Heart Health

The Coronary Artery disease which is the one most feared is a gradual, insidious blocking of the blood that flows through one or more of the coronary arteries that feed blood into the heart and/or a rapid blockage of this already reduced blood flow because of a blood clot. When one or more of these arteries occlude off and blood flow is lost to the heart, a heart attack occurs with a resulting infarction, or dead/ scarred area of heart tissue left remaining. This can result in a permanent loss of full heart function, and disability due to poor heart function thereafter. Once the process starts, more heart attacks down the road are the norm. Not a very happy thing for one to have to contemplate if their lifestyle has created this outcome, but there is hope!

Cholesterol: Evil villain or just a bystander that didn’t call the cops?

Cholesterol has become a superstar in the public eye as a “cause” of heart disease. Is it? While there can be no doubt that LDL cholesterol is a component of sclerotic deposits in arteries, was it the root cause or just a band aid that your body stuck onto damaged and inflamed arterial linings. One reason that cholesterol has gained such fame is that statin drugs have become highly profitable meds.  Based on revised standards of what is an acceptable level of cholesterol in the body, a good portion of the adult population should be taking these! Yet some research has actually shown that statins reduce overall lifespan. Yes….. really! Sort of defeating the purpose, huh?

Some other pharmaceutical meds for cardiovascular disease are Beta Blockers that block adrenaline in order to slow down the heart and thus lower blood pressure or address irregular heartbeat, blood thinners, to prevent clotting risks, and diuretics.

Some heart medications save lives and extend lives, and it is not the purpose here to blast allopathic medicine for heart disease. Heart disease is a serious matter. But typically the people who come to see us for completely natural support to improve their overall cardiovascular health are simply uncomfortable with the strict pharmaceutical approach, drug cocktails they have been given, side effects of said drugs, and being told they will need these for life. This is a personal choice.

As a traditional naturopathic practitioner many people who come to see me have already chosen to discontinue many of their meds against doctor’s orders. While I do not advocate that, I do believe that the ability to choose whether or not to use drugs in one’s own body is a basic human freedom. When a person makes that decision and seeks information on natural ways to strengthen heart health and prevent heart disease here are some of the things we offer at our wellness center.

In some cases, mild Infrared sauna therapy may be beneficial. Infrared sauna is able to heat only the outer few inches of the body first and cause sweating without heating up the core body temperature. This can result in a very slight increase in heat rate akin to going for a walk. Other benefits are the sweating of salt and fluids in the case of high blood pressure. (Please note that in cases of severe or acute heart disease, sauna of any type might be contraindicated. Always check with your medical doctor before using sauna, but it might not be a bad idea to have some research studies in hand on the benefits of infrared sauna in Congestive Heart Failure)

Stress management and relaxation techniques can also be quite helpful in improving heart health. Out of control anger has been well established as a risk factor for heart attacks as well as type A personality.

Once a person has made all the lifestyle changes that they can (or will), then one looks at what natural therapies and supplements are best suited for them. In other words what natural things are available that can be used as drug alternatives for those who choose this path. There is no such thing as cookbook natural protocols for something as complex as heart health.

We test a variety of heart healthy nutritional supplements energetically with the ASYRA and ZYTO devices to see which products balance the person energetically speaking. It is not possible to get in depth here regarding the full variety of supplements. We have access to over 15,000, high quality nutritional supplements through various companies that we can energetically test each person for, and no two people will likely ever get the exact same supplement recommendations. Each one of us is unique. What benefits one may do little for another, but here is a basic list of some products to promote heart health.

Blood Thinning

1. Aged garlic.
2. High quality fish oil.
3. Vitamin E including tocotrienols.
4. Systemic enzymes including fibrinolytic enzymes like Nattokinase. (Google the term “fibrin” and look at the images.) This is a normal component of blood and blood clots. Too much can increase risk of clotting. Certain enzymes like Nattokinase dissolve fibrin.
5. Proper hydration is a must. Dehydration thickens the blood. A surprising number of health issues can be improved just by drinking adequate amounts of good water.

Hypertension

 

1. Rauwolfia
2. Magnesium
3. Special attention to sodium potassium balance in ones diet. Less Sodium, more potassium.
4. Any and all natural vasodilators including L-Arginine, niacin, etc. When you dilate and relax blood vessels the heart can profuse tissues without as much effort and blood pressure comes down.

Heart Mitochondrial Support

In cases of heart failure and weakness, it is crucial to stimulate and support the function of the many mitochondria in heart muscle. Heart muscle on average produces about 50 times more mitochondrial energy than our skeletal muscles. The heart is therefore more sensitive to loss of any nutrients key to this function.

1. Reduced CoQ10.
2. L-Carnitine.
3. D-Ribose.
4. Magnesium.
5. B-Vitamins.
6. Homeopathic KREBS cycle nutrients.

Dosage is key in the use of these above listed supplements. What works well for an athlete or someone who just wants  good prevention may accomplish little for someone with CHF. They might be helped by going much higher on the dosages of these nutrients. There is no toxicity with these to worry about for the most part unless one takes an insanely high dose.

Cholesterol

 

1. Aged Garlic.
2. Gugulipids- an Ayurvedic herbal product.
3. Any and all supplements or bitter herbs that stimulate the dumping of more cholesterol laden bile through the liver/gallbladder/common bile duct pathway.
4. Any and all fiber type supplements that bind cholesterol in the gut and prevent the reabsorbing of it through the intestine back into circulation. After all, this is the natural way the body eliminates cholesterol so why not support it?

Other things that deserve some mention here involve seeking the underlying root causes of inflammation in the body. Many previously unsuspected infections are emerging as components of arterial inflammation. In other words the immune system is going after microbes imbedded in the delicate lining of the arteries and this is one cause of the chronic inflammation and elevated C-reactive Protein, a marker for arterial inflammation. It also can explain why the body keeps depositing cholesterol and plaque onto damaged arteries.  Therefore natural antimicrobial/antibacterial supplements can be useful, as well as natural anti-inflammatory products. Other things to consider are lowering homocysteine naturally with supplements, as it is strongly linked with damage to arterial endothelial cells lining our vascular system.

This has been a brief discussion of a very important subject for us and our loved ones. Heart disease is serious business. As a Certified Traditional Naturopath, I had the privilege to train with the cardiologist William Lee Cowden M.D., and some of the information listed above comes from that training and attending his medical conferences on reversing heart disease naturally. Keep in mind that one MUST be aware of interactions between medical drugs and natural supplements for heart health. I diligently consider drug and natural product interactions for those who remain on meds. Please do not take the information above and start randomly taking supplements without consulting someone who can advise you in this matter. Of course I do not claim to have all the answers in all the complex areas of heart disease and heart health.  But in health, sometimes we don’t need to have every single answer. We just need to have enough of the answers to support our body’s natural healing processes, and it will do the rest.