Chocolate is Heart Felt!
How many times have we been faced with the decision about whether to pass or to consume that bar of chocolate, confident that by doing so we have added not only virtue to our lives but also longevity by steering clear of unwanted fats and sugars.
Well for the coco enthusiast a paper out in the late August version of the British Medical Journal may add weight to your preliminary discussion …. it’s good for me.[1]
Read the rest of this page »
Salt- Heart Disease and Industry
There is of course a well-known relationship between sodium chloride and hypertension[1] and we all make comments when we see the enthusiastic application of table salt onto food or add in the making of food. These are the visible uses of this flavour enhancer, but it is the salt used in food manufacturing that represents the largest exposure for most people.
A recent paper out in Nov 2010 in the BMJ Heart & Education explores the painfully slow progress towards suitable reductions.[2] Many countries do recommend restricting daily sodium intake to 100 mmol (approximately 6 g of table salt) or less, but in a recent review of world salt levels, only seven out of the 25 countries reviewed met this goal suggesting a lack of legislative pressure and social interest.[3]
Read the rest of this page »
CAM Conference 2010-Heart Care
Michael Ash BSc (Hons) DO ND F.DipION is presenting a functional medicine approach to patients with cardiovascular disease using nutrition and the immune system to provide evidence based strategies to assist in the care of affected patients. The CAM conference series three lecture, will be held at Cavendish Conference Centre, London on the 14th May 2010. Other speakers will help make this a very informative and strategic day.
Cardiovascular disease continues to be the number 1 cause of preventable death in the industrialised world as confirmed by a recent report undertaken in the UK. some 5000 patients followed up in the United Kingdom’s Whitehall Study, which began in the 1960s has revealed that just three cardiovascular risk factors shortened their life span by a whole decade.
Read the rest of this page »
Lifestyle Changes Better Than Drugs for Diabetes Prevention
A series of papers out in the New England Journal of medicine on March the 14th 2010 have failed to add any substantive weight to the use of medication in the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. [1],[2],[3]
The continued expansion of the western global waistline and incidence of diabetes has provided fertile opportunity for a wide range of clinical trials designed to uncover strategies for incidence of diabetes reduction.[4] There is no surprise in the discovery that making significant changes to people’s lifestyles, eating less and being more active, the primary causes of weight gain, also have a consistent reduction in type II diabetes risk. The real success has also been in the associated benefits in reduction of related cardiovascular disease risk[5] and raising of mood.[6]
Read the rest of this page »
Walnuts Lower Cholesterol and Other CV Risk Factors
Background: Consumption of nuts has been associated with a decreased risk of cardiovascular disease events and death. Walnuts in particular have a unique profile: they are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which may improve blood lipids and other cardiovascular disease risk factors.
Read the rest of this page »
Omega-6 Fatty Acids and Risk for Cardiovascular Disease
A large body of literature suggests that higher intakes of omega-6 (or n-6) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) reduce risk for coronary heart disease (CHD). However, for the reasons outlined below, some individuals and groups have recommended substantial reductions in omega-6 PUFA intake. The purpose of this advisory is to review evidence on the relationship between omega-6 PUFAs and the risk of CHD and cardiovascular disease.
Read the rest of this page »
The immune system is prone to the same grave misfortunes as any defense system handling weapons: collateral damage that comes with the destruction of the enemy on one’s own territory and friendly fire due to mistaken identity. Whereas the collateral damage is the price we pay for clearance of infections, autoimmunity is a pathological process. Nevertheless, the effector mechanisms involved in both processes are the same. Whether environment can be a cause, a trigger or an amplifier of an autoimmune disease are questions that are being intensively investigated.
