Improve Your Heart Health

Every day your heart beats, on average, more than 100,000 times. Unfortunately the more weight you are carrying, the harder that pump has to work.  This will cause health problems over time.

Coronary heart disease (CHD) usually causes chest pain because the heart is not getting enough oxygen.  This pain varies from person to person.

Other types of symptoms can include the feeling of a “heaviness” or like someone is squeezing your heart, pains or numbness in your chest, neck, arms, stomach or upper back, shortness of breath and fatigue with activity as well as general weakness.

CHD is a result of inflammation forming a build-up of plaque that accumulates within the walls of your arteries.  This plaque will cause a reduction in blood flow that can slow down or stop your heart beating.

Inflammation and heart disease symptoms are linked to free radical damage (oxidative stress) and antioxidant levels in the body.

Research has shown that losing even a moderate amount of weight can greatly improve heart and vascular health, boost heart function and lower blood pressure. With proper diet, exercise and education, you can start being proactive about your heart health.  Lifestyle and dietary changes can slow, stop or reverse the build-up of this plaque.

 

Here are some tips:

Eat unprocessed saturated animal fats like; Avocados, butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk, raw dairy, organic pastured egg yolks, grass-fed meats, coconuts and coconut oil, unheated organic nut oils, raw nuts, such as almonds, pecans, macadamia, and seeds.  Many may also benefit from increasing the healthy fat in their diet.

Avoid all sugars, including processed fructose and grains if you are insulin and leptin resistant. It does not matter if they are conventional or organic, as a high-sugar diet promotes insulin and leptin resistance, which is a primary driver of heart disease

Exercise regularly, as physical activity along with a healthy diet of whole, preferably organic, foods may be just as potent, if not more so than cholesterol-lowering drugs. Use a combination of high-intensity interval training, strength training, stretching, and core work.

Avoid excess sitting; aim for three hours a day or less of sitting and try to take 10,000 steps a day, on top of your daily exercise.

Avoid statins, as the side effects of these drugs are numerous, while the benefits are debatable. Typically, the only group of people who may benefit from a cholesterol-lowering medication are those with genetic familial hypercholesterolemia. This is a condition characterized by abnormally high cholesterol, which tend to be resistant to lifestyle strategies like diet and exercise

Optimise your vitamin D levels, either through appropriate sun exposure, a tanning bed, or as last resort an oral vitamin D3 supplement.

Optimise your vitamin C levels.  Eat plenty of sweet peppers, chili peppers, brussels sprouts, broccoli, artichoke, sweet potato, tomato, cauliflower, kale, papaya, strawberries, oranges, kiwi, grapefruit and cantaloupe melon or take a good quality supplement.

Regularly walk barefoot to ground with the earth. When you do, free electrons are transferred from the earth into your body and this grounding effect is one of the most potent antioxidants we know of and helps alleviate inflammation throughout your body.

Optimise your magnesium levels as insufficient magnesium tends to trigger muscle spasms and this has consequences for your heart, especially if you have excessive calcium, as calcium causes muscle contractions.  Vegetables rich in magnesium are spinach, swiss chard, turnip greens, beet greens, collard greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy and romaine lettuce.  Other foods rich in magnesium include raw cacao nibs/unsweetened cocoa, avocados, seeds and nuts, fatty fish, squash, coriander, chives, cumin seed, parsley, mustard seeds, fennel, basil, cloves, papaya, raspberries, tomato, cantaloupe, strawberries and watermelon.  You can also use magnesium oil on your body or Epsom salts in your bath for supplementation. We sell this on our facebook site.

Manage your daily stress. Learn to meditate, take time out for a walk outside, read a book.  Find something that works for you.

Stop smoking.  Join a group to stop smoking.  Research shows that a support system will improve your results.

Reduce your alcohol intake. Red wine, in moderation has been shown to help improve help because of the anti-oxidant Resveratrol.

 

I hope I have given you food for thought (pun intended).

Please get in touch if you want more information, help and support to improve your heart health.  Use the box below.