7 Ways to Prevent and Even Reverse Heart Disease with Nutrition

Heart disease, while still the #1 cause of mortality in the developed world, can be prevented and even reversed with nutritional interventions.

Considering that heart disease is the #1 cause of death in the developed world, anything that can prevent or reduce cardiac mortality, or slow or even reverse the cardiovascular disease process, should be of great interest to health professionals and the general public alike.

So, with this in mind, let's look at a small but significant sample of natural, food-based alternatives to these drugs through the lens of the clinical and biomedical literature itself.

Three Natural Substances that Reduce the Risk of Heart-Related Death

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: There is a robust body of research indicating that the risk of sudden cardiac death decreases with higher omega-3 fatty acid intake. Going all the way back to 2002, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study titled, "Blood levels of long-chain n-3 fatty acids and the risk of sudden death," which found: "The n-3 fatty acids found in fish are strongly associated with a reduced risk of sudden death among men without evidence of prior cardiovascular disease." Another 2002 study, published in the journal Circulation, found that Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reduces total mortality and sudden death in patients who have already had a heart attack.

Vitamin D: Levels of this essential compound have been found to be directly associated with the risk of dying from all causes. Being in the lowest 25% of vitamin D levels is associated with a 26% increase in all-cause mortality. It has been proposed that doubling global vitamin D levels could significantly reduce mortality. Research published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology in 2009 confirmed that lower vitamin D levels are associated with increased all-cause mortality, and that the effect is even more pronounced for cardiovascular mortality. This finding was confirmed the same year in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, and again in 2010 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Magnesium: In a world gone mad over taking inorganic calcium supplementation despite their well-known association with increased risk of cardiac mortality (if you use the wrong calcium), magnesium's role in protecting against heart disease cannot be overstressed. It is well known that even the accelerated aging of the heart muscle experienced by those in long-duration space flight is due to magnesium deficiency. In 2010, the Journal of Biomedical Sciences reported that cardiovascular risks are significantly lower in individuals who excrete higher levels of magnesium, indicating its protective role. Another study published in the journal Atherosclerosis in 2011 found that low serum magnesium concentrations predict cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. Remember that when you are looking to 'supplement' your diet with magnesium, go green. Chlorophyll is green because it has a magnesium atom at its center. But if the culinary approach fails, magnesium supplements can be highly effective in achieving a therapeutic and/or cardioprotective dose.

Four Natural Compounds Which May Unclog the Arteries

Pomegranate: This remarkable fruit has been shown in a human clinical study to reverse carotid artery thickening (blockage) by up to 29% within 1 year. There is a broad range of mechanisms that have been identified which may be responsible for this effect, including: 1) lowering blood pressure, 2) fighting infection (plaque in arteries often contains bacteria and viruses), 3) preventing cholesterol oxidation, and 4) reducing inflammation.

Arginine: Preclinical and clinical research indicate that this amino acid not only prevents the progression of atherosclerosis but also reverses pathologies associated with the process. One of the mechanisms by which it accomplishes this feat is by increasing nitric oxide production, which is normally depressed in blood vessels where the inner lining (endothelium) has been damaged, resulting in dysfunction.

Garlic: Not only has garlic been found to reduce a multitude of risk factors associated with arteriosclerosis, the thickening and hardening of the arteries, but it also significantly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke. In vitro research has confirmed that garlic inhibits the formation of arteriosclerotic plaque. Aged garlic extract has also been studied for its potential to inhibit the progression of coronary artery calcification in patients receiving statin therapy. And let us not forget, garlic's benefits are extremely broad. We have identified over 150 diseases for which this remarkable culinary and medicinal herb has been confirmed to have potential value in treating and preventing.

B-Complex: One of the few vitamin categories that has been confirmed in human studies to not only reduce the progression of plaque buildup in the arteries but actually reverse it is B-complex. A 2009 study published in the journal Stroke found that high-dose B-complex vitamin supplementation significantly reduces the progression of early-stage subclinical atherosclerosis in healthy individuals. More remarkably, a 2005 study published in the journal Atherosclerosis found that a B-vitamin formula decreased the carotid artery thickness in patients at risk for cerebral ischemia. Another possible explanation for these positive effects is the role B-vitamins play in reducing the production of homocysteine, an amino acid associated with arterial and other blood vessel scarring.

Additional Heart Unfriendly Things To Avoid

No discussion of preventing cardiac mortality would be complete without discussing things that need to be removed in order to reduce risk, such as:

NSAIDs: Drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen, and Tylenol have a well-known association with increased cardiac mortality.

Statin Drugs: It is the height of irony that the very category of drugs promoted to millions globally as the standard of care for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease and cardiac mortality is actually a cardiotoxic agent, linked to no less than 300 adverse health effects. Statin drugs have devastating health effects.

Wheat: While this connection is rarely discussed, even by those who promote grain-free and wheat-free diets, wheat has profound cardiotoxic potential and over 200 documented adverse health effects. And why wouldn't it, when the very countries that eat the most of it have the highest rate of cardiovascular disease and heart-related deaths?

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7 Ways to Prevent and Even Reverse Heart Disease with Nutrition