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  • Testosterone For Men – It’s Really Safe After All!

    By Nurse Mark

     

    Poor testosterone – it has been so misunderstood, maligned, and feared for so many years now that any attempt by a doctor to use testosterone therapy is met with regulation and resistance from the powers-that-be and most doctors just won’t bother. Who needs the hassle? It is easier and less trouble for a doctor to prescribe narcotic drugs like Oxycontin or even morphine than it is to prescribe testosterone…

    And that’s a shame, since so many men can benefit from a little help to maintain normal, youthful testosterone levels…

    You see, most men are well-supplied with testosterone in their youth, beginning at puberty. Testosterone is what turns a pre-pubescent boy with high voice and puppy-fat into a muscular, broad-shouldered, deeper-voiced, virile young man. Most men continue to enjoy good levels of testosterone into their 30’s – but then something changes: for most men there is a slow and steady decline in testosterone levels from then on.

    This “slowing down” of testosterone production leads to a number of problems. Some guys may simply attribute these symptoms and problems as being “part of getting older” but it need not be that way.

    Falling testosterone levels can result in:

    • decreased libido
    • erectile dysfunction
    • depression
    • Increased fatigue
    • low energy
    • decrease in muscle mass
    • increase in abdominal fat
    • decrease in bone density
    • sleep problems
    • mood and motivation problems
    • and more, much more

    Despite all this, testosterone therapy has been shunned by conventional medicine since the 1940’s when it was wrongly accused of “activating” prostate cancer based on the experience of one single patient at that time. This enduring myth has been terrifying doctors and legislators ever since.

    More recently, fears were ginned up about cardiovascular risks with testosterone use. A flawed study by the VA claimed that testosterone therapy caused an increased risk of death from all causes, including heart attacks and strokes. I wrote about this and debunked the study and it’s conclusions back in 2013 in this article: Does Testosterone Therapy Increase Heart Attack And Stroke Risk?

    But things are looking up for testosterone. The 2013 VA study was soon acknowledged by many conventional medical sources to be deeply flawed in many ways. Sadly, while the initial reports of danger made big headlines the corrections to the study, though published in JAMA, did not receive much attention at all.

    Then, in 2015 a study was published that acknowledged that testosterone therapy used to normalize testosterone levels in otherwise generally healthy men does not increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. While the conclusions of the study fell short of acknowledging the many benefits of testosterone therapy it at least began the process of allowing doctors to feel a little more comfortable about considering testosterone therapy.

    Now, on April 3rd of this year, the results of a study were presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 65th Annual Scientific Session in Chicago which shows that testosterone therapy helps men with low testosterone levels who already have coronary artery disease to reduce their risks of strokes, heart attacks, and death.

    Here is a summary of the study and the results;

    The research team studied 755 male patients between the ages of 58 and 78, divided into 3 groups, over a number of years. The men all had severe coronary artery disease.

    Their conclusions:

    • After one year, 64 of the men who were not taking testosterone supplements suffered major cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke), while only 12 who were taking medium doses of testosterone and only nine who were taking high doses did.
    • After three years, 125 of the men not taking testosterone suffered major adverse cardiovascular events, while only 38 medium-dose and 22 high-dose men did.

    In short: The men NOT receiving testosterone therapy were 80 percent more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.

    WOW! Just Wow!

    This could prove to be a game-changer! We can only hope now that the FDA will begin to take notice and remove some of the roadblocks to prescribing testosterone therapy that have made doctors so reluctant, even skittish about it up to now.

    Until then, for those who might want to get a jump on it Dr. Myatt has been balancing male hormones (as well as female hormones) and prescribing testosterone for many years.

    Men, if you want to avoid or correct symptoms of low testosterone that can include include night sweats, low libido (sex drive), weight gain, depression, anxiety, hot flashes, gynecomastia (enlarged male breasts aka “man-boobs” or “moobs”), fatigue, irritability, weight gain, erectile dysfunction, loss of stamina and lean muscle mass, cognitive decline and decreased bone mineral density check out Dr. Myatt’s BioIdentical Hormone Replacement Programs and book a Brief Telephone Consultation today.

