‘Tis the Season to be Heart Healthy

Heart Healthy means stress-free.  The month of December should not only be focused on friends and family, but ideally on your health. The challenge is to make December a relaxed recovery from a long and busy year, and to use it as a launching pad instead of a set back so that you go purring into ‘08.  One of the most overlooked parts of our body during the holidays is our heart.  The typical excess of stress and richness in diet during the holidays takes an unnecessary toll on the body, especially the heart, which combine holistically to create wear and tear.  Translation: unneeded aging and potential physical break down. I know that stress, chaos and overeating are just as common… and accepted as every other holiday ritual.  Maybe this is the year that you decide to be uncommonly uncommon.   What if you made an early New Years resolution that this holiday you are going to take time to do a few simple things for your heart?  Your heart is working overtime, so why not give back.  You might even find that your holiday is much more enjoyable and relaxing by incorporating a few of these heart healthy tips.  I’ll start with some obvious suggestions, and move down to the ones you may not have heard before.

1. Breathe: Proper breathing is the most underestimated prevention of stress, and is the easiest moment by moment way to protect your heart.  Be conscious of your breathing, and focus on slow breaths that fill your stomach.  Then exhale from your nose or mouth with a small stomach crunch on occasion to keep your muscles aware as well.  Practice taking a few minutes every half hour to find your breath.  Utilize Yoga and basic meditation practices a few days a week for extended body therapy.

2. Try being Positive: Just try it.  Avoid being wired like the news outlets that only focus on the more negative occurrences in the world.  Your thoughts directly affect every aspect of your emotional and mental health, which holistically affects the health of your total body.

3. Minimize Processed Foods: Although December means lots of holiday parties and heavier foods, it doesn’t mean that you can’t practice moderation.  A diet low in processed foods will improve you general health and will help prevent heart disease.  Processed foods lose up to 90% of most of their heart healthy vitamins, such as B vitamins, folic acid, selenium, Vitamin E and many more.  Processed foods are generally loaded with unhealthy fats, sodium and additives that are difficult to break down and add strain to the heart.

4. Know when you’ve had enough: Think of how much energy your system is going to need to digest what you consume.  Overeating has unpredictable results depending on the individual metabolism, time of day, and what you are consuming, but the simple way to make the call is to just stop when you just start feeling full.  Food is like alcohol.  Fullness, like drunkenness usually does not reach its full effect until 15-30 minutes after you’ve already gone too far.

5. Avoid Illegal and legal drugs: Avoiding illegal drugs goes without saying, but the legal drugs can be just as deadly.  Run away from first hand and second hand smoke (yuck!).  Take a shot of sweetened wheat grass on ice instead of Liquor.  If you are going to drink, try to stick with wine as much as possible, and you don’t have to drink the whole bottle.  1-2 glasses is plenty to be part of the ritual. 

6. Green Tea: Try drinking green tea instead of coffee.  Green tea is high in antioxidants, which are good for the heart and creates less acid and stress on the body internally than coffee.

7. Heart Healthy Supplements:  Since December can be a bit more difficult to lead a completely heart healthy lifestyle, nature has provided us with various supplements that can lend a very helpful hand.

• Coenzyme Q10 - 30-60 mg is the average daily dose for maintenance.  CoQ10 is made by the body and also found in oily fish (in the EPA) and whole grains.  It is a fat-soluble vitamin that is essential to the body’s energy systems, is an immune stimulant, lowers the blood pressure, supports heart function, promotes healthy skin, and supports longevity.  CoQ10 is best absorbed when formulated with mixed Tocopherols (from Vitamin E) – it should say “Tocopherols” on the ingredient list.  CoQ10 is probably one of the top heart nutrients that I recommend and I take daily.
• Vitamins E & C – antioxidant combo that works together to keep the heart healthy and prevent disease.
•  L-Carnitine – an amazing amino acid that increases the energy production within the heart.
• Hawthorn Berry – Increases the function and strength of the heart.
•  Maitake Mushroom – Can help reduce blood pressure and maintain blood flow to and from the heart.
• EPA and DHA – these omega fatty acids are the noteworthy components naturally provided in raw, cold-pressed fish and flaxseed oil and blue-green algae.  Fish and flax oil are also very high in Omega 3, which is important for heart health.  These oils assist in daily cleansing of the arteries and veins of unwanted cholesterol.  Since you will probably be eating a higher amount of saturated fats this season, the flax and fish oil can help to counteract their affects.
• Fiber – Keeping your bowels regular and healthy during the holidays will decrease stress and high blood pressure with the heart.  Try to have a minimum of 25-35 mg daily.  Try consuming 1-2 Tbsp of cold-pressed flaxseed meal on a daily basis.  Mix it in liquids or sprinkle on un-heated food such as yogurt.
•  “Stress Care” by Himalaya – You might not think of taking a stress and energy supplement specifically for your heart, but believe me, you can’t get more direct with heart health than a stress care formula.  This particular product, Stress Care, is an Ayurvedic formula of various herbs that work synergistically to enable the body to deal with every day stress, creating the ultimate physical and mental restoration for the body.  It won’t make you tired or passive.  This combination simply balances the central nervous system, assisting the body with the needed nutrients for optimal balance. 

By taking care of your body, especially your heart, during the holidays, you will begin the New Year with a stronger and healthier foot forward.