Heart Health Report

For a Symptom, Drug & Stress Free Life

May 2010 / Vol. 1, Issue 3

Dr. Crandalls

By Chauncey Crandall, M.D.

Seven Keys to Reversing Heart Disease for Life

n last months newsletter, I provided an overview of heart disease how excess fat in the blood drives it and results in arterial inflammation. I showed how the bodys attempts to cope with this inflammation can go awry and result in heart attacks and strokes. We also talked about how appropriate medications and lifestyle changes can turn off the heart disease engine while improving blood flow. The good news is that heart disease can be reversed. Making lifestyle changes not only reverses heart disease but also improves ones quality of life. Many of my patients testify that they feel years younger after taking action. There are seven key actions you must take in order to flip that switch. I invite you to enter this battle with me and learn to walk in victory. It can be done. Im living proof. My motto is simple: A minor reversal in heart disease results in a major improvement in health. The first step, then, is reeducation. Anyone who visits a cardiologist already has a baseline concern. Either the person has had a cardiac event a heart attack, stroke, an episode of angina or the person has been referred by a personal physician because of risk factors. You need to be absolutely honest with your doctor about what brings you to him or her. In every case, I recommend that the patient come in with his or her spouse or family member the person who knows you best. A spouse, I find, often remembers symptoms that the patient forgets because of the stress of the situation. I work up a full family history and do a physical

exam. I interview my patient about his or her work environment, trying to determine how much stress the person may be under. Then I order a full lab work-up: Cholesterol counts, triglycerides, markers related to renal and thyroid function, homocysteine, C-reactive protein the works. Patients generally take a stress test, either a regular EKG stress test (walking on a treadmill) or a nuclear stress test, in which radioisotopes are introduced into their bloodstream. A nuclear test allows us to see the blood flow as well as track the hearts rhythm. The amount of time a patient can spend on a treadmill is remarkably predictive of their nearterm prognosis. If a patient can spend 10 minutes on a treadmill thats being gradually elevated, the incidence of a fatal myocardial infarction (heart attack) over the next year is likely close to zero. We do an echocardiogram to establish the size of the heart and check for murmurs. We perform a

In This Issue...
Hitting Initial Targets.............................................. 2 Diet and Exercise, Avoiding Drugs.......................... 3 Case Study: Eternal Vigilance ................................. 4 Can You Change Your Life?.................................... 5 Better Sex, Better Heart Health . ............................ 6 The Ultimate Change.............................................. 7 Ask Dr. Crandall..................................................... 8

carotid ultrasound to look at the thickness of the artery and specifically the intima the lining of the artery. The carotid artery is often a window to what is happening in the heart and the rest of the circulatory system; the thicker the carotid artery, the greater the underlying disease. Why am I telling you all this? Because its the start of the reeducation process, the first and most important step in the battle against heart disease. You will be far more prone to listen to the doctors advice if the tests he cites are meaningful to you. Your doctor should guide you along this path by seeing you regularly. I want to see my patients once a month for the first six months, then once every two months for the next six months, then three times the following year. If your doctor thinks such a schedule is overkill, consider changing physicians. See me in six months doesnt work in the battle against heart disease. Believe me. Counseling is imperative because a cardiac patient goes through an often predictable cycle. At first, he is willing to do just about anything. Over time, though, the patients resistance to change inevitably increases. Unless your doctor is in front of you on a regular basis, your odds of beating heart disease are poor.

Total cholesterol count under 150 HDL cholesterol should be greater than 45 LDL cholesterol should be less than 70  The particle number for LDL should be less than 1,000  LDL should be described as Pattern A, meaning your LDL cholesterol particles are large and buoyant  Triglyceride count less than 150  A fasting glucose, serum (sugar) count between 65 and 99  Body mass index (BMI), the percentage of body weight that comes from fat, should be under 25  Thyroid, C-reactive protein, and homocysteine all within the normal range I try as soon as possible to start using natural substances. Niacin (vitamin B3) is terrific at lowering LDL and boosting HDL. Most significantly, it changes dense, small LDL particles into larger, more buoyant particles that do not embed as easily in arterial lining. Niacin has the unhappy side effect of causing flushing an uncomfortable rush of blood to the face. This feels like breaking out in a sudden heat rash: hot and prickly. For this reason, the patient needs to start with a low dose of niacin, 250 milligrams, and build up the amount slowly. The dosage should be increased by 250 milligrams every three months. Its best to take the dose at night with aspirin, which mitigates the flushing. If you are asleep and experience minor flushing you probably wont even wake up. It usually takes a patient one to two years to arrive at the maximum dosage that can be tolerated. Ideally, Id like to see a patient take between 1,500 and 3,000 milligrams daily, but few can reach this level. Any dosage the patient tolerates is a plus.

