Disease Heart Prevention.

Your odds of dying of heart disease are one in four. For desease heart prevention this may help improve those odds in your favor. Yes, one in four Americans dies of heart disease, often the result of years of eating a high-fat, low-fiber, overprocessed, nutrient-poor diet; of not exercising regularly; and of being battered by stress.

All of those factors (and many more) damage the arteries to the heart, allowing plaque to narrow the arterial passageways until they are so plugged that only a meager trickle of oxygen-carrying blood can squeeze through—and part or all of the heart muscle dies. In other words, you have a heart attack.

That scenario is as common as a sunset. In fact, it's a lot more common, since approximately 1,400 Americans die each day from heart disease. And most of those attacks are preventable."If you have heart disease, it's possible to reverse its progress and bring your arteries to healthier condition," says Julian Whitaker, M.D., founder and director of the Whitaker Wellness Center in Newport Beach, California.Dr. Whitaker isn't talking about surgery or medications, the options that most conventional doctors recommend for controlling heart disease. He's talking about "simple, gentle, natural" alternative remedies, such as a healthier diet, taking the right nutritional   supplements,   exercising   regularly,   and learning how to deal with stress.Remember, however, that you should use the remedies inthis chapter only with the approval and supervision of a qualified health care practitioner.

FOOD: Nature's Best Cure
One of the simplest and best dietary remedies for healing heart disease is to eat only foods that grow out of the ground, in their whole, unprocessed form.
"Preventing and healing heart disease is truly that simple," says Kitty Gurkin Rosati, R.D., a registered dietitian and nutrition director of the Rice Diet Program at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. "If we would eat only foods that were just picked, I would need to find another profession!"

That's because those foods—vegetables, fruits, grains, and beans are low in the heart-hurting saturated fat found in meat and dairy products, high in heart-healing fiber, and loaded with heart-nourishing vitamins and minerals.
Rosati adds to that dietary advice a recommendation for no more than a cup of nonfat dairy products daily for bone-protecting calcium, and 3 to 6 ounces of fish a couple of times a week for artery-clearing fatty acids.

FLAXSEED OIL: To Prevent Artery-Clogging Clots
If eating fish twice a week isn't your cup of chowder, be sure to get a tablespoon or two of flaxseed oil every day. This oil is rich in both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which help reduce the stickiness of platelets, blood components that can bunch together and form the kind of clot that lodges in an artery and causes a heart attack.
You can take the oil straight or use it on salads or as a butter substitute on bread, says Paul Beals, M.D., a naturally oriented physician in Laurel, Maryland.

APPLE-CIDER VINEGAR: May Erode Arterial Plaque
Using apple-cider vinegar on salads seems to help dissolve arterial plaque, says Patrick Quillin, R.D., Ph.D., director of the Rational Healing Institute in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It appears to do this by enhancing the number of friendly bacteria, which improves cholesterol reduction and immune functions. Or you can add a teaspoon of the vinegar to a cup of regular apple cider and drink it three times a day, he says.

B-COMPLEX VITAMINS: The Homocysteine Defense
As your body metabolizes protein, it converts the amino acid methionine into another amino acid, cystine, making the chemical homocysteine in the process. High levels of homocysteine can have a direct, toxic effect on the coronary arteries, damaging them in such a way that arterial plaque can get a foothold, says Seth Baum, M.D., an integrative cardiologist and founder of the Baum Center for Integrative Heart Care in Boca Raton, Florida.
Perhaps as much as 30 percent of all heart disease is directly caused by high homocysteine levels, he says. That's the bad news. The good news is that three B vitamins folic acid, B6, and B12 can help convert homocysteine to methionine or cystine, thus protecting your heart.

Dr. Baum recommends taking 800 to 1,000 micrograms of folic acid, 400 micrograms of vitamin B12, and 50 milligrams of vitamin B6 daily.

