A new study suggests that seven hours of sleep is optimal if you want to maintain a healthy heart.  Getting less than five hours per day more than doubles one’s risk of developing angina, coronary heart disease, heart attack or stroke.  And while eight hours of sleep is commonly known as the ideal amount, the study out of  West Virginia University says that more than seven hours of shut eye also increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In this study of 30,000 American adults the strong link between too much or too little sleep and cardiovascular disease was clear even after screening out those with diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression.  The exact reason for this correlation is still unknown, but researchers point out that sleep duration has an impact on endocrine and metabolic functions.  Also sleep deprivation can lead impaired glucose tolerance, reduced insulin sensitivity, and elevated blood pressure, all of which contribute to a hardening of the arteries.

Hardening of the arteries is called atherosclerosis.  Read more about causes and prevention of heart disease.

Source: The Daily Telegraph

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A large study in the Netherlands found moderate consumption of coffee or tea cuts the risk of heart disease significantly, researchers say.

Tea had a bigger impact than coffee, van der Schouw said. Those who drank between three and six cups of tea daily were 45 percent less likely to suffer coronary disease than those who drank less than one cup, while with heavy drinkers — more than six cups — the risk was reduced by 36 percent.

The study was published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Editor’s Note: We do not recommend drinking large amounts of coffee for a number of reasons including: 1) coffee is a diaretic which results in excess urination and therefore loss of nutrients, 2) coffee generates heat in the body so can contribute to heat related health conditions (glaucoma, palpitations, migraines, etc.), 2) coffee and dark tea is acidic. Excess acidity in the body can lead to excess inflammation, so is bad for people with inflammatory diseases.

For more information on nutrition and heart disease, Click Here

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According to Dr. Andrew Weil, chlorinated pools are “obsolete.”  Chlorine in pools has been linked to increased risk of asthma and allergies as well as bladder and rectal cancer; it may also increase one’s risk for coronary heart disease.

Researchers from the Catholic University of Louvain in Brussels, Belgium discovered a link between inhaling chemicals at indoor pool facilities and a number of respiratory ailments.  Source: http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info:doi/10.1289/ehp.8461.  A study published in Pediatrics showed that infants exposed to the chlorine in swimming pools “predispose children to the development of asthma and recurrent bronchitis.”

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People with poor oral hygiene are more at risk of heart disease compared with counterparts who brush their teeth twice a day, according to a Scottish study released on Friday.

University College London researchers looked over data from an investigation into 11,000 people in Scotland, covering their medical history, family records of disease and lifestyle.

Seven out of 10 reported they brushed their teeth twice a day, and six out of 10 said they visited the dentist every six months.

Those who were less frequent in their brushing, though, had a 70 percent extra risk of heart disease.

The paper appears in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

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Findings reported in article published online on May 6, 2010 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (see link below) suggest that vinpocetine, a derivative of vincamine (from the periwinkle plant), could be useful for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), arthritis, infectious diseases and cancer.

Based on and other relate studies, vinpocetine may be helpful as well for eye inflammatory problems such as macular edema and diabetic retinopathy. For more related information, go to www.naturaleyecare.com

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Added sugars, especially in processed foods and beverages, may increase heart disease risk factors, U.S. researchers said.

Study co-author Dr. Miriam Vos, assistant professor of pediatrics at Emory School of Medicine, and colleagues analyzed nutritional data and blood lipid (fat) levels in more than 6,000 adult men and women from 1999 to 2006.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found those who ate more added sugar were more likely to have higher cardiovascular disease risk factors — including higher triglyceride levels and higher ratios of triglycerides to high-density lipoprotein, the “good” cholesterol.

For natural ways to help prevent heart disease, Click Here

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Resveratrol may help impede cancer. Dr. Bryan C. Donohue of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Shadyside Hospital, says early-stage clinical trials now under way are examining resveratrol’s effectiveness among patients with heart disease, cancer, dementia and a host of other modern illnesses.

In the meanwhile, some people simply looking for greater energy, enhanced clarity of thought and advanced overall well being are already benefiting from resveratrol supplementation,

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A German study published in the journal, Circulation, found that acupuncture significantly lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The extent of the blood pressure reductions by acupuncture treatments was comparable to those seen with antihypertensive medication or aggressive lifestyle changes, including radical salt restrictions.

Source: Circulation, June 2007

Editor’s Note: Nutrients that help lower high blood pressure include coleus forskohlii, omega-3 fatty acids, CoQ10, Vitamin C, Taurine and Arginine for example. For more information on lowering blood pressure naturally, go to www.naturaleyecare.com/diseases.asp?d_num=40

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Avoid trans fats, found largely in commercially prepared baked and fried foods, These fats not only raise “bad” LDL cholesterol, but also lower levels of heart-healthy HDL cholesterol.  High trans-fat intake has been linked to coronary heart disease, in which fatty plaques build up in the heart arteries, sometimes leading to a heart attack.

The food industry has been widely replacing trans fats with intersterified fat, another unnatural fat to completely avoid.

The interesterification process hardens fat, similar to the hydrogenation process, but without producing oils that contain trans fats. The end product, like trans fat, is less likely to go rancid and is stable enough to use to fry foods.

However, like hydrogenation which generates unnatural trans fats, interesterification also produces molecules that do not exist in nature.

Studies show that interesterified fat raises your blood glucose and depresses insulin production. These conditions are common precursors to diabetes, and can present an even more immediate danger if you already have the disease (Nutrition & Metabolism 2007, 4:3doi:10.1186/1743-7075-4-3)

Editor’s Note: Stay with healthy fats such as olive oil, and even saturated fats in moderation such as butter or coconut oil.

To round out your healthy fat intake, be sure to eat raw fats, such as those from avocados, raw dairy products, and olive oil, and also take a high-quality source of animal-based omega-3 fat, or if vegetarian, supplement with Krill oil.

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Taking popular cholesterol-lowering statin drugs does not lower the risk of pneumonia, according to a study published the British Medical Journal.

There was some hope that statins could help prevent certain infections. But the study, which involved 65- to 94-year-olds with intact immune systems, found that pneumonia risk was, if anything, slightly higher in people using a statin than in those not using any.

Researchers emphasized that statins work well for what they were designed to do, such as lower cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Published 16 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2137
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2137

Editor’s Note: New research continues to show that other factors are greater indicators of heart disease and stroke such as C-reactive protein levels and homocysteine levels.

For more information on nutrition and cholesterol, Click Here

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