CHESTERFIELD, MO--(Marketwire - January 25, 2011) - Heart disease claims more lives each year than cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases and accidents combined, according to the American Heart Association. Reliv International, a producer of nutritional supplements that promote optimal health, is urging everyone to celebrate American Heart Month this February by making some straightforward lifestyle changes that may help prevent many of these deaths.
"Heart attacks claim 8.5 million lives each year in the U.S.," said Dr. Carl Hastings, chief scientific officer of Reliv International. "But the American Heart Association says that by following what it calls 'Life's Simple 7', individuals can improve their heart health. The following are the heart association's seven actions."
- Manage blood pressure
- Control cholesterol
- Get active and exercise
- Eat better
- Lose weight
- Reduce blood sugar
- Stop smoking
But taking those seven actions may be more difficult than it sounds.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), through its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, says that controlling four of these characteristics is key to a healthy lifestyle: Don't smoke, maintain a healthy weight, eat the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and engage in regular physical activity. Unfortunately, the CDC's research finds that only three percent of Americans incorporate all four of these characteristics into their daily life.
"When schedules and demands of family and work get in the way of a proper diet and regular exercise, supplements can help," said Dr. Hastings. As an example, he cites Reliv's CardioSentials®, a phytosterol-based product that can help reduce bad cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing good cholesterol, and FibRestore®, a fiber-rich supplement that can help adults reach their daily recommended fiber intake of 20-35 grams. Fiber lowers the risk of heart disease by helping to reduce cholesterol and control high blood pressure, according to Dr. Hastings.
"While a family history of heart disease should make you even more vigilant," said Dr. Hastings, "you should take steps to keep yourself heart-healthy even if there is no family history of heart disease. If you take the CDC's healthy lifestyle guidelines and the American Heart Association's Simple 7 to heart -- literally -- chances are you'll be celebrating your healthy heart during American Heart Month for years to come."
For more information about Reliv International and more healthy lifestyle tips, please visit http://www.reliv.com.
About Reliv International
Reliv International, Inc., based in Chesterfield, Mo., is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of a proprietary line of nutritional supplements. Reliv supplements address essential daily nutrition, weight loss and targeted solutions, such as energy and performance enhancement, digestive health, women's health and anti-aging. Reliv sells its products through an international network marketing system of approximately 62,000 independent distributors. Additional information about Reliv International, Inc. can be obtained at www.reliv.com or on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.