As February is the month all about the heart and love. I want to discuss heart health.
Are you confused as to what to do for heart health? Eat eggs they are good for you, don't eat eggs they have too much cholesterol. Don't eat fat it clogs your arteries, eat fat which is essential for cardiovascular!
The heart is a subject that has been debated and shifted since the early 1900s, and I am certain it will keep shifting. The American Heart Association has told us that our hearts are bad due to fat, specifically meat fat, starting back in the 1900s. We are told that the fat is clogging our arteries and stressing the heart. We have been told to eat eggs and then not eat eggs, due to cholesterol and the negative impacts it has on the cardiovascular system/heart. We are told our blood pressure needs to be 120/60-80 no matter our age and if we are not in that range we should be on blood pressure medication to lower it.
So let us discuss some of these things. One fat, fat has been demonized and we have been told animal fat is the worst and that we need to stick to plant fats. Yet, we have seen in the last while that plant fats are not meant to be heated at high heat. This turns them rancid and into trans fat. Not to mention most of your plant fats are being cleaned in solutions we would never recommend you ingest. Meat fat is meant to be used in high heat and when sourced properly and cooked properly is actually very beneficial for cardiovascular.
There is a place for properly processed plants and properly raised animal fat, most of us, however, are getting 25 part plant fat to 1 part animal fat in our diet. This alone can cause inflammation which is a large part of heart health issues. Not to mention many add sugars to their fats which also causes inflammation and damage. When we have cardiovascular issues we need to look at sugar in the blood and how it is damaging walls. Sugar is like shards of glass on your vessels causing damage. To which the liver has to respond to help patch and repair.
Cholesterol is necessary to digest fats, for cell health, for emotional health, and for our immune system. We deem it as bad cause when we have high sugar and foods that damage artery walls it goes out in high amounts. We blame it for clogging our arteries, but is it to blame or is it the lack of driving calcium to where it needs to be?
Blood pressure when it is too high for too long can be an issue. But is a blood pressure medication the answer? Shutting down the organs impacts blood pressure rather than looking at our diet and what is impacting the organs. Blood pressure can be an issue in the kidneys, liver, stress, and adrenal. Yes, it may be necessary to take medication to help but why does it end there?
The first question in heart health should be about diet, but not about fats instead how much processed sugar and overall sugar are you having in your diet? Then my next question is about the quality of food. Are you eating oils that have been processed with chemicals and heated over and over? Are you getting quality Omega 3's? Are you eating food filled with chemicals causing inflammation? Is your gut bacteria balanced as they should?
What other factors could be impacting your heart and cardiovascular? There are many factors in heart disease and cardiovascular disease. Thyroid health, kidney function, Liver function, and last but not least gut health.
When it comes to nutrition ask yourself about sugar, caffeine, the quality of fats, calcium, quality of vitamin C, and fermented foods. Thyroid regulation plays a role in regulating the heart, the Liver plays a role in heart and thyroid health, Kidney function plays a role in heart health, and the gut and the bacteria in the gut play a role in heart health.
This month I will go deeper into each one of these areas and how it impacts the heart. If you are needing nutritional support for the heart and are not sure what you may need, feel free to set up an appointment or take a health survey.