ChatterTip of the Month August 2010

Natural Remedies for a Healthy Heart!


Image courtesy of http://www.speaking-up.com/blog/

The sign of Leo rules over the heart (as well as the back) so it is not unusual for people born under this sign to have issues with their heart. Leo is also connected with love, think of an affectionate and purring pussycat that just wants to be stroked and adored, who wouldn’t love that?

And then put the two together and you have the reason as to why we associate our organ “the heart” with “being in love.” So a heart problem might not always be something physical, it could be a case of a “broken heart.” But for now, let’s stick with some physical remedies for a healthy heart:

Cardiovascular Exercise – may sound obvious but it is really important because your heart is a muscle, like any other in the body, so bottom line is it needs exercise. We talk about exercising and losing weight, cardio classes and all of that, but think about it – cardio = heart, so we need to exercise the heart muscle by raising the heartbeat during our workout. It might be a walk, a swim, a dance class, or perhaps something more intense such as a treadmill, bike, rower or stepping machine. But whatever your level, pedestrian to athlete, and whichever exercise genre you choose, you simply need to elevate the heart rate so that you are working the heart muscle out and, it should be for a sustained period of time (minimum of 20 – 30 minutes) several times a week (3 – 5 days, depending on you and your workout.) And if you haven’t exercised in a while, don’t do too much to begin with, start with a few minutes and build it up over a period of time. This way you will avoid injury and allow the body to build endurance.

Foods to help prevent Heart Disease – so besides exercising our heart muscle, we also need to be aware of what we are eating. Cardiovascular diseases also include those related to the blood vessels as well as to the heart itself, and combined they form the cardiovascular system. The heart is the organ responsible for “pumping” blood throughout our bodies, so if it’s not working too well, the rest of the body is in trouble. And, if our diet is poor and we eat lots of fried food and junk in general, and we don’t exercise, chances are that we are going to be overweight for starters, which will put additional strain on that heart muscle, and then our blood vessels could become constricted so our blood won’t flow properly, and then well, it’s not going to produce any good scenarios really, whether it is high “bad” cholesterol, high blood pressure or worse still a “heart attack” – so we have to be aware of what we are putting in our bodies and feed it well.

The following foods are great for fighting against heart disease and strokes (also good for asthma and rheumatoid arthritis) – Squash or ZucchiniOnionsSweet PotatoesCarrotsApricotsCantaloupeOrangesCorn,Pineapples & Lemons – and notice how many of these foods reflect the warm fiery color palette of Leo. Also great for the heart is our old friend Ginger and I even read somewhere that, 3 – 4 teaspoons a day of Ketchup (yes ketchup) helps to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, who knew?

Vitamins & Supplements for a Healthy Heart – so aside from exercising and eating well, here are a few supplement suggestions to help promote a healthy heart. First of all, many of you have no doubt heard that Aspirin has been recommended for many years to help aid against heart problems. Then we have the supplement Co Q10, which is known to act as an antioxidant and can be beneficial for treating heart disease, heart failure, cardiac arrest as well as high blood pressure. And then we also have the Omega 3 Oils including Fish Oil(commonly found in the oilier fishes such as salmon, sardines and mackerel), Flaxseed (or LinseedOil, and Borage Oil – all great for promoting a healthy heart.

Love Yourself – again, this may sound obvious to some, but above all, we have to love ourselves. We do this by exercising regularly, eating sensibly and by generally doing good things for our mind, body and soul, whatever those might be. Only then can we truly be able to give love to others.