Heart Healthy - Back To The Basics

by Joanie Quinn

A little learning may be a dangerous thing but sometimes it seems there is just too much information, some of it contradictory, about what to do (or not) to keep that most indispensable organ — your heart — ticking. To mark this year’s Heart Healthy Month, we have assembled some of the basic recommendations. You may want to talk these over with your healthcare provider and draw up a plan that will serve your needs and lifestyle.

It wasn’t until 1988 that the American Heart Association first published dietary guidelines for heart health.
1) Total daily fat intake should be restricted to no more than 30% of total calories.
2) Cholesterol intake should be less than 300 milligrams daily.
3) Carbohydrates should form the base of the diet: 55-60% or more of calories, complex carbohydrates should be emphasized.

In 1996, based on further research and understanding of how diet affects heart health, the Nutrition Committee of the AHA added the following:
1) More emphasis should be placed on exercise and weight maintenance.
2) A person’s diet should take into account any genetic disorder which affects cholesterol, fat or salt metabolism.
3) Endorsement of the World Health Organization’s recommendation for a lower limit of 15% of calories from fat.
4) Recommend an intake of monounsaturated fatty acids in the range of 10-15% of total fat (olive oil is a good source of monounsaturated fat) and less than 10% from saturated fat. The balance of fat in the diet should come from polyunsaturated fat.
5) Intake of fiber should be 25-30 grams daily from whole foods — not supplements.
6) Avoid food high in sugar.
7) Salt intake should be limited to six grams of sodium chloride (table salt) daily (just more than a teaspoon).

The Nutrition Committee emphasized that these guidelines are intended to cover food eaten over a period of several days and should not be applied to a single meal or a single food.

Let’s look at a few of these recommendations in a little more detail.

Veggies are good… EXCEPT couch potatoes.
A landmark study of over 80,000 female nurses (the Nurse’s Health Study) conducted in the 1980’s and 90’s showed that women who walked briskly (3-4 miles an hour) reduced their risk of heart disease by 54%. Women who walked regularly, but more slowly, reduced their risk by 32% (compared to women who did not walk at all). The research was conducted by Dr. JoAnn Manson, Director of Women’s Health at Brigham and Woman’s Hospital and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School.

The study showed that similar reduc-tions in the risk of stroke were associated with walking. Dr. Manson also reported that regular exercise (30 minutes of moderate exercise per day) also lowered blood pressure and cholesterol (lowering the “bad” LDL cholesterol levels and raising the “good” HDL levels), reduced weight and the risk of diabetes, and reduced the risk of osteopor-osis and some cancers. Regular exercise also lowers stress levels.

Why is exercise so good for you? First, there is an increase in the calories burned. Exercise also conditions the heart and blood vessels for other kinds of stress, allowing the heart to respond more efficiently to sudden demands. Exercise leads to more efficient dilation of the blood vessels, improving overall blood flow. The emotional boost (from the release of endorphins during exercise) also provides a benefit in a sense of well being that is effective in reducing stress.

Fats: Out with the Bad, In with the Good.
The Nurses Health Study yielded some interesting news about fat in the diet. Replacing bad fat with good fat proved even more effective in reducing the risk of heart disease than reducing the total amount of fat consumed.

What are the “bad” fats? Saturated fat leads to higher cholesterol levels. Saturated fats are found in meat and dairy products and also in avocados nuts and seeds. The other “bad” fat is trans unsaturated fat — fat that is hardened (hydrogenated). Trans fats have the highest heart disease risk and are found in margarine, baked goods and fast food — they affect lipid level metabolism in the blood, raise cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

The “good” fats? Mono-unsaturated fat (olive, canola and peanut oils) and polyunsaturated fat (soybean and corn oils).

There is still debate in the medical community as to whether the goal should be to reduce fat intake or simply replace bad fats with good fats. Since most of us take in far too many calories from fat anyway, one choice would be to try to reduce overall fat intake while becoming increasingly aware of not only the fat content of what we eat but what kind of fat it is. Then, make the choice to consume good fat when we do consume fat.

Beans, please.
In New Mexico this should be a no-brainer. Pile on those pintos (just view with suspicion the cheese and lard that is often associated with the consumption of beans — eating beans in a fast food joint is probably NOT a heart-healthy exercise).