     

    References and Additional Reading:

    Morgentaler A, Controversies and Advances With Testosterone Therapy: A 40-Year Perspective. Urology. 2016 Mar;89:27-32. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2015.11.034. Epub 2015 Dec 9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26683750

    Abraham Morgentaler, MD. Defending Testosterone, Debunking the Myths. http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/845705_5

    Morgentaler A, Testosterone and prostate cancer: an historical perspective on a modern myth. Eur Urol. 2006 Nov;50(5):935-9. Epub 2006 Jul 27. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16875775

    Intermountain Medical Center, November 9, 2015, Use of testosterone replacement therapy in healthy men does not increase risk of heart attack or stroke, new study finds. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/11/151109160558.htm

    Intermountain Medical Center, April 3, 2016, Testosterone supplementation reduces heart attack risk in men with heart disease. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160403195920.htm

  • Toxins In Your Tap Water

    By Nurse Mark

     

    It used to be when you turned on your tap, you assumed the water was safe to drink.

     

    That was then – this is now.

    Flint Water

    Is there anyone who hasn’t heard about the tragedy of the Flint water contamination? Or that Flint is not an isolated case? As new information becomes available it is becoming obvious that dozens and perhaps hundreds of American cities and towns are serving up contaminated tap water.

    Even “treated” water can contain heavy metals and environmental pollutants such as lead, mercury, pharmaceuticals, herbicides and pesticides. We’ve written about these dangers in previous HealthBeat articles:

    For those readers who just want a quick review of the problem, here are the top five toxins we think you should pay attention to in your water.

    1) HEAVY METALS (LEAD / MERCURY)

    Lead is a neurotoxin and there is no safe level of ingestion. It is toxic at any level. Think “Flint, Michigan.”

    Mercury is a neurotoxin (think “Mad Hatter’s Disease”) and is stored in your kidneys, blood, brain and liver.

    2) PHARMACEUTICALS / DRUGS

    It’s not a pleasant thought, but the fact remains that pharmaceuticals are in drinking water.  Whether from old or unwanted drugs flushed down the toilet, or drugs that end up going down the toilet after they have been taken by patients (Ewww… Ick!) or drugs and hormones that end up in our streams, lakes, and groundwater from livestock, (Ewww… Ick, again!) most public water treatment systems are powerless to remove pharmaceuticals from water. Many studies over the last decade have found pharmaceutical compounds in treated wastewater  and a recent government study showed that over 80% of waterways tested in the United States have traces of common drugs such as acetaminophen, hormones, blood pressure medicine, codeine, and antibiotics.

    3) HERBICIDES / PESTICIDES

    Whether it’s the stuff your neighbor used to kill his dandelions, or that you put on the weeds in the cracks in your driveway, or the Roundup that Big Agribusiness sprays over it’s fields, an estimated billion (that’s right – billion with a ‘B’) pounds of pesticides are used each year in the U.S. and much of it ends up as runoff in streams, rivers, and lakes. A  United States Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment study showed that pesticides are widespread in streams and groundwater sampled across the country. The USGS found more that 90% of water and fish samples from all streams sampled in the U.S. contained at least one pesticide. Fresh-caught trout anyone?

    4) CHLORINE / CHLORAMINES

    Chlorine is used to disinfect water and is part of the sanitation process for sewage and industrial waste. Sure, it may be commonly used, but it is also a very serious contaminant. Chlorine is a chemical that your body doesn’t need or like.

    Chloramines are a combination of chlorine and ammonia.  Water filtration plants usually use the safest form known as monochloramine, but chloramines also exist in two  more dangerous forms, dichloramine, and trichloramine. Monochloramine can inadvertently convert into one of the more dangerous forms, depending on pH, temperature, turbulence, and the chlorine to ammonia ratio.

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows water utilities considerable latitude in choosing the most effective approach to disinfecting water as long as it meets EPA standards. Most use chlorine or chloramine as their primary disinfectant or sometimes even a combination of both.

    Chlorines and chloramines are especially problematic since they are toxic (they are used to kill stuff – remember?) and they are absorbed readily through skin and mucous membranes. Think “steamy, hot morning shower”…

    5) INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS

    is it a surprise that industry is a huge source of water pollution? Or that most conventional water treatment systems are poorly able to deal with many of industry’s nasty contaminants?

