Give your heart a break with good nutrition

Our hearts deserve a break -- not a breakdown. Our hearts work 24 hours a day, with no time off for good behavior. During a lifetime, a human heart will pump 55 million gallons of blood through nearly 60,000 miles of blood vessels, delivering essential nutrients and oxygen to trillions of cells. Oxygen helps us metabolize these nutrients to energize and warm us -- and keep us alive.

We can give our hearts that break by eating a diet that contains an abundance of essential nutrients, supported by supplements and regular aerobic exercise.

So many health studies have been released in the past few years -- a virtual landslide -- that it's easy to miss some that are important in the arena of developing or maintaining a healthy heart and arteries.

One study in particular that you should know about was recently conducted in Israel. Knowing that low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the "bad" cholesterol, is relatively harmless until oxidized, the research team found that the antioxidants lycopene and beta-carotene minimize LDL oxidization and even decrease harmful arterial plaque build-up that can lead to heart and artery disorders.

Lycopene, a carotenoid in the same family as betacarotene, is what gives tomatoes, and several other fruits, their rich red color. The lycopene used in the Israeli study was taken from special, vine-ripened tomatoes bred to contain three times more lycopene than other tomatoes. (Note: No genetic engineering or chemical extraction methods were used.)

Based on the knowledge that cholesterol is not only synthesized in the liver, but also in individual cells, the Israeli researchers performed a significant in vitro experiment. Cholesterol synthesis was blocked by 63 percent when beta-carotene was added to the subjects' diets and by 73 percent when lycopene was added.

A related study by the Israeli researchers, involving six males, revealed that when the diets of volunteers were supplemented with 60 mg of lycopene daily for three months, their blood plasma levels of LDL dropped by 14 percent.

Hardening of the arteries is the underlying bad guy

Heart attacks almost always result from a narrowing of the coronary arteries by arteriosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. This progressive disease, which often starts as early as ages 10 to 14, limits the flow of blood carrying vitally needed nutrients and oxygen. When this happens, the heart becomes malnourished and deteriorates. A form of arteriosclerosis -- rather sclerosis -- results when fatty streaks in the lining of the coronary arteries or aorta soon become fibrous plaques of fats, cholesterol, ceroids, other biochemical "gunk," and calcium that cement this mixture together and, over time, can impede the flow of blood.

Such blockage invites angina pectoris (severe chest pains caused by insufficient blood supply) and heart attacks, sometimes leading to sudden death.

Partially clogged arteries limit blood flow and sabotage other vital organs, as well -- namely, the kidneys, liver, and intestines. In the extremities, tissue starvation for oxygen nutrients can invite gangrene. I clogged arteries can lead to strokes.

The risk factors: what you can do to take them out of the CHD equation

Many risk factors are known to coronary heart disease (CHD): high blood pressure; elevated cholesterol (especially high levels of LDL cholesterol in relation to HDL, "good" cholesterol); low antioxidant intake; obesity -- especially around the middle; smoking; inactivity; nutritional deficiencies or imbalances; and unrelenting emotional or physical stress.

A modified diet is the first major step toward normalizing hypertension (high blood pressure) and blood cholesterol levels, which is also the first step in preventing CHD.

Hypertension -- too much pressure exerted against the blood vessel walls -- can be caused by: heredity, smoking, excessive alcohol use, obesity, an imbalanced potassium-sodium ratio, continuous stress, and/or eating too much sugar.

Numerous studies show that additional intake of calcium, magnesium, and potassium in foods and supplements work together to help lower elevated blood pressure. As far back as 1924, researcher W.L.T. Addison found that supplemental calcium could moderate high blood pressure. This has been validated in many studies through the years.

The findings of one recent clinical trial, Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension DASH), showed that a diet rich in fruits. vegetables, and low-fat dairy foods combined with reduced saturated and total fat intake can substantially lower blood pressure.

The study was conducted on 459 adults, 22 years of age and older, 49 percent of whom were women. For three weeks, the subjects were fed a control diet, which was similar to the typical American diet -- high in fat and low in fruits, vegetable, and dairy products. Then, the participants were randomly assigned to con to consume one of three diets for eight weeks: the control diet again, the fruit-and-vegetable diet, or the combination diet (also called the "DASH" diet.). The fruit-and-vegetable diet provided higher amounts of potassium, magnesium, fiber, and, of course, fruits and vegetable than did the control, as well as fewer snacks. In other aspects, it was similar to the control diet.