Heart Disease
What Is It?
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) includes all diseases of the heart and circulation including coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack, congenital heart disease and stroke. It is also known as heart and circulatory disease. www.bhf.org.uk
The heart is the organ which supplies blood and oxygen to all parts of the body. The body cannot function without the heart. When we are born, our arteries are clean, open and elastic. The process of artery clogging (atherosclerosis) begins early in life if we eat excessive amounts of foods which are high in saturated fats, such as meat and dairy.
Cause and Effect
The British Heart Foundation states: ‘Coronary heart disease (angina and heart attack) and stroke may be caused by the same problem – atherosclerosis. This is when your arteries become narrowed by a gradual build-up of fatty material (called atheroma) within their walls.’
Eating the wrong kind of foods can also lead to a variety of other heart conditions like aneurysm (a bulge or weakness in the wall of a blood vessel); arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats); angina (chest pain, a warning sign that arteries are getting blocked, so oxygen and blood cannot flow easily); peripheral arterial disease (PAD), caused by atherosclerosis); thrombosis (a blood clot); and the most serious, myocardial infarction, more commonly known as a heart attack, where a blood clot has formed restricting blood flow within the heart which can be fatal.
Research tells us that a diet which consists of excessive amounts of meat and dairy which are high in saturated fats, as well as excessive alcohol intake, lack of exercise and stress can lead to a build-up of fatty plaque on the walls of the heart’s arteries, leading to coronary disease.
Juice Pharmacy Recommendations
What to Avoid
Diet is a key factor in tackling heart disease and it is important to reduce consumption of meat and meat products, processed and fatty foods, dairy, refined sugars, caffeine, white flour, pasta and bread, along with reducing your alcohol intake.
Animal fats - Ernst Schaefer M.D. USDA Human Nutrition Research Centre on ageing at Tufts University writes: ‘If I had to tell people just one thing to lower their risk of heart disease, it would be to reduce their intake of foods of animal origin, specifically animal fats and to replace those fats with complex carbohydrates, grains, fruits and vegetables’.
What to Include
Apricots, banana, beetroot, bell peppers, blueberries, cranberries, garlic, grapefruit, grapes, papaya, peach, pomegranate, nectarine and carrots have all been found to protect against heart disease. If you are suffering from heart problems, include a good variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet each day. The simplest way to increase your fruit and vegetable intake is to juice them. Eat or juice foods which are high in vitamins C, E and beta-carotene. Researchers tracked 40,000 male health professionals over four years and those who ate higher potassium and magnesium-rich foods had a substantially reduced risk of stroke.
Apples - Studies have shown that those who have a high intake of plant flavonoids are less likely to suffer heart attacks. Researchers followed 5,000 men and women for over 20 years and found those who ate apples and other flavonoid-rich foods had a 20 per cent lower risk of heart disease.
Coconut oil - This versatile ingredient has been found to be a powerful aid in the prevention of heart disease.
Ginger - A daily ginger shot can be enormously beneficial for heart disease sufferers. One of the many benefits of ginger is its ability to balance eicosanoids which are vital for helping to prevent blood clots.
Good fats - Olive oil can help to lower bad (LDL) cholesterol while increasing good HDL, so is extremely valuable in protecting the heart. Other sources of good fats can be found in nuts and eating around an ounce a day can be beneficial to heart health, as well as avocado which is also an excellent source of essential fatty acids.
Oily fish - Eating oily fish a couple of times a week, along with plenty of fruits and vegetables, can reduce your risk of heart disease.
Onion - Eating half a medium raw onion daily may help to correct thrombosis, lower LDL cholesterol and reduce heart disease.
Pomegranate - Animal research has indicated that pomegranate juice can reduce atherosclerosis and plaque formation, and improve arterial health.
The Juice Recipes
Shot: The Beetroot Shot
1 Small Beetroot
½ Lemon
Juice and knock back in one juicy go!
Juice: Ease The Pressure - taken from the Funky Fresh Juice Book
3 Small Bulbs of Raw Beetroot
2 Golden Delicious Apples
1 Large Handful of Black or Red Grapes
Ice
Simply juice the lot, pour over ice and enjoy. When juicing grapes don’t forget to pack them in the juicer tightly to get the most juice (making sure your machine is off when you pack them down!)
Blend: Nature's Super Blend - taken from Jason Vale's 5-Day Juice Challenge
2 Apples (Golden Delicious or any of your choice)
1 Large Handful of Spinach Leaves
¼ Medium Courgette/Zucchini
1 Lime (peeled)
2 Carrots
¼ Cucumber
2cm Chunk of Broccoli Stem
½ Celery Stalk
¼ Green Bell Pepper
½ Medium Avocado
Ice
Juice all the ingredients, except the avocado flesh and ice. Pour the juice into a blender, along with the avocado flesh and ice, and blend until smooth.
Disclaimer
Please note, it is impossible to give a definitive list as what supports one person can be a trigger food or allergen for another. You must stay your own juice detective at all times and listen to how your own body responds to certain foods and always consult with your healthcare provider when making changes to your diet which may affect your medication. Please be aware that we are not doctors, so it is important to consult with your GP or medical practitioner BEFORE making any changes to your diet. The suggestions above are not meant as an alternative to any current medical treatment so please DO NOT stop taking any medications you are on. They are also not an endorsement of their effectiveness, or a recommendation that they should be followed but instead, are provided for informational purposes. None of the information on the Natural Juice Therapy site is intended or implied to treat, cure or prevent any condition or disease.