Take Heart During the Holidays

(And All Days!)

By Brenda Stockdale, Director of Behavioral Medicine at Radiotherapy Clinics of Georgia

So much has changed in cardiology we decided we needed to create a special report for our subscribers. And because we have big hearts (and healthy ones!) we want to share it with all of our Eve readers, too. Here’s Part I of our Free Report, The New Cardiology from our heart to yours!

Have you ever heard about shape-wear side-effects, toxic friendships, or cortisol hair? Read on to learn about these things and also about old protocols that jeopardize heart health and the new thinking on cholesterol.

• Cholesterol: Ain’t What it Used to Be.  Heart disease may be the #1 killer but our traditional protocols–with their emphasis on lowering cholesterol–have it wrong. Emerging science reveals cholesterol levels are a poor predictor of heart disease and that standard prescriptions for lowering it–such as ineffective low-fat/high-carb diets and serious, side-effect-causing statin drugs–obscure the real causes of heart disease. Even doctors at leading institutions have been misled for years based on creative reporting of research results from pharmaceutical companies intent on supporting the $31-billion-a-year cholesterol-lowering drug industry. Read all about it (and how to get it right) in Dr. Stephen Sinatra’s extraordinary book: The Great Cholesterol Myth.

• The New Cholesterol Code. Ideal screening now involves getting detailed testing that looks specifically at LDL particle numbers, ApoB/ApoA1 ratios or other more esoteric measures. The reason? Standard cholesterol numbers (including LDL) don’t even make it into the top 9 identifiable risk factors for heart disease according to the INTERheart study involving over 52 countries and 30,000 participants. Abnormal ApoB/ApoA1 ratio had the worst odds, followed by smoking and psychosocial stress. Diabetes, hypertension and obesity were significant but much less so. Lastly, eating vegetables and fruits, exercise and moderate alcohol consumption reduced the odds of having a heart attack. These 9 factors accounted for 90% of the total risk for men and 95% of the total risk for women in this landmark study. The conclusions: Stop smoking, eat better, exercise, drink moderate amounts of alcohol and reduce your stress levels. (Stay tuned for ways to enhance the ApoA1 levels.)

• Myth or Medicine:  Is sleeping on the left side bad for the heart? It lowers autonomic nervous system activity “in patients with chronic heart failure” according to this study in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. The authors note that sleeping side is relevant only if you already have heart disease, however you may not want to take the chance. Sleep on your back or on your right side for the best autonomic function while you are sleeping.

• Strike a Pose: Change your posture, change your life! Posing, whether in defeat, triumph or power, changes your biochemistry. Certain poses, if held over a short period of time, can increase testosterone and reduce anxiety-producing cortisol, providing a sense of well being and power, new research reveals. To increase testosterone levels for example, and lower stress hormones strike a power pose. Check out more here from Professor Cuddy of Harvard Business School, coauthor of “Power Posing: Brief Nonverbal Displays Affect Neuroendocrine Levels and Risk Tolerance.”

• Body Shaping Backlash: Body contouring shape-wear may take off an inch or  two but some research shows they can not only impede lymphatic flow and drainage but tests indicate the constant compression interferes with basic daily circadian rhythms, lowering melatonin, an important hormone secreted by the pineal gland. Click here for study. (Disruption in circadian rhythms and melatonin levels have been associated with breast cancer in some studies resulting in the Danish government compensating shift workers diagnosed with breast cancer. See Medscape’s review of the findings.)

• Fine-tuning Your Friend List: ”Toxic” friendships may be more than a metaphor according to a study at UCLA. When subjects perceived others’ disapproval markers of inflammation rose. A chronic imbalance in a relationship (heavy sighing at the caller i.d. is a clue!) can downgrade quality of life as emotions can be contagious.

• Magnesium and Heart Disease: Nearly 8 thousand subjects studied for 10 years found those with low magnesium levels measured in the urine (an indicator of magnesium deficiency) increased the risk of ischemic heart disease by 1.6 times. The good news: Magnesium is inexpensive and easy to supplement if not getting a good amount from food sources: Dark chocolate (The darker the chocolate the more magnesium it has – ideally >80%) and nuts (Almonds/Cashews) are good sources, but also contain oxalates so if you are prone to kidney stones, magnesium supplements are recommended – 250 to 500 mg daily.

• Vitamin D Does a Heart Good: Following nearly 10,000 people for 10 years found vitamin D levels were inversely associated with not only heart disease and cancer, but all-causes of death. The lower the vitamin D, the higher the risk. The study found that anything below 30 ng/ml increased all causes of death. AM J Clin Nutr 2013 Feb  Those with levels above 41 ng/ml appeared to be protected. Robert P. Heaney, Clinical Professor of Medicine at Creighton University recommends making sure your levels fall in the sweet spot: “The minimum blood level should be at least 32 ng/mL. Increasingly, that level is being placed between 40 and 60 ng/mL.”

• Hypothyroidism & Your Heart: A new study looking at nearly 8000 participants found that subclinical hypothyroidism (TSH levels between 5 and 20 with normal T4 hormone levels in those who are thought to be free of any symptoms or signs of hypothyroidism) have a 24% increased risk of cardiovascular mortality (death), 34% increased risk of death from ischemic heart disease and a 20% increased risk of death from all causes. Takeaway: Avoid subclinical hypothyroidism!

• More than a Bad Hair Day: A study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism reveals that cortisol levels in your hair are as important as your history of hypertension or obesity when it comes to the risk of cardiovascular disease (which includes stroke, heart attack, etc.). A similar study suggests chronic stress, as measured by increased hair cortisol may be a contributing factor for AMI. [Acute Myocardial Infarction]. For natural cortisol reducing repair: revisit Chapter 3.

I invite you to subscribe to my I invite you to subscribe to my blog so you will receive all 3 free stress busting audios with special sound frequencies that help to heal. Until next time, have a happy and hearty holiday season!

Photo Courtesy of digitalart / Free Digital Photos

© 2013 Brenda Stockdale All Rights Reserved.