Support for Your Heart and Cardiovascular System

The number-one cause of death globally has consistently been cardiovascular disease. Coronary artery disease, heart attacks, and stroke are the most prevalent forms of cardiovascular disease that lead to premature death.

About 1-in-4 deaths is the result of heart disease. In the U.S., someone has a heart attack every 42 seconds, and cardiovascular disease-related deaths occur every 60 seconds. Geographically speaking, the southern United States has the highest incidence of heart disease, whereas the West has the lowest.

Diet, nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle are essential to supporting the heart and cardiovascular system. Here are some suggestions to help to support this vital system.

1. Inflammation and stress:  Inflammation is the heart's nemesis. Many factors cause inflammation in the body, such as toxicity, sugar, processed food, pollution, food sensitivities, microbial issues, chemicals, and prolonged stress. In fact, a recent study in Lancet (volume 389, no. 10071), showed how the stress response activates a part of the brain called the amygdala.

The amygdala is the integrative center for our emotions and will send a distress signal to another part of the brain called the hypothalamus. The study revealed that when stress activates the amygdala, this activates bone marrow and arterial inflammation. When the arteries are inflamed, the heart has more difficulty pumping blood to different parts of the body. So it is important to mitigate the stress response to support the heart.

One way to physically work with the stress response is a body therapy technique I learned through Neuroemotional Technique.  Bend your elbows with your palms open and facing you. Take one hand and place your palm on the underside of the opposite wrist. This will allow you to wrap three fingers on each of the three acupuncture pulse points. These are located just below the wrist on the thumb side of the hand. Hold firm pressure on the acupuncture pulse points. Take the open palm of the hand/arm that the pulse points are being pressed on, and bring it to the forehead directly applying firm pressure. Continue to hold the forehead in this manner while breathing deeply for two minutes. Do the same procedure with the opposite hand/arm.  This helps to calm the amygdala, hypothalamus and the nervous system. This can be done multiple times per day and is a great stress reliever.

2. Limit sugar and increase the good fats: Sugar is a major stressor on the heart and cardiovascular system. Good fats and cholesterol are beneficial to the heart and cardiovascular system, despite being demonized by the medical community for years.  However, research indicates that cholesterol is an important building block for hormones and cells.

Triglycerides are actually a more telling cardiovascular risk indicator, and sugars get converted to and then stored as triglycerides. Extremely high cholesterol numbers are an indication that something in the body, such as the liver, is in a state of imbalance. Cholesterol numbers act a barometer.  It is important to look at the triglyceride numbers, homocysteine levels and not just the cholesterol numbers in blood work.

Triglyceride numbers that are below 100 are considered healthy (the medical community believes this number should be below 150). The French and many Mediterranean cultures eat a lot of fat, and their cholesterol numbers are consistently over 300, but they have low rates of heart disease. The French consume much less sugar than we do. In this country the sugar consumption is outrageous, and this is why we have such a high incidence of heart disease.

3. Eat these foods for heart health: Beet greens, Brussels sprouts, avocado, squash, Swiss chard, blueberries, blackberries, bok choy, pumpkin seeds, red beans, radish, sunflower seeds, wild Alaskan salmon, olive oil, almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, celery, and cucumber.

4. Correct your nutritional deficiencies, toxicity, and supplement: There are many nutritional supplements and herbs that support the cardiovascular system. Magnesium, zinc, hawthorne berry, Cardio Plus, CV Tone, B12, B9 and other B vitamins, COQ10, taurine, carnitine, arginine, dan shen, omegas, hibiscus, Hemo Guard, and many other nutritional supplements may support the heart.

If you are on any cardiovascular drugs, make sure you check with your doctor before using and nutritional supplements. Every individual has different requirements based on their genetics. What may work for one person may not work for someone else. Muscle Testing is the best way to determine your individual requirements. Cleaning the body up and supporting the body reduces inflammation and supports the cardiovascular system.

5. Add these culinary herbs and spices to your food: Dill, cinnamon, fenugreek, rosemary, coriander, basil, turmeric, juniper berries, and chives. These should be used in small quantities if on heart medication, and always ask your doctor if these are ok with your medication.

6. Avoid chlorine: Get a shower filter to take out the chlorine and make sure that you drink filtered water that removes chlorine. Swim in a salt pool if possible.  Chlorine can adversely affect the heart, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels.

7. If you or someone you know is having a cardiac event do the following: While waiting for an ambulance or help to arrive, do these simple things to help calm the heart.

• Take two fingers and squeeze the top of the pinky finger of the person who is in need at the side of the nail. Hold the pinky with firm pressure until help arrives. This is a powerful acupuncture point on the heart meridian.

• Put an ice pack or something cold (a bag of frozen peas) on the right side of the head. This is a point also related to the heart.

Dr. Louis Granirer is a leading Holistic Chiropractor in NY and Nutrition Response Testing Practitioner specializing in holistic remedies for good health maintenance and prevention of disease. Visit his website at HolisticChiropracticCenter.com to learn more.