Hitting Initial Heart-Healthy Targets

In consultation with your doctor, you should establish and understand the following targets for shooting down heart disease. The numbers are important, but they will be much more useful if you understand the reasoning behind them. (If you dont, talk with your doctor, and keep reading my newsletter.) My general targets are: Blood pressure of 120/80

Dr. Crandalls Heart Health Report is a publication of Newsmax Media, Inc., and Newsmax.com. It is published monthly at a charge of $54.00 per year and is offered online and in print through Newsmax.com. Our editorial ofces are located at 560 Village Blvd., Ste. 120, West Palm Beach, FL 33409. The owner, publisher, and editor are not responsible for errors and omissions. Rights of reproduction and distribution of this newsletter are reserved. Any unauthorized reproduction or distribution of information contained herein, including storage in retrieval systems or posting on the Internet, is expressly forbidden without the consent of Newsmax Media. For permission, contact the publisher at : PO Box 20989, West Palm Beach, FL 33416. CEO Christopher Ruddy Health Publisher Travis Davis Author Chauncey Crandall, M.D. Contributing Editor Harold Fickett Production/Art Director Elizabeth Dole To contact Dr. Crandalls Heart Health Report send e-mail to: askdrcrandall@newsmax.com. Subscription/Customer Service contact 1-800-485-4350 or heartreport@newsmax.com. Send e-mail address changes to heartreport@newsmax.com. 2010 Newsmax Media, all rights reserved. Please note that this advice is generic and not specic to any individual. You should consult with your doctor before undertaking any medical or nutritional course of action.

May 2010

Fish oils (omega- 3 and 6 fatty acids) can provide exceptional benefits to patients who have trouble controlling their triglycerides (another form of fat in the blood). Fish such as salmon, trout, mackerel, and sardines contain large amounts of these fatty acids. For those who want to make sure they get enough fish oil by taking supplements, I recommend 2 grams daily. Some doctors recommend as much as 4 grams. Fish oils are commonly sold in IU units, so youll have to consult the label or ask your provider how many IU units translate into 2 grams. (IU units are based on effect, not weight, and so the number of units in a substance varies with the substance.) Then there are common foods and substances that help reduce cholesterol. Its important to realize, though, that each of these has only a marginal effect. They have nothing like the potency of, say, statin drugs. They should be used only once the patients cholesterol is well under control. Oat bran and oatmeal are good. I start each day with a bowl of cooked oat bran with blueberries. I put a little maple syrup, nutmeg, and cinnamon on top. I prefer this concoction cold and will boil up a batch and save it in the refrigerator for the next two to three days. (If you find this peculiar, so does my wife.) Oat bran and oatmeal work like this: They both bind cholesterol in the small intestine, causing the system to eliminate it rather than reabsorb it into the liver. Red rice yeast has effects similar to statins. Its hard to know, though, whether you are getting the real thing or a counterfeit. Some Chinese producers were found to be heightening its statin-like effects by adding a statin into the mix. Be sure you are buying from a reliable provider. Garlic and vitamin C supplementation also can provide some minor benefit. When first treating my patients for heart disease, however, Im most concerned with getting their cholesterol and blood pressure to target as fast as possible. Although my goal is to get a patient to supplements soon, and eventually off of even
May 2010

supplements, in most cases I start off by prescribing a statin drug, starting with a low dose and increasing it as needed as we track the results of subsequent blood tests. Statins are the most effective means of reducing LDL cholesterol. Some, such as Crestor, also elevate the good HDL cholesterol. They are also vasodilators, meaning they expand the arteries and improve blood flow. Statins, like every medication, carry risks. Im concerned most immediately that my patients dont experience any muscle breakdown from the CPK enzyme and accompanying muscle and joint pain. Usually, these negative side effects can be remedied by switching to another statin. Theres good evidence that a supplement called CoQ10, taken along with a statin, helps alleviate cramping. The biggest worry with statins, however, is that they can impair liver function. Thats unusual, though. (Next months issue will be about statins, and we will get into this in much more detail then.) Standard tests for liver function are needed, of course.

