You already know the heart is an incredible organ. If you look closer, you will see how truly amazing this is.
Our heart beats more than 100,000 times a day, pumping 1.5 gallons of blood each minute. The cardiovascular system is responsible for pumping blood through more than 60,000 miles of blood vessels.
Your heart is very strong, but it is also very sensitive to diet and lifestyle choices. If you do not take care of it, you are at a high risk for developing problems. Think about how heart disease is the number one cause of death for both genders in the United States. Each year, around three-quarters of a million people will have a heart attack.
Luckily, many of the problems are wholly preventable. There are several things you can do to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system, such as exercising regularly, managing stress, and getting enough sleep. A popular saying is that the best way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. One of the best ways to protect your heart and health is through your diet and herbal supplements.
Of course, the first step is to have a generally healthy and balanced diet. When considering the body, you cannot look at individual parts in isolation. Therefore, anything that is good for your body will also be good for your heart, and vice versa, according to Dr. Bill Rawls, M.D., medical director of Vital Plan.
There are certain foods that can help promote heart health. They target the main factors that keep your heart healthy and blood flowing optimally.
6 Key Factors for Heart Health
Blood Viscosity
This refers to how thick and sticky blood is. Blood is thick and sticky because it contains white and red blood cells, platelets, and other coagulants. Dr. Rawls says that certain foods, herbs, and other remedies can help improve blood viscosity by making it slightly thinner. This allows it to travel more smoothly and easily through blood vessels.
“If your blood is thick, it creates a lot of friction on the vessel walls, which can damage them,” he explains. “Getting a rug burn is a good example. The damage caused by friction to the skin can cause a scab to form, which then makes it more difficult for blood to flow and can contribute to heart disease.
Blood Cholesterol Levels
Only about 25 percent of cholesterol levels in your body are due to fat and cholesterol in food, Dr. Rawls says. You shouldn’t eat lots of saturated fat even though the light is green because it will make your blood thicker and cause more problems.
Most cholesterol is not created from consuming fats, but rather from sugars and starchy carbs that the liver produces. The body can only process a certain amount of glucose from these foods at a time, so the liver must store the excess as fat. The liver produces lipoproteins (also known as LDL cholesterol) to transport fat into fat cells. The LDL particles make blood thicker, but they can also easily get stuck in the clots that may form on vessel walls due to inflammation, setting up a vicious cycle.
Oxidative Stress and Free Radicals
According to Dr. Rawls, the most interesting aspect is that LDL particles are not as big of an issue unless they are oxidized. A poor diet and unhealthy habits can lead to an excess of free radicals in your system. These free radicals can oxidize LDL cholesterol and make it especially toxic and inflammatory.
Dr. Rawls explains that when oxidized LDL particles become lodged in fibrin, a protein that helps the body form scars, it can lead to the formation of plaque. Having high blood pressure puts you at risk for developing cardiovascular disease. Also, antioxidants that fight free radicals are very important for heart health. According to him, the most good is done by antioxidants when it comes to reducing oxidative stress in blood vessels.
Heart Cells’ Mitochondria
Dr. Rawls points out that there are a great many mitochondria in each cell of the body, but heart cells have an especially high concentration because they have a lot of work to do. The mitochondria is the power plant of the cell and generates the energy the cell needs to function. The process of neutralizing free radicals with electrons creates byproducts.
basically, you’re causing your mitochondrial DNA to work overtime by constantly destroying the components that it needs to create. This is why foods that are good for you and full of nutrients, as well as herbs and other things that help mitochondrial function, are especially good for your heart.
A Healthy Balance Of Microbes
Rawls states that pathogenic bacteria have been located in cardiovascular plaque. Furthermore, researchers have discovered a correlation between changes in gut microbiota composition and various aspects of cardiovascular disease as well as risk factors. Gut microbes play an important role in the body and can produce bioactive metabolites that have a positive impact on health, according to a paper in the journal Circulation Research.
Many illnesses are thought to be caused by microbes, which can lead to problems with the immune system, according to Dr. Rawls. In conclusion, gut health is also important for heart health.
Blood Vessel Integrity
The health of your blood vessels is another piece of the heart puzzle. According to Dr. Rawls, the stronger and healthier your vessel walls are, the more flexible and resilient they will be. This will allow them to better withstand the natural friction in order to avoid blockages.
Medicinal Properties of Herbs and Spices that Everyone Should Have in the Kitchen
Herbs and spices can help to fight inflation and reduce damage to your body cells. Each food is rich in phytochemicals, which are healthful plant chemicals.
They’re ‘antiseptics, antibiotics, and antioxygenic and antiviral’. They make foods tastier while boosting your health. Moreno recommends cooking with herbs and spices regularly and using several at a time whenever possible.
Likewise, they’re antioxidants and full of flavonoids. You should know what all these means.
Healthy Spices and Herbs
Chilli or Cayenne Pepper
Ramam states that cayenne pepper can help improve the stomach’s function by boosting its defense against infection, increasing production of digestive fluid, and assisting in the delivery of enzymes to the stomach.
Have you ever thought that you need pepper in order to eat a soup, stew, or porridge? It also helps to give it some zing! Not only does pepper give the soup or stew flavor or savory, but it also helps to give it some zing! It enhanced the eating process.
Pepper stimulated the circulatory system. The substance that gives peppers their heat, capsaicin, can also help to boost your metabolism. You can get your capsaicin fix by eating chili peppers, drinking teas made with chili peppers, or by eating foods like avocado or fresh coconut meat that contain small amounts of capsaicin. And of course, any food can go with pepper. Chili pepper benefits your heart health.
