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                      Healthy Heart, Long Life

                      Published by Dr. Mark Rosenberg

                      Healthy food in heart and water diet concept

                      A healthy heart is key to a long life. When I say this to my patients many of them protest that avoiding cancer or protecting your brain is just is important. While they have a point, I stand by my statement. The reason I feel so strongly about heart health is that I’ve seen time and time again that people who take good care of their hearts tend to avoid other deadly, chronic diseases like liver disease, many cancers, and Alzheimer’s.

                      The steps you take to improve your heart health will have a great impact on your overall health. And with heart disease being the leading killer in the United States, it’s just a smart place to start if you want to begin improving your health.

                      Reduce Your Heart Disease Risk Factors

                      Most heart disease discussions begin and end with cholesterol. That’s unfortunate because there are many other important risk factors. If you take the time to lower your cholesterol, the simple truth is that it may not be enough—you might end up with heart disease anyway.

                      But if you address the three risk factors I’m going to tell you about today, you can significantly reduce your risk of heart disease and lower your risk of many other chronic diseases as well.

                      Three Risk Factors That are More Important Than Cholesterol

                      The first risk factor that I address with my patients is their blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure, changes are happening in your body that you might not be aware of.

                      First, the endothelial lining of your arteries is becoming damaged. When that happens, it becomes rigid and unable to adapt to the changing demands of your circulatory system. Less flexibility puts you at higher risk of a blood clot lodging in an artery and that’s bad news.

                      High blood pressure also makes your heart work harder than it needs to. This can lead to heart disease, as well. As you get older there is a 90% chance that you will develop at least mild levels of high blood pressure. In one study, researchers found that high blood pressure directly caused 28 to 29 percent of heart disease cases.

                      Inflammation is another important risk factor. Low-level inflammation that is chronic and systemic damages your body throughout. The endothelial lining and the arteries are particularly vulnerable. Low-grade inflammation can be caused by many things—obesity, an infection, environmental pollutants, certain foods, and a lack of physical activity can all contribute. Research shows that people with the highest levels of low-grade inflammation are more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those with the lowest levels.

                      Glycation is another heart disease risk factor that often goes overlooked. When you eat foods high in sugar and starch, the glucose that enters your bloodstream can bind with proteins. This process is called crosslinking, and it’s not good. Some researchers have found that it contributes more to the development of heart disease than either cholesterol or diabetes.

                      How to Quickly Make a Real Difference in Your Heart Health

                      It doesn’t take much to make a significant improvement in your heart health. If you were to do just one small thing each day, over time it could result in a significant improvement. There are many small, easy steps you can take that will give your heart a boost.

                      To reduce your blood pressure, I suggest that you eat breakfast each day, go for a walk after dinner each night, and then take hawthorn extract and omega-3 supplements.

                      Eating breakfast in the morning helps your body to get off to a good start, and that means better regulation throughout the day of everything from your appetite to your blood sugar to your blood pressure. A brisk half-mile to a mile walk after dinner will get you moving and higher levels of physical activity help to reduce blood pressure, too.

                      Hawthorn extract and omega-3s both help to improve blood pressure. Hawthorn is an all-around heart tonic. Evidence shows that it helps the heart to maintain a normal rhythm and that it lowers blood pressure in people with high blood pressure. Omega-3 essential fatty acids provide a number of benefits to your heart, including lower blood pressure levels and reduced inflammation.

                      Another way to reduce your inflammation levels is to get more exercise, especially short bursts of strenuous exercise. You should talk with you doctor first to make sure this kind of exercise is safe for you. Becoming more physically active can reduce your inflammation levels by up to 35%.

                      Finally, to prevent glycation, choose more lean protein and more fruits and vegetables. Avoid foods with high levels of sugar and starch. High fructose corn syrup is the worst offender when it comes to the formation of crosslinked proteins. In animal studies, researchers showed that fructose results in glycation and arterial damage when combined with cholesterol. The damage is much worse than that caused by cholesterol alone.

                      Reducing your heart disease risk factors goes well beyond monitoring and controlling your cholesterol. By taking control of your blood pressure, inflammation, and glycation levels, you’ll go a long way to preventing heart disease as well as many other diseases.

                      Share
                      Dr. Mark Rosenberg
                      Dr. Mark Rosenberg
                      Dr. Mark Rosenberg received his doctorate from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 1988 and has been involved with drug research since 1991. With numerous certifications in several different fields of medicine, psychology, healthy aging and fitness, Dr. Rosenberg has a wide breadth of experience in both the public and private sector with particular expertise in both the mechanism of cancer treatment failure and in treating obesity. He currently is researching new compounds to treat cancer and obesity, including receiving approval status for an investigational new drug that works with chemotherapy and a patent pending for an oral appetite suppressant. He is currently President of the Institute for Healthy Aging, Program Director of the Integrative Cancer Fellowship, and Chief Medical Officer of Rose Pharmaceuticals. His work has been published in various trade and academic journals. In addition to his many medical certifications, he also personally committed to physical fitness and is a certified physical fitness trainer.

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                      This website is for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. FoodTrients – A Recipe for Aging Beautifully Grace O, author and creator of FoodTrients® -- a philosophy, a cookbook and a resource -- has a new cookbook dedicated to age-defying and delicious recipes, The Age Beautifully Cookbook: Easy and Exotic Longevity Secrets from Around the World, which provides one hundred-plus recipes that promote health and well-being. The recipes are built on foundations of modern scientific research and ancient knowledge of medicinal herbs and natural ingredients from around the world. Since the publication of her first anti-aging book, The Age GRACEfully Cookbook, Grace O has identified eight categories of FoodTrients benefits (Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, Immune Booster, Disease Prevention, Beauty, Strength, Mind, and Weight Loss) that are essential to fighting aging, which show how specific foods, herbs, and spices in the recipes help keep skin looking younger, prevent the diseases of aging, and increase energy and vitality. Grace O combines more exotic ingredients that add age-fighting benefits to familiar recipe favorites.

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