VITAMIN E: Stops Free Radicals
Vitamin E is an antioxidant that can help stop free radicals (unstable molecules that harm cells by oxidizing the fats in cell membranes) from damaging the lining of your arteries and contributing to heart disease, says Michael Janson, M.D., consultant physician at Path to Health in Burlington, Massachusetts. He recommends taking 400 to 800 international units of vitamin E a day to protect your arteries

MAGNESIUM: Helps Reverse Heart Disease
This mineral is critically important in helping to reverse heart disease, says Dr. Janson. It can relax blood vessels, improve circulation, reduce angina, and help lower blood pressure. He recommends 500 to 1,000 milligrams of supplemental magnesium daily, half with breakfast and half with dinner.

COENZYME Q10: Helps Prevent Heart Disease
The vitamin-like supplement coenzyme Q10 can help stop the oxidation of LDL cholesterol—"the pivotal step in the process of atherosclerosis," or hardening of the arteries, says Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., a cardiologist and director of the New England Heart Center in Manchester, Connecticut.
To help prevent heart disease, he recommends taking 90 to 180 milligrams of coenzyme Q10 a day in three divided doses.

QIGONG: Brings Healing Energy to Your Heart
The qigong exercises of Traditional Chinese Medicine can suffuse your heart with more life force, or chi, says Glenn S. Rothfeld, M.D., regional director of American WholeHealth in Arlington, Massachusetts. The following exercise is particularly good for releasing blocked chi in the heart area, he says.
Put your right palm on the left side of your chest and massage slowly in a clockwise circle while silently repeating the word ho. Do this exercise for as long as you like, at least once a day.

YOGA: Expand Your Horizons    
The yoga exercise known as the chest expansion pose can help improve circulation. Here's how Dr. Rothfeld says to do it.    
Hold your arms out to the sides, then bend your elbows and slowly move your arms back until you can clasp your hands behind your head at about shoulder level (a).

Keeping your hands clasped, slowly stretch your arms up without straining, holding your trunk straight (b).

Stretch your arms backward, with your hands still clasped, and gently arch your back, holding the stretch for about 5 seconds (c).

Slowly bend forward, dropping your head and stretching your clasped hands downward, for about 10 seconds (if).
Finally, stand up, drop your arms to your sides, and relax. Do this pose once or twice each day on an ongoing basis, says Dr. Rothfeld.

• Put a few drops in a warm bath before soaking for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Put a few drops on a cotton ball and place it next to your pillow while you sleep.
• Add a few drops to a massage oil before receiving a massage.
• People with heart disease should avoid peppermint oil, says Buckle. Some research indicates that it can cause heart palpitations in people taking heart medication.

Getting to the Heart of Exercise
If your heart could plead, it would beg you to exercise. Regular exercise helps control weight, brings down high
blood pressure, lowers blood sugar, in creases HDL ("good") cholesterol, and reduces emotional stress. And all of these are important factors in preventing or reversing heart disease, says Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., a cardiologist
and director of the New England Heart Center in Manchester, Connecticut.    7

Just remember: Any level of increased activity can benefit the heart, says Dr. Sinatra. Whenever you're in a parking lot, for example, park your car farther away from the entrance so you have to do a little more walking. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. Stop using the remote control and walk across the room to change the TV channel.
If you're over 40 and want to start a more strenuous exercise program, see your physician for an exercise stress test. This will rule out any risk to your heart so that you can exercise without worry.

Here are some ways you can optimize the heart-healthy value of exercise

• Be sure to do a brief warmup (about 10 minutes) that includes deep breathing exercises, hamstring stretches, and lower back stretches to prepare your body for exercise and help you avoid injury.
• Choose the right exercise. Dancing and walking are good forms of aerobic exercise for strengthening the heart muscle and improving circulation, says Dr. Sinatra. Dancing is great because it uses the whole body, he says, and since walking is so enjoyable, it's easy to exercise regularly. Swimming, bicycling, rowing, cross country skiing, jumping rope, and hiking are other good options for aerobic exercise.
• Plan your exercise sessions for 15 to 30 minutes.
• Exercise three to five times a week for the greatest benefits.
• Monitor your intensity. After your stress test, your doctor will tell you your maximum heart rate—for example, 150 beats per minute. Exercise at no more than 70 percent of that maximum; in this example, that's about 105 beats per minute.
• Go slowly. Perhaps you've been walking for 15 minutes a day a couple of times a week. Now you're feeling fitter and want to walk longer. Don't rush! Increase your time by no more than 10 percent a month, says Dr. Sinatra