Exercise Your Heart really Needs

Well, I’m cheating, as I’m going to be cheeky and just reproduce an email I got from Dr Al Sears back in 2009 - 

Dear Christopher, 

Is your doctor telling you to take an aspirin for your heart?

If so, you may be putting your life at risk.

Aspirin is fine for the occasional headache, or to take while you are having a heart attack, but NOT as a daily preventive medication.

Yet each day nearly 50 million Americans take an aspirin, hoping to prevent a heart attack.

I’ve never been a fan of using daily doses of drugs to prevent disease. Especially when there are safe, natural alternatives. And this new information about aspirin confirms my beliefs.

A new Scottish study reveals that aspirin has no effect on preventing strokes, coronary and vascular events. Even worse, daily aspirin use increases internal bleeding.

In other words, taking aspirin daily won’t save you from a heart attack.

But “daily aspirin therapy” is the medical marketing idea that just won’t die, no matter how many people do. Here are just a few of its clinically-proven dangers:

• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Stroke
• Major abdominal bleeding
• Ulcers
• Cataracts
• Pancreatic cancer
• Kidney failure

Fortunately, there are natural alternatives to aspirin that really work. Some have been around since the B.C. era. So consider the wisdom of our ancestors before taking your next aspirin.

White willow bark is the original aspirin. It comes from a tree native to Europe and Asia. The medicinal use of willow bark dates back to the ancient Egyptians who took advantage of its anti-inflammatory power.

Even the so-called “father of medicine,” the ancient Greek doctor Hippocrates, had his patients chew on white willow bark to reduce fever and inflammation.

Here’s why it works. White willow bark contains salicin, the same curative compound found in aspirin. But there’s a big difference.

White willow bark won’t upset your stomach. It won’t cause bleeding in your GI tract. Your body first has to extract the salicin from the plant’s natural fibers, slowing its release into your system. White willow bark stays in your system longer and provides lasting relief.

And here’s a convenient way to enjoy the healing benefits of white willow bark. You can reduce inflammation by drinking white willow tea. You’ll find it in health and nutrition stores. Try a cup after breakfast and at bedtime.

Plus, there are plenty of ways to lower your risk of heart attack without taking aspirin. Here’s what I recommend to avoid aspirin and do something healthy for your heart:

• Get proper exercise. My PACE program is a great example. It protects your heart, pumps up your lung volume and burns fat in just minutes a day.
• Supplement with Accel each day. CoQ10 has well-documented benefits for the heart. Accel, which is 8 times more bioavailable than regular CoQ10, is a heart-healthy powerhouse. My new formula includes the power of tocotrienols (the right Vitamin E), so it stays in your system longer for better heart health. It’s the only supplement I take each day.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD

http://pace.empoweredexercises.com

Lifestyle wins again

Lifestyle Wins Again for Better Health

Yet another study shows lifestyle change has a more dramatic effect on your health than any amount of drugs. (I'm talking about the chronic diseases that kill most westerners).

What is great about this particular research is that it highlights just how quickly positive efects happen.

A study at Brigham Young University found a combination of a 'healthy' diet and 30 minutes of cardio exercise a day dramatically decreased risks of cancer, diabetes and heart disease in just 6 weeks.

Maybe if they followed what I term a 'Human diet' (a hunter-gatherer diet) as outlined here - Human Diet with the types of exercise Al Sears recommends - PACE Program they would find even quicker and more profound results.

Best of Health

Dr Chris

Lifestyle

Cancer - is it a nutritional deficiency?

Cancer - Is It A Nutritional Deficiency?

So often your average medical doctor will laugh at the idea that diet and nutrition can help your health. This is largely helped by pharmaceutical companies doing everything they can to back rubbish research into the area of nutrition.

However, when the WHO comes out with a statement such as "85% of cancers are avoidable" and half of these are due to "nutritional deficiences in the Western diet" you would hope there might be something in the news, or that doctors might get interested.

But no.

I was speaking to a cardiac specialist last night about diet and nutrition. His opinion, after 10 years of in-depth research was that diet plays a huge role in human health and suspects that nutritional supplementation has a previously neglected important part to play.

He too found it frustrating that despite evidence that diet is a far more effective at preventinig heart disease than statins, his colleagues did not want to listen.