    Whether it is chemical contamination from small repair shops or local factories or refineries or from fracking efforts or mining, refining and smelting operations, some truly frightening chemicals find their way into our earth’s waters. (remember the Animas River in Colorado that turned orange from toxic spill?)

    There may not be much we can do about the quality of water provided to us by our municipalities and their water treatment contractors, except to continue to be vigilant and hold them to the highest possible standards. We can do everything in our power as citizens and taxpayers to hold government and industry accountable and to fight pollution and polluters in every way available to us but in the end, we still must deal with what comes to us as tap water, contaminants and all.

    One solution is to use a high quality water filter for drinking and bathing water. This can be as comprehensive as a whole-house filtration system, or as simple as a high-tech filtering pitcher and a showerhead water filter for the bath. Even the most comprehensive whole-house systems are surprisingly affordable when you consider the health benefits of truly pure water, versus the dangers of blindly consuming the contaminants discussed in this article – especially if there are children involved!

    Dr. Myatt maintains an apartment in Phoenix – a city that has some especially heavily chlorinated and unpalatable water. Because it is an apartment she does not have the option of installing a whole-house filtration system which would be her first choice. Instead, I installed a countertop filter at her kitchen sink and a showerhead filter in her bathroom. Total cost? Less than $200 and an easy do-it-yourself installation job. She saves even more by being on a program that automatically supplies her with replacement filters.

    She obtained these filters from a company called Aquasana. Their service is great, their prices are reasonable, and they regularly run sales and specials that will save even more on their products.

    For example, here is a link that will save you 30% on the shower filter system that Dr. Myatt uses in her apartment:

    Save 30% on all shower filter systems, or 50% if you buy them with Water for Life

    And if you want a counter-top filter like Dr. Myatt uses, this link will give you a good discount:

    Save 30% on all drinking water filter systems, or 50% if you buy them with Water for Life

    If you own your home and want the security for your family of knowing that all your water has been filtered of impurities – drinking water, bathing water, cooking and washing water, then this link will help you to get 30% off on whole-home systems:

    Save 30% on 3-year whole house systems and tank replacements

    Aquasana has been very good to deal with for us – and please do take advantage of their “Water for Life” discount: to get this extra (big) discount, you just sign up for regular delivery of replacement filter cartridges for your water filter. They really do need to be replaced regularly (every 6 months), this program means you won’t forget like you forget your smoke alarm batteries every year (well, I almost always forget our smoke alarm batteries, at least until the alarm begins to ‘chirp’…) and, you can cancel at any time. However, I’m betting that once you taste the difference between your old water and your filtered water you are going to never want to go back to the old stuff – so you’ll want to replace those filters every 6 months. I can say from experience that they really do get clogged up with gunk that you would be drinking otherwise!

    If you use a counter-top or showerhead filter system in an apartment or rental, these can move with you. If you install a whole home system, you have substantially increased the value of your home. Either way, you are also providing yourself and your family with the security of healthy, toxin-free water.

     

    Further reading:

    Animas River pollution incident:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/us/durango-colorado-mine-spill-environmental-protection-agency.html

    National Resources Defense Council article on safety of city water supplies:

    http://www.nrdc.org/water/drinking/uscities.asp

    National Institutes of Health (N.I.H.) on lead in drinking water:

    http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/117-a542/

    EPA water contaminants list:

    https://www.epa.gov/ccl/draft-contaminant-candidate-list-4-ccl-4

    New York Times article: Lead Contamination Not Limited To Flint Michigan:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/09/us/regulatory-gaps-leave-unsafe-lead-levels-in-water-nationwide.html

  • Please Unsubscribe! Part II

    By Dr. Myatt and Nurse Mark

     

    In our last HealthBeat News Newsletter we told you to “unsubscribe” – WOW – did that get some attention!

    We actually had four people who took our “advice” unsubscribed – “duh, because you told me to...” But dozens of readers emailed to ask “what the heck?” and told us that they have no intention of unsubscribing as long as we keep on doing HealthBeat Newsletters. Thanks for your vote of confidence! We knew most of you would “get it.”

