The heart is a remarkable organ that beats around 100,000 times a day. It is only the size of your fist yet supplies every organ and cell in your body with oxygenated blood. Damage to the heart can reduce its pumping power, forcing it to work harder to keep up with the demands of the body. The key to heart health is to live a healthy lifestyle which includes exercise, maintaining a healthy weight, eating antioxidant rich fruits and vegetables, and avoiding things like smoking and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol.
In spite of improved treatment options, heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in the United States and one of the top killers worldwide. Heart disease, or coronary heart disease, occurs when the small blood vessels that supply blood and oxygen to the heart narrow and sometimes harden. Over time, this can cause ruptures, heart attacks and other fatal conditions.
There has been a great deal of misinformation over past decades regarding the causes of heart disease. For awhile, it was thought that saturated fats and cholesterol were the cause. Even healthy foods, like butter and eggs, were blamed. We now know that chronic inflammation is the root cause of heart disease. Certain foods cause inflammation, so, eating in a way that is anti-inflammatory is one of the best ways to mitigate heart disease risk. Here are some tips to help you maximize your hearth health.
Reduce Stress
Chronic stress can affect just about every bodily system including having a negative affect on your heart health. Chronic stress also suppresses the immune system, slows metabolism, stalls digestion, and slows the body’s natural detoxification and cell regeneration functions. Research by the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College of London, suggested that chronic stress predicts the occurrence of coronary heart disease.
So obviously, you want to do what you can to reduce stress for a lot of reasons. This could involve a variety of things like reducing your caffeine intake, getting good sleep, exercising, praying and/or meditating. Find time to do things that bring you job like doing something creative, cooking or spending time with family and pets.
Avoid Inflammatory Foods
Unfortunately, the quickest and easiest foods to eat cause the most inflammation. This includes things that are cooked using highly processed oils like corn, canola and soybean oils. Pasteurized, conventional dairy is also inflammatory. That’s because it contains hormones, antibiotics, and other chemicals. The same it true for conventional meat. Fortunately, the FDA stepped in and has minimized our exposure to trans fats which can include things like margarine, whipped toppings, and solid fats used in cooking. Other foods to avoid to improve your heart health include sugar, sodas, refined carbohydrates (donuts, bagels, pasta, etc.), processed meats, and fried salty snacks.
Eat Anti-oxidant Rich Fruits and Vegetables
2/3 of every plate of food you eat should be vegetables. So that means seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily. The more variety you can eat, the better. Enjoy berries, citrus, peppers and leafy greens. By doing this, you will be ingesting more of fiber. (The goal is 25 grams of fiber.) A blend of soluble and insoluble fiber is best. For soluble fiber, look to foods like flax seeds, oats, lentils, split peas, citrus and apples. Insoluble fibers pass through your body unchanged, feed the good bacteria in your gut, and help to keep things moving. Beans are a great source of insoluble fiber. So think lima, green, pinto, kidney and garbanzo beans. And don’t forget to add healthy herbs, spices, and sprouts to your diet. Finally, I want to mention pomegranates because studies have shown that they can protect against heart disease, boost immunity, lower cholesterol, and lower blood pressure.
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats and animal proteins have a place among other whole foods are important for heath health. When it comes to including healthy fats, high quality saturated fats in the diet help balance the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterols. While some feel that high HDL is best, we know that the ratio is important too
Coconut oil is amazing in that it raises HDL if it’s low and lowers LDL if it’s high. Other foods that may help with the HDL/LDL balance include grass-fed beef, organic non-alkaline cocoa (contains stearic acid), and organic butter from grass fed cows, which contains palmitic acid. Healthy fats can also be found in nuts, seeds, avocados, wild-caught fish, and extra virgin olive oil
Supplements
Ideally, you’ll be getting all the nutrition you need from the foods you eat. But if you’re traveling or there are other limitations to getting plentiful organic healthy foods, you may way to add supplements to your routine to maximize your heart health. Some supplements that support a healthy heart include Vitamins C, D, and E, selenium, coenzyme Q10, curcumin (turmeric), garlic and omega-3 fats. LabDoor.com is a good place to check for testing and reviews on the most popular supplements. Although there are many physician grade and high quality smaller manufacturer supplements that are just as good, or maybe even better.
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