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Heart disease is the number 1 killer in this country, and for many people a heart attack is the first symptom of the disease. Fortunately, you can absolutely prevent heart disease, even if you’re at high risk—and you don’t need powerful prescription drugs or surgery to do it.

1. Keep an Eye on Cholesterol: Get regular physical exercise, which helps to raise your protective HDL cholesterol. A half-hour four or five days a week is ideal. I also recommend high doses of niacin (vitamin B3), which has been shown to both decrease LDL and increase HDL levels. I usually start patients with 500 mg twice a day, and work up to a total of 1,500–2,000 mg a day. Do this under the supervision of your doctor, though, so he or she can monitor your response—high-dose niacin can impact blood sugar control, and shouldn’t be used by people with liver disease.

2. Eat a Low-Fat Diet: Numerous studies have shown that a low-fat diet can not only help prevent heart disease, but can also help reverse it. I recommend a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and legumes, along with lean protein sources such as chicken and fish. Avoid overly processed foods, refined sugars, and excess salt.

3. Keep Your Homocysteine in Check: High homocysteine may contribute to heart disease. In addition to the B vitamins I recommended above, you can also add trimethylglycine (TMG) to your supplement regimen. The recommended dose is 1,000 mg daily. Look for it in your local health food store.

4. Avoid Vitamin C Deficiencies: The late Linus Pauling, PhD, found that vitamin C deficiencies and heart disease often go hand in hand. If you are at risk for developing heart disease, gradually build up to a daily intake of 3,000 to 6,000 mg, divided into two or three doses.

5. Protect Your Arteries From Free-Radical Damage: Vitamin E helps protect your arteries from free-radical damage. To significantly reduce your risk of heart attack, I recommend taking 400 to 800 IU of vitamin E daily.

6. Reduce Stress on Your Heart: Magnesium has many functions, one of the most important being that it relaxes the muscles of the artery walls and reduces stress on the heart muscle. To prevent a magnesium deficiency, aim for 500 to 1,000 mg per day.

Now it’s your turn: Which of these heart-healthy habits do you practice?

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Men, if your sexual function isn’t what you’d like it to be, you can take Viagra, Cialis, or a related drug—a temporary fix at best. Or you can make lifestyle changes and use nutritional supplements and other natural therapies to get a handle on high blood pressure, diabetes, elevated lipids, obesity, metabolic syndrome, inactivity, and smoking, which are the most significant contributors to cardiovascular disease and to erectile dysfunction (ED).

Weight loss, regular exercise, a high-fiber low-fat diet, and targeted supplements not only reduce risk of heart attack and stroke, but according to a 2011 meta-analysis in the Archives of Internal Medicine, may also give your sex life a boost. And don’t forget that prevention is the best medicine. Some degree of ED affects 42 percent of men between the ages of 40 and 70. By tending to your cardiovascular health today, you probably won’t have to deal with ED in the future.

Here are some ways to improve your cardiovascular health and reduce your risk of ED:

* Lower your intake of saturated fat and cholesterol by eliminating high-fat dairy from your diet and only eating meat a few times a week. Also, avoid pork and fatty poultry, processed meats, refined sugars, oils, most margarine, and excess salt.

* Eat plenty of fresh, whole fruits and vegetables, beans, legumes, nonfat yogurt, and poached fish. Plant foods are good sources of antioxidants, B vitamins, and minerals that are crucial to protecting your heart and blood vessels.

* Establish a reasonable exercise program. Don’t be afraid to exercise because you have symptoms of cardiovascular disease. Inactivity can exacerbate the problem. Work with your physician to set up a plan for regular low-impact aerobic activity that’s appropriate for your condition.

* Take fish oil supplements. The omega-3 essential fatty acids in fish oil help lower cholesterol and especially triglyceride levels, improve blood flow, reduce the risk of blood clots, lower blood pressure, and help prevent atherosclerosis. I recommend 2–10 1,000 mg capsules of fish oil a day.

