Every second of every minute of your life, your heart is going to beat. The force of this vital pump pushes blood, carrying its payload of oxygen and nutrients, to every one of your tissues and organs and the cells that comprise them. Ultimately, the blood returns to the heart, where the process repeats. Each day the human heart beats about 100,000 times and pumps up to 5,000 gallons of fluid. In an average lifetime, the heart will beat 2.5 billion times and pump 146 million gallons of blood. That’s a lot of work!
The function of the heart is absolutely critical to every other part of your body – including your brain. Everything functions better when the heart works as it should. Unfortunately, millions of people operate at a deficit and are at risk of dying too soon from damage to the heart and blood vessels. Cardiovascular diseases – heart attacks and strokes – are the leading cause of premature death in this country, accounting for more than 30% of all deaths in the United States.
Here’s the very good news: Heart disease can be prevented. What’s more, prevention doesn’t require costly drugs or dangerous medical procedures. You can tune up your heart through simple but effective natural methods – diet, lifestyle, attitude, and proper supplementation. For natural approaches to promoting heart health, please consult The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine.
