What supplements are good for the heart

American Heart Association Recommendation

We recommend that healthy people get adequate nutrients by eating a variety of foods in moderation, rather than by taking supplements. An exception for omega-3 fatty acid supplements is explained below.

The Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) published by the National Research Council are the best available estimates of safe and adequate dietary intakes. Almost any nutrient can be potentially toxic if eaten in large quantities over a long time. Interactions between dietary supplements and prescription drugs and among several dietary supplements taken at the same time may occur. Too much iron can increase the risk of chronic disease, and too much vitamin A can cause birth defects.

There aren’t sufficient data to suggest that healthy people benefit by taking certain vitamin or mineral supplements in excess of the RDAs. While some observational studies have suggested that lower rates of cardiovascular disease and/or lower risk factor levels result in populations who use vitamin or mineral supplements, it isn’t clear if this is due to the supplements. For example, supplement users may be less overweight and more physically active.

Moreover, vitamin or mineral supplements aren’t a substitute for a balanced, nutritious diet that limits excess calories, saturated fat, trans fat and dietary cholesterol. This dietary approach has been shown to reduce coronary heart disease risk in both healthy people and those with coronary disease.

What about antioxidant vitamins?

Many people are interested in antioxidant vitamins (A, C and E). This is due to suggestions from large observational studies comparing healthy adults consuming large amounts of these vitamins with those who didn’t. However, these observations are subject to bias and don’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship. Scientific evidence does not suggest that consuming antioxidant vitamins can eliminate the need to reduce blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol or stop smoking cigarettes. Clinical trials are under way to find out whether increased vitamin antioxidant intake may have an overall benefit. However, a recent large, placebo-controlled, randomized study failed to show any benefit from vitamin E on heart disease.

What about omega-3 fatty acid supplements?

Epidemiologic and clinical trials have shown that omega-3 fatty acids reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Healthy people, people at high risk of CVD and patients with preexisting CVD all benefit. We recommend including omega-3 fatty acids in the diet mainly from fish and plant sources.

However, some people with high triglycerides (blood fats) and patients with CVD may benefit from more omega-3 fatty acids than they can easily get from diet alone. These people should talk to their doctor about taking supplements to reduce heart disease risk. (See the “Fish Oil and Omega-3 Fatty Acids” entry in this guide for more details.)

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Make This Your Year: Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

Most people drop their New Year Resolution to get in shape within 4 weeks. However, this does not need to be your case.

The secret to keeping your New Year Resolutions has everything to do with having the right mind set and using proper goal setting techniques. With the wrong mind set and without goal setting techniques it is very easy to drop your bodybuilding plan and go back to old habits.

However, when you combine the right mind set with the correct goal setting techniques the sky is the limit! Here are some resources that I'd like you to take a look at in order to ensure that this year you reach your bodybuilding goals!

• The Mindset of a Successful Bodybuilder 
• The Power of Goal Setting
• The Importance of Intentions and Goals for Achieving Results Out of Your Bodybuilding Program
• Ten Bodybuilding Rules That Will Help You To Achieve Bodybuilding Success

Make This Your Year: Keep Your New Year's Resolutions originally appeared on About.com Bodybuilding on Friday, January 8th, 2010 at 09:19:49.

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Keeping a training journal is a great tool for achieving your bodybuilding goals!  Recording your bodybuilding routines is great not only for accountability, planning, and motivation, but it also helps you to see where you are and where you have been. 

Imagine if you follow a program, get in the best shape of your life, and then you don't remember how you got there.  Could you imagine how you would feel if for whatever reason you lose your shape and then do not know how to get back to it?  In addition, a training log allows you to easily see where your progress is going.  Are you gaining strength?  Are you losing body fat?  All of these items can be easily looked at when you keep a training log. 

Finally, a log allows you to troubleshoot the program if your progress is not moving forward.  If you keep detailed accounts of your workouts and bodybuilding diet plan, if you are losing strength and you notice in your training log that you have been consistently missing a meal or two each day, then you know what the fix to the problem is. 

The Importance of a Training Journal for Bodybuilding Success originally appeared on About.com Bodybuilding on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 22:05:04.

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Working Out with the Best Supplements