Nutrition and Your Health: Prevention of Heart and Cardiovascular Disease

The human heart is made of the toughest muscle fibers in the body and supplies one thousand gallons of blood to sixty thousand miles of blood vessels by beating one hundred thousand times per day. It is also the most delicate organ and requires a careful balance of oxygen, nutrients and amino acids to function correctly. Taking proper care of your heart can significantly reduce the risks of heart attacks, heart disease and other fatal health problems.Heart Disease

With more than one in every four deaths caused by heart disease, it is the number one killer of both men and women. Keeping cholesterol and blood pressure levels in check is one of the most proactive ways you can prevent heart attacks and other heart-related issues.

Poor diet and lack of exercise are large contributing factors for heart disease and failure. It is always recommended that you seek a doctor's advice before introducing a new diet into your meal planning or embarking on any exercise regimen. Additional ways you can reduce the risk of heart problems are:

• Don't smoke;
• Maintain a healthy weight;
• Keep blood pressure and cholesterol manageable;
• Regulate your sugar and glucose intake.

The American Heart Association states that healthy living and eating are essential to keeping your heart in great shape and can add years to your life. Many food producers are catering to the health conscious shopper and providing foods with lower sodium, sugar and saturated fats. Carefully read labels in the grocery store to ensure you know what you're buying. Products displaying a heart-check mark on the packaging have been certified by the American Heart Association.

Additionally, the Centers for Disease Control have funded several public health efforts to educate people on the dangers of heart disease and offer assistance with dietary planning, improving physical activity and testing. Providing information on how to reduce the risks of heart diseases and stroke, the CDC funds state department efforts to reach out to local communities. The WISEWOMAN program currently offered in 19 states gives women with little or no health insurance access to dietary advice and cholesterol screening.

The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute has also released a low-cost Keep the Beat Recipe Book filled with heart-healthy dinners and side dishes. Filled with quick and easy recipes designed to keep you and your family healthy, the book offers dishes inspired by Latino, Mediterranean, Asian and American cuisines.

Nutrition and Food

Vitamin E

Benefits: Vitamin E has been argued to strengthen heart muscles and rid the body of excess fluids. Also known to decrease blood pressure, it keeps oxygen in the blood and acts as and anticoagulant preventing blood clots. Acting as an antioxidant, it prevents plaque buildup in arteries and has been shown to decrease the chances of heart attacks.

Recommended dosage: Men and women over 14 years of age are recommended to include 15 mg of vitamin E in their diet on a daily basis. Vitamin E exists in eight chemical forms, though only alpha-tecopherol is recognized to meet the dietary requirements in humans.

Dietary suggestions: One tablespoon of wheat germ oil contains almost an entire daily recommended allowance of vitamin E, though smaller amounts can be found in almonds, sunflower seeds, peanut butter, organ meats, leafy vegetables, sweet potatoes and eggs.

Dietary fiber

Benefits: Fiber is known to regulate the body's digestive process, but it also has other benefits, such as lowering blood cholesterol levels, control blood sugar, aid in weight loss and maintain bowel integrity and overall health. Insoluble fiber (that which does not dissolve in water) assists in moving materials through the digestive system. Soluble fiber, which is dissolvable in water, can help lower cholesterol and glucose levels.

Recommended dosage: Men under 50 are recommended to ingest up to 38 grams of dietary fiber. This amount decreases to 30 grams after the age of 50. Women under 50 should get 25 grams per day, and 21 grams after 50. The American Heart Institute suggests that half of your daily dietary fiber should come from fruits and vegetables and half should come from grains (at least half of the grain servings should be whole-grain foods).

Dietary suggestions: Whole-grain breads and cereals as well as brown rice, pasta, crackers and popcorn can provide a healthy dose of daily dietary fiber. Enriched foods such as white breads, corn flakes, white rice or pasta, pancakes or tortillas also provide an excellent source of fiber in your diet. When shopping, check the nutrition facts label on food packages to find foods with a higher amount of fiber.

Folate and B Vitamins

Benefits: Folate, B6 and B12 vitamins assist in breaking down homocysteine, an amino acid that has been related to higher risks of coronary heart disease, stroke and fatty deposits in the arteries.

Recommended dosage: Men and women between 19 and 50 years should take 1.3 milligrams of vitamin B6, 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12 and 400 micrograms of folate. The synthetic form of folate, folic acid, contains .6% potency of natural folate.

Dietary suggestions: Fortified breakfast cereals may contain a full dosage of your recommended allowance for B6, B12 and folate. Beef liver also contains a large amount of vitamin B12 and nearly half of the daily allowance of folate. Other foods rich in these three supplements include clams, salmon and trout, beef, yogurt, potatoes, bananas, garbanzo beans, cowpeas and spinach.

Other dietary measures

Eating lean meats and foods low in saturated and trans fats are good for the heart and maintain low cholesterol. Beta-carotene, vitamin C, zinc and selenium found in fruits and vegetables prevent bad cholesterol in the body from being oxidized which decreases the chances of plaque buildup in the arteries. Chromium has been shown to assist in the metabolism of blood fats and copper provides strength and elasticity to the heart muscle.

Additional suggestions

Sedentary people and those that get no exercise increase their chances of heart-related issues by 35-40%. Smoking is also a factor since it limits the amount of oxygen available to the heart and depletes necessary circulatory functions. People with high blood pressure and cholesterol also run a higher risk for heart disease.

Sources:

Centers for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov, Heart Disease Facts

National Institutes of Health, www.dietary-supplements.info.nih.gov, Dietary Supplement Use & Safety

Nutrition Almanac, 6/e edition, McGraw Hill, January 2007

American Heart Association, www.americanheart.org, Healthy Lifestyle Nutrition Center

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, www.nhlbi.nih.gov, Heart and Vascular Information

National Institutes of Health, www.nlm.nih.gov, Medline Plus

Federal Food and Drug Administration, www.fda.gov, Consumer Updates: Dietary Supplements