|
The surprising threat to our hearts
12th June 2009
• A new breakthrough in the fight against heart attacks
• 5 ways to help your body beat inflammation
At about seven o'clock this morning, the phone lines
in Bristol were probably jammed with people calling
the police to say they'd just heard three loud gunshots.
Well, I hope I don't get arrested for wasting police
time, but that was just me sneezing.
Seriously, my sneezes were so loud a light went on in
the house across the road.
And I swear I started the dogs barking in the dog home
about three miles away.
I probably caused a driver to swerve wildly
somewhere along the M1 as well.
Really it was THAT loud.
And around this time of year, there's going to be more
of them, thanks to pesky hay fever.
Weirdly, I always forget I suffer from hay fever until it
starts up every summer. That's probably because it
only started affecting me in my midthirties.
I don't know WHY it suddenly started... maybe it's
because pollution is so much worse these days (and so
much denser in the summer months) or maybe
pollen's adapted over the years and become stronger.
Or maybe years of me standing with my face pressed
against sweet shop windows trying to inhale the aroma
of chocolate has weakened my nasal passages...
Whatever the reason is, I certainly get clobbered by
hay fever these days.
Luckily, there's one little device that I carry around
with me all the time that helps keep everything under
control...
Really, this neat little contraption uses one of the
oldest (and least known) remedies to stop hay fever in
its tracks. Plus, it can help fight the effects of pollution
and keep your airwaves clean and healthy.
Take a look:
NEW Refillable Saltpipe
Anyway, after a few puffs on this I'm now ready to
face the day and start writing to you about something
that caught my eye this week...
|
A new breakthrough in the fight against heart
attacks
Ask anyone what causes heart attacks, and the
common answer is bad diet.
Too much fatty food clogging the arteries, raising
blood pressure and - eventually - leading to heart
problems.
Makes sense right?
You keep your bad cholesterol down, and your heart
has a much better chance of staying fit and healthy.
Well get this...
Figures produced in America show that half of all
heart attacks happen to people with perfectly normal
cholesterol levels.
Yep - 50%.
This is something that's had doctors baffled for ages,
until a recent breakthrough showed that another threat
could be behind heart attacks, something as dangerous
as cholesterol but something that - until now - had
been overlooked as a possible threat to your heart...
Inflammation.
In a study conducted by Dr Paul Ridker at Boston's
Brigham and Women's Hospital, people with normal
cholesterol levels, but high levels of CRP (a protein
that indicates the presence of inflammation) were
given statins, their CRP levels shot down and their risk
of heart attack fell by 54%.
It seems that inflammation can make our plaques
unstable, causing them to rupture and clog up our
arteries in much the same way that fatty deposits clog
up out arteries, which in turn can lead to a heart attack.
And that one bit of research could open up a whole
new way of fighting off the risk of heart problems.
Of course, high cholesterol levels are still dangerous -
and can still cause heart attacks, but controlling
inflammation may be just as important.
And if that's the case, there are a few, powerful
natural substances that can help you fight
inflammation straight away... |
5 ways to help your body beat inflammation
• Omega 3 fatty acids... these powerful acids
contain EPA and DHA, which are the basic
building blocks of your body's anti-inflammatory
defences.
• Curcumin... this is the substance that gives
tumeric its yellow colour. Curcumin blocks the
activity of Cox-2, which converts certain acids in
our bodies into complex substances that can cause
inflammation.
• Cat's Claw... this Peruvian herb has been used for
centuries for its anti-inflammatory properties.
Again, it prevents one of the main aids to
inflammation (NF-kB) from doing its job.
• Ginger... this is something I try and include in my
diet every day, and its not hard! I tend to grate it
and adding it to lemon and manuka honey to make
a lovely tea. Really. Try it - it even feels healthy
as its slipping down! Ginger has over 500 different
compounds in it, and many of them contain anti-
inflammatory properties.
• Avoid processed food! ANOTHER reason to ditch
all that rubbish that boasts things like 'contains
17% chicken' when it's meant to be a chicken
dinner. Processed food manufacturers often add
omega-6 fatty acids into the cooking process. Or
should that be building processing?
Anyway, these acids actually promote
inflammation, so bin processed foods and stick to
good, whole foods.
Right, that's me done for today. Best go round to the
neighbours and reassure them that there's not a man
with a shotgun stalking the street.
I'll be back on Sunday with more news and ideas to
help keep your health in check.
Until then, have a great weekend! Not that I want you
to start having a bad weekend the minute I turn up...
oh, you know what I mean... |
|
|
|
