Tools to Help You Improve Your Heart Health Today
Authors: Cassidy Ayala, NP, Britt Posada NP, and Janine Griffin
It’s very fitting that February is National Heart Month. After all, February is all about celebrating love, which is often associated with the heart.
Maintaining a healthy heart and cardiovascular system are imperative for general health and wellness. We hear and talk often about the importance of diet and exercise and the effects they have on our heart, but what’s often missed are the different ways that we can offer additional support to our current health regimens. Integrating high-quality supplements is one way to increase heart health on a daily basis.
Supplements
DHEA
Dehydroepiandrosterone, also known as DHEA, is a hormone produced mostly by your adrenal glands. DHEA is the most abundant of all the circulating hormones. DHEA improves cardiovascular health in several different ways. DHEA levels peak at about age 25 and by the time you reach 50, your DHEA levels have declined as much as 58%. This can have a significant impact on your body. DHEA reduces cardiovascular risk by increasing lipolysis (decrease visceral fat). DHEA boosts the immune system and protects against bone loss. It decreases cholesterol and body fat.
People who supplement with DHEA lose weight, improve their blood lipid profiles, and increase their insulin sensitivity, thereby reducing their cardiovascular risk across multiple parameters,
Vitamin D
There are many studies that have reported that vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased risk of CVD, including hypertension, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin that is found in food and can also be produced in the body after exposure to sunlight. Vitamin D helps protect the heart by helping the body absorb calcium and phosphorus which are important for keeping blood vessels healthy. Vitamin D has been shown to decrease blood pressure which also helps protect the heart.
Melatonin
Melatonin is a great supplement for sleep health but also heart health. Melatonin influences stages IV sleep and REM sleep which improves your sleep pattern increase depth and quality of sleep. Melatonin increased natural killer cells which helps with your immune system. It also lowers blood pressure.
Omega 3
Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to significantly reduce the risk for sudden death caused by cardiac arrhythmias and all-cause mortality in patients with known coronary heart disease. Omega 3 fatty acids are considered essential because your body doesn’t produce them. The major source of Omega 3 fatty acids come from fish in the human diet. Unfortunately, eating large amounts of fish is a growing health concern due to noxious heavy metals and environmental toxins that tend to accumulate in marine ecosystems. At Central Wellness, our Omega 3 provides the amount of DHA and EPA that is recommended daily.
If you are reading this, you are likely already one of our Bioidentical Hormone Replacement clients and should have an idea of the benefits your hormones provide for your heart health. In case you need a reminder, here are a few of the key benefits that Estradiol and Testosterone can provide for your heart health.
Hormones
Estradiol
Estradiol is a hormone secreted primarily from the ovaries. It protects against heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, colon cancer, urinary tract infections, macular degeneration, and cataracts. Estradiol benefits to the cardiovascular system happen in the form of plaque regression. Literature shows that the only way to get cardiovascular benefits from estradiol is when it’s taken orally. Estradiol is protective to the brain via cardiovascular benefits as it can help reduce or prevent vascular dementia by decreasing plaque in the vessels.
Testosterone
The benefits of testosterone come from what it converts into. In both men and women, testosterone converts 50% into estradiol and 50% into DHT. Estradiol, as mentioned above, is where you are getting your decrease in cholesterol and plaque therefore improving your cardiac and brain health. Testosterone also improves overall wellbeing, energy, strength, and endurance while improving body composition, bone density and sexual function. It also decreases visceral fat, which is the fat found deep in your abdominal cavity surrounding your organs. Visceral fat is more dangerous to your health than subcutaneous fat- the fat that we can pinch. So, decreasing your visceral fat improves your overall health and wellbeing! In addition to your internal health, testosterone is also great for anti-aging as it increases collagen and skin thickness which improves texture, decreases wrinkles, fat deposition and cellulite.
As we age, the importance of heart health starts to become the top of mind awareness. These are a few of the different ways that you can support the health of your own heart. Interested in learning more from our experts? Book your FREE consultation today or call 406.869.1066!
