So what would a typical day's diet on such a pattern look like?

Breakfast
Nut/seed and dried­fruit mixture, plus live low­fat yogurt, or Wholegrain cereal plus (live) low­fat yogurt, or
Oatmeal porridge, or
Wholemeal toast with vegetarian margarine and sugarless jam
Fresh fruit
Egg (alternate days)
Drink of herbal tea (unsweetened)

Mid ­morning/afternoon
Herbal tea or fresh fruit or handful of seeds and fresh nuts

Lunch/supper
One of these meals could comprise game, poultry or fish, plus a variety of fresh vegetables and a side salad, plus wholemeal bread and fresh fruit.
The other meal could include pasta (wholemeal) or rice with homemade tomato sauce, or
A rice and pulse (lentil, etc.) dish, plus stir­fried vegetables, or
A mixed salad with jacket potato and low­fat cheese, etc. For dessert, fresh fruit or low­fat yogurt.

Imagination and some effort are all that limit the application of this type of eating pattern with its attendant benefits to cardiovascular health.

There are a number of areas which we should consider if we wish to improve cardiovascular status via supplementation. One involves antioxidant (anti­free radical) activity and another the balancing and normalizing of any imbalances in mineral status (potassium/sodium or calcium/magnesium, for example). There is also the way in which some supplemented substances (such as the enzyme derived from the pineapple plant ­ bromelaine) can specifically reduce platelet adhesiveness, as well as very important protective effects from certain of the individual amino acids (building blocks of protein) which have recently been researched.

• The anti­oxidant vitamins, minerals, enzymes and amino acids are all capable of being supplemented in order to improve the deactivation of free radical activity and the detoxification of heavy metals and other toxins. Research evidence abounds as to the relative protection of cardiovascular function (and general health) achieved when these factors are in good supply in the diet, whether through food or as added extras in the form of nutritional supplements.

  Without analysing the particular ways in which these act (see Chapter 4 on free radicals) these can best be taken in combinations such as vitamins A, C, E and the mineral selenium. If taken individually, daily doses which can give antioxidant protection are:

  Beta carotene (which the body turns into vitamin A) 50,000 IU
  Vitamin C 1­3 grams
  Vitamin E 200­400 IU
  Selenium 200 micrograms
  Cysteine (amino acid) 1.5 grams

  As an additional background aid the taking of a modest level of the B­complex group of vitamins is suggested. Find a formulation which provides not less than 25 milligrams each of the major B vitamins (thiamine, pyridoxine, etc.) and if you are a big meat eater take in addition (at a separate time of day to the B­complex) 100 milligrams of pyridoxine (B6) to help protect the arteries from damage from breakdown products of the high­protein intake.

• Balancing minerals status is an individual matter, depending very much on what imbalances are present. A general 'insurance' supplement of calcium/magnesium containing twice as much calcium as magnesium is usually suggested (1 gram calcium/0.5 gram magnesium)

  In addition a general mineral supplement which contains zinc (around 20 milligrams), manganese (20 milligrams), potassium (100 milligrams), chromium (200 micrograms) and molybdenum (100 micrograms), but no iron or copper is suggested.

  Many authorities advocate magnesium supplementation on its own (i.e., without additional calcium) at doses of up to 800 milligrams daily, especially for those with ischaemic heart disease (angina symptoms). Magnesium is frequently given intraveneously for people severely compromised by angina­type symptoms during the course of chelation therapy.

• Oil of evening primrose (500­1000 milligrams daily) supplies essential fatty acids and becomes increasingly important as we get older. Of course if enough linseed (ideal addition to breakfast cereal) or purslane (delicious on salad) is eaten, supplementation is unnecessary. The all­important eicosapentenoic acid derived from cold­water fish is a useful aid to cardiovascular health (3­6 EPA capsules) and should be taken unless the individual is a vegetarian or eats a good deal (twice weekly) of appropriate fish.

  The pineapple plant extract bromelaine is also useful for similar purposes in doses of up to 1000 milligrams daily.

  For those who do not enjoy eating garlic, the oil of this amazing bulb can be taken in capsule form ad lib.

