Lower Your Risk Of Heart Disease Without Drugs

Today, I am going to tell you how to lower your heart disease risk using a comprehensive dietary and lifestyle approach.
==> Dietary Recommendations
The first step in preventing heart disease is to eat a healthy diet. First, eat more whole foods rich in phytonutrients, plant molecules that give your body the nutrients it needs.
Here are some tips:
1. To avoid blood sugar imbalances that increase heart-disease risk, eat protein with every meal, even at breakfast.
2. Use lean animal protein like fish, turkey, chicken, lamb, and vegetable protein like nuts, beans, and tofu.
3. Combine protein, fat, and carbohydrates in every meal.
4. Avoid white flour and sugar.
5. Eat at least 50 grams of fiber daily. Beans, whole grains, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and fruit all contain fiber.
6. Avoid processed junk food, including soda and juice.
7. Increase omega-3 fatty acids by eating wild salmon, sardines, herring, flaxseeds, and seaweed.
8. Reduce saturated fat and use more grass-fed or organic animal products, which contain less saturated fat.
9. Eliminate hydrogenated fat, found in margarine, shortening, processed oils, baked goods, and processed foods.
10. Use healthy oils, like olive, cold pressed sesame, and other nut oils.
11. Avoid alcohol, which increases triglycerides and fat in the liver and creates blood sugar imbalances.
12. Eat every three to four hours to keep your insulin and blood sugar normal.
13. Don’t eat three hours before bed.
14. Have a protein breakfast every day.
15. Eat two to four tablespoons of ground flaxseeds every day in salads or whole grain cereal. This can lower cholesterol by 18 percent.
16. Drink green tea.
17. Use soy foods, which can help lower cholesterol by 10 percent.
18. Eat at least eight to ten servings of colorful fruits and vegetables a day.
==> Supplements
Along with a healthy diet and exercise program, supplements can dramatically affect your risk of cardiovascular disease:
1. Take a good multivitamin/mineral, plus a purified fish oil supplement containing 1,000 to 2,000 grams a day of EPA/DHA.
2. Try policosanol (10 mg to 20 mg twice a day).
3. Red rice yeast (two 600-mg capsules twice a day).
4. Plant sterols (2 grams a day).
5. Soy protein isolate shakes.
6. Fiber supplements such as PGX (Konjac fiber) — 4 before each meal with a glass of water.
==> Lifestyle and Exercise
Get 30 to 45 minutes of cardiovascular exercise at least six times a week.
You may try interval training (described in “UltraMetabolism”) if you are feeling stronger. I also encourage strength training to build muscle and reduce body fat composition.
==> Stress Reduction
Stress alone can cause a heart attack. It also contributes to heart disease by creating inflammation, raising your cholesterol and blood sugar, causing high blood pressure and increasing blood clotting. Reduce stress by doing regular relaxation exercises.
==> Medications
Many of my patients can lower their cholesterol over 100 points by following the comprehensive program I outline above. Occasionally I recommend medications if I feel that my patient is swimming upstream genetically, or if there is significant heart disease present already.
When I do need to use medications, here are the ones I have to choose from:
==> Statins
These block the production of cholesterol in the liver, lower inflammation, and may even reverse plaque in the arteries.
Statins deplete the body’s stores of the vital component Coenzyme Q10. If you’re on statins, take at least 100 mg of CoQ10 a day.
Statins can also cause muscle pain and aching and require regular liver function tests.
==> Niacin
Very high doses (1000 to 3000 mg a day) of niacin can raise good cholesterol (HDL) and lower high triglycerides.
The major side effect is flushing, which you can prevent by taking a baby aspirin (81 mg) half an hour before your take the niacin.
I usually recommend long-acting Niaspan and build up slowly over the course of 2 to 6 weeks to the desired dose of 1,500 to 2,000 mg daily.
==> Ezetimbe (Zetia)
Zetia prevents absorption of cholesterol from the intestine. It can interact with statins to increase the risk of liver toxicity.
==> Fibrates
These medications include fenofibrate (Tricor) and gemfibrozil (Lopid), which help to lower triglycerides and raise HDL.
The verdict is still out on their effectiveness and safety. I prefer to use niacin, which achieves the same results, at lower cost with less risk.
==> Bile Acid Binding Agents
Drugs like Questran and WellChol bind up bile in the gut and promote the elimination of cholesterol from the body. Bile is comprised of cholesterol among other things, and getting rid of bile helps lower your cholesterol.
==> Summary
Remember, cholesterol is only one of many factors that lead to cardiovascular disease.
Diet, supplements, exercise, and other lifestyle approaches can have dramatic effects on cholesterol, lowering it by 100 points or more within a few months of comprehensive therapy.
Medications are a last resort. I never start them without trying an integrated approach to cholesterol management.
If you are willing to make the changes in diet and lifestyle and take a few supplements, your numbers will change dramatically — and so will your life.

