With 34% of all deaths in Australia being due to cardiovascular disease, it is vital to do everything you can to keep your heart healthy. If you are healthy, your heart and blood vessels work together in a balanced manner to deliver blood to every tissue and organ in your body - keeping you alive and well. Did you know?
There are many factors that may increase your risk of heart disease, these include eating a diet high in saturated and trans fats, being overweight, not exercising, having high cholesterol, certain health conditions such as diabetes and cigarette smoking.
Blood pressure is the force blood exerts on the inside walls of blood vessels as it travels through the body. A build up of cholesterol plaque or fatty deposits in your blood vessels will narrow the diameter of your blood vessels and increase your blood pressure. Continuous high blood pressure can damage your heart, kidney, eyes and blood vessels in the brain, so it is important to ensure that your blood pressure is maintained within healthy limits.
This may surprise you, but cholesterol itself is not bad for you. In fact, cholesterol is a normal component of your body and is needed to keep you healthy. Cholesterol is found in the bloodstream and in all cells of your body. Cholesterol is an important substance, as it is used to produce hormones and other important compounds within the body. It?s normal to have cholesterol, but problems can arise when you have too much cholesterol or too much of the "bad" cholesterol.
There are two main forms of cholesterol: LDL and LDL. LDL is the "bad" cholesterol and when too much of this form of cholesterol is in the blood, it can clog up your arteries, increasing your risk of heart attack or stroke. HDL is the "good" cholesterol: HDL actually helps lower your risk of developing heart disease.
You may benefit from a few key nutrients that are well researched for their effects on improving cardiovascular health including magnesium,taurine, fish oils, arginine, folate, B12, B6, trimethylglycine, Co10, hawthorn, bonito peptides, policosinols or krill oil.
Your naturopath can provide a range of personalised options and lifestyle programs designed to keep your cardiovascular system as healthy as possible. If you are concerned with the health of your cardiovascular system, then see a naturopath to discuss the range of options available to help.