  Even more powerful at reducing platelet aggregation is ginger (Zingebar officinale) and if it is difficult to incorporate this into the diet in any quantity, it too can be found in capsule form (dried powdered ginger).

• Two amino acids have been shown to have remarkable abilities to assist cardiovascular function:

  1. Carnitine: needed more by men than women, this has been shown to assist enormously in conditions such as intermittent claudication and as a protector against myocardial infarction. It also has the ability to mobilize and remove fat deposits. People who have had an infarction have been shown to have a gross deficiency of this amino acid in the muscles of the heart itself.

  For best absorption supplementation of individual amino acids is always taken away from meal times, with water only and perhaps a small quantity of carbohydrate (e.g., a bite of bread). Doses are usually between 1 and 1.5 grams daily, in two or three divided doses.

  2. Taurine: this too is usually deficient in cardiac tissue when a crisis occurs. It has the ability to 'spare' potassium which is absolutely vital to normal cardiovascular function. Another feature of taurine's function is its ability to keep cholesterol soluble in the bile, thus aiding in its elimination. It can usefully be supplemented in cases of intermittent claudication and cardiovascular distress in doses of between 0.5 and 1 gram daily (away from meal times and any other amino acids).

• Methionine is used to help detoxify heavy metals and is a powerful antioxidant. The body can make either taurine or carnitine out of methionine and this makes it a useful general supplement. People who develop atherosclerosis are commonly found to have low levels of methionine in the bloodstream. Doses of .5 to I gram daily are suggested for general protection (away from meal times and other amino acids).

There can be few people in our society who are not at least slightly aware of aerobic exercise, although it is clear that not too many actually understand what it is all about.

Dr Kenneth Cooper, the American physician who developed the system, conceived of being able to teach anyone, starting from a point of any degree of fitness or unfitness, to exercise safely in such a way as to be able to achieve a steadily increasing degree of enhanced cardiovascular and respiratory function.

Obviously no one who has cardiovascular disease should start aerobic activity without an all­clear from their medical adviser, but the work of both Cooper (1980) and Nathan Pritikin (1980) has demonstrated beyond doubt that almost no matter how advanced the damage there remains something that can be done via exercise to improve matters. The beginner may well need to be under supervision and guidance, since it is essential to learn to monitor the effects on the heart rate of whatever form of exercise is being performed. True aerobic exercise demands that a basic level of increased heart (pulse) rate be achieved and that this be maintained for not less than 20 (ideally 30) minutes three times weekly with no more than a day between such efforts. It is equally essential that an upper 'safe' limit be established beyond which there would be danger of straining the heart.

As Colin Goodliffe (1987) explains:

The heart has a maximum level of activity and output which it would be dangerous to exceed. This is the upper limit of the range which must be achieved in cardiovascular exercise. There is also a level of heart effort which it is necessary to reach, if any good at all is to be achieved and this is the lower level of the heart rate which must be aimed for during exercise.

We will explain how to discover what these two figures are for you later in this chapter. First, however, it is important that we establish the aerobic/chelation connection.

Excercise helps chelation

In Chapter 2 we saw that chelation processes are continuous throughout life and are an essential part of most body processes. When the muscles work they produce lactic acid as a breakdown product and lactic acid is almost as powerful a chelating agent as acetic acid. As long as strong and rapid muscular activity is continuing, so will lactic acid continue to circulate in high quantities, chelating undesirable substances all the while.

Dr Johan Bjorksten (1974) explains:

Lactic acid is not as effective as EDTA in its speed but given enough time to act it seems comparable in total removal of chelatable metals. It [lactic acid] is a fair to good chelating agent which is present in almost double quantities during the time of moderate muscular exertion, and which declines to normal levels abruptly in a few minutes upon cessation of the muscular action.

Sustained exercise patterns (walking, jogging, running, skiing, swimming, etc.) are therefore seen to offer this natural chelation benefit. Bjorksten sees this as providing a basis for increased longevity, while Walker and Gordon (1982) make the important point that: 'the duration of muscular exertion is more important than its intensity in order to achieve a chelating effect from exercise'