Heart disease is a serious issue for anyone, but women especially need to pay attention. Women’s Health.gov says, ” Among all U.S. women who die each year, one in four dies of heart disease.”

CNN just listed ten power foods you can eat to help your heart. These are “power foods,” the concept of which is really fascinating to me. I guess I’m one of those people who likes to multi-task and save time, and if I can eat a balanced meal that is somehow better for me than any other meal, I’m all for it!

There are plenty of great choices on this list. One thing I really like is that many of them are easily incorporated into the average diet.

Image: sxc.hu.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner you may want to consider giving your love, a heart healthy treat.

For those of us with partner’s that have high blood pressure or heart problems that love their sweets, this article is a great find. Dark chocolate may be just what the answer you are looking for.

Do you know that cocoa is actually a fruit? We all know that fruits are good for us.

Researchers have found a link that shows cocoa and dark chocolate aid in the fight against cardiovascular disease.  The studies show reduced risk for blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks.

Food scientists at Cornell University found that there are twice the antioxidants in cocoa as were in red wine. The study also stated that there were three times more antioxidants in cocoa than found in green tea.  

Cocoa also appears to have anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties. And cocoa is a good source of the minerals magnesium, sulphur, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese; plus some of the B Vitamins.

We have all heard at one time, the chocolate was not healthy. Now the findings are the the right kind of chocolate such as dark chocolate is actually heart healthy.

Studies have also proven that dark chocolate contains an amino acid Tryptophan, that aids in the fight against depression.

To find more on this interesting article click here. Dark Chocolate

This question was ask of Dr. Gupta on CNN, is belly fat the worst type to have? The research that has been done in this area has proven that belly fat is the most dangerous type of fat. The fact is that belly fat is more biologically active, and causes build-up of calcium in the arteries.

You may be in a normal BMI range, but if you carry belly fat you are at a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. On average the risk factor is 17% for men and 13% for women regardless of their BMI.

We all know what our weight is and what it should be, but it seems as though we are always planning to go on a diet tomorrow. Keeping your weight down is important, but we should also keep track of our waist-to-hip ratio. By measuring the circumference around your belly button and your hips you find the waist-to-hip ratio. Your waist should be smaller than your hips and thighs.

Belly fat is the easiest fat to lose. Just by changing your daily eating habits and what you drink along with 30 minutes of daily exercise you can eliminate belly fat.

You will find more information on the site listed Belly Fat. 

Researchers have found a gene known only to the Amish population so far. This information may prove to be extremity important in heart research, leading to new methods of preventing heart problems.

The researchers found that the older Amish people were the best test subjects. Older Amish are genetically homogenous, that can trace their families back 14 generations all the way to Europe in the 1700 hundreds. 

Amish people live a slower pace of life and eat homegrown foods that do not contain preservatives. They get more exercise and have higher levels of good HDL-cholesterol, lower levels of LDL or bad cholesterol.

"People who have the mutation all have low triglycerides," said Toni Pollin of the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, who led the study released Thursday.

Pollin and colleagues looked at the genes of about 800 Amish people, finding that about one in 20 had the mutation, and they also had lower triglycerides and less risk of cardiovascular disease.

This amazing article can be found on this MSNBC site.

Food and drinks that taste good are not always bad for us, I found a great article I thought I would share with you.

Dr. Valentine Yanchou Njike M.D., of Yale Prevention Research Center, conducted a research study on people ages 30-75. Those participating in the research were over weight, this placed them at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

Each person in the study was given an 8-ounce cup of sugar-free cocoa, sugared cocoa or a nonfat milk drink each morning for six weeks.

The Hershey Company provided the Hershey’s Cacao Reserve mixture, because it is processed in such a way, as not to destroy the flavonoids that are naturally found in the cocoa beans.

The flavonoids are naturally found in fruits and vegetables, "these antioxidant compounds lower your risk of heart disease," said D.R. Njike.

During the research study there was a definite change in the ability of the arteries to relax and expand to allow for an increased blood flow. Within about two hours the people given the sugar-free cocoa had a 39% increase of blood flow. Those drinking the cocoa with sugar had a 23% increase, in a sharp contrast those drinking the nonfat milk drank dropped 12%.

This is not to say that you can indulge in dark chocolates all day. Some chocolates are processed in such a way that the flavonoids are removed because they taste bitter. You need to read and know just what you are getting. You also need to be aware of the calories in the dark chocolate.