Legumes (dried beans and peas) are rich in folate, a vitamin that helps reduce the amino acid homocysteine in the blood. High homocysteine levels are associa-ted with increased risk for heart disease. Beans are also bursting with soluble fiber that helps lower cholesterol. Eating a mere cup of beans a day can lower cholesterol levels by as much as 18%. Beans are low in fat and what fat they have is unsaturated; they are low in sodium and high in potassium — more pluses for a heart-healthy diet.

Focus on Fiber.
There are two kinds of fiber and both of them are good. That’s the good news. The bad news is that most of us get far less fiber in our diets than we should. The Surgeon General recommends 35-40 grams of fiber per day.

Soluble fiber. This is the stuff that helps reduce choles-terol and blood sugar levels. This works because soluble fiber easily dissolves in water (duh!) and forms a gellish goo that surrounds food particles. The fats bind to the fiber and are excreted rather than being digested and absorbed. Foods that contain high amounts of soluble fiber include: beans, peas, lentils, oats, oat bran, rice bran, gums, mucilages, psyllium and pectins (apples, etc.).

Insoluble fiber. This is the stuff my Mom used to lovingly refer to as “roughage,” a more graphic, if slightly less delicate, term. Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve easily and doesn’t digest either. This kind of fiber absorbs water, cleans the digestive tract, softens feces and can help prevent hemor-rhoids and diverticular disease.

Some ways to increase the amount of fiber you consume:
• Eat the skin of fruit.
• Eat lots of veggies — especially the cruciferous veggies: cabbage, cauliflower, kale, collards, bok choy, and brussels, steam them lightly or eat them raw.
• Choose high-fiber cereals that provide at least 3 grams of fiber per serving.
• Eat whole-grains, including breads and brown rice.

Fiber has an additional plus — it makes you feel nice and full. The downside of fiber, as we all know, is that it can make you feel a little TOO full… in fact, bloated and gaseous. These effects can be minimized by gradually increasing the amount of fiber in your diet and keeping it consistent. Add water to your diet — make sure you drink those eight glasses daily; and discard the water used to soak beans before cooking — that gets rid of the indigestible sugars in the beans that cause gas.

A Vegetarian Diet?
Whether you choose to elim-inate meat and/or dairy products from your diet, you can choose to take steps that will give you some of the benefits received by vegetarians — who have approx-imately half the risk of heart disease of omnivores. The follow-ing four benefits have been found to be important in making a vege-tarian diet heart-healthy. These benefits can be incorporated into an omnivorous diet, if meat and dairy products are not viewed as central to the diet.

1) Lower cholesterol levels. Vegetarians have about 14% lower levels of cholesterol than omnivores. Risk of heart disease decreases approximately 3% for each percent decrease in the level of cholesterol.

2) Vitamins E and C are responsible for protecting LDL cholesterol from oxidation, which is thought to help protect against heart disease. Vegetarians con-sume approximately 100% more Vitamin E and 50% Vitamin C than omnivores. Beta carotene and other phytochemicals are also consumed in higher quan-tities by vegetarians — these substances also have antioxidant properties.

3) High levels of homocysteine (associated with elevated risk for heart disease) are reduced by consumption of folate (dark leafy greens and legumes). Vege-tarians consume 50% more folate than omnivores.

4) Because their diet is plant-based, vegetarians consume 50-100% more fiber than omnivores.

From love to strength, to pro-tection from aging, for hundreds of years a number of herbs have been associated with heart health. These days, some of the “magic” these herbs can work has been proven by science. Indeed, for all its heroic abilities in acute stages of heart disease, heart failure, and its miraculous life-saving surgeries (of which my family is a most grateful beneficiary… Hi Dad!) conventional Western medicine must still look to tradi-tional herbal formulas for effec-tive long-term, catastrophe- preventing tonics. Used in con-junction with “heart healthy” diets and a wise dose of exercise, these plants can improve overall health and promote happiness.

GARLIC
The first prescription for garlic is found chiseled on a Sumerian clay tablet in cuneiform that dates back to 3000 B.C. Hippocrates recommended it for infections, wounds and cancer, while ancient Chinese writings prescribed it for infections, respiratory ailments and heart disease. Ayurvedic healers used it to treat leprosy, and as late as 1665 the College of Physicians recommended it for treatment of plague. By 1812 it appeared in over 40 medical texts for a variety of uses. The volatile sulfur compounds, including allicin, are the probable active constituents that recent scientific research has shown can irrefutably reduce blood cholesterol levels. Studies done in hospitals and at universities around the world typically compare diets high in fat with and without garlic. Patients with higher garlic intake had 10-80% reduced blood cholesterol levels and 15-50% less incidence of atherosclerotic lesions or other signs of atherosclerosis than control groups (The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine by Daniel Mowrey). Although the method of action is unclear, it is thought that the allicin blocks the biosynthesis of cholesterol by reacting with sulfnydryl group systems and combining with coenzyme A. Research also con-firms its blood pressure lowering effects due to its ability to expand blood vessel walls, a property that has been attributed to the presence of methyl allyl trisulfide. Finally, garlic maintains blood and blood vessel health by inhib-iting the stickiness of blood cells and reducing platelet aggrega-tion. This property, although essential in healing of wounds, prevents excessive clotting in the veins, which may lead to restric-ted blood flow.

