The Emotional Heart
In the past 600 years, the heart has grown to symbolize more than just an important organ in the body, it is commonly used to express our romantic and emotional thinking. In his book, A History of The Heart, Hoystad talks about being light-hearted, being sick at heart, talking heart to heart, not having the heart to do something or losing our heart. We often associate events as being heartbreaking, broken or crushed and even our learning has heart, as in to 'learn by heart'.
The person most credited with linking St. Valentine with romance (Courtly Love that began in 12th Century France) was the 14th Century poet Geoffrey Chaucer (Canterbury Tales). The heart image appeared about that time too, likely an artist's miss-informed rendering of the organ that has since become the universal symbol we know today; ♥.
Heart Health Month
For the past 60 years, February has also been known as Heart Health Month. Our knowledge of heart function, and its causes of failure, have risen dramatically in just a few generations, and the statistics are grim! Of all deaths in a given year, heart disease and cancer claims 1 in 2 people:
- In 1900, the chances of dying from heart disease was 8%, by 2005 it was 25%
- In 1900, the chances of dying from cancer was 4%, in 2005 it was 23%
Ancient Roman's citizens did not suffer from either heart disease nor cancer in any great numbers for one simple reason, few lived beyond
their 30's! Today, heart disease and cancer (plus stroke) are the modern "gorilla in the room" risks that we should take very seriously.
We live almost 3 times longer than the Romans
Adult life spans have increased thanks in part to the elimination of numerous infectious diseases like Pneumonia (#1 killer in 1900) and Tuberculosis (#2 in 1900), the risks are now organ failure or out of control cellular growths (tumours), and their incidence has increased dramatically
in just the past century due in part to generally poor eating, exercise, sleep and stress related habits plus the impact of increased age.
Factors contributing to coronary heart disease
Cardiovascular system maintenance is essential for health, vitality and the well-being of both body and mind. Our cardiovascular health is continually threatened by cholesterol, triglycerides, hypertension (high blood pressure) and an unhealthy lifestyle.
All of these factors may contribute to coronary heart disease which can lead to a heart attack or stroke and is usually a major cause of disability.
Heart disease occurs when the arteries that supply the heart with blood become hardened by calcification and narrowed by an accumulation of excessive deposits of cholesterol and fat called plaque. When a clot forms due to unstable plaque, blood flow through the artery becomes blocked, resulting in a heart attack with varying degrees of severity.
Nobel Prize Research, Heart Health Breakthrough
In 1998, The Nobel Prize for Physiology was awarded to three researchers, Doctors Robert F. Furchgott, Louis J. Ignarro and Ferid Murad, for their discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signalling molecule in the
cardiovascular system. It was a significant breakthrough!
Because the amino acid arginine is solely responsible for the production of nitric oxide in the body, the research behind the Nobel Prize has enabled us to understand an entirely new level of significance regarding this important nutrient. Therefore, the countless applications of nitric oxide are but a subset of the applications of arginine which include benefits such as:
- Growth Hormone Release
- Increased Immune Function
- Heart Protection
- Blood Pressure Control
- Memory Increase
- Sexual Enhancement
A proactive approach to heart health
Nature's Sunshine has introduced Arginine Plus in Canada. Arginine Plus was formulated in collaboration with leading arginine researchers and cardiovascular specialists who have conducted pioneering research in the proper application of arginine in promoting cardiovascular health.
Each dose contains 6,000 mg of the highest quality L-arginine, which has been validated as a therapeutic agent by thousands of scientific clinical studies and often referred to as the "miracle molecule".
Read more about this wonderful natural health product:
Fact Sheet: 22 Reasons for Arginine Plus with cited research ...
For my USA readers, the same product is called ProArgi-9+. It is distributed
through Synergy Worldwide, a wholly owned company of Nature's Sunshine.
Got questions, please call (905) 855-3000.
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