* Take antioxidants, which neutralize the free radicals that contribute to heart disease. I suggest 1,500-5,000 mg daily of vitamin C in divided doses, 400 IU of vitamin E, 1,500 IU of vitamin A, and 15,000 IU of beta-carotene daily. Plus, make sure you’re taking a good multi-nutrient.

Now it’s your turn: Which of these heart-healthy habits have you adopted?

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High blood pressure is a huge boon for pharmaceutical manufacturers. It affects roughly 75 million Americans, and, as with many medical conditions, most doctors are treating it by wearing out their prescription pads.

But most people aren’t getting the truth behind those blood pressure numbers:

1. Four in five blood pressure readings taken at the doctor’s office are inaccurate! Texas researchers enrolled patients with blood pressures higher than 120/80 and tested them according to the standard—but rarely followed—guidelines: sitting in a chair with a back support, feet planted on the floor and legs uncrossed for five minutes, no restrictive clothing or caffeine, and no exercise or tobacco for at least 30 minutes prior to testing. When these guidelines were followed, blood pressure readings went down significantly.

There’s a simple way to avoid this: Buy a blood pressure monitor, learn how to use it correctly, and periodically take your blood pressure at home. Do not, I repeat, do not simply accept a diagnosis of hypertension and allow your doctor to put you on the drug merry-go-round. Check and re-check your numbers, and try reducing your blood pressure through healthy lifestyle changes before you consider any pharmaceutical therapies.

2. Fixing your sodium-potassium ratio can lower your blood pressure. Human beings evolved as hunter-gatherers, on a diet virtually devoid of sodium and very high in potassium. Consequently, the kidneys tend to get rid of potassium but hang on to sodium. The solution? Eat less salt and more potassium-rich foods, including avocados, bananas, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and lima beans. In addition, try drinking Low Sodium V8 Juice each day.

3. Losing weight can reduce your blood pressure. Investigators at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas found that excess weight had a far greater impact on blood pressure than cardiorespiratory fitness. Normal-weight individuals had an average systolic blood pressure 12 mmHg lower than heavy people, even if they were only modestly fit.

4. Nutritional supplements can combat hypertension. I recommend the following daily: coenzyme Q10 200–300 mg, magnesium 400–800 mg, hawthorn 360–600 mg, fish oil 2–5 g, vitamin D 2,000–5,000 IU, and quercetin 500–750 mg.

Now it’s your turn: Have you been the victim of an erroneous blood pressure reading?

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Folks, this month marks an important milestone for me. It’s the 20^th anniversary of my newsletter, Health & Healing. When I started writing Health & Healing, I wanted to get the word out about revolutions in alternative medicine that the medical community didn’t know about, or was just plain ignoring.

One of the breakthroughs I originally published in 1999 was how the “K Factor” can lower your blood pressure. I call it a “breakthrough” because took several years before The New York Times featured the very same news.

So, what is the “K Factor?” It’s a formula showing that potassium (“K” is the chemical symbol for potassium) plays a key role in balancing levels of sodium and other important minerals that are linked to high blood pressure.

In his book The High Blood Pressure Solution: Natural Prevention and Cure with the K Factor, Richard D. Moore, MD, PhD, demonstrated how eating according to the "K Factor"—defined as a sodium-to-potassium ratio of at least one to four—can protect against hypertension, crippling strokes, and premature death. But that’s not the only benefit.

Eating foods high in potassium and low in sodium can also help prevent kidney disease and heart problems caused by hypertension. Furthermore, this diet reduces risk of stroke and premature death—even if blood pressure doesn’t fall.

So, how can you put the “K Factor” into action?

1.      Reduce your intake of processed/restaurant foods. These items are notoriously high in sodium. For instance, one Big Mac has 1,070 mg of sodium and a one-cup serving of regular canned soup contains approximately 800 mg.