Diet and Exercise Can Help Avoid Drugs

Then, I consider medications to treat high
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About Chauncey Crandall

Chauncey W. Crandall, M.D., F.A.C.C., is chief of the cardiac transplant program at the world-renowned Palm Beach Cardiovascular Clinic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., where he practices interventional, vascular, and transplant cardiology. Dr. Crandall received his post-graduate training at Yale University School of Medicine, where he also completed three years of research in the cardiovascular surgery division. He lectures nationally and internationally on preventive cardiology, cardiological healthcare of the elderly, healing, interventional cardiology, and heart transplants. Known as the Christian physician, Dr. Crandall has been heralded for his values and message of hope to all his heart patients.

Heart Health Case History of the Month

Living Heart-Disease Free Demands Eternal Vigilance

Coronary artery disease and its contributing habits are a stealthy and lethal enemy. Even when we think we have them squarely on our radar, we can fail to recognize the old ways creeping back in and the danger growing. I had a patient come to me at the age of 56. He was an engineer, a scientist, one of the chief ofcers in a biometrics company. His company made facialrecognition devices for security screening and was busy placing state-of-the-art machines in airports and other locations around the world. The patient came in with acute risk factors. His blood pressure was high very high at 170/95. Blood tests revealed that his cholesterol was a whopping 280, with an LDL count of 140. His triglycerides were off the charts. He drank a six pack of beer every night and had the pot belly to prove it. The engineer and his wife were a delightful couple, and they accepted my counsel readily, more quickly, in fact, than any other couple I can recall. The mans scientic bent led him to study the causes of heart disease, much in the way we are doing through this newsletter. He worked out his pathway to health as if it were an engineering problem. He could see that if he changed his caloric intake, eliminated fats from his diet, and began exercising daily, the heart disease equation would begin working in his favor and hed hit our target goals. Also, his wife was a huge advocate on behalf of his health. Although the couple still had children at home, she implemented the plant-based diet I recommended and abided by it as strictly as her husband did. The engineer and his wife became my poster couple. It can be done! I would say to my other patients. Then Id tell them the story of the engineer and his wife. In six months the engineer lost 45 pounds. His blood pressure dropped from 170/95 to 112/73. He reduced his total cholesterol from 280 to 136, with his LDL cholesterol dropping from 140 to 55. His triglycerides were back within the normal range. The engineer was proof positive of the benets of exercise and a heart healthy diet. Exercise is such a powerful force, in fact, that I often wait for two months before prescribing medication for high blood pressure to see what effect exercise alone will have. Dropping 10 pounds provides the same benet as a standard dosage of a blood pressure medication. As the engineer progressed, I was able to take
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him off statins and substitute natural supplements, including niacin and sh oil. His plant-based diet gave his body the chance to cleanse itself of extra fat, not only around the patients waist but within his arteries as well. His improved blood ow allowed him to exercise more actively, which kept improving his blood ow. The engineer even became more mentally sharp and better able to contribute to his increasingly successful business. The fact is, a lot of the mental drop-off that we often attribute to growing older is actually the effect of growing heavier and more sedentary. Both the engineer and his wife looked like they were 25 years younger. They kept to their new way of living for four years.

Dangerous Times
The next year, though, they didnt come in for their follow-up appointments. Even I tended to dismiss this as not being terribly signicant, as I did not want to imagine my best patient ceasing to be a shining example. The following year the engineer and his wife did nd their way back to my ofce, and the engineer was back in sorry shape. What had happened to them? Oddly enough, success happened. Let me explain: The troubled times of the last decade, with global terrorism on the upswing, were driving the engineers business to ever greater heights. Meanwhile, the couples children had grown up and left the house. As empty nesters, the couple felt less need to be accountable. His achievements had tricked the engineer into believing that he was immune to heart disease. He fell back into his old ways, drinking a six-pack a night. He was honest about it, though. The engineer simply said he had failed and needed to get back on the program. I didnt let him off that lightly, though. I pointed out that he was in the business of helping governments recognize terrorism in every far-ung corner of the world. Why couldnt he have recognized the terror that was as close as his next can of beer? It is said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. The price of freedom from heart disease is no less. Once you begin the program, stay on track!
May 2010

