Dear Friends,

In honor of Valentine's Day, and keeping with our theme of diet and lifestyle, I want to talk this month about the heart of the matter, literally. Our heart! It's so important, and it makes so much sense not to take it for granted.

In addition to standing for Love, our heart symbolizes our soul and our sense of honor. That's why we place our hand upon it when we make a pledge. Our emotions are also centered here, which is why our heartbeat is so readily affected by adrenaline when we are mobilized by fear or by excitement, "Heart health" is usually meant to imply a certain physical well-being, and of course, that is critical. But I also think of it as an emotional and psychological kind of health–spiritual, even– that is poetic and hard to "nail down" to a few dietary recommendations. "Heart health" is a truly deep subject.

When Dr. Dean Ornish treats his coronary patients through his revolutionary method of non surgical lifestyle change, he doesn't just address people's diets and medications. His program embraces meditation and stress reduction, which can lead to a toning of the attitude and a healing of the spirit. All of this is the bigger picture of health that we shouldn't wait until our health is in danger to embrace!

One of the things I have been surprised to learn in my studies of diet and disease-prevention, is that, in this county, heart disease is the number one killer of women as well as of men! In addition, heart disease turns out to be an even greater threat to post-menopausal women than it is to men.

How can we ensure we have a healthy heart?

Here are the six basic things our heart needs:

What are some of the things we can do to ensure our heart gets what it needs to function well?

In addition to stress management and regular exercise, which I've talked about here before and will do soon again, we need to be sure we get the right nutrients. I know you heard this one umpteen times before, too, but it bears repeating, it is so true and important. B Vitamins, particular B-6, B-12, and folic acid, have been shown to lower the blood levels of homocysteine (a byproduct of the amino acid, methionine), which in turns lowers "bad" blood cholesterol. Vitamin C, in classic studies, has been shown to help preserve the innermost lining of the arteries. Other antioxidants (lycopene, beta-carotene, vitamins C and E, and selenium), neutralize the free radicals in your system before they can ravage arterial linings. Calcium and magnesium are believed to lower blood pressure. The list goes on, but I will cut to the chase.

And here is the chase: Everything points to the need to eat more fruits and vegetables! This is no big surprise, but it is just one more validation! For more information, please see "The ABCs of Antioxidants" and read on for some new inspiration.

Mollie