Cardiovascular diseases are one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. and other countries. This saddens me. So many of the heart challenges we have today are both preventable and treatable. Taking care of the various aspects of cardiovascular health of which we have control isn’t that hard and should be considered a no-brainer.
Most people, when considering heart disease, only think of cholesterol and heart attacks. But you can have problems with the vessels, such as peripheral vascular disease, rheumatic heart disease, stroke, heart attack, deep vein thrombosis, coronary artery disease (narrowing) and aorta disease. Also, in a similar vein, valve weaknesses and incompetencies. You can have problems with the muscle, resulting in congestive heart failure – CHF (either from over-stretched heart muscle or thickened heart muscle), rheumatic heart disease damage, and cardiomyopathy (diseased muscle which may include CHF as above or result from viral or bacterial infection). Pericardial disease (protective sac that surrounds the heart) is in its own category. Congenital heart disease is in the category that we work to keep it under control as much as possible. Complex congenital heart disease children didn’t used to survive to be adults, but as more and more are now, there is a new field of cardiac medicine that specializes in this field. As all other heart disease is acquired, meaning it developed after birth, and we have control over its expression, congenital heart disease is treated entirely differently and deserves its own specialist physician.
Nutrition is one of the most obvious ways we can control heart health. In fact, the heart is the most sensitive to nutritional changes in the body. Nutrition can be used in both acquired and congenital heart disease.
Diets high in healthy fats and low in fried or hydrogenated, vegetable or grain oil fats is really important. In fact, there is supposed to be a healthy layer of fat around the heart itself to protect it. But the type of fat consumed can make a world of difference in the health of the heart.
Dietary minerals – minerals specifically from plants – are essential in heart health. They control the rhythm and rate of the heartbeat, they are necessary for proper contractility of the heart, including regulating blood pressure. Vitamins such as Vitamin D and especially Vitamin B are crucial for muscle and valvular tone and blood pressure regulation.
Just as important as including heart healthy nutrients, is avoiding heart weakening consumables. Sugar, as it tends to strip vitamins and minerals from the body absolutely needs to be avoided. Coffee/caffeine, alcohol (a super-refined sugar), and bad fats lead the list of heart-destroying consumables.
Beyond all that, there is so much we can do to help our cardiovascular system. To learn more, join us for our upcoming webinar, How to Improve Cardiovascular Health Naturally, Wednesday, Feb. 10th 7:30pm. Register here: https://bit.ly/Cardio2021
©2021 Holly A. Carling, O.M.D., L.Ac., Ph.D.
