Lesson 16 – How to Have a Healthy Heart

If you are over the age of 30, perhaps you have noticed that in the last twenty years or so, people have been getting heart attacks at younger and younger ages. High blood pressure is commonly reported in people in their 20’s today.

Medical science has proven that if there are any heart problems in your family, that you too are at risk. And, you may expect those problems to surface today much sooner than you would have a few years ago. In other words, if someone in your family suffered a heart attack at age 50 you might expect a heart attack at 40 or even younger. (That is, if you don’t take advantage of the practical, healing principles in this lesson.)

Let us first mention high blood pressure, since it is usually the first manifestation of a problem with the heart or vascular system.

High blood pressure is not a disease, but the body’s defensive and corrective measure, initiated to cope with bad conditions in bodily functions. For example, impaired kidney function, general toxemia, excess weight or degenerative changes in arteries, (known as arteriosclerosis).

Thus, the objective is not to lower the pressure with drugs or even with specific vitamins or foods, but to eliminate the reasons for the high blood pressure. In other words, to remove the cause of the condition. When this is removed, the blood pressure will go down to normal by itself.

The diet should emphasize low sodium, high potassium foods such as vegetables, fruits and seeds. Millet, buckwheat, oats and rice are the best cereals.

Cut animal proteins to a bare minimum, or eliminate them entirely if you actually have heart disease. Avoid coffee, alcohol, salt and all strong spices, especially mustard, black and white pepper, ginger, nutmeg, etc. Such spices can be contributing causes of high blood pressure and heart disease.

Eat plenty of raw green leafy vegetables and raw fruits. Watermelons are beneficial. Garlic is a specific for high blood pressure, eat a lot of it. Russian research showed that two foods are specific in reducing high blood pressure: garlic and buckwheat, (because of buckwheat’s high rutin content – a bioflavonoid).

Eat small, moderate meals – do not over eat. Remember obesity is one of the main causes of high blood pressure.

Now, moving to the next step – what happens if high blood pressure is allowed to continue and heart disease itself manifests?

The famous Framingham Heart Study of the National Heart and Lung

Institute identified the following major risk factors in Coronary Heart disease:

1. Elevated blood levels of cholesterol and/or triglycerides, (caused by excessive sugar and other fatty substances.)

2. Elevated blood uric acid levels, (mainly caused by high protein diet).

3. Elevated blood pressure which we’ve already mentioned.

4. Certain metabolic disorders, notably diabetes.

5. Obesity.

6. Smoking.

7. Lack of physical exercise.

Each, but especially a combination of these risk factors can contribute to the development of heart disease.

In addition to the dietary considerations already mentioned for high blood pressure there should be bananas, potatoes, apples, honey, (only raw, unfiltered), brewer’s yeast, okra, asparagus, flax seed oil and lecithin – these are specific nutritive factors beneficial in a heart condition. Potatoes and bananas are rich in potassium which is vital for healthy heart function. Okra, the slippery vegetable containing the viscous mucilage, is beneficial in atherosclerosis in that it helps to reduce blood level friction. Apples contain pectin which is also of great benefit. Flax seed oil is rich in essential fatty acids, which is necessary for a healthy heart. Lecithin can help to prevent fatty deposits in arteries that lead to heart attacks.

Do not use any refined or processed foods. Avoid animal fats and processed fats, especially margarine and other hydrogenated fats. Small amounts of vegetable oils of highest quality, cold-pressed and unrefined, such as olive oil, flax seed oil, safflower oils, or sesame oil, are beneficial, even essential if supplemented with Vitamin E.

Do not drink distilled water. Avoid soft water. Naturally hard water contains minerals, especially chromium, which are vital for heart health. Naturally, your drinking water must be pure, uncontaminated, unchlorinated and non-fluoridated natural spring or well water. Such drinking water is available in most cities in bottled form. Or, if you have fluoride in your water where you live you might try what my family has done – install a simple water purifier with a charcoal filter on your kitchen tap for your drinking water.

