate self
care practices. You can further reduce your risk of heart disease by
having your physician assess and prescribe appropriate
health care interventions
for your medical risk factors.
Top
Some people are at a lower risk for
heart disease than others. They have natural protective factors or they
acquire their protection through healthy living. The person who is less
likely to develop heart disease is someone who fits the following profile:
|
Characteristic
of the person with low risk for developing heart disease. |
Why it is
protective. |
| HDL cholesterol over 60 mg/dl |
HDL
(High Density Lipoproteins) are the good kinds of cholesterol that
cleans out the plaque accumulating in the blood vessels. Levels over
60 mg/dl have been shown to impart special protection. The higher the
HDL, the better. |
| Premenopausal women |
They have a lower risk for heart
disease because of the natural estrogen hormone that their ovaries
produce. Post menopausal women, and woman that have had their ovaries
surgically removed, should consider
hormone
replacement therapy to lower their risk of heart disease. |
| Includes regular exercise. |
Exercise
raises HDL, lowers mildly elevated blood pressure, improves
circulation, strengthens the heart muscle, helps with weight control,
and reduces stress. |
| Has normal blood pressure. |
High
blood pressure can lead the heart
attacks and strokes. High blood pressure can be asymptotic. People who
are overweight are 2-6 times more likely to have high blood pressure.
Be sure to have your blood pressure checked regularly. |
| Maintains a healthy weight. |
Being overweight can cause high
blood pressure. Carrying extra weight makes the heart work harder, and
makes it more difficult to exercise. Obesity raises the triglycerides
and the LDL (bad kind of cholesterol), and lowers the HDL. Obesity
also increases the risk for developing type 2 diabetes. If you need
help, consider a formal
program for
weight control. |
| If drinking alcohol, does so in
moderation. |
Moderation means one or two
drinks per day as a maximum. If a little is good, more is not better.
Excess alcohol contributes
to obesity, raises the blood pressure, raises triglycerides levels,
and increases the risk of heart failure and stroke. |
| Does not smoke. |
Smoking is
one of the biggest factors contributing to heart disease. Smoking
lowers HDL, raises LDL, raises blood pressure, and causes strokes. |
Eats a diet with the following parameters: |
Avoid all
hydrogenated fats
Avoid high levels of processed omega-6 vegetable oils, especially soy,
corn, cottonseed and safflower oils
Use high quality butter
Use small amounts of flax oil in salad dressings.
Use coconut oil or whole coconut milk in cooking
Supplement with cod liver oil and evening primrose, borage or black
current oils
Eat organ meats and fish eggs occasionally
Eat good quality eggs frequently
Eat raw meat or fish occasionally (Note: Fish should be marinated
in an acidic medium, and meat should be frozen for at least 14 days
before preparation, to avoid parasite contamination.)
Avoid high phytate foods that block zinc. These include grains,
legumes and nuts that have not been properly prepared to reduce
phytate content. Modern soy foods have potent zinc-blocking effects.
Avoid refined sweeteners like sugar and high fructose corn syrup
Eat and drink in moderation—but don’t deprive yourself of delicious
traditional foods. |
| Eats a diet low in cholesterol. |
Cholesterol is
only found in animal products. It especially high in egg yolks, organ
meats, shrimp and squid. Eat moderate portions of lean meats. Limiting
to 6-8 ounces per day usually assures the cholesterol intake is not
excessive. |
| Limits dietary sodium (salt). |
Eating too much
sodium can
cause high blood pressure. Excess salt can also interfere with the
effectiveness of blood pressure lowering medications. |
| Eats a diet rich in fruits and
vegetables. |
These selections are
cholesterol-free, and are usually naturally lowfat. Fruits and
vegetables contain
antioxidants and
phytochemicals to protect against heart disease. |
| Eats a diet rich in soluble
fiber. |
Soluble fiber helps
to lower cholesterol levels. Soluble fiber is found in oats, legumes
(dried beans/peas), barley, rice bran, and fruits and vegetables. |
| Eats a diet that includes fish. |
Fish oils
provide omega-3 fatty acids which lower triglycerides, and LDL
cholesterol levels. Fish oils also help to prevent blot clots. |
| Manages stress in a healthy
manner. |
For some people,
stress causes blood
pressure and heart rate to rise significantly. Reacting to stress by
smoking, drinking or overeating increases the risks associated with
stress; all these behaviors are linked to heart disease. |
Take this
preliminary
to see if your cardiovascular system condition could respond to nutritional
therapy.
Treating heart disease is
unfortunately combined with money and politics. Read about the false
information in the heart resource
center.
|