Doctor Njike recommends eating just a little chocolate snack throughout the day. The blood flow tends to fade after six hours, therefore when eaten in small amounts it can be more beneficial.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/26/health/webmd/main2609037.shtml

http://www.hersheys.com/nutrition/antioxidants.asp

The heart and cardiovascular system are often likened to a pump and pipes but that imagery is misleading. Dr. Peter Libby, chief of cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, clarifies that cholesterol doesn’t directly clog an artery and cause a heart attack. We should actually picture atherosclerotic plaques as pimples in the artery wall. These plaques consist of cholesterol, white blood cells, and smooth muscle cells. When plaque pimple bursts through the artery wall, it creates an opening that is sealed by red blood cells that creates a clot which can grow so large, it clogs the artery.

Learn more from The New York Times weekend feature on heart disease:

• Controlling the Risk Factors Can Provide an Aid in Preventing Heart Disease by Dr. Elizabeth Nabel
• It’s not a “Plumbing Problem”: Doctors Also Fight the Popular Misconceptions About the Causes of Heart Disease by Gina Kolata
• Lessons of Heart Disease, Learned and Ignored by Gina Kolata
• Naomi Atrubi, a Survivor of Two Heart Attacks, Shares the Lessons She has Learned

As some people already know, Australians are special people. So special they don’t need to worry about the evils of trans fat in their diet.

Lydia Buchtmann of Food Standards Australia New Zealand:

There’s not a huge percentage of trans fat in the Australian diet. We’ve been carrying out a formal review with dietary modelling, and the preliminary findings have been that 0.6 per cent of our total kilojoules come from trans fat, which is well below the World Health Organisation’s maximum limit of 1 per cent.

Australian health experts want their citizens to focus more on saturated fats, the main cause of high LDL “bad” cholesterol, found in butter, cheese, fatty meats, etc.

By the way, more power to you if you’re vegetarian like Jul at Veggie Chic.
The Australian, December 16, 2006
Veggie link via mipmup.

If discontinuing anti-clotting medication after receiving a coated stent is a bad idea, wouldn’t it be better to get a stent that dissolves after a certain period of time? Some good reasons to get an absorbable stent:

1. You’d avoid having a foreign body inside your heart
2. The absorbable stent is more flexible and conforms to the shape of the coronary artery
3. A lower risk of late-stent thrombosis
4. Less potential scarring
5. Avoid the hassles a metal stent causes with CT and MRI scans

I’ve previously written about the Abbott XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System and today’s news is, I believe, about this stent (why didn’t BBC News name exactly what stent they’re talking about?!) that is made of a polymer which dissolves into lactic acid over two to three years. Like other stents, it holds the artery open and also releases everolimus which works to prevent re-narrowing. In a study of 30 patients who received the BVS stent in Europe and New Zealand, none experienced adverse reactions.

According to Business Week, the Xience V stent is available in Europe and will be marketed in the U.S. in 2008.

Everywhere I turn on the Web, I see advertisements for Goji juice and now I see another berry juice that promises to help prevent atherosclerosis - sea-buckthorn berries. Indian researchers have developed a technique to produce sea-buckthorn juice that is high in anti-oxidants, flavonoids, and vitamin C.

British Heart Foundation nutritionist Sara Stanner:

The pulp oil also contains unsaturated fatty acids and plant sterols, which could help to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

In addition, there is evidence that sea buckthorn juice might help to protect ‘bad’ cholesterol from oxidation, a process which is involved in the development of coronary heart disease.

The oil has also been shown to have a possible benefit in reducing the tendency of blood to clot but more research is needed to clarify whether adding it to foods can have any real impact on reducing risk of heart disease.

But how does it taste?

More info about sea-buckthorns aka seaberries at Wikipedia.

Four years ago at age 12, Alexandra Ellis was diagnosed with an atrial septal defect, a hole between the heart’s two upper chambers that requires surgery in most cases. Alexandra needed two operations but is now so healthy she’ll be appearing at the Miss Teen British Isles contest. It’s obvious from this picture that she’s beautiful and deserves to win.

Good luck, Alexandra! You’re a wonderful reminder that a hearty life is possible even in the face of a serious heart condition.

The Northern Echo, October 16, 2006