So many of the imbalances that cause heart disease or heart attacks are far from our awareness. They are often symptomless, or at least show up in ways we wouldn’t connect with our heart. One of the most important things you can focus on in your own health is inflammation, because we know that inflammation causes damage to arteries, beginning a cascade of events resulting in plaque being laid down. Plaque, if hardened, potentially creates blockage, or can break off to cause a stroke. Most of us know those facts and can recite them on our sleep but we aren’t so facile at what, besides the statin option we can do to protect our heart.

Doctors and consumers alike are mesmerized by cholesterol numbers. Those numbers by themselves are only a fraction of the puzzle, and when we over-focus on them we run the risk of drugging ourselves into cholesterol that is too low for our health, or of having a false sense of security in a number. I see clients who exuberantly show me their 140 or 160 cholesterol numbers, yet are surprised to learn that having cholesterol that low can increase risk for depression, low testosterone, and all-cause mortality. (Journal of Lipid Nutrition and Honolulu Heart Program) .

So what can you do to confidently reduce your risk of heart disease that doesn’t involve expensive drugs that clearly have a downside? And let me note that if your doctor has prescribed such medication for you, I am not advising you to quit taking it without a frank, well-informed discussion with said doctor, and an appropriate alternative plan. In some cases cholesterol lowering medication is appropriate. However, that said, I think we can do much better than putting everyone with a cholesterol above 180 on drugs.

1. The name of the game is reducing inflammation, and the first step is knowing if you have it. In my opinion, all adults should have two tests that are known to be more significant markers for heart disease. One is Homocysteine, the other is HIgh Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein (Hs-CRP). Why are these important? Homocysteine is an incomplete breakdown product occurring when the body is missing some of the B vitamins. It is known to cause endothelial dysfunction (functional and structural damage to artery linings). Hs CRP is a protein produced by the liver when there is Eating too much saturated fat or too many high glycemic carbohydrates, smoking, periodontal disease, and use of synthetic female hormones in the form of hormone replacement or birth control pills, are correlated with high CRP.


If you have chronic pain, or chronic bowel symptoms, or recurring infections, or chronic anything, chances are you have chronic inflammation in your body. Just because you have symptoms or conditions that don’t appear to have anything to do with your heart doesn’t mean those symptoms or conditions are unrelated to it. Your body functions a whole entity, and for the purpose of health is not divided into 
 specialties as is the practice of medicine.

2. Fish Oil, a great source of the Omega 3 fats EPA and DHA is great anti-inflammatory. Contrary to a popular myth, Flax Oil is not an adequate substitute for Fish Oil, because it does not contain EPA and DHA. In theory the alpha-linoleic acid (also an Omega 3 fat) in flax can convert to EPA and DHA but in reality the conversion is inefficient and most people cannot produce an amount adequate to give significant anti-inflammatory benefits. As a side note, many food products now boasting “Omega 3’s” on their labels have simply added flax, so while they have technically added Omega 3’s, you won’t be getting the anti-inflammatory benefits you might think. Algae can provide a vegetarian/vegan source for EPA and DHA, since algae is the origin for those elements in fish.(Microalgae) Whether using algae or fish oil, it is important to choose “clean” products that are not contaminated with mercury or other environmental toxins, so do your research and don’t just buy the cheapest brand. 


3. Fruits and vegetables provide important elements (antioxidants) that keep LDL cholesterol from oxidizing, or becoming hardened in your arteries. Cholesterol is normally pliable--I imagine it like playdough before your kid left the lid off for three weeks--and is our body’s way of repairing nicks in arteries caused by inflammation. But cholesterol that becomes oxidized gets hard (think plaque). So eat those fruits and veggies in as close to fresh, raw form as possible.

4. Would I be beating a dead horse to say, don’t consume hydrogenated fat or trans fats? I know we’ve all heard it, read and, and think we know it. But sometimes there is a disconnect between what we know and what we do. I am always a bit shocked for example when I go into medical office waiting rooms and see that in an effort to be gracious they have coffee available along with powdered non-dairy creamer. Check out the ingredient labels on those puppies! One doctor I know recently told me that a patient’s cholesterol had come down 40 points in three weeks just by getting rid of that powdery poison.

February is heart health month. What can you do to take better care of yours?

Judy Stone, CN, MSW is the owner of Nutrition Magiciann, and the author of Take Two Apples And Call Me In The Morning: a practical guide to using the power of food to change your life. In addition to agitating for informed and empowered health care consumers, she also gardens and raises chickens in Ann Arbor.