Seven Tips for Healthier Hearts

Seven Tips for Healthier Hearts

http://www.naturalnews.com/025723.html

by Reuben Chow

(NaturalNews) Based on statistics published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 652,091 Americans died of heart disease in 2005. This was supposedly more than a quarter of all American deaths (27.1%), and applied almost equally to both men and women. In view of this heart wrenching epidemic, what simple steps can you take to drastically cut your risk of being hit by this ailment? A study conducted at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health has zoomed in on three "do's" and three "don'ts" for protection.

Do Not Smoke

Chemicals found in cigarettes increase blood pressure, lower levels of high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol, the supposed "good" cholesterol), and also harm your blood vessels. All these damage cardiovascular health and contribute significantly to your risk of being hit by a heart attack.

And of course, it's not just about the heart - smoking is bad for just about every part of your body. In order to obtain and maintain good health, smoking is one of the first habits which must be kicked.

Do Not Drink Excessively

Drinking too much alcohol can cause elevated blood pressure and weight again; these, too, mean poorer heart health. And if you drink heavily on a long-term basis, you are at increased risk for cardiomyopathy, where your heart becomes enlarged and permanently damaged. These apply to beer, hard liquor, and even wine.

Do Not Keep Too Much Air In That Spare Tire

Recent research has linked belly fat to increased risk of heart disease. For example, one recent study discovered that every two additional inches translated to an added heart disease risk of almost 20%. Again, it is not just about the cardiovascular system - belly fat has been linked to premature death, too.

Get a Risk Assessment

Another suggestion put forth by the researchers is for you to assess your risk of heart disease, in particular through important numbers like your blood pressure, cholesterol levels, etc. Your family doctor could do the job, or the website HeartDecision.org can be used from the comfort of your own home. This website was launched by Dr Jon Keevil, a medical professor from the university.

Cut Your Weight

Obesity is linked to a whole host of serious diseases, including heart problems. The researchers do not want you to experiment with fad diets or to starve yourself. "The question really comes down to the type and amount of food you're eating. Not every diet is designed to help you have a healthy heart. Healthy diets are low in red meat, fried foods and sweets. They emphasize fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grain, fish and poultry," said Dr Matt Wolff, the chief of cardiovascular medicine at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.

Exercise!

Exercise is the only way to get the heart pumping hard and working out, which is key to long-term good cardiovascular health. Like all muscles in the body, the heart loses its strength without regular use. If you can manage it, some vigorous exercise is useful, although moderate physical activities like walking have also been shown to have beneficial effects.

When it comes to cardiovascular health, there are numerous studies showing the massive importance of exercise. In fact, a recent study which was funded by the US government showed that even heart failure patients will benefit from a certain amount of exercise. Read more about that study at http://www.naturalnews.com/024996.html.

Consume a Healthy Diet

Although it is indirectly implied and mentioned above, it is still very surprising that consuming a healthy diet is not a specific recommendation of the Wisconsin study. With that in mind, here is a quote from a study conducted by Canadian researchers, which found that people who ate a lot of fried foods and meat had a 35% higher risk of getting acute heart attacks, as compared to those who were "prudent" eaters:

"What we found was that the prudent diet, which is very simple - lots of fruits and vegetables, less fried food and red meat - was protective. It was protective in every part of the world, in men and women, old and young - everybody. And the degree of protection was quite substantial," said Dr Salim Yusuf, a professor of medicine at McMaster University and director of the Population Health Research Institute at Hamilton Health Sciences, the leader of that study.

Conclusion

So there you have it - seven important suggestions to make your heart happy and healthy. These tips also come with a very useful side effect - better health and vitality all round. That is way better (and cheaper) than what any heart drug can offer.

Sources

Study offers heart-healthy advice for living longer (http://www.estacadanews.com/feature...)

Heart Disease Facts and Statistics (http://www.cdc.gov/heartDisease/sta...)

In any diet, fried food, meat raise heart-attack risk: Study (http://www.canada.com/Health/diet+f...)

http://www.naturalnews.com/024996.html

Flavor Enhancer MSG Linked to Weight Gain & Obesity

Source: The Flavor Enhancer MSG Linked to Weight Gain, Obesity

(NaturalNews) For the first time in a scientific study, the use of monosodium glutamate (MSG) has been linked to weight gain in humans. For years, studies have shown that the flavor enhancer, MSG, is associated with weight gain in animals, but this study, by the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Public Health, has shown that this association applies to human health.

Researchers at UNC teamed up with their counterparts in China to study 752 healthy men and women between the ages of 40 and 59 randomly sampled from three different rural villages in north and south China. The majority of participants prepared their meals at home without the use of commercially processed foods and 82 percent cooked with MSG. The other 18 percent did not use MSG. Of these men and women, three groups were formed based on the amount of MSG they regularly used. The average MSG intake was one third of a gram per day.

The researchers found three times the rate of overweight people in the high MSG-use group compared to the non-users. The use of MSG in the other two groups was positively related to body mass as well. Overall, the groups that used MSG had a higher occurrence of overweight individuals (BMI of 25 or greater) than non-users.

The findings were consistent with data from animal studies in past years.

The researchers were not led astray by such factors as physical activity and total calorie intake; they kept these in mind and controlled for them before finalizing the relationship of MSG with body mass.

It has been difficult to study the potential effect of MSG on humans because most people consume MSG as an ingredient in processed foods, which pose their own problems to health. This study, by choosing participants in rural China who use very little commercially processed food, was able to study the effect of MSG without this interfering factor.

Natural News has many informative articles about MSG and the foods in which they are found (http://www.naturalnews.com/msg.html) .

Source:

Association of Monosodium Glutamate Intake With Overweight in Chinese Adults: The INTERMAP Study
(http://www.nature.com/oby/journal/vaop/...)