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Sunday, February 17, 2008
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.
----------------------------------------------------------
Mark Hyman, MD is a pioneer in functional medicine, practicing
physician and best-selling author. A sneak preview of his book
"The UltraSimple Diet" is available. See The UltraWellness Blog
for more on testing for Insulin Resistance:
http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/insulin-resistance
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/
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"
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.
------------
Mark Hyman, MD is a pioneer in functional medicine, practicing
physician and best-selling author. A sneak preview of his book
"The UltraSimple Diet" is available. See The UltraWellness Blog
for more on testing for Insulin Resistance:
http://www.ultrawel
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