- “If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it’s free!” — P. J. O’Rourke
- “When you pack on extra padding around your gut, your heart pumps harder to force blood into all that new fatty tissue. When you nosh on potato chips and other high-sodium foods, your body retains water in order to dilute the excess sodium, increasing overall blood volume. When you line your arteries with plaque from too many fatty meals, pressure increases as the same amount of blood has to squeeze through newly narrowed vessels. When you let the pressures of the day haunt you into the night, your brain pumps out stress hormones that keep your body in a perpetual state of fight-or-flight anxiousness, also forcing your heart to pump harder. High-salt, high-fat diets and an excess of stress all combine to create a dangerous situation.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (DavidZinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 22
- “Over time, the extra work brought on by high blood pressure causes the walls of the heart to stiffen and thicken. The heart becomes a less efficient pump, unable to push out as much blood as it takes in. Blood backs up, the heart gives out, and the coroner scribbles “congestive heart failure” on your chart.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (DavidZinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 23
- “Ideally, your blood pressure should be lower than 120/80. What do those numbers mean? The top number, called the systolic pressure, is the pressure generated when the heart beats. The bottom number is the diastolic pressure, the pressure on your blood vessels when the heart is resting between beats.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (DavidZinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 23
- “Cut salt, slice bananas. A study published in a 2009 edition of the the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that a combination of eating more potassium-rich foods while reducing sodium intake lowered blood pressure more effectively than doing any one of those strategies alone. The study at Loyola University showed that cardiovascular disease increased by 50 percent for participants with a high sodium-to-potassium ratio in their blood. Potassium helps sweep excess sodium from the circulatory system, causing the blood vessels to dilate. Studies show that not getting at least 2,000 milligrams of potassium daily can set you up for high blood pressure. Other good sources of potassium are sweet potatoes, spinach, raisins, papayas, lima beans, and tomatoes.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (DavidZinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 23
- “Top your toast. Black currant jelly is a good source of quercetin, an antioxidant that Finnish researchers believe may improve heart health by preventing the buildup of the free radicals that can damage arterial walls and allow plaque to penetrate.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 24
- “Have a Mac(intosh) attack. Men who frequently eat apples have a 20 percent lower risk of developing heart disease than men who eat apples less often.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 25
- “Eat fresh berries. Raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries are all loaded with salicylic acid—the same heart disease fighter found in aspirin.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 25
- “Order the tuna. Omega-3 fats in tuna and other fish as well as flaxseed help strengthen heart muscle, lower blood pressure, prevent clotting, and reduce levels of potentially deadly inflammation in the body.” The New Abs Diet: The 6-Week Plan to Flatten Your Stomach and Keep You Lean for Life (The Abs Diet) (David Zinczenko and Ted Spiker). Page 25
- “THE HEART, of course, represents love, while our blood represents joy. Our hearts lovingly pump joy throughout our bodies. When we deny ourselves joy and love, the heart shrivels and becomes cold. As a result, the blood gets sluggish, and we creep our way to ANEMIA, ANGINA, and HEART ATTACKS. The heart does not “attack” us. We get so caught up in the soap opera and dramas we create that we often forget to notice the little joys that surround us. We spend years squeezing all the joy out of the heart, and it literally falls over in pain. Heart attack people are never joyous people. If they do not take the time to appreciate the joys of life, they will just recreate another heart attack in time.” You Can Heal Your Life (Louise Hay) Page 129