Eat Your Way To a Healthier Heart

By Christa Orecchio, Certified Clinical Nutritionist, Holistic Health Counselor

Nothing matters more than taking good care of your heart. We can keep ourselves in shape by getting regular exercise, not smoking and controlling stress. Just as important: eating a variety of nutritious, heart-healthy foods that make up a healthy diet.

Where to start? Increase these “super foods” to eat your way to a healthier heart.

Blueberries: They top the list as one of the most powerful disease-fighting foods. That’s because they contain anthocyanins, the antioxidant responsible for their dark blue color. These delicious jewels are packed with fiber, Vitamin C and heart-healthy potassium. Regularly add them into your diet in yogurt, trail mix, salads, cereal, in your favorite Leanology® shake or just by themselves.

Salmon: This cold-water fish is a great source of protein and is also packed with heart-healthy Omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association advises eating salmon and other Omega-3 rich foods twice a week for benefits that go beyond heart health. Make sure your salmon is wild caught to avoid toxic heavy metals and lack of nutrients that can be found in farm-raised salmon.

Recipe Idea: Marinate salmon in a lime, onion, garlic and soy sauce mixture for 15 minutes before grilling for a delicious fish taco or grilled fish sandwich.

Oatmeal: Oats are nourishing whole grains and a great source of vitamins, minerals and cholesterol-lowering fiber. Research shows that oats lower cholesterol levels, keep you regular and may help protect against certain cancers.

Recipe Ideas: Add oats whenever you bake. Substitute oat flour for white or wheat flour in pancakes, muffins, quick breads, cookies and coffee cakes for an added dose of fiber. Or try oats in place of bread crumbs in dishes such as meatloaf, meatballs or breading on poultry.

Kale: Even mightier than spinach, kale is the powerhouse of the vegetable kingdom. Its rich, dark color comes from the multiple phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals (especially folate and iron) it contains that fight disease, protect the heart and preserve your eyesight. To top it off, kale is also the “king of calcium” – it delivers the highest absorbable form of calcium possible.

Recipe Idea: Mix kale with pine nuts and raisins, then stuff into winter squash and bake for a colorful, delicious main or side dish. Even easier – saute with garlic and olive oil.

Flaxseed: Rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, lignans, phytoestrogens and fiber, this powerful seed is most effective when it is ground up and stored away from light, heat and air. Studies suggest that flaxseed lowers the risk of blood clots, stroke and irregular heartbeat. It may also help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides.

Menu Idea: Ground flaxseed works easily in all sorts of foods – on top of salads or soup, in yogurt parfaits, smoothies or morning cereal.

Almonds and walnuts: These nuts are high in plant Omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamin E, magnesium, folate, fiber, heart-favorable monoand polyunsaturated fats and phytosterols.

Menu Idea: Mix a few almonds (and berries) into low-fat yogurt, trail mix or fruit salads, and add walnuts to salads, pastas, cookies, muffins and even pancakes for a flavorful crunch.

Brown rice: Contains high levels of B-complex vitamins and magnesium, which nourish our central nervous system. Vitamin B-12 (folate) and Vitamin B-6 protect against blood clots and atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. Niacin (Vitamin B-3) helps increase HDL (good) cholesterol.

What about when eating out?
Many restaurants do not yet offer things like kale, flaxseed or brown rice. However, there are many choices you can make to support your heart and your health. When dining out, ask that your food be steamed, poached or baked instead of sauteed or fried. Ask for a side of olive oil and lemon to dress it yourself with the “good” fat. When eating salads, request your dressing on the side and choose oil and vinegar whenever possible. Get an extra serving of veggies (broccoli, carrots, spinach) and forego the white rice or potato. Choose lighter sauces vs. cream-based sauces. Also, it’s important to think outside the box. If there is nothing on the menu that speaks to you, make up your own meal from the appetizers and sides that are offered.