Continued from page 3

blood pressure. I often wait three months, until a patients hypertension is no longer acute, to see how much improvement can be brought about through diet and exercise. Losing 10 pounds works as well as or better than a typical dose of a blood pressure medication, for instance. If the patients blood pressure demands it, though, I usually begin slowly with a once-aday medication, typically an ACE inhibitor such as Lisinopril. Over time I may add two more, a beta blocker and a medication from the class of drugs called ARBs. There are other types of blood pressure medications to consider as well. Along with these prescriptions, I ask the patient to cut out stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol, and to reduce salt intake drastically. Cutting the amount of salt consumed demands more than putting down the shaker. Processed foods are loaded with salt. Freshly cooked meals from a diet thats plant-based are a must. For patients who have had cardiac events or have been diagnosed with underlying heart disease, I prescribe a radical six-month, plantbased, oil-free diet. This diet concentrates on eating whole grains, potatoes and other starches, legumes (beans) vegetables, and fruit. Ill expand on the ideal diet in future newsletters. The patient and his or her spouse must prepare to implement it by studying what you can eat, clearing the house of junk food, and restocking the larder with plenty of good food. Its important that you not become too hungry, that you eat good but modest meals three times a day, and choose only healthy snacks. Most patients find my plant-based diet the toughest part to accept of the seven-step plan to reverse heart disease. It works, though. And you have to adhere to it strictly for only six months. Isnt your life worth a six-month change in your eating pattern? Ideally, Id like my patients to restrict themselves to 1,800 calories per day. A plant-based diet makes this easy, as you can eat a lot of food if you cut out dairy, sugar, and oils, which have high calorie counts. As for exercise, I want my patients to

walk, swim, or cycle for one hour a day. Ballroom dancing and tennis are excellent, too. I stress walking more than anything else because beyond age 50 men and women can have trouble maintaining their balance on a bicycle, and jogging or running is hard on the knees, spine, and back. Walking is something most can do for a lifetime. The walking can be varied according to what I call the God formula. Think of how we lived before the industrial era before four wheels came to replace our two feet. Men went out hunting, which was mostly walking. During the hunt, they ran in bursts to close on their prey or jogged at a steady pace while tracking a wounded animal. Then they walked home. We were not created to run hard mile after mile like marathoners. We were created to walk and then run and then walk. I dont want to deny you the exhilaration of running or jogging if you are able; Id just advise you to do this during stretches of a good long walk. When you think about it, the God formula applies equally to my plant-based diet: Throughout human history, most of our ancestors ate a diet that was plant-based. The consumption of meat would have been reserved for times of feasting and it would have been part of a life that was active from sunup to sundown.

Can You Change Your Life? Youd Better ...

Then comes stress. The first key to stress reduction is to realize where you are in life. Most people who are concerned about heart disease are over 50. Women start to go through menopause, and men go through their own version of the
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May 2010

Quick Takes
Better Sex May Mean a Better Heart
Men who have sex at least twice a week are up to 45 percent less likely to have heart disease than men who have sex once a month or less. So says a study conducted on 1,000 men since 1987 by the New England Research Institute. The study tracked the sexual activity of men between ages 40 and 70, checking them at regular points over a 16-year period for both sexual activity and signs of heart disease. Taking into account risk factors such as age, weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, the results showed that the benets of sex could be due to its physical as well as emotional effects. It seems that men with the desire for frequent sexual activity and who are able to engage in it are likely to be healthier. One reason for this might be that men who have frequent sex are more likely to be in a supportive relationship, which improves health through stress reduction. Sex also has a physical activity component that might improve heart health. An earlier study at the National Cancer Institute also showed that men who had sex at least ve times a week were much less likely to get prostate cancer. And a study at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania showed that sex once or twice a week in winter can boost the immune system, reducing the chances of catching colds and u. plenty of time to get healthy before you get into the high-risk years. In other words, stopping smoking, eating right, losing weight, and exercising now can prevent heart disease as you age. Early screening, including blood pressure, pulse, waist circumference, and body mass index (BMI) the amount of weight attributable to fat should be checked every two years. Some other factors to consider: Women over 35 who use contraceptive birth control should consider stopping if they have high cholesterol, uncontrolled high blood pressure, a BMI over 30, or a smoking habit. Older oral contraceptives with high doses of estrogen have been shown to create risk factors for heart disease and to increase the chance of blood clots. Women with histories of irregular menstrual cycles at age 35 have a 50 percent greater chance of eventually having a heart attack, possibly because erratic cycles are frequently linked with obesity. Medication and weight loss can get symptoms under control and should reduce heart risk later in life. It is believed that the correlation between ARB use and decreases in dementia stems from increased blood ow to the brain. The effectiveness of these drugs was even greater among men who used them in conjunction with another blood-pressure treatment called angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.