Avoid all refined carbohydrates, such as white flour and white sugar and everything made with them. It has been conclusively demonstrated that excess sugar and refined food in the diet is one of the main causes of arteriosclerosis and heart disease.

Do not drink chlorinated water. Chlorine destroys Vitamin E in the body, which is absolutely essential for the health of the heart.

We have been talking about things to avoid so that good heart health can be achieved. You may think by now that everything is negative in having a healthy heart, but not so -here are some things that you actually do in a positive way in this program.

1. Plenty of exercise, both as a preventative and a therapeutic measure in heart disease, is very important. Riding a bicycle, swimming, walking – just about any low-stress exercise. Not only would sufficient exercise in fresh air prevent most heart problems, but for those who have survived a heart attack, exercise is singularly the most important measure to assure complete recovery and prolong life.

2. The second most important preventative and therapeutic factor in heart disease is Vitamin E. Those who have a heart condition should take preventive doses, 600 up to 1200 I.U. daily, and surviving heart attack patients should take 1600 to 2000 I.U. of Vitamin E, (in cases of rheumatic heart disease the dose should not be more than 175 I.U.). A doctor must determine the amount of Vitamin E for each heart patient, especially in rheumatic heart damage, hypertension, or cardiac failure, (since Vitamin E tends to raise blood pressure.)

3. Avoid Smog. Smoggy air definitely adversely affects a heart condition.

4. Avoid emotional stresses and worries. Severe emotional stress causes constriction of arteries and may contribute to heart attack.

5. Atherosclerosis, with excessive cholesterol and lipids in the arteries, is one of the main causes of coronary heart disease. It has been clinically demonstrated that this condition may be caused by Vitamin C deficiency. Administration of large doses of Vitamin C (1000 mg. to 3000 mg.) daily, resulted in drastic reduction of blood serum cholesterol.

There are 8 other nutritional substances which play a vital role in maintaining proper levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in blood and arteries.

A. Vitamin F, or unsaturated fatty acids. Food sources: cold-pressed vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, grains.

B. Lecithin. Available in granular, liquid or capsule form. Best food sources are unrefined, raw vegetable oils, seeds, nuts and grains.

C. Chromium. The best natural food sources of chromium are: unsaturated cold-pressed oils, raw fruits and vegetables and brewer’s yeast.

D. Niacin. Normalizes blood clotting and markedly reduces cholesterol levels in arteries.

E. Calcium. Helps reduce blood cholesterol.

F. Vitamin B-6. It has been shown that a prolonged deficiency of this vitamin will lead to damage of arteries.

G. Magnesium strengthens the heart muscle and can prevent atherosclerosis and heart attack.

H. Zinc. Recent research has shown that low zinc values are associated with cholesterol deposits in arteries. Best food sources are: seeds, nuts, grains, milk and eggs.

Biological Treatments

1. In our experience, juice fasting is the most effective treatment for high blood pressure, bringing about in almost every case a sharp reduction in the systolic pressure in a short period of time. Vegetable and fruit juices and vegetable broth will supply blood and tissues with the important mineral, potassium, which helps to eliminate accumulated sodium (salt) from the tissues. A juice fast also normalizes and corrects most other disturbances and malfunctions in the body which might be contributing causes to the elevated pressure.

Recommended length of fast: 2 to 3 weeks, or several repeated one-week fasts if longer fast is inconvenient. The therapy can be repeated several times with an interval of 6 months between each long fast. After the fast, a special diet, as outlined in the Optimum Vegetarian Diet, should be followed.

2. For those who for some reason cannot fast, a watermelon diet for a week (eat nothing but watermelon for one week) can be tried.

3. Rice-fruit diet is also shown to be effective: eat nothing but whole cooked brown rice and cooked and raw fruits for one or two weeks.

4. Dry brush massage, (starting at the extremities and always moving toward the heart) morning and evening. Lots of exercise, walking and deep-breathing exercises. Although strenuous exercises such as weight lifting or competitive sports are not advised, high blood pressure patients should exercise as much as possible, starting with mild exercises and walking, gradually increasing their length each day.

