There are many natural agents widely available that can improve your health. Here are 10 natural agents proven to help protect against Heart and Lung Disease.

Vitamin C

Study after study has shown how taking a daily dose of Vitamin C (1g a day) really can lower your risk of cardiovascular disease. This nutrient also protects the lungs, especially in smokers. Smoking increases your need for Vitamin C and smokers are recommended to take an extra 35mg a day to compensate.

The richest food source of vitamin C is acerola berries and Viridian (http://www.viridian.com) has launched a new vitamin C made from this fruit.

Hawthorn

Roman physicians used hawthorn as a cardio tonic in the first century AD and clinical studies now show that its healing action is thanks to the presence of proanthocyanidins - red and purple pigments (sometimes called anthocyanins) found in plants which help prevent degenerative disease of the heart, blood vessels and lungs, and are thought to help reverse arthesosclerotic plaque deposits.

Cleverly hawthorn can re-regulate both high and low blood pressure and works to dilate both peripheral and coronary blood vessels, making it a useful aid in the management of angina.

Garlic

With the advent of more cutting-edge remedies, such as red yeast, it seems almost old fashioned now to recommend garlic as a cardiocascular tonic, but it does still merit a mention as a broad-spectrum treatment for arterial disease.

The active agent is an odourless chemical called alliin. When you cut or crush raw garlic, this is immediately converted to allicin, which is the substance that gives garlic its powerful smell.

Allicin then rapidly breaks down into various components and unless herbal remedy manufacturers who want to offer odourless capsules, find a way to stop this process, no active agents will be left. This is the reason there is so much controversy about the different brands and forms of garlic.

Apples

An apple a day may help keep lung cancer at bay, according to preliminary evidence that suggests a very positive relationship between eating five or more apples a week and healthy lung function. Researchers admit they cannot explain why eating apples can offset normal age-related deterioration in lung functioning but suggest it may be thanks to the presence of two active agents quercetin and pectin.

Dandelion

This humble backyard weed is a powerhouse of nutrients that work together to promote healthy heart and lung functioning. Although better known as a digestive tonic it can also work to promote good cholesterol and has a diuretic effect in the body, which then works to regulate blood pressure, when you use the leaves.

Dandelion provides more membrane and lung supporting vitamin A than carrots, is an excellent source of heart-protecting potassium and can help maintain good iron levels to prevent anaemia. The young leaves are delicious tossed into a summer salad.

Guggul

This is a mixture of gum resin substances taken from the plant Commiphora Mukul, which is approved for use as a cholesterol lowering agent in India. Guggul which can also play a role in the treatment of Acne has also been shown to exert protective properties against drug-induced myocardial necrosis and is thought to have useful anti-inflammatory properties.

Taurine

A sulphur-containing amino acid present in high levels in meats and fish, taurine, taken as a supplement has been shown to lower blood pressure and plasma epinephrine (adrenaline) levels. People with high blood pressure and heart problems have higher levels of this hormone circulating in the blood - since it helps the heart work harder to increase its output of blood and thus compensate for any pumping problems - but lower levels in the heart muscle itself, which usually has more taurine present than any other amino acid.

Arginine

Sold in supplement form as L-arginine, the body uses this amino acid as a precursor to nitric oxide, which, in turn, dilates blood vessels and lowers blood pressure. It has been successfully used to help support stable angina patients and in clinical trials, high dosages (17g a day) have been shown to lower bad cholesterol without affecting levels of good choloesterol.

Arginine is found naturally in meats, diary products, poultry and fish.

Homocysteine Modulators

Homocysteine is known to be 40 times a more accurate predictor of the risk of heart disease than cholesterol levels. Homocysteine itself is not a natural protector against heart disease, but the agents usd to regulate its levels are.

Magnesium

Many unexpected adult deaths are thought to occur as a result of fatal hearts rhythm disturbances. We know that magnesium defeciency, which is common in men and women, predisposes to higher risk of these kind of disturbances, so taking a therapeutic daily dose of a magnesium supplement would seem sensible along with increasing your dietary intake of this nutrient.

Potassium

We know that potassium works with sodium to regulate the body's water balance and normalise heart rythms (potassium works inside the cells; sodium works outside them) and documented research proves that a low-potassium, high-sodium (salt) diet is linked with high blood pressure.

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