Rheumatic Heart Disease Information

100 years ago Rheumatic fever was the leading cause of death in people aged 5-20 years in the United States. Entire hospitals were dedicated to the treatment of rheumatic fever in children. Today Rheumatic heart disease is rarely seen industrialized countries do to the proper diagnosis and treatment of strep throat.
Rheumatic fever occurs when an untreated strep throat infection migrates to the the rest of the body. Rheumatic fever affects the joints and heart, causing fever, muscle aches, and possible permanent heart valve damage (Rheumatic heart disease). Rheumatic fever gets its name because one of its main symptoms is actually pain in the joints rather than the heart. Rheumatic fever primarily affects children between ages 6 and 15 years and occurs approximately 20 days after an onset of a strep throat infection.
It is believed that rheumatic heart disease is responsible for 79% of some type of heart valve disease in adults in the United States with the balance believed to be the result of the recreational use of Amphetamines, Cocaine, Methamphetamine, Ecstasy and other drugs along with other heart related diseases such as atherosclerosis and birth defects.
Rheumatic heart disease is the most serious complication of rheumatic fever and chronic rheumatic heart disease is estimated to exist in 5-30 million children and young adults in the poorer countries of the world. The best defense against rheumatic heart disease is to prevent rheumatic fever from ever occurring with the proper use of anti-inflammatory medications such as aspirin or corticosteroids.
If rheumatic fever has been diagnosed then long term use of low dose antibiotics (such as penicillin, sulfadiazine, or erythromycin) will be need to prevent recurrence. There is no cure for the disease and patients may need to maintain an active treatment for the rest of the patient’s life.
The National Institute of Health estimate that rheumatic heart disease develops in about 3% of untreated strep throat infections in the United States. A doctor will need to perform lab tests to diagnose rheumatic fever if any of the following symptoms develope after the onset of a strep throat infections. Fever, irregular heart beat, nodes under the skin, and physical pain usually in the joints.
Today Australia and New Zealand have reported an unexplained jump in the number of cases among some populations with little or no access to health care. Switzerland calls rheumatic fever a disease born of poverty. Rheumatic heart disease is easily prevented by a good strep throat treatment, many young people of the world do not have access to the health care that would keep their heart valves healthy and extend their lives. Patients simply suffer through fever attacks, and fall victim to heart valve failure later in life.
Rheumatic fever can be managed with the proper antibiotics and with the use of common Vitamins and over the counter product to reduce further damage to the heart muscle, a long and healthy life can be maintained. Common products include Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Sytrinol, Pantothenic Acid, Niacin, Policosanol and Antioxidants.
Vitamin C has show to lower high blood pressure.
Vitamin E improves circulation and promotes normal blood clotting and is known to help the red blood cells to live longer.
Sytrinol are known to be useful in helping maintain a healthy cholesterol level in the body by reducing triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein levels.
Pantothenic Acid is another form of nontoxic B vitamins and is critical in the metabolism and synthesis of carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
Niacin is the closest thing available to a perfect treatment that corrects most causes of coronary heart disease. Niacin blocks the release of fatty acids from fat cells. Niacin plays a critical role in energy production, gene expression, and hormone synthesis. You cannot live without it. Niacin also tends to shift LDL particle distribution to larger particle size and improve HDL functioning.
Policosanol is a natural supplement derived from sugar cane and it promotes healthy platelet function and helps to maintain normal cholesterol levels in the human body.
Natural antioxidants are abundant in fruits and vegetables such as, apples, blueberries, broccoli, cherries, cranberries, grapes, and spinach.
Lifestyle changes can also lower the risk of medical emergencies. If you smoke quit, eat healthy foods, maintain proper weight and get regular exercise.
This report is nutritional in nature and not to be construed as medical advice.
Always consult your doctor before using this information.

How to Lower Cholesterol Naturally Without Drugs