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Protect Your Heart

 

Italian researchers reported that a small square of dark chocolate daily helps prevent inflammation of the heart and ultimately heart disease. Researchers said that only 0.23 ounces a day is the ideal amount. Just a little bit of "healthy" chocolate can help improve your health.

 

TRU Chocolate is rated 3,040 in ORAC (9 servings of fruit and vegetables in anti-oxidants), and has bitter melon, which is known to normalize blood sugar, Noni, ellagic acid, citric extract, and green tea. This "Absolutely Health Chocolate" is certified Kosher, organic, and safe for diabetic, obese children as well as adults by The National Research Laboratory. It's glycemic index is 7.

 

Suppressing appetite and your desire for sweets, it even causes weight loss when eaten before each meal. With the safe, natural sweetner Xylitol, it has no weight gaining, cavity causing sugar, which makes it great for oral hygiene and cavity prevention. It even helps clear up your skin, strengthen your bones and "brighten up your day!"

 

Green Tea + Lemon

In a study of more than 40,500 Japanese men and women, those who drank five or more cups of green tea every day had the lowest risk of dying of heart disease and stroke. Researchers attribute the protective effect to catechins, powerful antioxidants. Trouble is, less than 20% of these relatively unstable compounds survive digestion. To get more out of every cup, squeeze in some lemon juice. The vitamin C in lemons helps your body absorb 13 times more catechins than it can obtain from plain tea alone, according to a Purdue University study.

Sip to your heart's content: With the catechin boost from vitamin C, you can help your heart by drinking just one or two cups daily. If lemons make you pucker, squeeze in some orange, lime, or grapefruit juice; they increase antioxidant absorption, too, though to a lesser extent. Just skip the milk--it actually interferes with absorption--and stick to freshly brewed tea, hot or iced. The catechins in ready-to-drink bottles are ineffective.

 

Avoid Metabolic Syndrome

The Mediterranean Diet + Nuts


A Mediterranean-style diet, rich in fruits, vegetables, beans, fish, olive oil, and grains, is associated with everything from weight loss to a reduced risk of Parkinson's and heart disease. Now, new research shows that people with metabolic syndrome--a condition characterized by high cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar and excess belly fat--can reduce these symptoms by adding an extra serving of mixed nuts to the healthful regimen. In a large study, Spanish researchers instructed people at high risk of heart disease to follow the diet with slight variations. Among the group that added 30 g of nuts, the incidence of metabolic syndrome decreased about 14% within a year (as opposed to, say, a 6.7% decline in those who added a little more olive oil). Researchers believe the fiber, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and omega-3 fatty acids in the nuts helped regulate insulin, blood pressure, and inflammation.

Healthy snack attack: Participants in the study ate about five walnuts, five hazelnuts, and five almonds daily. Kathy McManus, RD, director of the department of nutrition at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, recommends eating the same amount (approximately 1 ounce) to take the edge off late-afternoon hunger. Sprinkle the mixture over Mediterranean diet-friendly yogurt, hot oatmeal, or a small salad.


 

Tomatoes have four chambers and is red.  The heart has four chambers and is red.  All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

 

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research to day shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

 

A diet with a lot of red or processed meat increases the risk of dying, according to the March 23 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. A U.S. study of 545,000 people found that eating the equivalent of a quarter-pound hamburger a day raised a man's risk of dying of cancer by 22 percent and of heart disease by 27 percent. Women saw the risk leap 20 percent for cancer and 50 percent for heart disease.

 

A study at Pennsylvania State University found that pistachios can lower the risk of heart disease by boosting enzymes that help remove unhealthy cholesterol in the bloodstream.

 

Snap Up: Asparagus

 

Italian researchers have found that the B vitamin folate reduces homocysteine, an amino acid believed to promote inflammation, which can up your risk of heart disease. Eight steamed asparagus spears deliver 20 percent of your daily folate requirement, as well as other heart-chummy nutrients like potassium.

 

Beets

 

If beets give you "clean your plate" flashbacks, it's time to give them a second chance. They are one of the best sources of betaine and folate, two nutrients that reduce heart-disease risk.

 

Tip: Wash and peel one fresh beet, then shred it on the widest blade of a grater. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.

 

Purslane

 

Pronounced "perslen," this common garden weed happens to have the most heart-healthy omega-3 fats of any edible plant. One nibble and you'll discover that its stems and leaves are crisp and succulent, with a mild, lemony flavor.

 

Tip: Top a bed of purslane with grilled chicken and lemon vinaigrette.

 

Pairing certain foods can maximize the benefits:

 

What to pair: Green tea and vitamin C 

Goal: Prevent cancer, heart attack, stroke

Examples: Hot green tea with toast and 1/2 fresh grapefruit; iced green tea with diced fruit

 

What to pair: Red wine and vitamin E

Goal: Healthy heart, fight cancer

Examples: Red wine with almonds; red wine sangria with mango and kiwi; red wine with spinach salad and sliced almonds with a raspberry vinaigrette dressing

 

Caffeine + Cardio

Research shows that caffeine and exercise both have anticancer properties. Combined, they offer powerful protection against skin cancer. In research on animals exposed to UVB radiation, Rutgers University scientists learned the pairing increased the animals' ability to destroy skin cancer cells by up to 4 times. Allan H. Conney, PhD, the director of the laboratory for cancer research at the Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy at Rutgers, suspects that caffeine inhibits ATR-1, a genetic pathway that prevents damaged cells from self-destructing. Both caffeine and exercise also decrease tissue fat, which research shows helps cells deconstruct.

Have a cup, then walk: Drink a strong cup of coffee an hour before exercise, recommends Monique Ryan, RD, a registered dietitian and author of Sports Nutrition for Endurance Athletes. (If your blood pressure is elevated, skip the caffeine.) Caffeine can also increase endurance and delay fatigue--helping you walk longer and stronger. Just don't forget the sunscreen.

 

Ward Off Heart Disease

 

PLAC test + HSCRP test

These tests measure Lp-PLA2 and CRP levels, two important markers of the kind of inflammation caused by the accumulation of plaque in your arteries--a big predictor of heart disease. When doctors added the results of these screenings to their usual assessment of risk factors (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc.), they ended up reclassifying 39% of intermediate-risk patients--including 11% who were in need of more serious treatment--reports a new study published in the journal Stroke. Many of these patients may now be candidates for statins.

Get the tests if: You're middle-aged and your cholesterol is normal but you smoke, have gained weight, have a family history of heart disease, or have borderline hypertension, says Christie M. Ballantyne, MD, study coauthor and director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center in Houston. If you do get put into a higher-risk category, statins aren't the only treatment. Lp-PLA2 and CRP levels both respond well to diet and exercise.

 

 

 

Last updated by Drs Joshua and Sherilyn Smith Apr 27, 2009.

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