2.      Eat a sodium-to-potassium ratio of at least one to four. You’ll need to read nutritional labels for this step. Let’s say you eat that Big Mac (not that I’m recommending this option) that has around 1,000 mg of sodium. You’d need to eat 4,000 mg of potassium to keep your ratios balanced.

3.      Eat more potassium-rich foods. A better idea is to consume foods that are good sources of potassium. Some good examples include a tomato (444 mg) and avocado (680 mg) salad, 3 ounces of chicken (350 mg), a potato (782 mg), an apple (182 mg), and a banana (440 mg).

4.      Use a potassium-salt combo in place of regular table salt. We’ve been doing this at the Whitaker Wellness Institute for years. In place of regular salt, we mix three parts potassium chloride (Nu-Salt or Morton’s Salt Substitute) with one part sodium chloride (table salt). (Potassium chloride by itself has a metallic taste to some people. However, with this mixture, which provides a substantial amount of potassium, few people can tell the difference.)

5.      Add to your high-potassium diet a regular exercise program, 12 eight-ounce glasses of water per day (build up to this gradually and consult with your doctor if you have kidney problems or congestive heart failure), techniques to manage stress, and a comprehensive high-dose vitamin and mineral regimen.

You can also click here to read the original article which I printed in Health & Healing.

Now it’s your turn: Which potassium-rich food is your favorite?

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I know there are many health topics most men aren't comfortable talking about. They'd rather suffer in silence, pretending everything's fine--even if it's not. Since this Sunday is Father's Day, I thought I would dedicate today's blog post, and Friday's, to talking about some of these vexing, and sometimes embarrassing, health problems.

Help! My sex drive is as strong as ever, but my body doesn’t always cooperate.
Most cases of erectile dysfunction (ED) have a physical, rather than a psychological cause, and the likely culprit is atherosclerosis—you’re just not getting enough blood to the area in question. To improve overall circulation, follow the Whitaker Program of a healthy diet and exercise regimen, and take a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement with high doses of antioxidants and B-complex vitamins.

For ED, I often prescribe Viagra. While “the little blue pill” isn’t for everyone, particularly men using nitroglycerine or other nitrate medications, I feel this is one of the best prescription drugs to come down the pike in a long time.

Natural therapies, such as the amino acid arginine, are also helpful for erectile dysfunction. Panax ginseng is another option. Ginseng stimulates the adrenal glands, which increase their production of sex hormones, and augments levels of nitric oxide, which is involved in the mechanics of an erection.

How can I avoid prostate cancer?

Some experts believe that a significant percentage of all cancers can be prevented with healthy lifestyle choices. Chief among these is eating a low-fat diet. The saturated fats in meat and dairy fuel hormone-dependent cancers and are clearly linked with prostate cancer. Trans-fatty acids in fried and processed foods are also suspect.

On the other hand, certain foods are protective against prostate cancer. Soy contains antioxidants and isoflavones with specific anti-cancer activity. Tomatoes, especially when cooked, are an excellent source of lycopene, which is linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. Green tea is rich in polyphenols that inhibit the formation of cancer-causing nitrosamines and block the growth of cancer cells. And it was recently discovered that men who drink one to three cups of regular or decaf coffee per day have a 29 decreased risk of the most lethal type of prostate cancer. For men who drink six cups or more, that risk is 60 percent less, compared to nondrinkers.

An antioxidant-rich daily nutritional supplement is also protective. Look for one that contains 200 mcg of selenium and 800 IU of vitamin E, both shown to greatly reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Come back on Friday—when I’ll discuss more of the issues that may be on your mind when it comes to men’s health.

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There’s no question that even hearing the word stroke can be scary, but unfortunately it’s a very real risk. Every year more than 750,000 Americans suffer a stroke (technically called a cerebrovascular accident), and strokes are the third-leading cause of death in this country.