Work the Heart For a Stronger Brain

Older people should keep their hearts pumping with physical activity in order to protect and even reverse memory problems, according to two recent studies. One study, done by the Mayo Clinic with 1,324 people between 50 and 65, showed that those who reported engaging in moderate physical activity, such as playing golf, swimming, or walking, showed a 39 percent reduction in the odds of developing mild cognitive impairment, and that similar exercise in later life showed a 32 percent reduction in risk. A second study found that moderate physical activity can treat mild cognitive impairment. Researchers at the University of Washington looked at patients with an average age of 70 who were already experiencing cognitive decline. A group of 23 patients was randomly assigned to an aggressive aerobic exercise program, while another 10 did stretching exercises, keeping their heart rates low. A series of tests performed on each group showed improved cognitive function in the highintensity group compared with the stretching group. The tests showed that six months of behavioral intervention involving regular increased heart rate was enough to improve cognitive performance without the risks that come with drug therapies. Keep moving for life!
May 2010

Good for the Heart, Good for the Head

A widely prescribed drug for controlling high blood pressure and heart disease also appears to reduce the risk of Alzheimers and other forms of dementia. Around 36 million people worldwide suffer from some form of dementia, a number that is expected to double over the next two decades. Study patients taking angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were shown to be 19 percent to 24 percent less likely to develop dementia compared with patients taking other drugs. Alzheimers patients who took ARBs were shown to be nearly half as likely to need admission to nursing homes at the end of the study.

Womens Heart Health Begins at 30

Women should begin to take steps while in their 30s if they want to prevent heart disease later in life. Risk factors like smoking, elevated cholesterol, and obesity are usually well-established by that age. Obesity, for instance, triples the odds of a heart attack. Taking care now will leave you
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Continued from page 5

change, often called male menopause. In both cases, hormones decline: estrogen in women and testosterone in men. (Testosterone also declines in women, and the declines have an impact on libido in both sexes.) As a result of these hormonal changes, the fuel that drives the engine of cholesterol control runs low. Muscle mass decreases. These changes often lead to weight gain. Additional pounds and our sedentary lifestyle exacerbate muscle loss a vicious cycle sets in. And, people over 50 simply cannot bounce back from overwork or stressful situations as well as younger folks. You have to begin to adjust your schedule because you cannot go at the same pace you once did. When I played middle linebacker, for instance, I could pick up the front end of a Volkswagen. At 55, I cannot, and I dont expect to for the rest of my life. Its likely youll feel nervous and anxious more. Think of a 14-year-old standing over a three-foot putt to make par. Now imagine yourself in the same situation. Who would you bet on? Even if you are ready to admit you dont suffer from the delusion of invincibility you once had, you might find it hard to think of the ways your schedule might be changed to cut stress. Recently, President Clinton had two stents inserted. His staff spoke of trimming his schedule around the edges. Hed better do more than that. Once again, I find spouses are my greatest allies in helping their mates implement stress reduction. I often ask couples to go away for a long weekend together and make a list of the ways the patient can alter his (or her) lifestyle. A spouse can usually point out how late the patient stays at work, for example. Spouses can also be more candid about a patients drinking and smoking habits. In my own case, I had to give up working until 11:30 p.m. every day. I had to come home at dinnertime in order to have a decent, modest meal, instead of waiting until I was famished then vacuuming up cafeteria food. Working shorter hours decreased my income, but that was a necessary adjustment as part of my recovery program. You must realize that you need a balance in
May 2010

your life between work and recreation. You need to draw closer to your family members and spend more time talking to them. Talking to ones spouse is my No. 1 stress reducer and, for most, the easiest to implement. Take time dedicated time to pray. Concentrate on all the things for which you are grateful. It is impossible to feel stressed when you are feeling grateful. I mean literally impossible: The two emotions are polar opposites. Stressful events inevitably will come to every person and household. But if you modify your schedule, youll be able to handle it better. I find, for instance, that I need to start the day with exercise. The rest of the day is beyond my control and once it starts exercise time seems to go out the window. Some people are at a place in life where they can take a long lunch break. Instead of going out to eat, I recommend that they walk.

