Heart disease is the number one killer in the United States with over 611,000 dying of the disease in 2013. Here at Vernon Clinic of Chiropractic, we want you to be as informed as possible on your health.

Heart Health in Viroqua WI

This particular subject hits home rather hard for me. My father died at age 59 with a heart attack, my mother died at age 64 with a heart attack, and my older brother was only 55 when he died from heart disease. My sister had a heart attack at 45 and I had mine at age 47. So it is in my genes………….right. Well let’s take another look at some things.

My paternal grandparents both lived beyond 80 years of age. My maternal grandmother was in her mid 80’s and my maternal grandfather was almost 70 and was out in the woods deer hunting when he died. Genetically speaking it makes no sense for subsequent generations to die younger than their ancestors. What WAS the big difference was their/my LIFESTYLES!!!!! Stress, tobacco, alcohol, diet, and lack of exercise. An example of lifestyle: I am very fair complected and sunburn rather easily. This is my genetic makeup and I cannot deny it. So if I don’t want to get sunburnt it behooves me to avoid the sun by covering up and limiting my exposure to the sun’s harmful UV rays.

One cannot deny their genetic makeup. The reason why you are not 7 feet tall or of a different gender is because of your genetics. There is a relatively new area of study in genetics called “epigenetics”. I do not have time or space in this newsletter to go over this subject but in a nutshell what we expose our genetics to (LIFESTYLE) is as important, if not more important, than our genetics we were born with.

Some examples of what we can change are:

• Our exercise habits. Moderately vigorous exercise has shown to raise our HDL’s or our good cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and reduce stress.
• Dietary changes: Something as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables and limiting your sugar intake is very heart healthy and can help you lose weight.
• Meditation is a form of relaxation that has demonstrated to reduce blood pressure.
• Supplements that may help: Curcumin and Boswellia are nature’s super anti-inflammatories which can promote healing and prevention of heart disease. If you are taking a statin drug (cholesterol lower medications) it would serve you well to take CoQ10. CoQ10 is a natural substance the maintains cellular health and is destroyed by statins. Fish oil or Omega-3 is a super anti-inflammatory and it makes your blood more slippery to prevent clotting. Vitamin D is the sunshine vitamin and is a important supplement.
• Finally, get adjusted or at least get your spine checked to make sure the nerves are doing what they are suppose to do.
  Yours in health,
  Dr Kris