    So what are we really saying? We are trying to get across the idea that you should pick perhaps two to four of the most relevant health newsletters and drop the rest. Unless you are very careful in your interpretation of the dozens and even hundreds of competing newsletters and viewpoints out there, it is easy to become overwhelmed and confused with “information overload.” That, plus a lot of what is out in the world is unsupported and unproven bunk. We know because WE get these newsletters just to learn what kinds of information and pseudo-information is filling your inbox.

    It is easy to get swept up in the latest armchair theory or glowing report based on a mouse study, and because we know that you – our savvy HealthBeat News readers – are seeing these same pseudo-scientific studies and breathless reports, we need to be ready for your questions. To do that we read or review a number of both conventional and holistic medical journals and newsletters. Here are some, but not all, of the publications we follow:

    In conventional medicine, we monitor the following journals and websites daily:

    NOTE: Medscape, Practice Update and Pubmed each have multiple sub-specialties that we monitor, Including Oncology, Cardiology, Internal Medicine, Primary care, Diabetes Care, Senior Care and Fertility.

    In the field of holistic medicine, we subscribe to and monitor the following publications:

    So, do we recommend that you follow all these newsletters and websites as well?

    Heavens no! You would make yourself crazy! That’s what we were saying in our last HealthBeat News – pick the one, two or three of them, that are most relevant you and drop the rest. We review them all because we have to – it’s our job – and yes, sometimes we feel like it makes us a little crazy too.

    For example, should you read New England Journal of Medicine or JAMA every day? Probably not, unless you enjoy really dry, boring research articles. But we do, because this is the source that the lay press will misquote and build silly articles around.

    What about Medscape or Web MD? Maybe, but remember, these are conventional medicine – they are mainly geared to discussing things that can be addressed with prescription drugs or surgery. You won’t find much there that is alternative.

    We keep up with all the latest drugs and surgeries and conventional procedures. Why? Two big reasons. First, some of them are highly effective and should not be dismissed just because they are conventional. Second, since we offer alternatives, we need to know, alternative to what? Alternatives are most valuable when conventional medicine is ineffective. I would not try to steer someone away from a conventional treatment that is safe and effective. In fact, I need to be “in the know” because I prescribe such effective treatments!

    And what about the alternative newsletters and websites?

    Joe Mercola is one of the biggest and best known. Is Joe always right? We don’t think so, and we have taken him to task in the past over microwave ovens and magnesium stearate for example.

    In fact, as Joe has gotten bigger, it has become clear that he is no longer writing his own articles, and apparent to us that he may not be proof-reading them consistently before they are published – we have seen some glaring examples of strange science… But Joe has a good take on GMOs and vaccines to name just a couple…

    Who else is there? All the newsletters we follow are valuable to us, or we wouldn’t follow them. Does that mean they are all always right? Certainly not – but they each have their strengths.

    For example, if you want to know about cancer you might read Ralph Moss. For neurological and Parkinson’s information Marty Hinz is good. Life Extension Foundation is a great generalist, and their articles tend to be well-researched, but you’ll quickly notice that each and every new issue touts at least five new “breakthroughs.” Can there be that many new vitamins or herbs or combinations of vitamins and herbs “discovered” each month? No. LEF is just really good at finding new ways to market old products in new ways and new products before they are solidly proven.

    After you have been following all these many websites and authors for long enough you’ll notice that they each have their strong points and areas of expertise, and they often have some subjects or even pet peeves that would be better advised to leave alone since they tend to embarrass themselves with bad or non-existent science when they go there.

    You’ll also notice that a number are really just high-pressure sales sites in disguise – with breathless reports of “breakthroughs” that you just must have: “click here to order your supply today!” More on that later – to be commercial is not necessarily to be evil…

    Then there is a warning for those who might like to visit specialty association websites like the NEJM (New England Journal of Medicine) or maybe ASRM (the American Society of Reproductive Medicine) if your interest is fertility / infertility issues. These are great resources – as long as you have the scientific and medical background and knowledge to be able to correctly interpret the mountains of brain-numbing data available there. If you are a little weak on statistical analysis, organic chemistry, biochemistry, human anatomy and physiology, pathophysiology, genomics, neurology, or a dozen other specialized subjects, all you’ll do is make yourself crazy. You might even come away with some really wrong-headed, even dangerous ideas.

