February is the month of the HEART, and an important time to review your heart health and how you can support it better.
The heart is a symbol for many things - love, generosity, emotions, passions, forgiveness, and more - but it’s also a symbol for one major factor in our lives – our state of health.
Unfortunately, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the LEADING CAUSE of death worldwide, shortening our lifespan (despite the increase in CVD meds consumed). I strongly believe (together with many leading doctors and health experts) that this will change once we start to prioritize nutrition and lifestyle choices as our first line of defense.
Some risk factors for heart disease are genetic (including your sex, family history, race /ethnicity) but many are lifestyle-based (including stress, smoking, diet, exercise, and sleep habits). While you can’t change your genes per se, all the amazing research on EPIGENETICS shows that your environment, diet and lifestyle choices can change the way your genes express themselves, and help you to prevent disease. So even if you have a predisposition for heart disease, you can minimize your risk by making the right diet and lifestyle changes (and the reverse is also true; even if you have no genetic predisposition, you can negateively affect that by making the WRONG dietaty/lifestyle choices, and this can be carried on to future generations).
Exercise and nutrition are powerful epigenetic modifiers that induce both transient and lasting epigenetic changes, thereby activating signalling cascades associated with cardiovascular benefits.(1,2)
So make this year the year where you take charge of your heart, for both your health and that of your kids and grandkids!
Here are a few things you can start implementing today (apart from the obvious of NO smoking, staying active and avoiding fried foods, trans fats and packaged foods!) to improve your heart health and help lower your risk of CVD:
1) Monitor your CHOLESTEROL levels to keep triglycerides from getting too high. While we now know that cholesterol is only a small piece of the puzzle (we see heart attacks constantly in people with normal cholesterol levels), it doesn’t stop it being important. Your food and lifestyle choices affect your cholesterol and triglycerides, which can clog arteries and increase your risk of heart disease. Four key ways to lower cholesterol and optimize your lipid markers include:
1. Eating more FIBER (aim for at least 40 grams per day) by including DAILY psyllium husk or flaxseeds, as well as other seeds, nuts, legumes (lentils, chickpeas, beans), low-sugar fruits (berries, kiwi, plums, pears) and of course non starchy vegetables (leafy greens, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc.). Read more HERE.
2. Increasing your OMEGA-3 fatty acids - eating more small wild-caught fish, as well as taking a high quality fish oil supplement. Read more HERE.
3. Regularly eating cholesterol lowering superfoods, including: extra-virgin olive oil, organic non-GMO minimally processed soy foods (tofu, tempeh, edamame), carotenoid-rich foods (such as tomatoes, carrots, walnuts, grapefruits and watermelon) and vitamin C foods (citrus foods, bel peppers, broccoli, brussels sprouts, strawberries and more!).
4. Staying ACTIVE. Exercising regularly, aiming for at least 7,000 steps daily!
2) Manage your BLOOD SUGAR! I’ve realized how important this is for all health issues, so I’ve shared some tips on that HERE and HERE. High glucose levels in your blood (as well as many glucose spikes and drops) can destroy your health in many ways, increasing your chances of obesity, but also by damaging blood vessels and nerves that control your heart.
3) DESTRESS (& lower OXIDATIVE STRESS). While some stress is inevitable, it’s important to incorporate some “destressing” exercises as part of our daily routine. I’m a huge believer in breathwork, meditation, journaling, walks in nature, and pampering ourselves from time to time. Also take note of what stressed you out most and see how you can minimize that. Apart from emotional stress, it’s KEY to lower our inflammation and oxidative stress. Read more HERE.
4) OPTIMIZE GUT HEALTH: Improving your gut microbiome via your daily diet is SO important for almost every aspect of your health; READ MORE HERE. One thing you can do is to increase the variety (and quantity) of plants you eat every week. Studies show that eating more than 30 different plants per week can significantly improve your gut health (which has a positive impact on your heart health!). Some plant foods that are amazing for your heart include:
RED fruits and vegetables: beets, red cabbage, red bell peppers, berries, pomegranates, cayenne pepper, cherries and tomatoes
all veggies, especially tons of leafy greens
avocados
extra virgin olive oil
raw nuts and seeds
green tea including matcha
cacao including dark choolate
garlic and onion
5) Track your SLEEP (I love the oura ring!) and aim to consistently get more than 7 hours of sleep. Adults who get less than 7 hours of sleep per night are more likely to have health problems, including high blood pressure, which is a leading risk factor for heart disease and heart attack. Read more HERE.
6) Be mindful with ALCOHOL (sorry, but it’s important!). Drinking alcohol raises the levels of triglycerides in your blood, which can contribute to heart disease. The American Heart Association (AHA) suggests sticking to 1–2 drinks per day for men and 1 drink per day for women - and that doesn’t add up! So that does NOT mean if you only drink on Fridays and Saturdays you can have 7 drinks over the weekend. Unfortunately not. It means ideally when you drink, you keep it to just 1-2 drinks.
While you know that exercising and not smoking is important, its often easy to overlook the importance of limiting your alcohol intake, eating enough fiber, actively managing blood sugar and minimizing oxidative stress, for example.
Review this list of 6 tips and see what you could be doing better, and what you can add in? Can you add in 15 more minutes of sleep? Can you add in 5 minutes of meditation to your morning or evening? Can you add in more antioxidant-rich greens and red veggies and fruits? Jot it down and make it a priority for your heart!
And if you want my support for creating a lifestyle that supports your unique health goals, reach out to me HERE.
a few sources:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31046576/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22771843/