Natural Remedies for Coronary Heart Disease
New Evidence: How to Reduce Genetic Heart Disease Risk
A 2016 study found that living a healthy lifestyle by exercising, eating a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables and grains and not smoking can lower your risk of heart disease — even if you are genetically predisposed to the disease. The study looked at 55,685 participants total in three prospective cohorts and one cross-sectional study. According to The New York Times:
“The investigators found that genes can double the risk of heart disease, but a good lifestyle cuts it in half. Just as important, they found, a terrible lifestyle erases about half of the benefits of good genetics.”
The individual results of each study were impressive. In the first study, when participants with the highest genetic risk followed a healthy lifestyle, they cut the 10-year likelihood of heart disease to 5.1 percent from 10.7 percent. In the second study, the high-risk and healthy lifestyle participants’ 10-year risk dropped from 4.6 percent to 2 percent. In the third study, participants risk went from 8.2 percent to 5.3 percent. In the final study, participants with a high genetic risk living a healthy lifestyle had significantly less calcium in their coronary arteries, which is a sign of CHD.
This ground-breaking research illustrates that you can naturally reduce your risk of heart disease. Let’s look at what foods, supplements, essential oils and lifestyle changes you can implement to achieve greater health and fight off coronary heart disease.
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, some symptoms of CHD can be very noticeable, however, it’s also possible to have this disease and experience no symptoms at all or only slight symptoms. Therefore, not everyone who has CHD even knows it — especially people who are in the early stages.
Pain varies a lot from person to person. The most common noticeable sign of CHD is having chest pain or discomfort, which is caused when the heart is not getting enough blood or oxygen.
Other types of symptoms can include:
Adjusting your diet, reducing stress levels and regularly exercising are fundamental to controlling inflammation and, therefore, naturally treating and preventing coronary heart disease.
Many doctors place people on a treatment plan that includes both prescription medications and lifestyle changes. Depending on which healthcare professional you choose, your symptoms and how severe the disease is, you might be prescribed one or more medicines to treat your high blood pressure or high cholesterol or to prevent complications like diabetes.
In the majority of people, the real cause of heart disease is inflammation. Foods that promote inflammation include:
Foods That Heal Heart Disease
Instead of focusing on foods that reduce fat and cholesterol, we would be much better off making the goal to reduce inflammation. Heart disease is really caused by the inflammation of arteries, and yet modern medicine focuses on treating symptoms, not addressing the root cause of the issue.
The healthiest anti-inflammatory foods for fighting coronary heart disease are those beaming with antioxidants and phytonutrients that lower your immune system’s overactive response. These help fight free radical damage and target the problem where it starts by lowering oxidative stress. How do you know what the top antioxidant foods are? Anything loaded with fiber, grown directly from the earth and brightly colored is a good place to start!
Healthy fats and animal proteins have a place among other whole foods in a heart-healthy diet, too. When it comes to including healthy fats, the general effect of quality saturated fats in someone’s diet is to help balance the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterols. Regarding HDL cholesterol, some feel “the higher, the better,” but we know that the ratio of cholesterol is important too. Coconut oil, for example, raises HDL if it’s low and lowers LDL if it’s high. Other foods that help with this balance include grass-fed beef and cocoa — which contain stearic acid — and also butter, which contains palmitic acid.
If you look at evidence from many people living a traditional diet, saturated fats do not cause coronary heart disease. Foods containing saturated fats — such as full-fat dairy, organ meats, beef, eggs, lard and butter — are actually found in high levels in many of the healthiest, longest-living people that have been studied.
Begin incorporating one new anti-inflammatory food to your diet each day. Don’t be afraid to try new things and keep it interesting!
Foods that help reduce inflammation and, therefore, the risk of CHD include:
Fiber-rich and antioxidant-rich foods of all kinds
Vegetables (all kinds, including beets, carrots, cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale, dark leafy greens, artichokes, onions, peas, salad greens, mushrooms, sea vegetables and squashes)
Fruits (all kinds, especially berries and citrus)
Herbs and spices, especially turmeric (curcumin) and raw garlic (also basil, chili peppers, cinnamon, curry powder, ginger, rosemary and thyme)
Traditional teas like green tea, oolong or white tea
Legumes and beans
Healthy fats found in nuts, seeds, avocados, wild-caught fish, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil
Raw, unpasteurized dairy products, cage-free eggs and pasture-raised poultry
Red wine in moderation
The Mediterranean diet is one of the most popular and effective anti-inflammatory diets there is. Foods commonly eaten in the Mediterranean region include fish, vegetables, beans, fruits and olive oil. These have been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides and reduce symptoms of numerous chronic diseases. Following this type of diet that is low in sugar, processed foods, preservatives, vegetable oils and artificial ingredients can also help you maintain a healthier weight.
Beneficial Supplements to Include
You will get the most benefits for your health by focusing on eating real foods with natural, absorbable nutrients. The bottom line is that while it’s helpful to be aware of certain nutrients that can help fight heart disease, eating a wide variety of whole foods and reducing toxin load in your body is by far the most important thing.
However, some supplements can speed up the body’s ability to fight inflammation and heal itself. Some of these include:
Omega-3 fish oil supplements or 1 tablespoon of fish oil (such as cod liver oil) daily
Curcumin and garlic supplements
Coenzyme Q10
Carotenoids
Selenium
Vitamins C, D and E
A 2016 study found that living a healthy lifestyle by exercising, eating a healthy diet full of fruits, vegetables and grains and not smoking can lower your risk of heart disease — even if you are genetically predisposed to the disease. The study looked at 55,685 participants total in three prospective cohorts and one cross-sectional study. According to The New York Times:
“The investigators found that genes can double the risk of heart disease, but a good lifestyle cuts it in half. Just as important, they found, a terrible lifestyle erases about half of the benefits of good genetics.”