    Even Dr. Myatt and myself, with over 50 years in medicine between us, find ourselves going back to our textbooks and reference works as we try to absorb some of this information, to be sure that we are understanding it correctly. Dr. Myatt is known to pick up the phone and call the lead researcher on any medical article she has questions about.

    Our advice? Don’t try to read it all! Let us do that – it’s our day-job, and yes, sometimes it makes us a little crazy! But we’ll be sure to let you know when something important and valuable comes up – you can be sure you are getting the wheat and not the chaff. Pick a few favorites that are relevant to your interests, and enjoy – you will get more out of that than you will by trying to chase every shiny object that the internet offers.

    We hope you’ll continue to keep us on your short list! We spend many hours and do a lot of hard work and deep research to bring you our HealthBeat News articles, we use a highly reputable service to email your HealthBeat Newsletter to you, and maintain the server space and security services needed to house the Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club website with its volumes of freely available information and the HealthBeatNews website with even more free information. But all that time and technology is not free – it has to be supported somehow – so yes, we hope that you’ll see fit to buy your vitamins and supplements from us in exchange for all the good information we bring to you.

    Yes we write articles telling you about the benefits of certain supplements, and yes, we sell them. Is that evil? We don’t think so – it keeps a roof over our heads and allows us to bring you these HealthBeat News articles.

    And yes again, you can probably go to your local health-food store or even a Big Box discount store and buy cheaper – sometimes ‘way cheaper – but please do be cautious and be sure you are getting the same top quality supplements that Dr. Myatt’s Wellness Club offers. Please review our article Wasting Money to Save Money? Who’s Watching Your Back? for more information about the false economy of ‘bargain brand’ supplements.

  • Please Unsubscribe to My Newsletter

    By Dr. Dana Myatt

     

    Thank you for being a subscriber to my HealthBeat newsletter. Nurse Mark and I spend a lot of time researching, writing and doing our darnedest to bring you quality medical news. I know many of you appreciate this because you write and tell us so.

    Here’s a problem I see in today’s information-overloaded world. TMI (Too Much Information) actually results in people taking less action. Less action = less results, including less health results.

    Why does this happen? Confusion.

    If you subscribe to dozens of health newsletters, you will surely encounter differing opinions. Possibly even totally opposite opinions.

    Then you can get so confused that you are paralyzed and do nothing, or do something in “dribs and drabs.” If you have elected to follow a truly helpful health behavior, a half-tailed approach will not be as effective (or may not be effective at all) as a sincere effort.

    But confusion can kill motivation.

    My Advice?

    UNSUBSCRIBE. That’s right. Choose the 3-4 holistic health newsletters that you believe to be of the highest quality, then unsubscribe to the rest. Pay good attention to the few newsletters and physicians that you follow.

    How Can You Evaluate the Quality of Health Information?

    It’s easy to sit back in a Barcalounger and pontificate about how the world works. Every real doctor knows “big words” (medical terminology) and can make even the preposterous sound plausible. Throw in some biochemistry terminology and, to paraphrase,  you can fool a lot of people most of the time. Unless you — yes, YOU — have in-depth understanding of human physiology, biochemistry and statistics (needed to help sort good studies from bad), be aware that it may be relatively easy to make something sound legitimate to you.

    There was a time my mechanic could pass off unneeded thinga-ma-jigetts and services to me because this isn’t my area of expertise.  Enter Nurse Mark, who was an auto mechanic when he was a Puppy. I haven’t been taken to the cleaners on unnecessary car repairs since I married him! But before that, I bought in to unnecessary “repairs” because it “sounded right.” But then again, I’m no car mechanic. I could be fooled.

    What Should You Do to End Confusion?

    Here’s my recommendation for choosing the 3 to 4 health newsletters (4 MAXIMUM) that you should follow.

    1.) Look at the Doctor’s  /  Writer’s credentials. I’ve seen newsletter authors who are “celebrities” and they have no credentials. They are “famous for being famous.” Maybe they’ve got a “medical degree” from the bogus-and-now-defunct Clayton’s School of Natural Therapy. That would be a mail-order medical degree. Seriously? Look for someone with some “bona fides.” Would you consult a lawyer or car mechanic with a mail-order degree?