CAYENNE
Cayenne will also lower blood cholesterol levels, which, in turn, helps to lower blood pressure. In several studies published in Nutrition Reports International, cayenne and its constituent capsacain were found to prevent liver cholesterol levels from rising, and increase excre-tion of free cholesterol. Most interesting, the effects of cholesterol absorption prevention were most effective when whole cayenne, rather than a standardized con-centrated extract of its constituent, was used.

ROSEMARY
Rosmaricine, a constituent of the rosemary leaf, helps stim-ulate smooth muscle activity. Its aromatic oils calm irritated nerves and it is high in minerals, including calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium and potas-sium. In appropriate proportions, it is required for the healthy functioning of the cardiac muscle and the nervous system.

HAWTHORN
Hawthorn berries have long been used for improving heart function. They are a particularly good source of the flavonoids, anthocyanidins, and proantho-cyanidins that are responsible for the strong blue and red colors not only in hawthorn berries but in blackberries, cherries, blue-berries and grapes, as well. These flavonoids have what is known as a strong “vitamin P” activity, which increases intra-cellular vitamin C levels and decreases capillary permeability and fragility. Hawthorn berries help reduce cholesterol levels and decrease the size of existing atherosclerotic plaques. Deposition of cholesterol occurs when the integrity of the collagen in the arteries and veins is damaged. Hawthorn flavonoids’ unique ability to promote the cross-linking of collagen fibers results in a reinforcement of the vessels preventing deposits. Studies in several countries have documented Hawthorn’s ability to lower blood pressure by dilating blood vessels, including a mild dilation of coronary tissues them-selves, increasing enzyme meta-bolism and oxygen utilization by the heart. In addition, it enhances pulse and improves the force of muscular contractions.

MOTHERWORT
Motherwort, known in Latin as Leonurus cardiaca, or “Lionheart,” has a long history of use in medical lore in every corner of the globe. The names given to it, including Mother Herb, Mother Weed, Heartwort, Heart Gold, Heart Heal, Heart Herb, etc., recognize its two main functions: that of a cardiac tonic and a uterine tonic. The cardiac effects are due to the glycoside content and as a cardiac tonic it has been shown in studies to be hypotensive and antispasmodic, as well as sedative. These proper-ties cause it to calm palpitations and normalize heart rhythms and functions.

LILY OF THE VALLEY
This common garden flower blooms beautifully in most gar-dens in late spring and has the same effect as Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea, from which conventional medicine’s powerful heart drug is made) without the toxic side effects. Two specific cardiac glycoside constituents enable this herb to stimulate the muscles of the heart and strengthen their contraction, pumping more blood through the body without increa-sing the demand for oxygen. Thus the heart can actually do more work on less oxygen. A unique chemical structure allows these constituents to have a quick effect and then are easily metabolized and excreted. It is this short- term existence in the body that prevents a toxic buildup and poisonous effect, as found with Foxglove.

Still, this herb, like so many others, is a tremendously powerful force and should only be used under the supervision of an experienced healthcare pro-fessional. Though there are two major constituents in Lily of the Valley that specifically promote these important actions, the other glycosides present in the herb potentiate their action to the tune of 500 times their strength alone. The tonic effects also come from these less active glycosides, which convert themselves into the more active constituents in the body when and as needed. The syner-gistic effects of all these constituents once again demonstrates the importance of utilizing the whole herb rather than a standardized concentrated extract.

The above information is for educational purposes only. Heart health is a most serious matter. Please seek the care of a quali-fied, experienced healthcare professional.

Sources:
The Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine, by Daniel Mowrey;
A Modern Herbal by Maude Grieve;
The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine by Drs. Michael Murray, N.D. and Joseph Pizzorno, N.D.;
The Complete Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman.