Reduce your risk of heart disease

The most effective nutritional approach for the prevention of cardiovascular disease

1. Basic Health.

Exercise every day, stop smoking and lose weight if you need to.

2. Eat the right diet.

Include plenty of soya (as tofu or soya milk, for instance), almonds, seeds, oats and beans and loads of vegetables to get plenty of the cholesterol busters plant sterolsPlant sterols are compounds similar to cholesterol which occur in plants. They can help to prevent cholesterol being absorbed in the body…. and fibreFibre is an important part of a balanced diet. There are two type of fibre; soluble and insoluble. Insoluble fibre helps your bowel to pass…, as well as folic acidWhat it does: Critical during pregnancy for the development of a baby’s brain and nerves. Also essential for brain and nerve function. Needed for utilising… and magnesiumWhat it does: Strengthens bones and teeth, promotes healthy muscles by helping them to relax, also important for PMS, important for heart muscles and nervous…. Also use turmeric and ginger liberally in your cooking and have at least one, if not two, cloves of garlic every day – or a garlic capsule. Avoid sugar, deep-fried foods and salt, except for Solo sea salt. Cut back on meat, cheese and other high-fat foods and avoid alcohol in excess. For omega-3 fats, think fish. Have three servings a week of oily fish such as mackerel, wild or organic salmon, herrings or sardines, and a daily omega-3 fish oil capsule providing around 200mg of EPAEPA is short for Eicosapentaenoic Acid. It is an essential omega-3 fatty acid found in fish such as salmon, mackerel and herring, and is often… a day, or double this if you have cardiovascular disease. This is the equivalent of 1,000mg of omega-3 fish oil twice a day, depending on the potency of the supplement.

3. Get your B vitamins to lower homocysteine.

To know how much you need to take, check your homocysteineHomocysteine is an amino acid found in the blood. Elevated levels of homocysteine have been associated with narrowing and hardening of the arteries, an increased… level (either ask your doctor or go for a home test kit from Yorktest) and supplement accordingly. In any event, make sure you are supplementing 50mg of B6, 400mcg of folic acid and 250mcg of B12 (in you are over 50), as well as eating plenty of greens and beans. Have 1,000mg of ‘no-flush’ niacin (B3) if your cholesterol level or LDL level is high, or HDL level is low.

4. Ensure your diet is antioxidant-rich.

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, fish and seeds and also supplement 200mg of vitamin EWhat it does: Acts as an antioxidant, protecting cells from damage, including against cancer. Helps body use oxygen, preventing blood clots, thrombosis, atherosclerosis. Improves wound… (400mg if you have cardiovascular risk and are not on a statin), together with 30 to 60mg of CoQ10 (double this if you have cardiovascular disease or are taking a statin) and 2g of vitamin CWhat it does: Strengthens immune system – fights infections. Makes collagen, keeping bones, skin and joints firm and strong. Antioxidant, detoxifying pollutants and protecting against… (double this if you have cardiovascular disease). Don’t take individual antioxidantAntioxidants are substances that protect cells within the body from damage caused by free radicals. They help to strengthen the body’s ability to fight infection… nutrients on their own. They are team players. Consider also supplementing 20 to 40mg of gingko biloba and 400 to 600mg of turmeric extract.

5. Supplement magnesium.

In addition to eating plenty of vegetables, nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds, supplement 150mg of magnesium every day and double this if you have cardiovascular disease.

A preventative supplement programme

In practical terms, a supplement programme to prevent or reverse cardiovascular disease might look like this: Item Prevention Treatment High-strength multivitamin 2 2 Vitamin E 200mg 1 Vitamin C 1,000mg 2 2 Omega-3 fish oil 1 2 CoQ10 30mg 1 – 2 2 – 4 Homocysteine-lowering B vitamins 1 3 (if homocysteine is high) Ginkgo biloba 40mg 1 Dig deeper by reading Food is Better Medicine Than Drugs for all the evidence to support this approach, and its comparative effectiveness and safety compared to the conventional treatment of heart disease. Also read Say No to Heart Disease by Patrick Holford.

Working with your doctor

Obviously, if you’ve had a heart attack or have very high blood pressure, we’re not suggesting you throw your drugs away. Let your doctor know you want to pursue nutritional and lifestyle changes to minimise your need for medication. It’s a good idea to establish the goal that would make it no longer necessary for you to have medication, for example a cholesterol measure below 5, or blood pressure below 130/85. Then as you start to incorporate the nutritional changes we recommend into your life, you can monitor the effect. If you’re on blood-thinning drugs such as aspirin or warfarin, speak to your doctor before taking concentrated supplements of omega-3 fish oils, gingko biloba or vitamin E above 300mg since they may want to monitor your INR and platelet adhesion index and consider reducing the drug accordingly. As your vital heart statistics improve, your doctor will want to reduce your medication accordingly. You can always consult a nutritional therapist to help devise a plan of action for you.