Kashi Gets to the Heart of It

About Heart Disease

• Coronary heart disease (CHD), including heart attack, is the single largest killer of Americans, both men and women
• About every 29 seconds an American will suffer a coronary attack, and every minute someone will die from one
• 12.9 million Americans have CHD
• In 2000, CHD killed 681,000 people in the United States
• 47 percent of the people who experience a coronary attack in a given year will die from it
• Women are almost as likely as men to have CHD
• Almost half of men and women under age 65 who have a heart attack die within 8 years
• 15 percent of people who die from CHD are under age 65
• CHD rates in women after menopause are 2-3 times those of women the same age before menopause
• The lifetime risk of developing CHD after age 40 is 49 percent for men and 32 percent for women
• A 10 percent decrease in total cholesterol levels may result in an estimated 30 percent reduction in the incidence of CHD
• Nearly 20 percent of American adults age 20-74 have high serum cholesterol levels (more)

Kashi Heart to Heart®

has been formulated to provide health benefits beyond the normal nutritional scope of everyday foods. It contains high levels of fiber, antioxidants and B Vitamins to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and improve overall heart health. Here’s how they work:

Fiber and Oats

• Three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods may reduce the risk of heart disease
• Soluble fiber combines with water and forms a gel in the digestive track and binds with cholesterol, reducing its reabsorption, which may lower the risk of cholesterol build-up
• Oats not only reduce cholesterol, but may lower blood pressure too (Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 1999)
• One serving of Heart to Heart cereal provides 1g of soluble fiber from oats

Antioxidants (found in lycopene, grape seed extract, green tea, Vitamins C & E)

• Antioxidants assist the body’s defense against oxidation, damage caused by excess free radicals, the byproducts of normal cell metabolism
• Lycopene is the most potent antioxidant in the carotenoid family, which includes Vitamin A/beta carotene; the level of lycopene in one serving of Heart to Heart is equivalent of eating one medium size tomato
• Women with the highest intake of lycopene had 33 percent less risk of heart disease than women with lower levels of lycopene
• High intakes of beta carotene or high blood concentrations of this nutrient have been shown to reduce risk of various diseases, including cancer and heart disease

Grape seed extract

• Grape seed extract contains antioxidants called bioflavonoids that may help protect the body against the build up of fatty deposits on blood vessel walls
• The level of grape seed extract in one serving of Heart to Heart is equal to the antioxidant benefits gained from eating nearly a pound of grapes

Green tea

• Polyphenols, antioxidants found in green tea, have potent free radical neutralizing properties
• One serving of Heart to Heart is formulated with 100 mg of decaffeinated green tea

Vitamins C and E

• Vitamin C assists in the body’s own collagen production, which keeps artery walls smooth, and it regenerates Vitamin E
• Vitamin E reduced fatal heart attacks by 77 percent in heart patients
• One serving of Heart to Heart cereal provides 100 percent of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) for Vitamin E and 50 percent of the RDI for Vitamin C

Homocysteine (High blood homocysteine levels more than five-fold increase chances for a stroke)

• Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid are essential to the breakdown of homocysteine, a byproduct of protein metabolism
• B vitamins, including Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid, reduced repeat artery narrowing after angioplasty by 48 percent8
• Hostility and stress increase homocysteine levels9
• Heart to Heart contains 100 percent of the recommended daily allowance for Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid

Source: Kashi.