By choosing heart-healthy foods, the “bad” fats naturally find their way out of our diet and life. Steer clear of margarine or anything labeled trans-fats or fractionated palm kernel oil. Moderate other high cholesterol foods like butter, cheese, ice cream, red meat and other highly dense animal foods. With only a few simple changes, you will be well on your way to lowering your cholesterol, having more energy and taking care of that amazing heart that beats for you, every second of every single day.

Source: TriVita VitaJournal February 2009 pg 9.

TriVita Article: Stroke

Summary of TriVita Article Stroke
(Cerebrovascular Accident; CVA; Cerebral Infarct; Brain Attack)

TriVita Weekly Wellness, Reduce Your Risk of Blood Clots

by Dr Brazos Minshew, TriVita Chief Science Office

Over 300,000 people in North America die each year from stroke. Another 700,000 die each year from heart attack. The most common type of both stroke and heart attack is ischemic disease, caused by a blood clot. Damage occurs when the blood clot reduces – and then totally blocks – circulation in an artery. The tissue nourished by that artery begins to die almost immediately.

The nature of blood clots
Blood clots are a miracle when they occur in the right place at the right time. If a blood vessel is injured it sends out chemical distress signals that cause platelets to seal the leak. Platelets are small, white cells that are normally very slippery. They become sticky when the lining of the blood vessel (the endothelium) is damaged.

1. The endothelium sends chemical messages to the platelets.
2. The platelets send chemical messages to attract fibrin proteins.
3. Fibrin proteins are like string that becomes very sticky and ties the groups of platelets together. This is an immature or “white” blood clot.

If the leak is not sealed by this “white” clot, larger red blood cells are tied to the platelets by fibrin to form a “red” clot.

Blood clots in the wrong place – at the wrong time
Problems occur when these clots happen in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, one probable cause of migraine headaches is inappropriate communication between blood vessels and platelets. If a single blood vessel cramps or spasms it can signal platelets to become so sticky that they restrict circulation in the rest of the brain. Ischemic strokes and heart attacks are often caused by mature red clots breaking free of the injured area and blocking arteries in the heart or brain.

Interestingly, blockages from blood clots can occur in any area of the body. For instance, a person can have a “stroke” that injures the lungs or kidneys. Deep vein thrombosis in the legs is the exact same kind of vascular disease that causes stroke or heart attack.

The key to preventing damage is to make sure that the clots form only when and where they are supposed to. This is only possible with accurate communication between the endothelium in the blood vessels and the clotting mechanisms in the red blood cells, platelets and fibrin. Simple nutrients can have profound effects on improving this communication – and I make several suggestions later in this report.

Working smarter, not harder
Blood thinners force platelets and fibrin to ignore clotting signals from the endothelium. When a person is having a stroke these drugs are life-saving because the blood vessels, platelets and fibrin are getting the message to clot in the wrong place at the wrong time. One new class of drugs triggers the release of nitric oxide to open the blood vessels. Nitric oxide also helps the blood vessels, platelets and fibrin proteins communicate clearly. To prevent blood vessel miscommunication in the first place, high nitric oxide levels are needed.

Nitric oxide is made from nitrogen; nitrogen comes from fruits and vegetables. Eating up to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day will make your clotting system very smart! Plant-based foods have been proven to improve your health – including the health of your circulatory system.

Smart nutrients

TriVita Adaptogen 10 Plus® Dr. Nathan Bryan, cardiologist and specialist in nitric oxide communication, recommends TriVita Adaptogen 10 Plus to help increase nitric oxide. Adaptogen 10 Plus also helps protect against stress. Stress alone – without any help from cholesterol – causes blood vessel spasms which may result in blood clots. So, a good first step in improving the health of your circulatory system is to eat your fruits and vegetables every day and take whole-food supplements like Adaptogen 10 Plus.

TriVita OmegaPrime® Essential fatty acids such as those in OmegaPrime can help keep the platelets from getting sticky at the wrong time. Dr. Dwight Lundell, cardiologist and specialist in bypass surgery, recommends the Omega-3 EFA in TriVita OmegaPrime as a prime tool to help protect against inappropriate clotting. We need 1–4 grams of Omega-3 every day (2–6 OmegaPrime soft gels).

