I recently contributed to an article on heart health for Natural Health Magazine.
The article outlines why we need to keep out heart healthy, the foods we should avoid and the ones to include in our diets as well as lifestyle and supplement suggestions.
Unfortunately techonology is thwarting me from uploading the PDF, but please read a sample of my contribution below.
The magazine is out now in all good UK newsagents and supermarkets, its a really interesting read, so go buy it!
Garlic and spices
“Garlic is a natural blood thinner,” says Alison
Duker, who runs the nutritional consultancy
EatbetterNow, (eatbetternow.co.uk). “If the blood
is thick (due to excess fat intake for example) it
will be harder for the heart to pump it through
the body, especially if the arteries are narrow due
to cholesterol build-up, thus increasing blood
pressure. Garlic can also decrease the rate of
cholesterol manufacture.” Try to include
between one and three cloves per day in your
diet to get the full benefit.
Other heart-healthy flavourings to add to
your food include turmeric and ginger. Turmeric
contains curcumin which has been shown to
reduce the chances of developing heart failure,
while ginger has been proven to have bloodthinning
effects.
Folic acid
“Folic acid is essential for reducing levels of
homocysteine, a substance which is an
independent risk factor for atherosclerosis
(hardening of the arteries), heart attack, stroke
and vascular disease,” says Alison Duker.
“The body’s natural mechanisms to remove
homocysteine are dependent on a number of
nutrients, of which folic aid is a key player. It is
therefore very important to include foods high in
this vitamin in the diet, such as dark green leafy
vegetables, beans, walnuts, almonds, oatmeal,
avocados and coconuts.”
Magnesium
“Magnesium is nature’s relaxant and works in
conjunction with calcium for heart muscle
contractions,” says Alison Duker. “However,
decreased magnesium causes disturbances in
cardiac rhythm and can increase the risk of
hypertension (high blood pressure).”
Make sure you get your intake of magnesium
by eating plenty of dark green leafy vegetables,
sunflower seeds, buckwheat, almonds, cashew
nuts, walnuts, tofu, brown rice, figs and apricots.
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