Suggested Vitamins and Supplements (Daily)

E – up to 1600 IU, depending on age and condition (in case of rheumatic heart disease not more than 175 IU). A doctor must determine the amount of Vitamin E for each heart patient, especially in rheumatic heart damage, hypertension, cardiac decompensation or failure.

Raw garlic, or garlic capsules – several times a day (with meals)

Natural multiple-vitamin-mineral formula, (which you should already be taking as a part of your Miracle Makeover Program)

Juices: Vegetables: carrot, beet, celery, asparagus, with small amount of garlic and onion juice added to vegetable juice. Fruits: red grapes, black currants, rose hips, blueberries.

Herbs: Hawthorne berries, motherwort, horsetail, valerian root, black cohosh, mistletoe, melissa, rosemary. An excellent herb tea for heart diseases is made from the woody, interior walls of walnuts. Use the walls from 4 to 5 nuts for each cup. Soak them overnight, then boil them for 15 minutes the next morning. Take three cups a day. This tea alleviates the pressure and the pain in the chest. Tea can be sweetened with raw honey. Cinchona bark (the source of quinine and quinidine) is specific in the treatment of atrial fibrillation, a rhythm disorder of the heart.

Specifics: Vitamins E, C, magnesium, lecithin, flax seed oil, okra, hawthorne berries. Low-protein, low-calorie, low-sodium diet. No smoking, no alcohol. Plenty of regular exercise.

Notes (for High Blood Pressure)

1. High blood pressure can be of emotional origin. Severe emotional stresses, worries, fears, pressures of competitive life, prolonged nervous tensions can raise blood pressure. These underlying causes of emotional origin must be removed before any nutritional or biological treatments can be successful.

2. Low blood pressure patients can also fast, but only under doctor’s supervision. The best juices for low blood pressure are pineapple, celery, black radish, parsley, carrot, red beet, grapes, onion and garlic. The diet after the fast should be the Optimum Vegetarian Diet, with emphasis on whole grain cereals, raw nuts and seeds, with goat’s milk and goat’s milk products, such as homemade yogurt and soft cheese. As supplements: B-complex, lots of brewer’s yeast, B-1 (100 mg.) and vitamins E and K, in addition to general supplementation. (Very often, this condition can be corrected by simply increasing the water and salt intake.)

3. It has been demonstrated in several American and Swedish studies that heart attack and stroke victims have often exceptionally high blood viscosity, or so-called thick blood, with larger than normal count of red blood corpuscles. Researchers concluded that a thousand-year old method, extensively used in folk medicine and by ancient doctors to prevent heart attacks – periodic blood-letting – was based on solid scientific ground. Blood-letting “thins” the blood, lowers its viscosity, or hematocrit, and prevents the development of coronary thrombosis and blood clots. That women are not affected by strokes and heart attack before the age of menopause to the same extent that men are, may depend on their usually much lower hemoglobin count. Needless to say, only qualified doctors should perform blood-letting, or decide on the advisability of such treatment in each individual case or, you may want to regularly donate blood if you have this condition. (By the way, periodic juice fasting also lowers blood viscosity and diminishes the risk of thrombosis and stroke.)

In conclusion, I’d like to quote from Norman Cousins excellent book, The Healing Heart. Mr. Cousins was a man who had a massive heart attack in December of 1980 and has since completely recovered. This recovery has come about through non-invasive therapy exclusively. He changed his diet, began to exercise and developed a positive attitude. “The wise physician will set a stage conducive to treatment and recovery… They do not minimize the seriousness of the patient’s condition. What they do instead, is put their emphasis on the strategy of combat. They propose a partnership. They describe what modern medical science has to offer, and then describe what the patient has to offer. They talk about the patient’s own resources. Ultimately, it is the physician’s respect for the human soul that determines the worth of his science.”

Doesn’t this adequately sum up the true physician’s attitude toward real holistic healing -treating the body, mind and spirit? I hope that we have seen in this lesson some practical, natural things that the high blood pressure or heart patient can apply in every-day life to restore health and maintain health for an active, full life.