Preventing Stroke and Other Diseases
C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Ph.D.

On February 19, 2007, the American Heart Association published in CIRCULATION its latest guidelines for women:

Diet should be mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high fiber foods, with fish at least twice a week
Less than 10% of calories to be saturated fat and less than 1% trans-fat
Alcohol no more than one drink a day
No smoking
Keep body mass index under 25
Consider omega-3 fatty acids (fish oil) if you already have heart disease? (WHY WAIT??!!)
Do not take folic acid, E, C or beta carotene! (WHY NOT??)
Take drugs to lower cholesterol and blood pressure (NOT FOR ME!)
Exercise at lest 30 minutes daily—up to 90 minutes if you are overweight
Consider aspirin daily for preventing stroke—BUT consult physician first

This list is a mixture of good and ridiculous!? There is good evidence that Vitamin E has some anticoagulant effect. So, also do garlic, gingko biloba, dong quai, panax ginseng and possibly bilberry. Surely these are less toxic than aspirin about 16,000 people die each year from complications of aspirin.

To me, the following are optimal for health and to prevent stroke, heart disease and most diseases:

Body mass index between 19 and 24
Exercise a minimum of 30 minutes daily an hour is better

Eat a wide variety of real food lots of fruits and veggies and 4 to 8 oz of meat, fish or fowl daily. Eggs are great; for most people 2 daily. Use only butter and olive oil for cooking. NO margarine!

Avoid fast food, pop and any processed food that has aspartame, MSG, sugar, white flour, hydrogenated fat. Indeed wheat and gluten are toxic to at least one-third of people. See my Gluten Toxicity newsletter

Maximum of one alcoholic beverage daily
Do deep relaxation at least 30 minutes daily. Consider the RelaxMate
Sleep 7 to 8 hours each night
Not more than 2 cups of coffee daily or up to 3 cups of tea. None after 3 PM

No smoking

Take an excellent multivitamin/mineral, such as my Essentials, at least two daily, Youth Formula (vitamin C plus MSM) 4 daily, and Omega-3 fatty acids at least 3 grams daily
Have your homocysteine level checked and if it is above 7.5, add folic acid 100 mg and chewable B 12 one daily
If your cholesterol is above 190, see my newsletter on natural ways to reduce it
If your blood pressure is above 120/80, see my newsletter on natural ways to reduce it
Garlic and onion are wonderful and should be used freely
I much prefer gingko biloba to aspirin for its gentle anti-clotting feature
Avoid birth control pills and horse estrogen (Premarin); they increase clotting, stroke and many other diseases
Live a positive attitude and have lots of joyful BLISS!