Heart disease can develop without any obvious symptoms, so you have to make sure that your doctor is aware of your risk factors and monitors you carefully.
Make sure that your condition is kept under control, and that flare-ups — signal increased inflammation — are kept to a minimum.
There is proof that good inflammation prevention works. Consider rheumatoid arthritis
(RA). A study published in the journal Arthritis and Researchfollowed 400 people with RA for five years. Their treatment regimens were monitored, along with risk factors for heart disease, including weight, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking. In addition, they were treated with DMARDs, which is a type of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug.
After five years, chemical markers of inflammation were reduced, and the patients were also taking better care of themselves. Some had quit smoking, reduced their heart rates, and lowered their blood pressures.
But most importantly, they suffered fewer cardiac events than would be expected, the
researchers said. Even if you don’t have one of the conditions listed here, chronic, low-level inflammation is not healthy.
Here are some steps to reduce it:
1. 1. Practice good dental hygiene.
2. 2. Lose weight. Getting rid of belly fat helps reduce inflammation. In addition, if you have a condition like osteoarthritis, alleviating excess weight on joints helps ease pain, and you won’t need to use nonsteroidal medications that can increase heart attack risk.
3. 3. Daily vitamin C. Decades ago, scientist Linus Pauling recognized the dangers of inflammation and recommended vitamin C as a remedy. Research is only just now catching up. You might already take vitamin C when you feel a cold coming on to boost your immune system, but it does a lot more than that, including reducing blood concentrations of C-reactive protein, which lowers inflammation. I recommend 2,000 mg of vitamin C per day.
4. 4. Daily low-dose aspirin therapy. The same daily low-dose aspirin (81 mg) you may already be taking also helps lower inflammation, reducing heart disease and colon cancer risk.
5. 5. Mediterranean diet. This diet, which is high in fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, and “healthy oils,” like olive oil, reduces inflammation and has been shown to reduce the risk of heart attacks.
6. 6. Fish oil. A daily dose of 2,000 mg of fish oil helps reduce inflammation. But be sure to buy your fish oil supplements from a trusted source, because poor-quality and counterfeit products are a problem.
7. 7. Eat cherries. Fresh fruit is a very good way to lower inflammation, and research shows that cherries are particularly effective. This inflammation-reducing property also makes them a good pain reliever. Drink a small glass of organic, sugar-free cherry juice, or eat a handful of cherries daily.
8. Juicing. Combining healthful vegetables and fruits into a juicer creates inflammation-reducing beverages.
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