For the majority of those who do survive these traumatic events, lingering speech, motor, and vision problems are common. What makes this such a huge tragedy is that up to 80 percent of all strokes can be prevented!

Now it’s your turn: What steps are you taking to improve cardiovascular health and help stave off strokes?

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May is National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, which is a good reminder to everyone to pay attention to bone health. Head to the health food store and you'll see shelves full of nutritional supplements that boast high-potency calcium. But I'm going to let you in on a little secret: Osteoporosis doesn't result simply from insufficient calcium intake, that's a myth!

When parents tell their children to drink milk because it builds strong bones, they’re only telling part of the story.  A number of other nutrients, such as magnesium, boron, antioxidants, vitamin K, and B-complex vitamins, are also required for bone mineralization.

And, contrary to popular belief, dairy isn’t the end-all in bone health. Dozens of scientific studies have found that a high intake of plant foods is associated with a reduced risk of osteoporosis. Vitamin K, which is abundant in leafy greens, and isoflavones, found in soy, are particularly protective. Factors that contribute to bone breakdown include excessive intake of carbonated soft drinks, sodium, caffeine, alcohol, and high-fat animal protein.

If you’re worried about bone loss, what should you do?

1. Eat lots of nutrient-dense plant foods. Eat moderate, not excessive, amounts of protein.

2. Go easy on coffee and other caffeine-containing drinks, which promote calcium excretion.

3. Stay away from the refined sugars found in so many snacks and packaged foods, since they also promote calcium excretion.

4. Avoid the soft drink triple whammy! Americans guzzle soft drinks by the gallon, but they’re a triple threat to your bones, as they contain caffeine, sugar, and chemicals called phosphates that also cause calcium loss.

5. Switch to green tea, instead of soft drinks. It’s a good source of vitamin K which improves bone mineralization.

6. Take bone-building supplements. Suggested daily doses are: calcium 1,000–1,500 mg, magnesium 500–1,000 mg, vitamin D3 2,000–5,000 IU, vitamin K 150–300 mcg, boron 3–4 mg, and soy isoflavones 100–200 mg.

Now it’s your turn: What are you doing to prevent osteoporosis?

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Heart disease is the #1 killer in this country, and for many people a heart attack is the first symptom of the disease. The good news is you can absolutely prevent cardiovascular disease, even if you’re at high risk, and you don’t need powerful prescription drugs or surgery to accomplish this. Here’s what you can do:

1) Eat a Low-Fat Diet: Numerous studies have shown that a low-fat diet not only helps prevent heart disease, but can also help reverse it. I recommend a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and legumes, along with moderate amounts of lean protein. You should also avoid overly processed foods, too much red meat, refined sugars and starches, margarine, and excess salt.

2)  Keep Your Homocysteine in Check: High homocysteine levels are a primary contributor to heart disease. B-complex vitamins do a great job of combatting homocysteine. Aim for 800 mcg folic acid, 150 mcg vitamin B12, and 75 mg vitamin B6 daily. You can also add trimethylglycine (TMG) to your supplement regimen. The recommended dose is 1,000 mg daily. Look for these supplements in your local health food store.

3) Avoid Vitamin C Deficiencies: The late Linus Pauling, PhD, discovered a link between vitamin C deficiency and heart disease. If you have a family history of heart disease or have been diagnosed with this condition, I suggest building up to a daily intake of 3,000-6,000 mg, divided into two or three daily doses.

4) Protect Your Arteries From Free Radical Damage: Vitamin E helps protect your arteries from free radical damage—including free radicals from cholesterol particles. To significantly reduce your risk of heart attack, I recommend taking 300-800 IU of vitamin E daily.

5) Reduce Stress on Your Heart: Magnesium has many functions, one of the most important being that it relaxes the muscles of the artery walls and reduces stress on the myocardium, or heart muscle. To prevent a magnesium deficiency, you need a minimum of 500-1,000 mg per day.

Now it’s your turn: What are you doing to prevent heart disease?

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