Nutritional and Integrative Strategies in Cardiovascular Medicine PDF

Introduction

It gives me great pleasure to offer Nutritional and Integrative Strategies in Cardiovascular Medicine as an in-depth communication offering vital information in the diagnosis and management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Despite 40 years of aggressive pharmaceutical and surgical interventions,¹ coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the number one killer of women and men in Western civilization. Although urgent use of percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI) can be lifesaving in acute myocardial infarction, the elective use of these procedures offers minimal protection from future cardiovascular events or even longevity.² Clearly, when it comes to CAD, "prevention is easier than cure" and if CAD does present itself, a combination of conventional and alternative methodologies can truly make a difference in people's lives. Nutritional interventions with both appropriate nonin¡ammatory diets and targeted nutraceutical supports are simple and basic strategies to prevent as well as help manage CAD.

In an ideal world, we would eat all the nutrients necessary to sustain and protect our health. In reality, however, most of us do not eat a nutritious diet full of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, and lean protein. Instead, we too frequently eat on the basis of convenience and price, and that means more processed foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients.

Even if we do manage to eat healthy foods most of the time, our diets probably do not contain therapeutic amounts of antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals necessary to help prevent cancer, cardiovascular disease, and other degenerative diseases, and which contribute to premature aging. Behind these conditions is in¡ammation. And what drives in¡ammation are out-of-control free radicals, molecular fragments produced by natural metabolism, foods, transfats, sugar, environmental toxins, and radiation, to mention a few. As our bodies contain limited amounts of enzymes that neutralize free radicals, we need to look for antioxidants from outside sources.