Dr. Gyan Arscott speaks to visitors at a previous Forever Young Expo at the Hilton Kingston hotel.

Heart health, hypertension and nutrition and their impact on lifestyle diseases are critical health issues in Jamaica. Each year, 56 per cent of deaths can be laid at the door of chronic diseases including cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity and cancer, according to the Ministry of Health's National Policy for the Promotion of Healthy Lifestyles in Jamaica.

Further, about 30 per cent men and 60 per cent of Jamaican women are obese and overweight. Women are also strongly at risk for heart disease though the popular thinking is that heart disease is primarily a man's disease.

Come March 31- April 1, these issues and more will have the spotlight focused on them at Forever Young, A Health, Nutrition and Rejuvenation Expo to be held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel.

In what is being billed as matters of the heart, well-known consultant physician, Dr. Knox Hagley, will talk about 'Achieving the Heart Healthy Lifestyle'; Dr. Sandra Swaby, GP, will look at several aspects of hypertension, including its impact on heart disease, and Dr. Wendel Abel, consultant psychiatrist will take on another aspect of heart health with a discussion on 'How To Turn the Top Five Relationship Breakers into Makers'.

Intended to promote healthy lifestyles through informed choices, the Forever Young Expo is in its third year and will this year focus attention on nutrition in both a seminar and via its Wellness Pavilion, sponsored by the National Health Fund. Rosalee Brown, nutritionist and dietician, will demystify labels while the Wellness Pavilion will focus on nutrition, the organisers say. In total, Forever Young will offer nine seminars and three shows plus a slew of rejuvenation services over the two days of the event.

Ribena & Vitamin C

Ribena is healthy, nutritious and provides you with a valuable source of vitamin C.

Blackcurrants in Ribena contain nearly four times the vitamin C of oranges and each serving of Ribena syrup provides at least a full day's vitamin C requirement (100% of the recommended daily allowance) Ribena contains no artificial flavours, colours or sweeteners.

Most of us need to take vitamin C regularly, because we can't store it in our bodies in appreciable amounts. A normal balanced diet should provide for our daily needs, but there are times when we need more - and in any case, vitamin C is easily destroyed during food storage, preparation and cooking.

Active teenagers, growing children and expectant mothers can all benefit from extra supplies of vitamin C to, for example, help build strong bones and good teeth. And many people now accept that vitamin C is important in the immune system, to help build up your resistance and fight off bacteria and viruses.

As you can see, vitamin C is the business.