The Ultimate Change Is Finding New Purpose

Leisure cannot be an end in itself. Its better understood as re-creation, a time of putting yourself back together in order to return to work. That doesnt necessarily mean slaving away at a stressful, high-powered job. It means working at an appropriate pace for where you are in life. I tell my patients that I dont want them to retire ever. You sit down in that recliner and you start to rot and decay. Get up and move! Youve probably acquired tremendous skills over your lifetime, and these should be employed for others benefit. Dont waste your life and your talents by being sick. As you do this, youll discover that life and human history are not a competition but something of far greater gravity. Life is a war, with a good side and an evil side. Take action on behalf of the good side and youll quickly see where the lines are drawn. And God, whatever you might have thought previously, will become real to you. I guarantee it. Thats the ultimate reversal of heart disease re-making that stony organ inside into flesh again so that it can start pumping.
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Ask Dr. Crandall

Dear Readers, I will try to answer as many questions as I can. However, because of the volume of questions, I cannot answer each letter personally. Please include your full name, city, and state when submitting. If you have a question for me, please e-mail it to: askdrcrandall@newsmax.com. As part of my heart-healthy regimen, Im trying to limit my calories to about 1,800 a day. Sometimes I get so hungry that this becomes very difcult. Do you have any tips for curbing ones appetite? Tom N., Lincoln, Neb.
Your appetite is affected by hunger, thirst, and satiety (feeling full). To avoid overeating, its important to address all three aspects. A successful eating plan should leave you feeling hungry for your next meal but not starving. You can best curb your appetite by not overly stimulating it in the first place. Its important to realize that certain foods increase your appetite and spur cravings. Foods with lots of sugar or highfructose corn syrup briefly satisfy the appetite only to make you hungrier later. Its a good idea, too, to eat healthy, small meals and snacks more frequently every 3 to 4 hours, in fact, so that you wont get famished and then binge. Sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger. Whenever I feel my appetite coming on, I drink a glass of water first. Take a bottle of water with you wherever you go. Go to the grocery store and stock up on healthy snacks like carrots, snap peas, grapes, Clementine oranges, and whole almonds. Then, when you feel hungry, youll have an alternative to unhealthy snacks that will only increase your appetite. Research suggests that those who overeat may have fewer pleasure receptors than those who dont. Research also suggests that this deficit can be compensated for through exercise. Thats right,
Please note: All information presented in Dr. Crandalls Heart Health Report is for informational purposes only. It is not specic medical advice for any individual. All answers to reader questions are provided for informational purposes only. All information presented in Dr. Crandalls Heart Health Report should not be construed as medical consultation or instruction. You should take no action solely on the basis of this publications contents. Readers are advised to consult a health professional about any issue regarding their health and well-being. While the information found in Dr. Crandalls Heart Health Report is believed to be sensible and accurate based on the authors best judgment, readers who fail to seek counsel from appropriate health professionals assume risk of any potential ill effects. The opinions expressed in Dr. Crandalls Heart Health Report do not necessarily reect those of Newsmax Media.
8 May 2010

exercise actually increases the brains capacity to experience pleasure. Finally, get to bed on time. Those who do not get enough sleep are much more likely to be overweight. Research has shown that good shut-eye prevents the disruption of some of the hormones that control appetite.

A friend told me he takes resveratrol as part of keeping his heart healthy. I understand it has antioxidants, like in red wine. Is resveratrol, or red wine for that matter, helpful in preventing heart disease, as my friend claims? Max S., Decatur, Illinois
A glass of red wine per day is recommended by the American Heart Association. It helps boost the levels of good cholesterol (HDL). It also helps reduce blood clot formation and helps prevent artery damage caused by high levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL). Red wine also contains antioxidants called polyphenols that help protect the lining of blood vessels in your heart. Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in red wine as well as in other foods, including grapes, peanuts, blueberries, and cranberries. Research on resveratrol indicates that it could be linked to a reduced risk of inflammation and blood clotting, both of which could lead to heart disease. If you presently drink red wine in moderation, you may be receiving some health benefits, but remember that alcohol intake also has a lot of drawbacks, including increased cancer risk.

To your heart health,