The Top Ways You Can Prevent Heart Disease Naturally

According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the U.S.

Our heart, lungs, and brain are the main three organs that do not stop working all hours of the day. Ensuring they are functioning is essential to our longevity and overall health. The heart is a muscle at the center of the circulatory system, pumping blood around your body as your heart beats. That blood carries oxygen and nutrients through multiple body parts and eliminates unwanted carbon dioxide. Cardiovascular disease is connected to many other diseases and health problems, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and more. In today's article, I will explain where heart disease comes from and how you can prevent it in natural ways.

What is cardiovascular disease?

Heart disease or atherosclerosis is the hardening or narrowing of the blood vessels due to an accumulation of plaque. This buildup severely damages the heart muscle, putting you at risk of heart attack, blood clots, and much more. Symptoms can be faint until it is too late, but some of the symptoms you may feel are as follows:

- Pain in chest, discomfort, tightness

- Heightened Blood pressure

- Shortness of breath

- Pain, numbness, or coldness in limbs like arms and legs

If you feel any of the following symptoms, get medical attention as soon as possible. Cardiovascular disease is not a simple disease and should be adequately treated.

What are the leading causes of heart disease?

The underlying cause of the cardiovascular disease is endothelial dysfunction. Endothelial cells line the inside of the arteries, and over time, they are exposed to atherogenic factors and become damaged. When the endothelial cells cannot function properly, plaque builds up and calcifies, narrowing the artery. Some factors that may contribute to this process are:

Processed/ Fast Food: This food contains harsh ingredients like omega-6 fatty acids, preservatives, artificial sweeteners, gluten, sugar, and more. These ingredients are what damage those endothelial cells in our cells.

Lack of activity: Living a sedentary lifestyle has more cons than pros, especially when it comes to cardiovascular disease. Exercise is what helps to push blood through the heart at a faster rate helping to rid of inflammation. The more you move, the better. Exercising 3-5 weekly for 20-30 minutes is recommended to prevent heart disease.

Stressful eating: Stress is the beginning of heart disease. When we stress, we constrict our blood vessels, causing us to release hormones that can damage our endothelial cells. Combine this with fast or processed food; it is a double whammy for disaster.

Smoking: We all know the negatives of tobacco, but how does t contribute to heart disease? The same as food causes damage to the cells that surround our blood, creating plaque buildup and increasing the odds of a blood clot.

Alcohol: Long-term alcohol abuse weakens and thins the heart muscle, affecting its ability to pump blood. When your heart can't pump at a healthy rate, it puts you at risk for heart attack or heart failure.

What are the risk factors for Artheroscerlerosis and cardiovascular disease?

- Elevated LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol

- Elevated triglycerides

- Hypertension

- Elevated glucose and insulin levels

- Insufficient vitamins D and K

- Hormonal imbalances

How you can strengthen your heart

Your heart is a muscle, and the more you train it, the stronger and healthier it remains. Exercise is a perfect way to strengthen and heal the heart. I recommend doing both types of exercise weekly to get the best bang for your buck. Both give the same benefit, but doing both makes it more fun.

Strength Training: participating in free weight training with dumbbells, barbells, kettlebells, and resistance bands puts tension on your muscles, which generates blood flow, destroying inflammation and improving lipid profiles. Strength training 3-4 days a week for 20-45 minutes is recommended.

Aerobic training: Brisk walking, yoga, running, bike riding, swimming, or any activity that gets you out of breath for a short period. You want to get your heart rate up to work on your heart rate variability, which is your body's ability to bounce back after having a higher heart rate. It is what helps strengthen your heart's ability to control blood flow. In addition, these forms of exercise help break down plaque and cleanse the blood.

Ways to naturally heal cardiovascular disease

If you have been diagnosed with heart disease, cardiovascular disease, or atherosclerosis, please see your doctor and ask them about applying any of these tips before using them.

Just because you have this disease does not mean you cannot treat it naturally with the correct diet, supplements, and elimination of certain chemicals out of your life.

Nutrients: The essential nutrients you can include in your diet are antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, resveratrol, polyphenols, flavonoids, & magnesium. You can find these antioxidants, polyphenols, flavonoids, and magnesium in foods such as fresh berries, pomegranates, kale, swiss chard, spinach, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, and bell peppers. You can find omega-3 fatty acids in fish such as salmon, trout sardines, chia seeds, flaxseeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts. You can find resveratrol in foods such as Organic red wine, and Organic expressed olive oil, and +70% dark chocolate.

Stress managing techniques: Stress is the key to what kills your heart. Having stress management in your life is vital in healing and preventing heart disease. Contacting a therapist to help you process any emotional stress you might have can be an excellent way to process some things that create anxiety or other forms of fear-based stress. Having an accountability partner or a coach that can help you achieve your goals is a great way to manage your stress. Journaling for 10-15 minutes daily can help externalize your thoughts and keep you from dwelling on them. Going on daily decompression walks where you can spend time alone to disconnect from work or life to help you get present. Practicing deep breathing is a fantastic way to keep your heart rate relaxed. I recommend doing these types of practices for just 10 minutes a day.

Remove toxic chemicals from your life: Removing things like smoking and limiting the amount of alcohol you consume can drastically improve the health of your heart. A great way to begin quitting smoking is to slowly dwindle off and use things like Lucy gum (Add link) to transition away from cigarettes. With alcohol, I recommend switching to organic red or white wine and limiting it to just 1-2 glasses a day. Doing this eliminates the inflammation in your heart and begins the healing process.

Supplement that prevents stress on your heart: Supplements are a great

way to get in some of the nutrients I have listed here without spending hours in the kitchen trying to figure out ways to put these foods in a creative dish so it is delicious or family-friendly. The best supplements I recommend are linked and listed below;

Magnesium

Resveratrol

Omega 3 fish oil

Folate

CoQ10

L-Carnitine

Quercetin

Kion Flex

All of these tips can help you preserve your heart's life and give you more energy. Applying some of these simple steps can prevent you from having to go to the doctor for your annual check-ups. Instead, you can heal yourself if you give your body a chance to do what it is designed to do.