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I hope you had a happy Valentine's day! While our attention is on the heart this month, here are some tips for keeping your heart healthy. Some of them may surprise you! Read on below...
These newsletters will help you make better choices for better health. The choices that you make today can either have a positive or negative impact on your overall health. Begin by choosing better. It is a step toward longevity.
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How to Keep your Heart Healthy
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A healthy lifestyle will keep your heart healthier. You may find it easier to take some small steps rather than trying to make more major changes - it's always better to start somewhere than do nothing. Here are some small steps that will help you get started:
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Take a 10 minute walk. If you don't exercise at all, a short walk is a great way to start. You can gradually take longer walks as you get more fit.
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Give yourself a lift. Lifting a hardcover book or a 2 pound weight a few times a day can help tone your arms and, when that becomes easy (or if it already is easy), you can gradually lift heavier items.
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Eat one extra fruit or vegetable a day. Fruits and vegetables are good for your entire body, and are inexpensive.
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Stop drinking your calories. Cutting out just one sugar-sweetened soft drink or high calorie latte can easily save you 100 calories per day. Over a year, that amounts to a 10-pound weight loss.
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Have a handful of nuts. Walnuts, almonds, peanuts and other nuts are good for your heart. They are a great substitute for chips or cookies, and are delicious in salads for a tasty crunch.
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Eat fish and seafood instead of red meat once or twice a week. It's good for the heart, the brain and the waistline.
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 Wash your hands often with soap and water. It protects your heart because flu, pneumonia and other infections can be very hard on the heart.
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Breathe deeply. Try breathing slowly and deeply for a few minutes a day. It can help you relax, fall asleep, and lower blood pressure.
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Count your blessings. Make a point of writing down 5 things for which you are grateful every day. Gratitude is linked to better health, longer life and greater well-being, whereas chronic anger, worry and hostility contribute to high blood pressure and heart disease.
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Of course, there are several more major steps you can take:
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Give up smoking (both 'real' and electronic). Did you know that smoking kills more people from heart disease than lung cancer? A year after you quit, your risk of a heart attack falls to about half that of a smoker.
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 Get enough, good quality sleep. In one study, people who slept 7 hours per night had less calcium in their arteries (an early sign of heart disease) than people who slept 5 hours or less or those who slept 9 hours or more. Seven to 8 hours is recommended.
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Maintain a healthy weight. The easiest way to know if you need to slim down is to calculate your body mass index (BMI). This, as you may know, is based on your weight in relation to your height. You can easily find websites that will do the calculation for you. You're considered overweight if your BMI is 25-29.9, and a BMI of 30 or more is considered 'obese'. Your risk of heart disease increases as your BMI increases from 25 on up.
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Get active. Aim for 30 minutes a day of exercise at least as vigorous as brisk walking, 5 days a week.
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Keep the pressure off. Get your blood pressure checked regularly. Many people are able to keep their blood pressure in the healthy range by following an eating plan, such as the DASH diet or the Mediterranean diet. Of course, physical activity, sleep and managing stress are also very important.
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Avoid inflammation. In particular, good dental hygiene helps prevent inflammation from spreading from the mouth to the rest of the body, including the heart, where it can contribute to heart disease.
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Avoid trans fats. Look for hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats on labels and stay away from them! Many still believe that we also need to avoid saturated fats, but there is increasing evidence that they are not a problem. For example, in Sweden, the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) has been going down even as butter sales have more than doubled. Researchers at Cambridge University have found that saturated fat does not cause heart disease, while so-called 'healthy' polyunsaturated fats do not prevent cardiovascular problems.
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Eat plenty of fibre - at least 30 g a day to lower your risk of heart disease. Fruit and vegetables are an ideal source, as well as whole grains, such as oats, brown rice and, if you're not sensitive to gluten, whole wheat and bran.
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Salt - it can actually be dangerous to cut down too much on salt. Research has shown that patients with heart failure who cut down on their salt intake were 85% more likely to die or require hospitalization that those who did not. What's important is the type of salt you consume. Himalayan salt or sea salt that contains other minerals is healthy, whereas refined salt that contains only sodium is much less healthy.
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Alcohol - one or 2 drinks may be fine, but more can increase blood pressure.
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Dark chocolate is cardioprotective, including lowering blood pressure, improving lipid profile, and helping prevent atrial fibrillation. It is also anti-diabetic, anti-thrombotic, anti-inflammatory, slows progression of periodontitis, improves exercise endurance, protects vision, neuroprotective, reduces stress hormones, and is anti-carcinogenic. Quite an impressive list! But do note that the emphasis is on dark chocolate, and unprocessed chocolate is better than processed. Enjoy! In moderation, of course.
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And finally, "don't worry, be happy". Laughing reduces stress which improves heart function. Researchers have found that people with heart disease are 40% less likely to laugh compared to other people the same age without heart disease. Make a point of focusing on things you enjoy and make you laugh every day.
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 There are a number of Nature's Sunshine supplements that can help with heart health. You can find information about these products and purchase them in our online store:
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Arginine plus mixed berry
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CardioxLDL
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CoQ10 - 50 or 100 mg
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Grapine
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Bloodpressurex
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Super Omega 3
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Vitamin E with Selenium
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Psyllium
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Psyllium Hulls
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Vitamin D3
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Zambroza
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References:
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10 small steps for better heart health. Healthbeat. health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/10-small-steps-for-better-heart-health Accessed February 8, 2016.
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Top 10 healthy heart tips. nhs.uk/Livewell/Healthyhearts/Pages/Healthy-heart-tips.aspx Accessed February 8, 2016.
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MacMillan A. 10 tips for better heart health. WebMD webmd.com/heart/features/12-tips-for-better-heart-health Accessed February 16, 2016.
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Eenfeldt A. Dramatically improved heart health in Sweden! In: Heart Disease, Saturated Fat. November 24, 2014. dietdoctor.com/dramatically-improved-heart-health-in-sweden Accessed February 8, 2016.
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Knapton S. No link found between saturated fat and heart disease. The Telegraph. telegraph.co.uk/journalists/sarah-knapton/10703970/No-link-found-between-saturated-fat-and-heart-disease.html Accessed February 8, 2016.
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Mercola J. Reducing salt intake might harm heart failure patients, study claims. February 8, 2016. articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/08/salt-intake-heart-failure.aspx
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Mercola J. The amazing health benefit of dark chocolate. February 8, 2016. articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/02/08/amazing-health-benefits-dark-chocolate.aspx
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How to improve daily heart function. wikihow.com/Improve-Daily-Heart-Function Accessed February 8, 2016.
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Disclaimer: The suggestions and recommendations in this newsletter are not intended to be prescriptive or diagnostic. The information is accurate and up to date to our knowledge, but we are not responsible for any errors in our sources of information.
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Iridology Analysis
A non-invasive diagnostic tool used in alternative medicine, this alternative medical test is based on the theory that the iris reflects a person's well being. Practitioners use eye health to both diagnose your current state of health and predict future health problems.
Find out more.
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It’s amazing how Ramila can study your eye and know what’s going on in your body. It’s only been a few months but I feel I have better control over my body. My energy is up, my stress level is down and my immune system is working better.
- Jan F.
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