Recapping the last column, Part One, our hearts are muscular organs that pump our blood throughout our bodies through a network of arteries and veins.  When an artery, especially one that feeds the heart muscle, becomes blocked with plaque it can no longer supply adequate nourishment and can also cause clots to form.  Both conditions are dangerous and eventually lead to heart “attacks” and strokes.  This issue will give you some tips and information on how to lower your risk of developing heart disease as well as preventing or avoiding the risk factors associated with it. 

The most common cardiovascular ailment is high blood pressure (hypertension).  High blood pressure is responsible for much of the arterial wall injuries that trigger plaque formation that narrows and hardens the arteries.  This condition responds well to treatment and life style changes.  Among the causes of high blood pressure are smoking, physical and emotional stress, too much salt in the diet, poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity.  You will notice that all of these are a result of lifestyle choices that can be controlled or modified.  Let’s look at these risk factors individually.

Tobacco:  Giving up cigarettes or tobacco in any form seems to be the one most positive step that can be taken toward cardiac health and good health in general.  Inhaling nicotine causes the arteries to constrict, increasing the resistance to blood flow (increasing the blood pressure) while raising the heart rate.  Tobacco smoke also contains carbon monoxide that competes with oxygen for binding sites on hemoglobin, the red part of the blood that delivers life-giving oxygen to our tissues.  Solution?  QUIT using tobacco.  The first step is making up your mind to quit.  Will power and the desire to quit must come from within, but there are natural homeopathic remedies including Abies nigra, Lobelia inflata and Ignatia that will help support the body during nicotine withdrawal.

Stress:  Most of us have more stress in our lives than our grandparents did – work deadlines, traffic jams, financial worries, our children’s activities, etc.  This increase in a stressful, hectic life style can lead to constant stimulation of the “fight or flight” response.  A rise in blood pressure, increases in heart rate and breathing rate results.  Free radicals (harmful molecular fragments) are produced in excess.   While those of us with “Type A” personalities will have a harder time controlling the urge to be time-conscious, competitive and impatient, there are things we can do to lessen our response to stress factors.  Meditation and exercise are the most effective.  They can be done simultaneously – take a walk and think about pleasant things or listen to your favorite music.

Obesity:  Overweight is almost always due to lack of exercise and poor diet.    People are eating too much processed foods, fat, salt and sugar and not enough of the vitamins, minerals, fiber and other nutrients found in fresh foods.  Salt, for sodium sensitive  individuals,  boosts blood pressure and causes water retention resulting in high blood pressure and weight gain.  Sugar consumes vitamins and minerals critical to a healthy heart and is full of empty calories.  Switching to a diet of fresh veggies, fruits and salmon, and eliminating or limiting processed meats such as ham, salami and sausage, salt, sugar, white flour products, boxed cereals and trans-fatty acid containing fats is  nutritious, low-fat and low-calorie.   Diet and exercise, when combined, lower the risk of developing heart disease, but they can also help halt or reverse it.  If you have heart trouble already, see your doctor before beginning any exercise program and remember that even mild exercise is helpful.  It relaxes tension; helps raise our HDL cholesterol and aids in weight control.

Cholesterol:  High levels of total cholesterol have been used as a predictor for heart disease for many years.  It has become increasingly clear that a better predictor is the ratio of HDL vs LDL cholesterol.  The total cholesterol level is made up of different types of lipoproteins.  The higher the HDL (high density lipoprotein) levels the lower the risk of heart disease.  HDLs act as scavengers, gathering the other cholesterols from cells and tissues and returning it to the liver.  Exercise helps raise our HDL.  Cholesterol is essential to our cell wall structure and is a part of every hormone in our body, so we must have some in order to function.  The liver manufactures what our body needs.  All cholesterol in food comes from animal sources – meat, poultry, eggs, butter, milk and cheese.  Foods to help lower cholesterol are garlic, eggplant, okra, beans, almonds, walnuts and flax seed.  Adequate daily fiber intake (20-30 grams) also helps.  There are drugs that will lower cholesterol, but these have side effects such as joint and muscle pain and possible liver damage.  (Do not stop these drugs without your doctor’s supervision.)  There are no side effects to a good balanced diet.

Supplementation can be helpful in preventing and controlling heart disease.  A substance, homocysteine, can be harmful to the arteries when levels are high, but can be controlled with B vitamins and TMG..  Antioxidant Vitamins C and E and the trace element Selenium are essential to heart health as they deactivate free radicals and help slow down the oxidation of cholesterol.  Calcium, magnesium, potassium and trace minerals are essential for proper heart and artery muscle contraction and relaxation.  EPA and DHA, fatty acids found in fish oil, flax oil, borage or evening primrose oil, has been shown to lower blood fats and raise HDL.

Health is not everything, but without spiritual and physical health, everything is nothing. Until next time we meet – may God Bless you with good health, with a little help from you!

The information in these columns is for educational purposes only and not to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Please consult your physician for any serious condition.

Len Rossi, ND has been a proponent of Natural Healing for 30 years. After a 25-year career as a pro wrestler, Len earned his Doctor Of Naturopathy degree in 1982 and is a Licensed Massage Therapist.