Chiropractors and nutritionists do not diagnose or treat heart disease. This is the job of a cardiologist.

There are many risk factors for heart disease. Some are controllable and some are not. The factors that you have control over include smoking, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, diabetes, high LDL (bad) cholesterol, low HDL (good) cholesterol, obesity, and unmanaged stress and anger. All of these things significantly increase your risk of heart disease. Factors that, unfortunately, no one has control over include your race, gender, family history of heart disease, and age.

Studies show that Caucasian males, African Americans, American Indians, and Mexican Americans are all at very high risk. The older you get, the more your chances go up. Also, post-menopausal women are at higher risk. Everyone needs to identify their own risk factors and then work with their physician to minimize their risk. Some simple things that almost everyone can do are to exercise for 30 minutes 6 days per week, and find new outlets to manage stress and anger. Also, improve your diet to include more good cholesterol, less bad cholesterol, less sugar, and more fruits and vegetables. Your diet effects your blood pressure, whether or not you have diabetes and how severe it is, and obesity.

We all have various fitness levels. Check with your doctor and verify that you are healthy enough to exercise. Many of us who are healthy enough to exercise just simply chose not to do so. Walking is generally a very safe exercise. You can start out gradually and increase the length of time you walk as time progresses. Get a walking partner or listen to music to make it more enjoyable. It can also be a great time for couples. Having a goal of doing aerobics six days a week will greatly inprove you length and quality of life. Start at whatever level is safe for you to start at and increase it by a few minutes every week. In one study I read, people with metabolic syndrome did one hour of aerobics per day and after four weeks their labs improved 58%. There is no way to avoid exercise if you want to be healthy.

There are many factors and much information to absorb about diet and nutrition. Much of what people generally believe are lies that have been carefully used to make you buy products and spend money. One thing that cannot be disputed, if you want to be healthy and live longer, stop eating junk! This includes organic junk. Organic pop tarts, chips, etc. have the same risks as non-organic except they avoid the pesticides. Sugar is also a large contributor to many health problems. White sugar, raw sugar, honey, maple syrup, agave, and high fructose corn syrup are all high-calorie, high-carbohydrate sweeteners. Some are marginally better than others but sugar is still just sugar when it relates to health.

“Saturated fat and cholesterol in the diet are not the cause of coronary heart disease. That myth is the greatest scientific deception of this century, and perhaps any century.” This quote comes from George V. Mann, M.D., professor of Medicine and Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University in 1991. There are two very interesting articles that I think everyone should read. The first is about a Harvard study yielding results to support the fact that fat in your diet is not a bad thing. The second article was written by a medical doctor who admits that 80% of what he and other doctors do is actually guesswork.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/coverage-in-the-media/time-to-stop-talking-about-low-fat-say-hsph-nutrition-experts/

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/what_your_doctor_doesn_tell_you_RGm6oJpm2eUOsJj89c3JJO