Sally’s Corner Heart Month
Keep up with the beat. It’s Heart Health reminder for February 2017!!
The heart is the most important muscle in the body. It is a muscle that functions and contracts like an arm muscle, or a leg muscle. It never stops beating as we go about our daily lives. Our hearts work hard pushing blood, oxygen and nutrients to the rest of our muscles, tissues and cells so that the body can function as a whole unit. Blood vessels also contract and relax, which helps regulate blood pressure. However, our vessels can get blocked up by accumulating plaque or by a clot, just like your home plumbing system. Here is an explanation of what happens when arteries blood vessels get blocked. Imagine plaque in the arteries being like a scab on the skin that results in a scar. Given this perspective an accumulation of calcium and fatty substances like cholesterol rushing to the site of injury in an attempt to heal the tissue can result in the scab being re-injured and the scab getting bigger blocking the artery and a scar may form again, making the tissue less flexible and therefore less functional.
What does Nutrition have to do with your Heart Health you may ask?
Your diet, lifestyle, supplements and exercise play an enormous part in Heart Health! Getting the right nutrients can ensure that your blood vessels remain healthy and able to recover from injury properly. Here are a few nutrients to help with recovery; Vitamin C, nitric oxide, amino acids, antioxidants and coenzymes Q10. The nutrients that support clotting are the nutrients Vit K , Omega 3’s fatty acids, and VitE.
Salmon your Omega 3’s, or vegetarian Flax oil, polyphenols are helpful in lowing blood pressure. We have Polyphenols Super Foods at our Pharmasave Broadmead location. Avocados are a monounsaturated fat a good fat helping to reduce cholesterol. Blueberries contain anthocyanins an antioxidant that benefits the heart by preventing the build up of plaque in arteries. Nuts and seeds are a great source of Vit E as is wheat germ. Green Tea cholesterol lowering, dark chocolate a soluble fibre, its flavonols can help to reduce blood pressure by relaxing the arteries. Chia seeds have a large amount of the Omega 3’s and it helps with inflammation. Beets contain the phytonutrients betanin , isobetanin and vulgaxanthin which helps in reducing inflammation. B-Complex with extra B12/folate acid iron and minerals all are essential for energy production and cellular metabolism for your heart to function in an alkaline medium of good health.
Nutrients for erratic nerve impulses which can cause arrhythmia’s electrolyte imbalance these minerals are calcium, potassium, sodium, and magnesium.
Last but not least STRESS you guessed it has an enormous effect on heart health. Please be open to exercise, lifestyle changes and bringing genuine love into your life. Take time to regain balance and restore harmony so that your heart may function at an optimal level.
If you have any questions regarding heart health please come by Pharmasave Broadmead location. I would be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have regarding diet supplements and lifestyle changes.
