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Paul Kramer, is a Registered Nutritional Consultant who has conducted health seminars around the world. A guest on radio talk shows and featured in several magazine publications, he has been studying the effects of nutrition, exercise and the environment on human health for over twenty years.
As a cardiologist practicing in a busy community hospital, I meet on a daily basis with patients who suffer from cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease accounts for the death of more people than any other disease. Of those deaths, at least half are due specifically to coronary artery disease, that is, clogging of the arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle.
As the baby boomer population ages, we will see more and more cardiac disease in the future. Although some patients may suffer from cardiovascular disease due to genetic and pre-determined factors, many patients' conditions are affected by environmental factors.
We live in a rapidly changing environment which can be detrimental to our health. With busy careers and time constraints, many people do not have the time to eat a proper diet or to exercise effectively - poor nutrition and lack of exercise play a significant role in many cases of cardiovascular disease.
In addition, our increasingly polluted environment can have a measurable negative effect on health. A recent study from Harvard Medical School suggested that smog may increase the risk of myocardial infraction (heart attack) by up to 50%. Many people do not realize the indisputable link between the environment we live in and many of the diseases that are most prevalent today.
Many of the risk factors for cardiac disease including hypertension (high blood pressure), hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol levels), obesity and diabetes are strongly linked to poor nutrition. Proper nutritional intake is essential to prevent or control many of these conditions. Unfortunately, with busy lifestyles, many patients' dietary intake is high in fat and avoid of nutrition including essential minerals and vitamins as well as fibre.
As you will see in the following pages, many people find it quite difficult to fulfill their dietary requirements even when eating what they think is a "well-balanced diet" and for many people, nutritional supplements are an effective method of restoring those missing essential nutrients. On a similar note, due to the over processed nature of many of our foods, most patients do not take in enough dietary fibre. Increasing fiber intake can improve cardiac health (by lowering cholesterol levels and controlling blood sugar levels), and may be beneficial in controlling or preventing other diseases such as bowel problems.
In addition to proper nutrition, exercise remains a mainstay of cardiac prevention. Increasing exercise will help to prevent or control heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, depression and obesity to name just a few. I find that very few of my patients perform the recommended 30 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise, most of days of the week.
Although I see many patients in my practice with advanced cardiac disease, I see many more patients with more minor forms of disease as well as people who are currently free of disease and who want to prevent or delay the onset of problems in the future. They want to ensure that they have made every lifestyle change possible to protect their health. They are looking for a well-rounded approach to improving their nutrition, eliminating their exposure to pollution and increasing their activity level, with a view towards health promotion and prevention of disease.
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