Dr. Edward said that capsaicin can help increase nitric oxide production in the body. The arteries relax in order to allow blood flow to the heart and keep the blood moving through the smaller vessels to different parts of the body, such as the skin, heart, and reproductive organs.
Capsiate is a compound found in the pepper that breaks down sugars and bad fats. It clears out the arteries and prevents heart diseases, such as high blood pressure.
Garlic
Garlic is believed to be the most important herb or spice. Its scientific name is Allium Satisvum. It’s a species of the onions family. Traditional medicine has been using garlic to treat cardiovascular diseases for thousands of years. If you eat garlic regularly, you can lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, according to Victoria Taylor, a dietician. This means you’re preventing or retarding heart disease.
Allicin is the active force in spiced garlic. If you want to keep this compound in your cooking pot, chop or mince it, and boil it for only 30 to 60 seconds to prevent Allicin from evaporating.
According to Google Scholar, garlic is most commonly used for conditions related to the heart and blood system. Time Newman reports that garlic may help reduce the risk of developing conditions like atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, heart attack, coronary heart disease, and hypertension.
Turmeric
I routinely added spices such as turmeric, garlic, ginger, chili, clove, and cinnamon to my stews. Adding just one spice or herb to your cooking pot will not be very effective. To get the maximum benefit, you have to combine at least three. Turmeric is a heart-friendly spice.
The part of the shrub that flowers, including the seeds, leaves, and tender system, is the herb. The root informs the spices. Turmeric, like ginger, is a root. It’s anti-inflammatory. Turmeric is a heart-friendly herb that has been sung about for thousands of years in Africa, Asia, and Europe. It’s a respected herb all over the world.
As a heart-friendly herb, it can protect the heart. And it can prevent many heart-related illnesses. A small amount of the herb is all that is needed to flavor a pot of soup or stew. I think adding too much of anything would ruin the taste of the food.
Turmeric is a medicine. Many traditional medical systems, including those from Africa, China, and Ayurveda, use ginger to treat circulatory problems. There is no scientific evidence to show that spices can be used to treat medical conditions.
Cinnamon
There’re many varieties. However, Ceylon (cassia) cinnamon is the most popular. Cinnamon is a spice sprinkled on toast and lattes. That’s what it practically is. You won’t get the same health benefits from your soups and stews if you boil the kale.
Many of the shrub’s parts can be used for medicinal purposes, including the leaves, fruits, roots, and flowers. Traditional medicine has used this plant for thousands of years. You’ll want to use it in baking and cooking depending on how long you heat it.
Cinnamon and cumin, two spices found in many popular dishes, have a chemical called cinnamaldehyde. This chemical gives these spices their flavor, and also has many health benefits for the heart. You only need to add a half teaspoon, or 2 grams, of powder to your diet or salad greens. Above this benchmark is toxic.
Do not use this medication if you are allergic to it or if you have liver problems. Breastfeeding mothers, pregnant women, and children should take extra care. It’s a potential drug.
Coumarin is another active ingredient in spices. This agent thins the blood. In other words, even small amounts of exercise can help improve heart health.
Cardamom
Cardamom has been shown to have many heart-related benefits.
It’s a spice that will make the eyes red or pop up because it’s so expensive. After saffron and vanilla, it is the most costly.
The spice has properties that are beneficial to heart health, including antioxidant, diuretic, and anti-inflammatory effects.
Streit says that cardamom seeds, oils, and extracts have been used for centuries in traditional medicine and have impressive medicinal properties.
Its heart-healthy functions include lowering blood pressure.
The seeds and pods can be ground into powder and used in curries, desserts, and meat dishes. Add a little of the powder to your teas and coffee the same way you would add powdered chili to a cup of black tea.
Any metabolic syndrome can lead to heart diseases-high blood pressure, hypertension, and high cholesterol, which are signs that your heart is not in a good state of health.
If you consume 1/2 gram of cardamom on a daily basis, it will discourage the formation of the aforementioned conditions. If you are up for the challenge, the spice will defeat or hinder them.
A study on rats showed that it could improve blood cholesterol, lower cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, so volunteers were asked to help test it.
Add a little cardamom to your diet for flavor, just as you would with salt.
Cardamom is a good source of nutrients including iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, and manganese. Plus calcium, potassium, vitamin C, and a B-complex unit. There is a good chance that these nutrients will help fight the coronavirus disease that is common these days.
Curcumin
This spice is also associated with the ginger family. It’s a bright-orange-yellow plant product. It’s used mainly as a food flavor and coloring. There is no clear evidence that the complex chemical has any medicinal benefits. Turmeric contains a yellow pigment that is responsible for its color.
It’s significant to note that the United States government gave a grant of $150 million for research into the many health benefits of turmeric, even though it has its uses in Ayurveda or alternative medicine.
It’s reasonable that turmeric derived its potential from curcumin. The chemical curcuminoids contain curcumin. It’s the main active ingredient in turmeric. And so, curcumin is a species for heart-related disease. But it is not easily absorbed by the body, so it must be consumed with black pepper. There is no benefit to eating just one herb. Three or four combinations is best.
This means that when you eat foods with nutrients, your body is able to absorb and use those nutrients. Our digestive system is a poor indicator of this. Black pepper contains a chemical called piperine. It enhances absorption rate of curcumin by 2000% according to clinical trials by humans. Curcumin has the potential to lower heart disease.