Is Your Heart Healthy?

One of the most common things people ask me about is heart health.  What supplement can I take to help lower my blood pressure?  Is there something I can do to lower my cholesterol?  Actually, yes there are several things you can do to strengthen your heart and arteries.  Let’s discuss a few of the most common supplements used for heart health.

Hawthorn Berry – One of my favorite herbs!  Hawthorn berry is first herb which comes to my mind for strengthening the heart muscle.  It is considered a cardiac tonic, increasing oxygen utilization and enzyme metabolism in the heart muscle.  Hawthorn berry helps a damaged heart work more efficiently.  It is useful for arrhythmias and heart valve problems.  It dilates blood vessels, allowing blood to flow freely, thereby lowering blood pressure.

Garlic – Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, discourages platelet aggregation, and contains helpful antioxidants.  Many studies have shown garlics ability to lower LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, while raising protective HDL cholesterol.  One average size clove of garlic contains 4,500 mcg of allicin, the smelly but active component of garlic.

Red Yeast Rice – This traditional Chinese remedy is the fermented product of red yeast cultivated on rice.  Lovastatin is a drug that was synthesized from a substance in red yeast rice.  Like the statin drugs, red yeast rice lowers LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, and raises HDL, but in a safer, gentler manner. The recommended dose of red yeast rice is 1,200-2,400 mg per day.  Do not take red yeast rice if you are on a statin drug.

Fish Oil – One of the most potent therapies for heart disease!  Helps with inflammation, blood clotting and platelet aggregation, cholesterol and triglycerides.  Look for high-quality fish oil that is harvested in northern waters and has been tested for mercury contaminants.  The recommended dose for heart health is 2000 mg daily.  Look for softgels which are enteric coated, meaning they open in the intestines instead of the stomach, solving the bad taste, burping, or upset feeling fish oil might otherwise cause. 

CoQ10 – Coenzyme Q10 is the spark plug that gets things going!  Its main role is in the energy production within your cells; because the heart beats more than 100,000 times every day, you need that energy!  CoQ10 stabilizes heart muscle cells and protects them from free radical damage.  It can reduce chest pain, lower blood pressure, help arrhythmias, and improve exercise tolerance.  Studies at the Whitaker Wellness Institute have shown CoQ10 to prolong the life of patients with heart failure and even reverse their condition.

Yes, what you eat and the supplements you take can make a huge difference in heart health!  To further pursue this subject I suggest the book, Reversing Heart Disease by Julian Whitaker MD.  Give your heart the nutrients it needs to keep your body going…and going strong!