Omega-3, a Heart-Friendly Nutrient

This powerful and loved fatty acid is found in flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts, fatty fish, seafood, and spinach. When Omega-3 was given to 360 heart attack survivors for six months in a trial by the journal Circulation, it helped improving function and lessening scarring of the heart. The patients who had higher levels of omega-3 had a significant reduction in inflammation, and heart fibrosis – stiffening of the heart muscle that leads to many cardiac diseases, as heart failure and becomes more common with aging. Omega-3 has a role in the prevention of cardiac remodeling which can occur after a heart attack and is associated with heart failure.

Omega-3 is also efficient in lowering elevated triglyceride levels, acting as an antidepressant, and protecting against Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Who is up for some salmon with spinach?

Resources

www.sciencedaily.com

http://www.webmd.com

Life Extension Magazine in the News

Sleep Better, No Stress, No Smoking

Heart and overall health is very dependent on other important factors than only healthy eating and exercise. Check them out!

Good Night!

“Reducing sleep by just two or three hours per night can have dramatic health consequences, as cardiovascular diseases and hypertension. A recent study found that even little-reduced sleep (six to seven hours per night) was associated with a greatly increased risk of coronary artery calcification, a cause of future heart attack and death due to heart disease.”

Senior man sleeping in bed.

When you sleep, your body performs functions as the repair of muscles, memory consolidation, and the release of important hormones for your normal body functioning. Sleeping contributes to a healthy immune system, and can also help maintain your weight by regulating the levels of hormones that produce the feelings of hunger and fullness. Quality sleep is essential for the healing and repair of your heart and blood vessels, which helps to prevent heart diseases.

Stress Free Zone

Chronic stress can suppress immune, digestive, sleep, reproductive, and cardiovascular systems. Over time, continued strain on your body from routine stress may contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses. The way you deal with the stress that comes into your life is extremely significant to your health as a whole. Practicing physical exercise, meditation, relaxation activities, and other gentle exercises may help reducing stress. Try to recognize stress signs that affect you and work on them. No stress!

No Smoking

It not only contributes to the hardening of your arteries and increases your blood pressure and heart rate, but it also leads to numerous diseases and early death. Ask your doctor for help to quit smoking. Be smoke and disease free!

Ultimately, heart awareness is all about nourishing yourself with the right nutrients, enjoying life actively, and getting good quality rest after all.  This way each day you will grow older, healthier and happier.

Sources:

Quote by http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu

Mayo Clinic website

https://sleepfoundation.org

www.nimh.nih.gov

Eat Heart-Healthy

Heart made of assortment of vegetables and fruits.

Eating heart-healthy is about being smart when choosing how to nurture your body. Always prefer options rich in nutrients that will provide what your organism needs to function properly, and avoid chemical or artificial ingredients that do harm to your internal functioning.

Make choices low or out of saturated fat and trans fat. These are bad fats that increase the risk of atherosclerosis, strokes, type 2 diabetes, and bad LDL cholesterol, which leads to heart disease. Also avoid sodium, because it increases blood pressure, and any processed sugary foods or beverages.

Enjoy a diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains rich in fibers, fish, nuts, legumes, and seeds. These will fuel your body with the macro and micronutrients it needs: carbohydrates with low-glycemic level, unsaturated fats, proteins, vitamins and antioxidants- A, B6, B12, C, E, K- and minerals– calcium potassium, iron, zinc.

A study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found that eating 10 portions of fruit and vegetables, which contain most of the important micronutrients for the body, every day can significantly reduce the risk of heart diseases and cancer. So keep that in mind when you write your next grocery list!

Great healthy food options indicated by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics are:

• Fruits and vegetables (fresh, frozen or canned without added salt or sugar)
• Nuts such as almonds, walnuts, pecans and hazelnuts.
• Salmon, tuna, sardines and mackerel
• Beans, peas and lentils
• Whole-grain breads, cereals and pasta, brown rice, quinoa

Resources

American Heart Association website

Mayo Clinic website

www.eatright.org

Life Extension Daily News

Washington State University- My Nutrition

Physical Activity for Your Heart

Elderly practicing physical activity.

Physical activity acts in maintaining a healthy weight, lowering blood pressure, reducing inflammation, and lessening arterial stiffening. These are all effects of improved health. It also increases good HDL cholesterol, which gets fats away from the arteries, and it may reduce levels of bad LDL cholesterol, which forms these fatty deposits – harmful for the cardiovascular system.

The best exercise for your heart is aerobic activity. It strengthens heart and lung muscles, burns calories reducing fat deposits, and improves the immune system. Examples of aerobic exercises are walking, running, swimming, dancing, spinning, hiking, riding a bike, among many others. You just have to find one you will enjoy.

The amount of physical exercise recommended by the American Heart Association is 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical activity every week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity, or a combination of both. Also, on 2 or more days a week you need muscle-strengthening activities that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest shoulders, and arms).

Here are some exercise tips by the American Heart Association for elderly people:

• Work with your health care provider to develop an activity plan to consider chronic conditions, limitations, and reducing the risk of falls.
• Pick activities that you enjoy and that you will do year-round.
• Start exercising at a low intensity(especially if you’ve been mostly sedentary), and progress gradually.
• Make sure the environment you practice your physical activity is safe – does not intersect with traffic, and is well-lighted.
• Muscular adaptation and elasticity generally slows with age,so take more time to warm up and cool down before and after exercising.
• Stay hydrated by trying to drink some water every 15 minutes, especially when exercising in hot, humid conditions. As you age, your sense of thirst tends to decrease and you may not be able to completely rely on your internal sense of thirst.

Resources:

Columbia University Medical Center

American Heart Association

Net Doctor

February – month of Heart Health Awareness!

February is the month that focuses on heart health, so let’s understand what this important organ needs and how to improve its functions. Be aware of your heart, not just in February but for the rest of your life. Staying heart healthy includes building a routine with simple habits as practicing physical activity, eating healthy, managing stress, getting enough sleep, and not smoking. Stay tuned to learn more about each one of them.

Image from www.keyworksuggest.org