Heart Disease – Natural & Effective Prevention

Greetings everyone.

Even though conventional medicines and herbal medicines can help heal heart disease, the best treatment is always prevention: in other words, exercise and good diet. If you have heart disease, your committment to an exercise programme and a good diet helps determine your ability to recover from it. Work with your health care professional to make these lifestyle changes safely. To help prevent future heart disease, here are some steps to take:

Know Your Cholesterol Levels

Agencies and researchers are continually revising their guidelines. Check with your health professional for the most current ones.

Get Up & Sweat

Regular exercise helps lower cholesterol and strengthens the heart. Any kind of aerobic exercise will work, but neven exercise to the point of angina ( Chest Pain ) or exhaustion, which can damage your heart. If you are currently sedentary, start slowly, gradually increasing your pace and distance. Walking is an excellent exercise for this.

Quit Smoking Lay Off The Booze

If you are still doing this then stop reading now, you are wasting your time unless you quit smoking and lay off the booze. Very occassional and small amounts of alcohol are ok but any more than that is a risk and if you think you are the only person in the world that can keep smoking and remain healthy you’re not and it will kill you!!

Open Your Heart

This vital organ isn’t merely a machine for pumping blood – the metaphor of a broken heart is not an empty one. Many scientific studies have implicated stress, lonliness and isolation in the development of heart disease. Try getting involved in community projects, hobbies, classes. Perhaps try some meditation and relaxation techniques as well to bring about a more calm state.

Eat Better

Stop with the junk foods, fatty foods, chips, loads of red meats, processed meats, sugary foods etc etc. If you think you can get away with it..think again..it will kill you! Eat a diet, a well balanced diet. Lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, whole grains, seeds, fish oils, small amounts of lean white meats, small amounts of lean red meats. It is really common sense. if you have trouble with this then try my free ebooks to get you started.

Below are some vitamins and nutritional supplements that can help with heart health. Diet is crucial to heart health but supplementation is the best kind of insurance ( One of those times when supplementation is worth it! ), especially as switching to healthier foods is usually a long process for most people.

L-Carnitine

This amino-acid is involved with energy metabolism at the cellular level. It increases the efficiency of the heart muscle, reduces cholesterol metabolism and prevents plaque formation. Typical dosage: 500-1500mg per day.

CoEnzyme Q10

This vitamin like antioxidant helps cells make energy and improves heart health. It also improves cholesterol levels and lowers the frequency of angina and increases exercise tolerance.

Niacin

This B vitamin lowers cholesterol, but tends to be limited by the uncomfortable flushing effect it can cause. Sustained release or long acting forms of niacin produce less flushing but may damage the liver. An appropriate alternative is Inositol Hexaniacinate ( Often listed as Inositol in supplement formulations ), a niacin precursor that does not cause flushing even at high doses and is harmless to the liver. Studies show this form of niacin to be as effective as other forms, with no side effects reported. Typical dosage: 50-100mg 3 times daily.

Vitamin E

There are many kinds of Vitamin E. The tocotrienol form may be especially helpful in lowering cholesterol. It actually inhibits cholesterol production, a feature that makes this form a good choice for people whose bodies make higher than normal amounts of LDL cholesterol, despite changes in diet. Typical dosage: 25-100mg daily.

Vitamin B6

Deficiency of this key B vitamin appears to be a major cause of heart disease. It can be taken as part of a good quality multivitamin or B-complex combination. Typical dosage: 25-50mg daily.

Magnesium

Many studies link magnesium deficiency with heart disease, sudden cardiac death, heart attacks and dangerous irregular heart rythms. This mineral may help decrease plaque formation, lower total cholesterol, raise good HDL cholesterol and inhibit platelet aggregation. Typical dosage:500-1000mg daily. Occassionally diarrhoea will occur, if this happen s simply reduce the dose.

Bromelain

Made from prtoeolytic enzymes found in pineapple, this supplement has anti-inflammatory effects and inhibits platelet accumulation. It has been shown in clinical studies to break down plaques amd ease angina. Typical dosage: 250-500mg 3 times daily on an empty stomach followed by food. Bromelain can very occassionally cause stomach upsets so beware if you have a sensitive stomach.

Fish Oils

These contain all the right kinds of oils for helping to maintain heart health and cholesterol levels.

I know these will help you avoid this disease and I would love to hear from you and read your comments and any other steps you have found to be useful.

Have a great day!

Craig Hitchens. B.HSc.