It's a strange world when those that are supposedly trained in human health take so little interest in it.

Oh well.

Dr Chris

The Pain Relief Centres - Home of Natural Pain Relief

Chiropractic Heart Disease Special

Well,

I made it back from Dr Dighton’s office in Loughton.

What a nice man! And his assistant Noreen was lovely too.

Before I start revealing all the details I have a message from my clinic manager to pass on – our Female Hormone Specialist – Judy Evans – is in on Friday and has 3 slots open for consultations – so ring the clinic now on 01707 662 704 to book one.

I highly recommend Judy to any one suffering from the menopause, PMS, endometriosis, osteoporosis, or just general bad health and fatigue. If you want to know more then give us a ring or check out the Natural Progesterone page of the website:
http://www.thepainreliefcentres.co.uk/Natural_Progesterone.asp

So far in over 15 years of practice I’ve never personally met a medical doctor both so interested in what I do as a chiropractor, and so willing to look at the big picture of health, rather than just drugs and surgery.

There is no way I’m going to be able to get through everything I learned from Dr Dighton in the hour and a half of time he kindly gave me, but I’ll have a go.

First of all he said ‘statins work’. Coming from a doctor this was not shocking, and if you’ve read my past articles on cholesterol you’ll know I have a different opinion. But, Dr Dighton was not talking about their effect on lowering cholesterol, he was talking purely about there effect on reversing, or slowing atherosclerosis. Dr Dighton was also talking from first hand experience as they do ultrasound scans of arteries in his office, so he’s seen it.

He also stressed that no blood test can tell you whether you need to take them – you’re cholesterol level is irrelevant (which is what I’ve always said) and what you need is an ultrasound scan. It was also clear that the amount you need to make a difference may be 3 or more times the amount needed to lower cholesterol. Dr Dighton wasn’t happy with this though and thinks there is a better, safer way.

Dr Dighton then went on to explain that of course the best way to treat heart disease is to not get it in the first place by following a heart healthy lifestyle. He had a little bit of a dig at modern medicine as he found most of his colleagues uninterested in the idea of promoting health and said all these drugs really do is ‘keep you going’ rather than actually curing anything.

Dr Dighton has spent many years trying to find out the very best foods for the heart, as well as what are the ones to avoid and came up with some quite surprising findings. All the details can be found in either of his two books.

He has also looked into what supplements can help and has formulated an easy to take powdered drink with everything heart healthy in it.

I’ll get into more detail next time – such as the 3 types of atherosclerotic plaque that block the arteries – including which is the dangerous one – and what is the nutrient Dr Dighton recommends we can’t get enough of.

If you can’t wait then you can call the clinic to reserve a tub of his Heart Sense powder, and get a free copy of his book with it. If you have anyone in the family with heart disease and they are sceptical about nutrition now is the time to get them on something Dr approved.

You can call us on 01707 662 704, or just pop in to the Brookmans Park clinic.

Best of Health

Dr Chris

p.s. Don’t forget to book for Judy Evens this Friday.
http://www.thepainreliefcentres.co.uk/Natural_Progesterone.asp

Chilli and Chocolate and Green Tea

Strangely, chilli and chocolate go well together with a cup of green tea, but that’s more a matter of taste than science. What science has been revealing though is how useful these are for health.

First of, chilli, in the form of a cream or lotion is useful in pain relief, has recently been used in lab conditions (on mice) to reduce the severity of heart attacks by up to 85%. The theory is that it should help in humans if the cream is applied to the chest at the first sign of an attack.

Chocolate can also help prevent a heart attack (dark chocolate that is) by lowering levels of inflammation in the body (measured by C reactive protein). 15g of dark chocolate a day also helps chronic fatigue syndrome, lower blood pressure, and even seems to be good for insulin too!


Another of my favourite daily health boosters is green tea. Plenty of high level scientific investigation is going on about green tea at the moment. Not only has it been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure, it also protects against osteoporosis and diabetes. A study of 200 moderately overweight people found 2 cups of green tea a day helped reduce belly fat. Another study found green tea protecting teeth and gums from disease. Most recently green tea is being investigated as treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia of which there is no current cure.

More on chocolate can be found here:
http://www.thepainreliefcentres.co.uk/General_Download_Area.asp
article number 19