Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Two old standbys ring true! Published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, scientists claim maintaining low blood pressure and reducing LDL, or bad, cholesterol still provide the greatest protection against cardiovascular trouble. For the study, researchers recruited 3,437 men and examined their arteries with ultrasound probes and the men with the lowest levels of LDL cholesterol and the lowest blood pressure levels had the least growth of fatty deposits in the linings of their blood vessels; HealthDay News investigates.

Good thing fruits and vegetables have been shown to lower cholesterol and lower high blood pressure. Healthy plant nutrients and fiber do it naturally. Just don’t be like this guy, his diet was based on butter and when he had emergency surgery to save his life. His heart was coated in fat! The video is very yucky.

And in recent news, salt was found to reduce an enzyme that lowers blood pressure and eating eggs everyday, which are very high in cholesterol, was found to increase heart failure risk by 8% to 23% among middle-aged men and women.

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New findings in the New England Journal of Medicine reveal young and middle-aged African-Americans living in the United States are 20 times more likely to suffer heart failure. Data reported average age of heart failure onset among blacks was 39, with hypertension, obesity, and kidney problems also seen earlier in blacks. The research also associates young people not getting their blood pressure checked, lack of health insurance and not taking medications as other risk factors; Reuters investigates.

Not matter what color you are. Diet is a major contributing factor to heart failure. In December, a study showed eating eggs and diary can raise heart failure risk up to 23% and people with 7 pounds of abdominal fat, i.e. chub, are 11% more likely to have a heart failure, but a diet rich in fruits and vegetables naturally lowers LDL cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

In related news, black and Hispanic children were found to have less type-1 diabetes than white kids, with Caucasian children posting the highest rate, but a recent report revealed African-Americans living in poorer communities have limited access to healthy foods.

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Presented at this year's American Heart Association's Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention researchers claim overweight children as young as age 3 can starting showing signs of cardiovascular disease. Data on over 3,090 kids, ages 3 to 6, revealed good cholesterol levels (HDL) were lower in overweight children and C-reactive protein levels, associated with coronary events, were elevated in kids with higher body mass indexes; HealthDay News explains.

It’s true. Dr. Fuhrman points out that lipoprotein abnormality, i.e. high LDL and low HDL, which cause heart attack deaths in adulthood start to develop in early childhood. What you eat as a kid affects lifetime cholesterol levels, but don’t fret! Maybe you’re like me and ate fairly crappy early on, no worries. Start gobbling down fruits and veggies and you can aggressively reverse any damage you’ve done!

Now this is really scary. Children already have the attention span of a flea and previous studies link low HDL to poor memory. And worse, when kids grow up and want to play football, they’re encouraged to get big and bulk up which just like professional football players, inflates their risk of heart disease.

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If you’re kid can’t concentrate. He might have high blood pressure. New research in the Journal of Pediatrics claims children with hypertension struggle with complicated tasks and have more memory problems than kids with normal blood pressure. The study involved 32 children, ages 10 to 18, newly diagnosed with hypertension, and paired them up with 32 kids with normal blood pressure. Parents of both sets of kids were surveyed to determine their children’s mental aptitude and data revealed the hypertensive group performed more poorly and had more anxiety and depression; ScienceDaily investigates.

Many people don’t realize it, but heart disease starts young. Dr. Fuhrman explains that lipoprotein abnormalities, i.e. problems with high LDL and low HDL, associated with heart attack deaths in adulthood, begin in childhood and bad foods habits, like eating a lot of saturated fat, are established when you’re a kid. That’s why it’s important for the whole family to eat healthfully, that way everyone can avoid heart disease and high blood pressure.

But some health officials would sooner put kids on statins than educate them and their parents on the benefits of improved nutrition. Fortunately, other experts call giving kids statins a monumental failure.

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