Heart

Heart, is one of the most hard working organs in our body or perhaps, THE MOST HARDWORKING ONE. just imagine, if our heart stop pumping for one second? What will happen to us? Our heart will only get stronger, not weaker. And a lot of time, it is over work. So why is it over work? Well, the answer is pretty simple. Let's say, all the arteries in our body is like a road. Each road leads to other parts of the body, major organs and etc... And each of this destination requires regular food supply in order to function properly. Now here's the situation, let's say, when the road is clear without any blockage, a red blood cell takes 10 second to reach the Kidney from the Heart. How about along the way, the road has some debris or the road is uneven and this will affect the red blood cell traveling time from the Heart to Kidney. Instead of the usual 10 second, now it may takes 20 second. This is too long for the kidney and the Kidney will malfunction if such situation arises. So, in order to prevent such situation to happen, the heart will pump harder so that the red blood cell will still take the same amount of time to reach the Kidney from the Heart. After a prolonged period of time, the heart will over work and starts to weaken. Now, let's take a step back. Didn't I mention about the debris along the road? Yup... If we don't clear the debris on the road, then, there will be more and more and more. If the red blood cell take more than 10 second to reach the Kidney from the Heart, then, it is the same for the red blood cell to take a longer time to reach the Heart from other locations. If it is going to take a longer time, it will affect the heart significantly. Not only that, once the road is choked, blood supply to the heart will be reduced and that is when you get a heart attack. Understand now? Heart attack is due to clogged arteries and how does the arteries get clogged? Usually, it is due to Calcium buildup Bad Cholesterol Fats and others... How can we resolve it? Dietary changes Ensure your diet is rich in fiber. Especially soluble fiber because it can remove LDL from the body. Take whole grained food as much as possible. Cut down on rice and take brown rice or whole grain rice. Eats lots of fresh vegetables and fruits Eat deep sea fishes such as Salmon to get good fats. If not, you can get it from flax seed oil. Take lots of food rich in vitamin Bs. Vitamin Bs are required to reduce homocysteine. If your meal does not contain any of the above mentioned food, try not to eat them. Exercises Do light exercises regularly such as brisk walking or swimming. Do not do vertical exercises as it will strain the heart. Sleep early This is an important process for the body to rest and do repair. Supplements Taking supplements are essential because we can never get enough from food. Furthermore, when the body has gone through invasive operation, it needs lots of raw materials to repair and food is never enough. Thus, taking supplement is important. Whether you have by-pass or stents, points 1 to 4 are applicable. What supplements to take? Instructions to take Nutrilite: after breakfast/after lunch/after dinner/before sleep COQ10: 1/1/1/- This is to improve cell energy production Lecithin E: 4/4/4/4 Lecithin helps to remove bad fats from the body and vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant that will improve blood circulation and thin the blood. If you are taking blood thinning medicines, you may want to reduce the dosage. Daily Multi-vit: 1/1/-/- Contains all the essential minerals such as potassium that will help to maintain the heart rhythm. Protein Powder: 2/-/-/2 Important for repairs B-complex: 6/3/3/6 Reduces homocysteine levels Calcium/Magnesium: 2/-/-/2 Magnesium improves calcium absorption and this will prevent calcium builds up. Not only that, it helps to reduce blood pressure. Salmon Omega-3: 1/1/-/- Protects the heart muscle, improve HDL level in the body Garlic and Licorice: 1/1/1/- It thins the blood and improve blood circulation. If you are taking blood thinning medicines, you may want to reduce the dosage. Multi-carotene: 3/3/3/3 until palm turn orange stops. Once colour is faded, continue again. Prevent free radical damage on to the arteries. Bio-C: 4/4/4/4 Thins the blood, prevent free radical damage and blood clots. Combine it with lecithin E, multi-carotene and COQ10. Milk Thistle: -/-/-/2 If the body has a bad lipid profile, it maybe due to Liver problem. Milk Thistle helps to repair the Liver. Lastly, if you don't have any heart problem, I will encourage you to do a full blood test to check your C Reactive protein, Homocysteine and Cholesterol level. Just remember, cholesterol is not the key ingredients that leads to cardiovascular problem. by the way, have you read the disclaimer?

High Cholesterol

Hi,

let's not get too worry about high cholesterol. This is because cholesterol is not the real problem that leads to cardiovascular problem.

However, if you are really concerned about your cholesterol level, I will encourage you to do a blood test and check your cholesterol level.

So, if you have got your results now and you are wondering what's next? Here are some guidelines, I hope it will help:

• Achieve a high level of low total cholesterol level and a high level of HDL. A good number will be 4.5. It will be good if you can achieve a result lower than 4.5.

• Have a low ratio between LDL and HDL. The idea ratio is 3.5.

• Lastly, check your Liver profile. A good Liver profile will have a good Lipid Profile results. Afterall, Liver is the controller of all fats in the body.

Let's say your doctor says you have cholesterol problem and wants you to take medicines. SO HOW? Learn to say no and take a step back.

Ask yourself the following questions:

• Can the problem be resolved through lifestyle changes? More exercise? Change diet? etc...

Lifestyle changes:

• Cut down on your red meat and bad fats

• Beware of food that contains trans-fat

• Eat Liver friendly food (food that spoils easily)

• Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables

• Do regular exercises

• Sleep early. This is essential for a healthy Liver

Supplementation required:

• Take both soluble and insoluble fibre to reduce your bad fats and LDL. However, do not take fibre if you are taking any of your fat-soluble vitamins

• Increase your HDL by taking Omega 3 fish oil

• Take Milk Thistle for Liver

• COQ10 improve fats metabolism

• Vitamin B, C, Lecithin, L-carnitine and Garlic lower cholesterol

• Vitamin E improves circulation

Instructions to take Nutrilite: after breakfast/after lunch/after dinner/before sleep

Daily Multi-vitamin: 1/-/-/-

Fibre: -/4/4/- take before food

Omega 3 Fish Oil: 2/-/-/-

Milk Thistle: 2/-/-2

COQ10: 1/1/-/-

B-complex: 3/3/3/-

Bio-C: 4/4/4/4

Lecithin E: 4/4/4/4

Garlic: 1/1/1/1

Firstly If you are on blood-thinning medicines, these supplements may thin your blood further. Hence, you have to reduce your medicine dosage.

Secondly, most cholesterol lowering drugs will affect your body COQ10 production. Thus, taking COQ10 is essential.

by the way, have you read the disclaimer?

This is my results:

	Total Cholesterol	HDL-Cholesterol	(Total/ HDL ratio)	LDL-Cholesterol	Triglycerides	(LDL/ HDL)
Baseline	200	70	4	130	200	3.5
2005	201	76	3	112	64	1.5
2006	187	67	3	107	67	1.6