Michael D. Ozner, M.D. is a board certified cardiologist, a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, Medical Director of Wellness and Prevention at Baptist Hospital of Miami and a well known regional and national speaker in the field of preventative cardiology. He is a nationally renowned pioneer and advocate of Preventive Cardiology and medical director for the Cardiovascular Prevention Institute of South Florida.

Dr. Ozner's most recent book is The Great American Heart Hoax: Lifesaving Advice Your Doctor Should Tell You About Heart Disease Prevention (But Probably Never Will!) (BenBella, Dec. 2008). He is also author of The Miami Mediterranean Diet ( BenBella Books, 2008), which has sold more than 100,000 copies.

Michael Ozner--

 For the past three decades, I have been helping my heart patients turn their health around by making small diet and lifestyle changes. Here are nine New Year's resolutions that will make a big difference in how you look and feel. Experience has shown me that resolutions like these are easy to keep because they don't involve deprivation, radical behavior changes, or disruption of your normal routine.

1. Change your fats. Substitute butter and margarine with olive oil and trans-fat-free vegetable spread. If you love dairy, change from ice cream to ice milk, and choose fat-free cheese and yogurt.

2. Go nuts. Eat a handful of walnuts, pumpkin seeds, or almonds every day. These wonder foods are rich in protein, fiber, omega-3, and vitamins that lower cholesterol and reduce your risk for coronary heart disease.

3. Tea up on the green. Have a cup of hot green tea every day or a glass of chilled, brewed green tea. Green tea is rich in antioxidants and chemicals found to reduce the risk of diabetes, gallstones, kidney stones, heart disease, and cancer. It also contains a potent antioxidant that lowers bad cholesterol, inhibits blood clot formation, inhibits the growth of cancer cells, aids in weight loss, and even helps prevent dental plaque.

4. Get off the HFCS. Eliminate high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) from your diet. It's not utilized by the muscles as an energy source. Instead, it goes directly to the liver and leads to an increase in triglyceride production. The average American consumes 73.5 pounds of HFCS a year. By avoiding HFCS, you will also be avoiding many of the most harmful junk and chemical food products.

5. Cinnamon up. Ground cinnamon contains essential oils and other active substances that provide it with health-boosting properties. Just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon a day: acts as an anti-coagulant, preventing blood from forming heart-attack-causing clots; offers anti-inflammatory properties, which can benefit people suffering from such conditions as heart disease, arthritis, and Alzheimer's; enhances the ability of diabetics to metabolize sugar; and may improve brain activity.

6. Lower your cholesterol--naturally. To lower your cholesterol without having to take medications, focus on the first five tips, and then eat lots of the following foods, which are the best ones for reducing bad (LDL) cholesterol and raising good cholesterol (HDL): fresh fruits and vegetables, oats and oat bran, olive oil, almonds and walnuts, beans, coldwater fish, red wine or unsweetened cranberry juice, cinnamon, and plant sterol and stanol spreads.

7. Refill your salt shaker. Forget table salt; it contains sodium, which increases your risk of high blood pressure, stroke, and heart attack. Instead, fill a salt shaker with equal parts potassium salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper. Your heart will thank you.

8. Use numbers, not time. People get fixated on the idea of 30 minutes of exercise a day--and then develop a resistance to it. Instead, commit to burning 150 or more calories a day doing anything. Type a phrase such as "activity calorie calculator" into your search engine to find websites that help you figure out how long you need to play billiards, walk, play the accordion, rake leaves, or do any other activity, based on your current weight, in order to burn 150 calories. You never have to be bored with exercise again.Print out a list of 150-calorie activities and add one a day to your normal routine.

9. Manage your stress. Stress is the "hidden" risk factor for heart disease and many other serious conditions--the one people forget about and doctors don't often address. Find a quiet place in your home or office where you can sit comfortably, undisturbed for 10 to 20 minutes. Close your eyes and try to relax every tense muscle. Breathe deeply while silently chanting a word (such as peace) with each breath in and out in a natural and rhythmic way. Other proven stress-reducing tools: napping, self-hypnosis, meditation, yoga, exercise, relationships, hobbies, prayer, laughter, and music.

The Ozner 10-Step Heart Disease Prevention Program