TriVita HCY Guard® Dr. Kilmer McCully, cardiologist and specialist in vascular health, recommends the protective nutrients found in TriVita HCY Guard to help your body reduce homocysteine (HCY). HCY is one culprit in forming clots at the wrong place and time. Taking a single HCY Guard sublingual lozenge daily can help your body reduce homocysteine up to 35% – in as little as 42 days!

Other nutrients such as Vitamin E, turmeric and ginger, and Vitamin C all provide information for your blood clotting system to work smarter. Smart nutrients are the key to making good decisions about where and when to activate this miraculous system!

Source: TriVita Weekly Wellness Report January 31, 2009.

Study Confirms The Value Of Adaptogen 10 Plus

Our research team discovered that it helps raise nitric oxide levels – essential for good health
By Dr. Nathan S. Bryan

Nitric oxide or NO is one of the most important molecules in our body. Like a policeman directing traffic in a busy intersection, nitric oxide directs the communication between the busiest cells in the body: brain cells, blood cells, immune system cells and cells from every body system where communication is critical. Nitric oxide is so important that no organ in your body could function without it. In fact, a Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three scientists in 1998 responsible for discovering its actions. It keeps our blood pressure normal, helps us think clearly, helps our body fight off infections, and even prevents the development of blood clots and atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). Many of the “diseases of aging” are no more than a deficiency of nitric oxide.

Recently, my team tested Adaptogen 10 Plus for nitric oxide activity. This study helps confirm the incredible value of Adaptogen 10 Plus. We discovered that it contains natural NO metabolites that help to restore normal nitric oxide biochemistry within our body. This important benefit is in addition to its high antioxidant capacity and adaptive stress molecules.

As we age, our body gradually loses its ability to produce nitric oxide. Stress, pollution and a nutrient-deficient diet also reduce our nitric oxide reserves. A healthy diet, sleep, exercise and the rest of the 10 Essentials (see pg. 2) contribute to nitric oxide activity – and to good health!

As a professor of medicine, I supervise cardiovascular research in the heart health field. My field of specialty is nitric oxide: how to get it and how to keep it. The people in our research center suffer from a host of nitric oxide-related disorders including heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease – the list seems endless.

In every case I see that the higher we can raise the nitric oxide levels, the better the patient responds. Restoring nitric oxide production has become one of the main strategies at treating and protecting against many diseases.

It makes sense that Adaptogen 10 Plus would activate a high amount of nitric oxide because research has revealed that most high-antioxidant foods nourish NO. TriVita’s Adaptogen 10 Plus helps us combat stress, a nitric oxide killer.

The amount of NO in Adaptogen 10 Plus has been shown to help protect against vascular inflammation, reduce injury from a heart attack or stroke and restore NO homeostasis (a sense of balance) in animal models. This unique blend of antioxidants and nitric oxide metabolites is essential for brain and heart health. Combining a regimen of Adaptogen 10 Plus with the 10 Essentials will help ensure optimal health.

Source: VitaJournal December 2008 pg 20.

Vitamin C, A Boost To Your Health & Well-Being

Summary
As cooler temperatures arrive, many people like to load up on Vitamin C to ward off colds.

Vitamin C and your body

Humans are one of the few mammals that can’t produce Vitamin C. That’s right; your body doesn’t make or store this vital nutrient so you must replenish your body’s supply of it every day. Why?

Bones – All the minerals in your bones require Vitamin C to turn them into health-building materials.
Blood – Your blood needs Vitamin C to convert iron into hemoglobin, a protein in your red blood cells.
Collagen – Vitamin C is required to form collagen; collagen in turn forms the body’s connective tissues such as blood vessels, tendons, ligaments and bones.
Gums – Vitamin C helps maintain healthy teeth and gums.
Immune system function – Vitamin C activates immune cells called lymphocytes. Vitamin C also acts as a powerful antioxidant, protecting your body from free radicals; these damaging molecules can result from metabolism, environmental toxins and stress. Free radicals have been implicated in conditions ranging from heart disease and cancer to arthritis and inflammation. In addition to protecting against free radicals, Vitamin C can help expand the lifespan of other antioxidants such as Vitamins A and E.

