February 2003

Greetings! If you happen to be new to our newsletter, let me personally welcome you to the February edition of Your Healthy Life — the Natural Health Solutions monthly resource for important health information and updates for the whole family.

February — American Heart Month — is a very important month for your health. As you may know, heart disease is the number one killer in the U.S., with one in four Americans suffering from some form of the disease. The good news is that while cardiovascular disease may be responsible for more American deaths than any other disease, it is also one of the most preventable of all life-threatening illnesses.

Don't miss our lead article on the topic, which extols the virtues of key nutrients for a healthy heart. And even if you're not a vegetarian, please take a minute to learn about the tremendous heart-health benefits you can expect by targeting a more plant-based diet. For more information about heart disease and how to prevent it, visit the American Heart Association.

And take note of our health screening events in the greater San Francisco Bay Area this month.

As always, I hope you find this month's information helpful. I invite you to share what you like about the newsletter, and how you think it could be improved. Feel free to contact me at kiki@aboutnhs.com.

A happy and healthy February to you and yours!

Cheers and peace,

Nutrients and a Healthy Heart

Take Heart: A Vegetarian Diet for Cardiovascular Health

A Closer Look At Your Child's School Lunch

Garlic—Your Hearts Delight

Garlic may be among the most beneficial of all foods, with considerable scientific data attesting to its astounding health benefits. For example, numerous studies have found that garlic can normalize plasma lipids, check lipid peroxidation, inhibit platelet aggregation, smooth the thickening and structural changes of artery wall related to aging and atherosclerosis, and decrease blood pressure.1, 2, 3 Further, garlic appears to have anti-microbial properties and to stimulate the immune system.4

Garlic offers other significant heart-health advantages. We have known for several decades that high cholesterol is a major risk factor for atherosclerosis and that lowering cholesterol can significantly reduce risk for cardiovascular disease.

More recently, nutritional experts have recognized that the oxidation of LDL "bad" cholesterol plays an important role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. Garlic effectively suppresses LDL oxidation.5

Of the many beneficial actions of garlic, inhibition of the growth of cancer is perhaps the most remarkable. Garlic use significantly reduces the risk of prostate cancer.6 In fact, studies demonstrate a direct toxic effect of garlic to gastric, colon, bladder and prostate cancer cells. The most likely explanation of this effect is immune stimulation.

Research suggests that garlic's ability to keep the immune system stimulated can significantly reduce the risk of cancer malignancy.7 Certainly, with its soundly documented ability to help prevent heart disease and cancer, among other health advantages, garlic has earned a sacred place in every healthy kitchen.

1 McMahon FG, Vargas R. Can garlic lower blood pressure? A pilot study. Pharmacotherapy 1993 Jul-Aug;13(4):406-7
2 Silagy CA, Neil HA. A meta-analysis of the effect of garlic on blood pressure. J Hypertens 1994 Apr;12(4):463-8
3 Garcia Gomez LJ, Sanchez-Muniz FJ. Review: cardiovascular effect of garlic (Allium sativum) Arch Latinoam Nutr 2000 Sep;50(3):219-29
4 Resch KL, Ernst E.Garlic (Allium sativum)--a potent medicinal plant. Fortschr Med 1995 Jul 20;113(20-21):311-5
5 Lau BH. Suppression of LDL oxidation by garlic. J Nutr 2001 Mar;131(3s):985S-8S
6 Hsing AW, et al. Allium vegetables and risk of prostate cancer: a population-based study. J Natl Cancer Inst 2002 Nov 6;94(21):1648-51
7 Lamm DL, Riggs DR. Enhanced immunocompetence by garlic: role in bladder cancer and other Malignancies. J Nutr 2001 Mar;131(3s):1067S-70S

“A daily multi-vitamin/mineral formula will help you get enough folic acid,
B6 and B12 — which may prevent heart disease and certain cancers —
as well as vitamin D, which protects your bones. By age 40, it is also wise
to take 400-800 IU of vitamin E a day, too, to further protect your heart.”

~ Walter C. Willet, M.D.
Chair of the Department of Nutrition
Harvard School of Public Health ~

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly —
what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ~