What Are the Best Ways to Support Heart Health?

What Are the Best Ways to Support Heart Health?

To say the heart is amazing is an understatement. On average, it beats over 100,000 times a day pumping more than 2,000 gallons of blood through the 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body. With all that activity, supporting heart function relies on a combination of diet, lifestyle, and dietary supplements.

Good Heart Support with Diet

Over the past couple of decades, the Mediterranean diet has been studied extensively. It is considered one of the most heart-healthy diets available and that’s why the American Heart Association (AHA) recommends it.1

The reason the Mediterranean diet is so good for the heart is because it contains minimally processed foods and is high in colorful fruits and veggies, healthy fats, and significant amounts of spices such as onions and garlic.

Herbs For Vascular Health

If you can’t eat Mediterranean most of the time, you may want to consider getting some of those health-supporting spices from a dietary supplement. Garlic in particular has been shown to support heart function when taken as a supplement.2

Resveratrol is a naturally occurring compound found in grape skins, berries, and peanuts and can also be gleaned from the Mediterranean diet. Resveratrol has been shown to support heart health in many ways and is available as a dietary supplement.3

Another supplement to consider if you are not eating a healthy Mediterranean diet is fish oil. The Mediterranean diet is high in olive oil, which is considered a healthy fat that helps support heart health. Fish oil is also a healthy fat that has been shown to support heart function.4 To get the most out of your fish oil supplement, look for one that contains wild-caught, ultra-refined, and purified EPA and DHA that is lab-certified to ensure it does not contain heavy metals, pesticides, and other pollutants.

Heart-Healthy Lifestyle

In addition to diet and dietary supplements, certain activities can help support heart health beginning with exercise. What are the best sports for cardiovascular health? The AHA and the American College of Sports Medicine both recommend combining aerobic exercises such as jogging, swimming, or biking with resistance training that can include moderate weightlifting.5 

As it turns out, getting enough sleep is also good for the heart. Research demonstrates that lack of sleep negatively impacts blood pressure and heart rate variability.

Another lifestyle aspect to consider is stress. The AHA says stress can negatively impact heart function so it’s important to find healthy ways to cope with stress such as exercise, social connections, regular relaxation routines, and getting enough sleep.7

Through a combination of a healthy lifestyle, the Mediterranean diet, and key dietary supplements, you can give this hard-working organ the support it needs. Ready to support a healthy heart? Try Garlic with Allicin 5000 mcg or Fish Oil with purified omega-3.

Follow @zhou_nutrition for more fitness and wellness tips!

References

  1. American Heart Association. What is the Mediterranean diet? 2020;Jan 9. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/nutrition-basics/mediterranean-diet
  2. Ried K. Garlic lowers blood pressure in hypertensive subjects, improves arterial stiffness and gut microbiota: a review and meta-analysis. Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine. 2019;19(2):1472-1478. https://www.spandidos-publications.com/10.3892/etm.2019.8374
  3. Dyck GJB, Raj P, Zieroth S, Dyck JRB, Ezekowitz JA. The Effects of Resveratrol in Patients with Cardiovascular Disease and Heart Failure: A Narrative Review. Int J Mol Sci. 2019;20(4):904. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6413130/?report=reader
  4. Liao J, Xiong Q, Yin Y, Ling Z, Chen S. The Effects of Fish Oil on Cardiovascular Diseases: Systematical Evaluation and Recent Advance. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022;8:802306. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8767101/?report=reader
  5. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Exercise and the heart. Accessed, 2024, January. https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercise-and-the-heart
  6.  Sajjadieh A, Shahsavari A, Safaei A, et al. The Association of Sleep Duration and Quality with Heart Rate Variability and Blood Pressure. Tanaffos. 2020;19(2):135-143. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7680518/?report=reader
  7. American Heart Association. Stress and heart health. 2021;June 21. https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/stress-and-heart-health

 

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