Vitamin C and diabetes

A study in the July 2008 Archives of Internal Medicine showed that those with higher Vitamin C levels had a 62% lower risk of developing Type II diabetes than those with lower levels of Vitamin C. That’s great news considering that 24 million people in the United States alone have diabetes (according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Vitamin C and cancer

A 2008 study from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Kansas showed that when Vitamin C was administered intravenously to mice, it reduced the weight of ovarian, brain and pancreatic cancer tumors by 41 to 53%! The body will only allow a certain amount of Vitamin C to be absorbed when it’s taken orally, so researchers wanted to test the results of intravenous Vitamin C. What they found is that while Vitamin C shrank cancer tumors, it did not affect normal cells. Other conditions that Vitamin C has been shown to help include:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Stroke
• High cholesterol
• Macular degeneration
• Aging skin.

Vitamin C and you

So now the question is: How much Vitamin C do you need? Individual needs for Vitamin C depend on a variety of factors; one way to determine how much your body can use is by doing the Vitamin C Flush. savings on TriVita Non-Acidic Vitamin C, see page 12.) The Vitamin C Flush helps you figure out how much Vitamin C you should be taking each day. Plus, the Vitamin C Flush can help detoxify your system. Your need for Vitamin C may diminish when you eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. You may need more Vitamin C if you are:

• Sick
• Running a fever
• Recovering from surgery
• Pregnant
• Breastfeeding

The bottom line? A diet rich in fruits and vegetables as well as high-quality supplements can help ensure you get the Vitamin C you need for optimum health. By actively taking control of your health now, you can help avoid the usual sniffles, sneezing and coughing that come with colder weather – and you can reap the protective health benefits of this amazing vitamin

Source: VitaJournal November 2008 pg 4.

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Are You At Risk? What’s Your Homocysteine Level?

High homocysteine often leads to serious, debilitating conditions including: Stroke Heart Attack Coronary Heart Disease Diabetes Osteoporosis Dementia Alzheimer’s

Help reduce the risk of degenerative diseases Homocysteine (HCY) is like cholesterol. An elevated homocysteine level is very dangerous… it can wreak havoc when it’s too high! You can’t feel dangerous, elevated HCY levels The damage can rarely be reversed. Most North Americans are poorly prepared to handle the effects of a stroke. It’s hard to fully recover from a stroke, so that’s a good reason to start taking TnVita’s HCY Guard immediately to help reduce your risk. When your homocysteine level is too high, your body suffers During the methylation cycle, when HCY fails to recombine the “leftover’ protein into methionine, this excess HCY escapes into your bloodstream. It may begin to build up and cause destructive explosions to the most delicate tissues in your body. For example, it can damage your arteries, brain, bones and even your DNA. The results can be devastating This is the kind of damage that high levels of homocysteine can cause inside your body and brain: Thickening and hardening your arteries and weakening heart tissue —this can lead to strokes and heart attacks by shredding your most delicate tissues and inflicting thousands of tiny paper cuts inside your arteries and brain • Building fibrous webs in the synapses of your brain — this may lead to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease • Impacting DNA function, causing potentially dangerous cell or DNA mutations • Leaving your bones unable to absorb calcium, causing weak bones and osteoporosis • Contributing to the damage done by many degenerative diseases. Risk Factors A family history of: Cardiovascular disease, Stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, Osteoporosis, Diabetes • Low Vitamin B-12, B-6 and Folic Acid levels • Gastric disturbances, breathing difficulties or kidney issues • Age aver 50 • Pregnancy • High stress • Poor eating habits • Lack of exercise • Excessive smoking or coffee drinking. Source: TriVita Magazine, November 2008 pg 10. TriVita’s HCY Guard helps maintain healthy homocysteine levels, get yours here today!