Chasing children, chasing appointments, chasing time for yourself – it can all take its toll and in today’s busy world, it’s often impossible to slow things down and catch your breath. It’s essential that your heart and cardiovascular system stays powered and performing at its best, and it only becomes more important as you age.
The American Heart Association (AHA) estimates that 90% of heart health events could be preventable with the right education and action. With over 2/3 of Americans concerned about their heart health, understanding the factors that contribute to heart health events can make a significant difference in cardiovascular health outcomes.
If our brain is our body’s control center, then our heart can be considered as our body’s engine. The heart is composed of cardiac muscle, which relies on many mitochondria within its cells for energy. As with many other crucial organs, a properly functioning heart is highly dependent on properly functioning mitochondria. Extended out over the average life span, the heart requires a huge amount of energy. Although they slow when we are asleep, our heart never gets a rest. If they stop, so do we.
During the average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times and pump over 1 million barrels of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels. All that blood is pumped around the huge network of arteries, veins and capillaries which make up our circulatory system. With the use of smooth muscles, we can squeeze and relax our blood vessels. These smooth muscles contain a high number of mitochondria. The relentless pumping of the heart requires a large and constant amount of energy, which is produced by our mitochondria.
Your diet has a profound effect on your organs and body functions, and your heart is no exception. The nutrients found in the food you eat plays a critical role in the maintenance of overall health, and when it comes to the health of your heart – research shows that there are specific foods that we need to be eating more of, and some that we are best to avoid.
Of all macronutrients in the diet, fats tend to get a bad rep. But what is less known about fats is that there are several types, and some are incredibly beneficial for our health (particularly, our heart health). Fats can be broken down into 3 main categories – saturated fats, unsaturated fats and trans fats.
Saturated fats are found in foods like butter, cheese, meat and other dairy products. Eating too much saturated fat can increase LDL cholesterol, and it has long been recommended to avoid this type of fat to reduce your risk of heart health complications. While the degree of risk is still up for debate, keeping saturated fats to a minimum continues to be a strong recommendation by health care practitioners across the board.
Monounsaturated fats have been consistently highlighted in studies to support cardiovascular health in more ways than one. Foods rich in monounsaturated fats include nuts and seeds, avocado, nut butter and olive oil. Under the heart-healthy umbrella of monounsaturated fats falls polyunsaturated fats, which are also known as ‘essential fats' because the body can’t manufacture them so we must obtain them from food. Foods rich in polyunsaturated fats include fatty fish, chia seeds, flaxseeds and walnuts.
According to the AHA, both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats support cardiovascular health by reducing LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, reducing the risk of cardiovascular health events and providing the essential fatty acids that the body can’t manufacture on its own.
While there is some debate surrounding the different types of fats and how much to eat, there is a universal agreement when it comes to artificial trans fats – which is that they should largely avoided if you want to protect your heart health. Artificial trans fats can be found in fried foods, vegetable oils, shortening, and margarines. Processed foods are the greatest source of trans fats because they contain high amounts of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Even small amounts of trans fats can increase the amount of LDL and reduce the amount of HDL cholesterol in the bloodstream, so it’s recommended to steer clear of these where you can.
Cholesterol is a type of lipid that is produced naturally by the liver. It’s crucial for many process including the formation of cell membranes, hormone production vitamin D synthesis. There are two main types of cholesterol, LDL (or “bad”) cholesterol and HDL (“good”) cholesterol.
LDL is known as the “bad” type of cholesterol because it carries cholesterol to your arteries, increasing the risk of cholesterol build up along the artery wall. When this happens, it creates a ‘cholesterol plaque’ that can narrow the arteries and limit blood flow, increasing the risk of blood clots. In contrast, healthy levels of HDL cholesterol can divert cholesterol back to the liver and help lower the risk of blood clots and the complications that may follow.
Sodium is an electrolyte that plays an important role in fluid balance, but too much of this mineral has been linked to increased blood pressure and increased cardiovascular events. Salt is largely overconsumed in the standard American diet due to the overconsumption of processed foods (over 75% of daily sodium consumption comes from the salt found in processed foods). Reducing sodium to under 2.3g per day is the most recent recommendation from the AHA to reduce the risk of heart health events in those who are at risk.
Rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, and lean proteins like fish and poultry – the Mediterranean Diet is associated with longevity and a reduced risk of health complications. Eating in this way by including a variety of whole foods, healthy fats and antioxidants in the diet has been shown to protect heart health and support other markers of cardiovascular function including healthy cholesterol, blood pressure and markers of oxidative stress. Examples of specific heart-healthy foods that are encouraged when eating this way include salmon, almonds, avocado, blueberries and olive oil.
We all know the laundry list of health benefits that exercise encourages, and supporting cardiovascular health is one of the most researched of them all. Regular moderate to vigorous exercise has been shown to strengthen the heart muscle, improving its ability to pump blood to the lungs and around the body.
As for what type of exercise is best, walking is still considered to be the best place to start. Walking for more than 4 hours each week is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular complications and walking for an average of 30 minutes or more each day has been shown to reduce the risk of some cardiovascular complications by 35%. Some research has also shows that ‘static’ exercise such as strength training, is more strongly associated with the reduced risk of heart health complications when compared to the classic cardio-based activities like running or cycling.
MitoQ +heart
Formulated with mitoquinol mesylate (also known as Mitoquinone), Magnesium, Vitamin D3, L-carnitine
With the consumption of processed foods on the rise, it is important to supplement the diet with key nutrients you may not be consuming from your normal everyday diet. Here are a few dietary supplements that are commonly used to support heart health.
Our hearts are extremely energy-hungry organs which is why cardiac tissue is densely packed with mitochondria (organelles within almost all of our cells that provide them with energy, signaling and much more). While they provide our body with the energy required to keep our heart pumping, the downside is that mitochondria are also the most prolific producers of free radicals in the body. This can lead to oxidative stress, which is essentially damage to the functioning of your cells.
When it comes to your heart, oxidative stress can impact cardiovascular health by influencing heart cell function, heart rhythm, blood pressure, and vascular health. Endothelial function is now recognized as an independent predictor in the status of heart health . The endothelial lining (the inside lining of our blood vessels – arteries, veins and capillaries), helps them expand and contract, controlling blood flow and pressure. This tissue is extremely sensitive to oxidative stress, and over time, this can manifest as thickened, stiff arteries. This is why mitigating the effects of oxidative stress is important for keeping arteries flexible, responsive, and healthy.
An effective way to reduce oxidative stress and support heart health is by supplementing with an antioxidant. However, not all antioxidants are created equal, and for them to be most effective, they need to be able to reach the source of oxidative stress, the mitochondria.
Mitoquinol Mesylate (commercially available as MitoQ and also known as Mitoquinone) is a world-first antioxidant molecule that targets mitochondria, which are abundant in heart muscle cells and a major site of free radical production. MitoQ provides free radical defenses right inside your cells, supporting a strong, healthy heart and flexible arteries. In fact, a recent clinical trial concluded that the MitoQ molecule supports arterial health by greatly improving arterial dilation by 42%.
Taking your daily dose of Mitoquinol Mesylate in combination with dietary and lifestyle changes listed above is an effective way to support your cardiovascular health from a holistic perspective. Taking care of your cells and managing oxidative stress as part of your daily routine creates a ripple effect that spills into wider areas of your health, from sustained energy and healthier aging, to better exercise recovery.
*These statements have not been evaluated by The Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
