17 Natural Ways to Improve Heart Health
I’ve gathered together 17 of the most valuable choices you can make for a happier, healthier heart.
Eat Heart-Healthy Foods
Keep an eye out for foods rich in fiber, antioxidants, potassium, and plant proteins for good heart health. The foods that you eat make up the building blocks of your tissues, including your organs. A rule of thumb is to try and stick to fruits and vegetables as much as possible. Some of the healthiest foods for your heart include berries, whole grains such as brown or wild rice, quinoa, or barley, beans and other legumes, unsalted, raw nuts and seeds, almond nut butter, and oats.
Take Turmeric Supplements
Did you know Ayurvedic medicine practitioners have used turmeric for thousands of years? Now clinical research has confirmed that turmeric provides amazing heart benefits. Turmeric naturally reduces redness and swelling throughout the body, normalizing your circulation and making for a healthier circulatory system. It appears that the curcuminoids in turmeric normalize cytokine levels in the blood, acting as an antioxidant and protecting the heart.
Try Omega-3s
There is such a thing as healthy fats! Every person needs lipids (fats) because they make up the membranes of every cell in your body. Omega-3 fatty acids, in particular, normalize your body’s clotting by smoothing blood flow. They also help maintain the rhythm of the heart. Eating foods rich in omega-3s will encourage healthy levels of arterial plaque as well as triglycerides. Triglycerides are an unhealthy form of fat that elevate risks of stroke. Omega 3s also raise high-density lipoprotein levels, HDL, also known as “good cholesterol.” Foods such as chia seeds, hemp seeds, Brussels sprouts, walnuts, and flaxseed all contain healthy omega-3 fatty acids. A further step is to try a plant-based supplement like flaxseed oil or micro-algae oil.
Quit Smoking
Tobacco is especially harmful to your heart because it causes plaque to build up on your artery walls. Over time, this narrows and hardens your arteries, so that your heart is pumping blood through a smaller and smaller straw. Quitting smoking is the most actionable step you can take to stop heart complications — among other health benefits. If you don’t smoke, good for you! But do your best to steer clear of second-hand smoke.
Increase CoQ10 Intake
Called the “essential nutrient,” experts recognize the incredible health benefits of CoQ10. Also called coenzyme Q10 or ubiquinone, you can find CoQ10 in all air-breathing forms of life, from microbes to mammals. CoQ10 plays a critical role in ATP creation, the energy molecule used in every cell to break down glucose — the process that keeps us alive! ATP production occurs in every cell, but its density is highest in organs with a lot of action, like the heart. CoQ10 declines as you age, making supplementation helpful. You can also find CoQ10 naturally in several plant-based foods, such as lentils, sesame seeds, pistachios, broccoli, spinach, cauliflower, oranges, and strawberries.
Catch Some Zzz’s
Sleep is the one time where we relax, let our hearts slow down, and give our bodies a chance to recover from the stress of the day. We often hype ourselves up on caffeine to substitute sleep, when sleep itself is truly irreplaceable. Did you know that when you get 7 to 9 hours of sleep it protects your heart from chronic concerns? Healthy sleep habits protect our hearts from a range of chronic concerns, such as high blood pressure, type two diabetes, and obesity. That just goes to show what can happen when you don’t get enough zzz’s — aim for between seven and nine hours a night. You can discover many natural ways to get more sleep, from avoiding cell phone and computer use at night to dabbing lavender oil on your pillow.
Eat a Plant-Based Diet
A diet based on fruits, vegetables, nuts, and legumes is hands down the healthiest way to eat, according to numerous studies. Besides being healthier for the environment, a plant-based diet is healthier for you! Eating more fruits and vegetables will not only reduce your risk of heart concerns, but it’s overall healthier for your body! A large study assessing how diet affected people’s risk for atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries found a large difference between the health of people who consumed more fruits and vegetables versus those who did not. The scientists concluded that increasing the intake of these foods reduces your risk of heart disease by 17 percent and recommended eating more leafy greens and vitamin-C rich foods.
Give Vitamin C a Try
Vitamin C has a wide variety of health applications throughout the human body. Vitamin C plays an important role in healing tissues, producing collagen (a skin protein), and protecting arteries. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, meaning that it reduces the amount of free radical molecules in your body, which damage arteries and heart tissue in a process called oxidative stress.
Read Your Food Labels
Nutrition facts labels on food can be tricky. Look closely at the ingredients, serving size, and how much of the daily value for each nutrient is provided before making judgments on the health value of a particular food. Avoid foods that have extensive ingredient lists, especially if you see high-fructose corn syrup, sugar, or complex chemicals. Also, limit saturated fats and sodium, and avoid trans fats altogether, but be sure to get enough vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron for your heart.
Reduce Your Sodium Intake
Currently, the average daily salt intake is 10.5 grams when it should be only 5.5 grams a day. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized salt reduction as a top priority to fight the global heart crisis. Right now, the average intake of salt is 10.5 grams a day, and the goal is to reduce it to 5.5 grams a day, per person, around the world. WHO set the goal to decrease hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and stroke worldwide. Lowering your sodium intake can directly lower your blood pressure. If it’s on the international health agenda, then it should be on your agenda.
Start Exercising
Being overweight increases your risk for heart disease. While it’s important to recognize the range in body types, nevertheless, maintaining a healthy weight will reduce your risk of heart issues. And maintaining a healthy weight is related to your physical activity level. Exercising 30 minutes a day can help you lower your blood pressure and cholesterol. Experts recommend two and a half hours of exercise a week. That breaks down to less than 30 minutes a day. Not only does burning calories lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, but exercise also reduces stress and increases happiness — which, in turn, make your heart healthier.
Maintain Good Dental Health
Surprisingly, dental health is directly related to heart health. We know this because people who already have compromised hearts are extra susceptible to oral bacteria. It’s important to know that dental pathogens contribute to plaque building up in your arteries. Unfortunately, one study found that most children with heart conditions had not received even basic education in dental hygiene. So remember to keep your mouth as clean as possible with brushing your teeth and flossing your gums, and educate your kids about dental hygiene, as well.
Learn to Manage Your Stress
When you feel stressed, your body does too. Stress raises blood pressure, swelling, cholesterol, triglycerides, and cortisol. It can even make your heart beat off rhythm. Many factors can lead to stress, such as poor working conditions or bad relationships — but managing it is essential to heart health. Try finding methods to release your stress such as exercise, journaling, talking to a friend, or listening to music.
Reduce Alcohol Consumption
Drinking alcohol affects the heart in a few ways. It increases your blood sugar levels and blood pressure to start with, but also raises the levels of triglycerides in your blood. Keep in mind the effects of the calories and sugars in alcoholic drinks, especially if you have diabetes. Excessive drinking is the largest concern because it raises your risk of stroke, cardiac arrhythmia, and cardiac arrest. Quitting, or cutting down, can have a tremendous impact on your heart.
Eat Some Garlic
Garlic does more than give you stinky breath! It can actually help reduce heart disease progression. For thousands of years, people have used garlic because of its many benefits. Ancient clay tablets dating from 2600 BC show garlic being given to Olympians to increase their stamina. Today, studies confirm that eating garlic can reduce heart disease progression. As a bonus, garlic tastes amazing and goes well in so many recipes.
