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Are You a Heart Attack Waiting to Happen?


Expert Marks American Heart Month 2010 With Tips And A Wake-Up Call

"Heart attacks strike quickly and without warning," said Dr. Eliaz - an author, lecturer, researcher, clinical practitioner and product formulator for natural health supplement manufacturer EcoNugenics (www.econugenics.com). "So as the national discussion turns to preventing heart attacks during American Heart Month, the real question isn't whether people can recognize the warning signs, but rather, whether they can recognize if they are at risk in the first place."

According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 81 million American adults - more than one in three - have one or more types of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Of these, 38 million are estimated to be under 60 years of age. "And those are just the reported cases," Dr. Eliaz said. "What about the people who have CVD and don't know it or haven't been diagnosed by a doctor because they haven't seen a doctor? Our mission should be to help these people recognize they are in high risk categories and get checked out."

According to Dr. Eliaz, high risk factors include:
• Smoking
• Excessive alcohol consumption
• A diet high in saturated fat and cholesterol
• Sedentary lifestyle
• Obesity
• Glucose intolerance
• Diabetes
• High salt intake

"There are a number of lifestyle options that may avert the condition," he added, referencing a free report he wrote about it at cardiobalance.org. "The obvious advice, of course, is to maintain a healthy body weight, moderate consumption of alcohol, exercise, reduce sodium intake, alter intake of calcium, magnesium and potassium, and reduce stress. But there's more than that."

Dr. Eliaz recommended the following tips for heart healthiness:
• Heart Healthy Diet - The first and most obvious step is to shed excess weight through exercise and adopting a heart-healthy diet with heavy consumption of antioxidant-rich fresh fruits and vegetables as the best way to reach both of these goals - but be sure to eat organic as often as possible, as pesticides will only introduce aggravating toxins into your body.

• Watch Your Fiber - Moderate intake of high-fiber whole grains that are low on the glycemic index scale is also important, along with lean protein like chicken, turkey, and fish (as long as you beware of excess mercury content in the fish).

• Anti-oxidant Snacks - Other heart-healthy snacks include seeds and nuts, and even small amounts of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate. Drinking green tea and red wine (in moderation) are also excellent ways to protect your heart.

• Good Fats and Bad Fats - It's more important that you choose "good" fats as opposed to “bad” fats. The saturated and trans fats that you'll find in red meat, butter, and most fast foods are more likely to clog arteries than unsaturated choices like olive oil and fish oil - the latter of which can actually boost your heart health.

"At the end of the day, we need to understand the things about our lifestyle that contribute to our risk for heart disease," he said. "That way, it really won't matter whether we memorized the warning signs of a heart attack, because we may never experience them."

About Dr. Isaac Eliaz

Dr. Isaac Eliaz is a respected author, lecturer, researcher, product formulator, and clinical practitioner. He has been a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine since the early 1980s.

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