The heart never sleeps, and to ensure it serves us well throughout our lifetime there are a few simple daily steps we can all observe: stop smoking, reduce stress, increase activity levels, cut down/out junk food, red meat and alcohol.
The first and most important step is don’t smoke. There are many very effective paths to smoking cessation, so there will be one for you. Smoking replaces oxygen with poisonous carbon monoxide in your red blood cells, making the heart work harder with every puff. Along with the added stress of this situation, you also inhale a multitude of toxic chemicals with each cigarette all of which leads to excess toxic by-products of metabolism. Increase your consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables; ‘5 a day’ is the absolute minimum, and frozen will do just as nicely, but please pay especial attention to getting antioxidants such as vitamin C, from berries and citrus fruit.
As we age our blood vessels naturally become less pliable which has implications for blood pressure and risk of stroke. These blood vessels are covered in a layer of smooth muscle which facilitates a steady blood supply to all tissues concerned through constant contraction and relaxation. The minerals necessary for efficient function of that muscle are magnesium, calcium and potassium, which we can get in green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale or chard. If you struggle with veggies consider a green smoothie such as spinach, parsley, pineapple and lemon juice with avocado. Essential fats will also help to optimise the structure of those cells ensuring that oxygen and nutrients are exchanged efficiently and that intercellular messengers can relay their information. These fats can be found in avocado, chia seeds, flax or linseed, and oily fish such as mackerel or salmon.
A very important component to heart health that is frequently over-looked is to ‘get happy’. However you do it, whether though family, friends, meditation or prayer, a sense of purpose in life is invaluable to a happy and healthy heart.
By Nutritional Therapist Georgie O’Connor for the College of Naturopathic Medicine.