The individual results of each study were impressive. In the first study, when participants with the highest genetic risk followed a healthy lifestyle, they cut the 10-year likelihood of heart disease to 5.1 percent from 10.7 percent. In the second study, the high-risk and healthy lifestyle participants’ 10-year risk dropped from 4.6 percent to 2 percent. In the third study, participants risk went from 8.2 percent to 5.3 percent. In the final study, participants with a high genetic risk living a healthy lifestyle had significantly less calcium in their coronary arteries, which is a sign of CHD.
This ground-breaking research illustrates that you can naturally reduce your risk of heart disease. Let’s look at what foods, supplements, essential oils and lifestyle changes you can implement to achieve greater health and fight off coronary heart disease.
Symptoms of Coronary Heart Disease
According to the University of Maryland Medical Center, some symptoms of CHD can be very noticeable, however, it’s also possible to have this disease and experience no symptoms at all or only slight symptoms. Therefore, not everyone who has CHD even knows it — especially people who are in the early stages.
Pain varies a lot from person to person. The most common noticeable sign of CHD is having chest pain or discomfort, which is caused when the heart is not getting enough blood or oxygen.
Other types of symptoms can include:
- Feeling a “heaviness” or like someone is squeezing your heart
- Pains or numbness in your breast bone (sternum), neck, arms, stomach or upper back
- Shortness of breath and fatigue with activity
- General weakness
Natural Treatments for Coronary Heart Disease
Adjusting your diet, reducing stress levels and regularly exercising are fundamental to controlling inflammation and, therefore, naturally treating and preventing coronary heart disease.
Many doctors place people on a treatment plan that includes both prescription medications and lifestyle changes. Depending on which healthcare professional you choose, your symptoms and how severe the disease is, you might be prescribed one or more medicines to treat your high blood pressure or high cholesterol or to prevent complications like diabetes.
In the majority of people, the real cause of heart disease is inflammation. Foods that promote inflammation include:
- Corn and soybean oils
- Pasteurized, conventional dairy
- Refined carbohydrates
- Conventional meat
- Sugars of all kinds
- Trans fats
Foods That Heal Heart Disease
Instead of focusing on foods that reduce fat and cholesterol, we would be much better off making the goal to reduce inflammation. Heart disease is really caused by the inflammation of arteries, and yet modern medicine focuses on treating symptoms, not addressing the root cause of the issue.
The healthiest anti-inflammatory foods for fighting coronary heart disease are those beaming with antioxidants and phytonutrients that lower your immune system’s overactive response. These help fight free radical damage and target the problem where it starts by lowering oxidative stress. How do you know what the top antioxidant foods are? Anything loaded with fiber, grown directly from the earth and brightly colored is a good place to start!
Healthy fats and animal proteins have a place among other whole foods in a heart-healthy diet, too. When it comes to including healthy fats, the general effect of quality saturated fats in someone’s diet is to help balance the ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterols. Regarding HDL cholesterol, some feel “the higher, the better,” but we know that the ratio of cholesterol is important too. Coconut oil, for example, raises HDL if it’s low and lowers LDL if it’s high. Other foods that help with this balance include grass-fed beef and cocoa — which contain stearic acid — and also butter, which contains palmitic acid.
If you look at evidence from many people living a traditional diet, saturated fats do not cause coronary heart disease. Foods containing saturated fats — such as full-fat dairy, organ meats, beef, eggs, lard and butter — are actually found in high levels in many of the healthiest, longest-living people that have been studied.
Begin incorporating one new anti-inflammatory food to your diet each day. Don’t be afraid to try new things and keep it interesting!
Foods that help reduce inflammation and, therefore, the risk of CHD include:
Fiber-rich and antioxidant-rich foods of all kinds
Vegetables (all kinds, including beets, carrots, cruciferous vegetables like Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and kale, dark leafy greens, artichokes, onions, peas, salad greens, mushrooms, sea vegetables and squashes)
Fruits (all kinds, especially berries and citrus)
Herbs and spices, especially turmeric (curcumin) and raw garlic (also basil, chili peppers, cinnamon, curry powder, ginger, rosemary and thyme)
Traditional teas like green tea, oolong or white tea
Legumes and beans
Healthy fats found in nuts, seeds, avocados, wild-caught fish, coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil
Raw, unpasteurized dairy products, cage-free eggs and pasture-raised poultry
Red wine in moderation
The Mediterranean diet is one of the most popular and effective anti-inflammatory diets there is. Foods commonly eaten in the Mediterranean region include fish, vegetables, beans, fruits and olive oil. These have been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides and reduce symptoms of numerous chronic diseases. Following this type of diet that is low in sugar, processed foods, preservatives, vegetable oils and artificial ingredients can also help you maintain a healthier weight.
Beneficial Supplements to Include
You will get the most benefits for your health by focusing on eating real foods with natural, absorbable nutrients. The bottom line is that while it’s helpful to be aware of certain nutrients that can help fight heart disease, eating a wide variety of whole foods and reducing toxin load in your body is by far the most important thing.
However, some supplements can speed up the body’s ability to fight inflammation and heal itself. Some of these include:
Omega-3 fish oil supplements or 1 tablespoon of fish oil (such as cod liver oil) daily
Curcumin and garlic supplements
Coenzyme Q10
Carotenoids
Selenium
Vitamins C, D and E
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- 20-12-2016, 19:59
- 1 423
- Pharmatic