Healthy Heart – Healthy Life: Nine things you didn’t know about your Heart

It weighs between 9-11 ounces, goes faster in a woman, starts at four weeks of conception, beats 100,000 times a day, supports the 75 trillion cells in your body and sends 2000 gallons of oxygen rich blood through 60,000 miles of vessels. It takes 6 seconds for blood to go from your heart to your lungs and back and 8 seconds to get to the brain and back. Your Heart……

It is the one muscle in the body that we forget exists….until we have a problem. Maintaining the health of your heart is dependent on many variables. Just eating well is not the ticket. Your heart can only be healthy if you’re nervous, respiratory, digestive systems are healthy. Even your blood vessels must be healthy.

If we look at the statistics today the picture is not pretty as heart disease is on the rise. But it does not have to affect you. Following prudent, yet simple lifestyle changes can lead you to a road of one very healthy heart. It all starts with what you put in your mouth and how you handle trauma and stress in your life.

We have all heard about hardening of the arteries. Simply put, the walls of the arteries are stiff and damaged from processed foods, stress, alcohol, lack of exercise, smoking and other excesses. Life is all about balance. Remember it is what you do 80% of the time that matters most. An ice cream cone once every two months is not going to cause a problem but the constant consumptions of the five new food groups will be a problem, (fast, frozen, fried, junk and processed).

Eating “right” can be a challenge for a lot of people today while on the run. We compromise our health for wealth when we are young, and we will do anything to get it back when we get older. If only someone had told us. Starting now you can make changes that will rebuild, rejuvenate and restore your heart.

Getting a pedometer is a great way to start. It is recommended that you take 10,000 steps a day. We were genetically designed to move our bodies, not sit all day. Your heart is a muscle and it needs a workout. Personally I LOVE Bikram yoga as your heart gets an incredible one and half hour work out. Anything that elevates your heart rate is great.

Food and heart health appear to be a mystery for many people as evidenced in virtually any supermarket where you will find shelves stocked with 80% processed foods; foods which manufacturers have led us to believe are healthy.

So where can you start? Think of what your grandmother would have eaten a hundred years ago: Fruit, veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, meats, chicken fish and some dairy. It is that simple. For example greens contain folate which keeps homocysteine down. They also have vitamins and phytochemicals that nourish the cells of the cardiovascular system.

Fish contains a substance called EPA which is known as an omega three and it works to clear arteries as well as reduces inflammation. A diet high in processed foods (remember the five new food groups!) causes a lot of inflammation. You can have inflammation tested by your doctor through a test called C-Reactive Protein.

More heart help is available in oats. Oats contain a fiber called beta glucan which reduces cholesterol and the LDL’s (Low Density Lipoproteins, a.k.a, Lousy cholesterol). Also vitamins: Vitamin E found in oils, nuts and seeds help to reduce cholesterol and saturated fat that clogs the arteries. Vitamin C and vitamin A are antioxidants which protect the artery walls from free radical damage. Garlic is a healing food which promotes circulation and strengthens the heart.

Remember we live in a world where Dairy is the Queen and Burger is the King, please don’t listen to the noise. Instead eat a diet that is abundant in fruits, vegetables and other nutrient rich foods and do your best to restrict the saturated fats and sugars. Avoid the “white foods” and your body will love you. Together with an active lifestyle you can live a happy healthy and disease free life.

Jane Durst Pulkys