Men's Hearts Failing Them for Fear

 Walking to our car after my son’s high school graduation, I noticed a couple of people complaining about the difficult walk and how their hearts were pounding.  Mind you, the quarter mile walk from the football stadium to the parking lot would not give many of us a second thought, but I was struck by limitations of life brought on by poor health.  We enjoy many freedoms here in America, but when we exercise our freedom to make poor choices, it does not absolve us of the consequences of those choices.

I recall reading in the Bible when I was young (probably in the 1960's) the verse in Luke in relation to events of the "last days" of "men's hearts failing them for fear".  At the time I remember thinking that events would become so intense, that people would be scared to death.  Almost 50 years later, understand that heart disease is the #1 killer of men and women in America.  Prior to this past century, heart disease and death from heart attacks was hardly a blip on the mortality radar.

Certainly we live in stressful times, but they are no more stressful than times previous.  Let me briefly share with you some of the current information regarding heart health and what you can do to reduce your risk.  Following these recommendations will not only reduce your risk for heart disease, but can also reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

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Diet

Diet – Simple, but not easy.  Simple, in that you should be eating “whole, natural foods”.  Not easy, in that you will have to prepare food yourself rather than relying on fast food, processed foods out of cans, boxes and bags.  Here are some keys:

• Eggs are heart healthy.
• Sugar and a diet with a lot of carbohydrates such as breads, cereals and grains can lead to heart disease. 
• Healthy animal fats from poultry, beef and lamb, it turns out, are also heart healthy. Coconut oil - a medium-chain saturated fat, can actually help you to lose weight, lower cholesterol, improve diabetic conditions and reduce your risk of heart disease. Avoid processed oils such as canola while emphasizing oils such as olive oil, coconut oil and natural animal fats.
• Use sea salt, which provides you with the full array the mineral and avoid table salt. 
• Eat a diet with plenty of fresh vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds.
• Animal products from healthy sources such as raw milk, and organic beef and poultry.

For more information go to our article on High Blood Pressure.

Exercise

Exercise should be of a nature that is non-competitive, relaxing and inspiring that incorporates movement with breathing such as walking.  Exercise does in fact reduce the risk for heart disease, but go into it easy because for the sedentary and those really out of shape, too much exercise too quick can actually increase the risk of heart attack.  It is suggested by many that exercise, especially combined with a health diet, is the most important thing you can do for a healthy heart.

Sunshine

Sunshine - Vitamin D3 – For many years, the medical community has been preaching the dangers of sunshine for fear of skin cancer.  We slather ourselves and our children with sunscreen trying to avoid the deadly solar rays.  It has only been in recent years that we’ve discovered that sunshine is good and actually very healthy.  Sunshine converts an oil (a cholesterol) on your skin into vitamin D3 which contributes in a positive way to almost every aspect of your health and for the purposes of this article sunshine and vitamin D3 are very heart healthy.  So now the message is to get plenty of sunshine, but absolutely avoid getting burned.  Getting burned by the sun is not healthy and can lead to problems.

Fish Oils, high in Omega-3 Fatty Acids, are also very healthy not only for your heart but for every other aspect of your health.  Omega-3’s are shown to assist in vascular health and normalize high blood pressure.

Aspirin it turns out is not so beneficial for your heart and the prevailing medical recommendation is to no longer take aspirin daily for your heart.  And while daily preventative aspirin is not necessarily harmful, studies now show that it is not necessarily helpful in preventing heart disease.  Some authors suggest that aspirin may be giving people who take it a false sense of security resulting in the patient not following other recommendations.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (taking estrogen) was thought for a time to benefit the heart and reduce the risk of heart disease.  More detailed follow up clearly shows taking hormones does not help the heart.

Stress has a direct impact on heart disease – particularly stress at work and stress in marriage and relationships.  While much of the stress we experience cannot be avoided, there is much that can be done in how we manage our stress.  Daily exercise is important in dealing with and managing stress.  There are also many self-help techniques that haven proven effective in dealing with unresolved emotional stress such as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and The Emotion Code.

Alcohol is simply not good for you, in any quantity, in the long run. There have been studies through the years suggesting that drinking alcohol can be healthy for the heart.  With further investigation these studies have shown to be seriously flawed.  Simply put, the risks of drinking alcohol outweigh any benefit or perceived benefit of drinking.

Herbal Supplements – herbs have a long history of benefiting the heart and circulatory system.

Hawthorn Berry Syrup – supports, builds and strengthens  the heart by allowing oxygen to be better utilized by the heart muscles.*

Heart Formula – provides the nutrients and support to build a health circulatory system.  

Cardio Plus – the herbs in this formula have been traditionally used to support healthy heart function.

Cayenne– The great circulation herb, prized for its ability to strengthen and tone the entire vascular system.*

Earth’s Nutrition – Nature’s answer to the multiple vitamin and mineral supplement.  This whole food supplement is free from man-made or laboratory manipulated chemicals.*

Garlic – eat it daily if you can.  Supports healthy cholesterol levels and healthy blood pressure, helps keep the blood thin.  The king of herbs.*

Turmeric – a great natural pain reliever which also promotes cardiovascular health.*

Vascular Support – Improves vascular tone of blood vessels assisting with the normalization of blood pressure.*

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Some of the classic causes of heart disease still hold true as it relates to heart health.

Smoking is a primary risk factor for heart disease.  The good news is that those who quit and haven’t smoked for over a year have pretty much reduced this as a risk factor for them as it pertains to heart disease.

High Cholesterol, Diabetes and High Blood Pressure are all well-established risk factors.  The good news is these conditions are reversible and by following the recommendations for a healthy heart, you can also bring these conditions under control.

We invite each of you to take charge of your health.  Change can be difficult, but it can also be adventurous.  As you make changes toward greater health and activity, your rewards will be those of more energy, less pain and less stress.

Blessings in Health,

Dr. Kyle Christensen