    2.) Look for supporting evidence. If I say “the Earth is flat,” even with an eloquent argument, I should have studies, data, facts which support my claim. Many “holistic health newsletters” make big claims without ANY supporting evidence. Really? Does this seem right to you?

    3.) Check the References. If there is supporting evidence, medical studies, etc., check them out. You might not need to do this every time, but do it at first when you are deciding which newsletters to keep. Just because someone cites a reference doesn’t mean the reference is legit. I find that many “references” are non-existent, and you will, too, if you look.

    4.) The Best Authors Might be Folks Who Tick You Off Sometimes. If everything a person says is totally in alignment with your B.S. (Belief System), you will probably like reading their work. But that doesn’t prove their work has merit, only that they agree with you. Are you looking for the truth, or do you simply want your B.S. stroked?

    Someone who is reporting medical findings without prejudice and with references will sometimes annoy you, especially if they report something contrary to your already-existing B.S. That’s a good thing, because it means you may be opening yourself to a truth that you were blinded to before. There’s a reason for the expression, “The truth hurts.” Just remember that “the Truth shall make you free.”

    How We Research HealthBeat

    Nurse Mark and I  review over 24+ holistic newsletters. We also read the conventional medical news daily. In the next issue of HealthBeat, I’ll list who we read (both conventional and holistic) and who / what would be on my “short list” for newsletters if I were at liberty to have a short list. Right now, we see the good, the bad, and the ugly side-by-side. That’s why I can tell you that there is just some idiotic stuff you should ignore. I read it because some of you read it and I can anticipate the questions I will get as a result. But I encourage you to drop the unscientific, unsupported, un-credentialed stuff.

    That’s My Story and I’m Sticking To It.

    In Health,
    Dr. Myatt

  • Have a Healthy Heart: 9 Simple Steps

    It’s Heart Health month again, and we’ll be featuring a few Heart-Health articles this month. Let’s start with some simple things you can do to improve and ensure your best possible heart-health.

    Remember a time when you had absolutely no worries about your heart? As a younger person in your 20′s or 30′s you just knew that heart disease was not an issue. Your life wasn’t focused around living close to a hospital, avoiding physical activity out of fear of chest pain or worse, or even thinking at all about your heart, which just ticked along perfectly from day to day, week to week, and year to year.

    Would you like to return to that liberated, confident feeling, knowing that your heart is healthy, and enjoying the physical and emotional freedom that dependable, healthy heart function brings?

    Why not give yourself the gift of healthy heart confidence by following these simple, proven, protective measures that can lower your risk of heart disease to that of a 20-year-old? Your heart is a very forgiving muscle and can be rejuvenated. Here’s how:

    1. Stop smoking. Smoking is one of the single biggest causes of heart disease. If you need a good reason to quit, dramatically lowering your risk of heart disease should be that reason!
    2. Eat a heart-healthy diet. High carbohydrate diets lead to overweight and high blood sugar levels, and diabetes. As you continue to read this list, you’ll see that these factors are each independent risk factors for heart disease. A VLC diet (Very Low Carbohydrate diet), high in Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids, is the fastest, surest way to lower insulin and blood sugar levels, lose weight, decrease dangerous inflammation and slash heart disease risk at least four-fold. Diets higher in “good fats” (NOT low-fat diets!) and low in carbs have proven to be the heart-healthiest.
    3. Get optimal doses of heart-healthy nutrients. Many nutrients essential to healthy heart function are often missing in the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.). They include:
      • B complex vitamins, needed for normal nerve function and homocysteine levels.
      • magnesium, the relaxing, anti-arrhythmic mineral that is absolutely necessary for normal heart function. Unfortunately, magnesium is one of the most common nutrient deficiencies in the S.A.D. diet.
      • antioxidant nutrients (especially vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene). Studies have shown that people with higher blood levels of antioxidants have a lower incidence of heart disease. Among people who have a heart attack, higher levels of antioxidants decrease free radical formation and reduce heart damage.
      • chromium helps stabilize and lower blood sugar levels, thereby lowering sugar-associated heart disease risk.
      • Omega-3 fatty acids (fish oils) are so well-known to decrease inflammation and heart arrhythmias that the FDA now allows Heart Health label claims for fish oil. We now also have an incredibly expensive prescription fish oil for heart patients – many of whom would have less stress on their hearts if they bought over-the-counter fish oil for $20 instead of prescription for $200!
      • soluble fiber helps keep blood fats, including cholesterol, at a happy level, although high cholesterol is not the big heart disease risk factor it has been portrayed to be by Big Pharma.
      • Maxi Multi is the best Optimal Dose Daily Multiple Vitamin available and will provide proper amounts of vitamins minerals, and trace minerals to keep you and your heart healthy.
      • Berberine is emerging as a highly valuable herb for heart health – we have patients who tell us it has quelled long-standing heart arrhythmias (palpitations) that have resisted every other drug tried by their conventional doctors. Learn more about this amazing herb here: Berberine: The “Swiss Army Knife” Of Supplements
    4. Increase physical activity. If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it. Make your heart work harder than just getting up from your easy chair and going to the refrigerator once in a while. This doesn’t mean you need to train for a marathon. As little as ten minutes of brisk walking per day, especially if this is more than you currently do, will improve heart function. New to exercising? Start easy, work up.
    5. Lower body-wide inflammation. Subtle inflammation, as measured by a hs-CRP test (“highly sensitive C-Reactive Protein”, a simple blood test), is a more sensitive measure of heart disease risk than cholesterol or other elevated blood fats. This type of inflammation, which is often so minor that you may not feel it but which irritates the blood vessel lining and sets the atherosclerotic process in motion, can be corrected by simple diet changes, nutritional supplements and anti-inflammatory herbs. Decreasing inflammation also lowers your risk of cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and other “age related” diseases.
    6. Lower your blood pressure naturally. There’s a lot of evidence that higher blood pressures (especially systolic B.P.’s consistently over 140) are associated with higher risk of heart disease. But, there are a number of big, long-range studies which show NO BENEFIT to lowering B.P. with drugs. People with “normal” blood pressures who were only “normal” because of medications are still at significantly higher risk of heart disease. As naturopathic as this conclusion sounds, these studies point to the fact that lowering blood pressure naturally, by correcting the cause of the elevation, is life-saving where chemical control is not.
    7. Curb depression, anxiety and stress. The emotional factor doesn’t get much “press” or discussion in the cardiologists office, but there are numerous studies showing that negative emotional states increase subtle inflammation. Possibly because depression and stress (or more accurately described as our reaction to stress) increase inflammation, these emotional states are associated with higher risk of heart disease and poorer prognosis in people with already-existing heart disease or who are recovering from heart surgery. If you suffer from depression, be sure to get help. And remember that depression isn’t caused by a Prozac deficiency!
    8. Lower high blood sugar levels. High blood sugar levels, high insulin levels or outright type II diabetes are major risk factors for heart disease. The sad part of this connection is that type II diabetes is completely curable through diet alone, usually in under three months. Even more sadly, I find that many diabetics prefer to live with the risk (and worry about their risks), rather than make a few healthy diet changes that would erase this major danger. Go figure.
    9. Achieve and maintain a normal weight. Overweight increases subtle inflammation, which as you should know by now (if you’ve been paying attention!) is an important risk factor for not only heart disease but also cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s and more. When an overweight person loses weight, their hs-CRP (inflammatory marker) also comes down, corresponding to a lower heart disease risk. Of course, the low-carb, high Omega-3 fat diet that lowers blood sugar and corrects diabetes also leads to weight loss, making it easy to correct several problems at once through diet changes alone.

    These same measures that dramatically lower your risk of heart disease also increase natural immunity, slash your risk of cancer, diabetes, arthritis, depression, Alzheimer’s and senile dementia and a host of other diseases that we fall prey to with age. Even at advanced age or stages of disease, much improvement and protection is possible (in other words, you can reclaim a lot of healthy ground), by turning a few habits around in a healthier direction.

    Are you worried about your heart and want to know more about how you can live better and longer with a healthy heart? Consider starting your journey to heart-happiness with a Brief Telephone Consultation with Dr. Myatt!