Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Heart Health: The Complete Summary Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND I hope this series on heart health has been both informative and interesting! While I took the time in this series to review some rather severe heart conditions I also wanted to do a quick …
Greens Hx part 2 Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In our last blog we were talking about how one of our most popular supplements can be beneficial for our heart. This supplement was Greens Hx and we will be continuing this exciting topic today! So …
Greens Hx….for our heart?
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Greens Hx is probably one of the most popular products at Invite! Everyone knows how amazing Greens Hx is for our liver, immune system, detox and even energy! What most people may not know is that Greens Hx is full of heart healthy nutrients. And when I say full I don’t mean just 1 or 2 of the ingredients. There are literally 12 different components of Greens Hx that are good for our heart health. So let’s take a look at these ingredients!
Let’s start with ginger. Studies have found that ginger has several benefits to our heart health. Ginger has been found to help with lowering high blood pressure, high cholesterol and it can even help to lower the risk of blood clots. (1) Ginger has also been found to have triglyceride lowering benefits. (2) Additionally studies have found that ginger can help to increase our HDL levels. (3) Overall Ginger is an amazing supplement for our heart!
Moving on from ginger let’s talking about grape seed. The first benefit of grape seed is its effects on blood pressure. Studies have found that grape seed can “significantly modulate blood pressure after grape seed extract is used for 16 weeks”. (4) This is important considering that high blood pressure is a risk factor for so many heart complications. In fact 1 study found that grape seed extract lowered systolic blood pressure by 5.6% and diastolic by 4.7% after only 6 weeks of use. (5) Studies have also found that grape seed can help to improve circulation. In one study after 8 weeks grape seed was found to help with blood thinning thus potentially decrease risk of blood clots. (6) Studies have also found that grape seed extract can help lower leg swelling and edema that occurs after sitting for 6 hours. (7) This is important for those with poor circulation where the pain is often worse with sitting or standing. Studies have also found that grape seed extract may be helpful with lowering the risk of atherosclerosis. (8) As you can see grape seed extract is a powerful nutrient when it comes to heart health.
The next item in Greens Hx is Flax seed. According to the Mayo Clinic studies have found that using flaxseed daily can help to lower the total cholesterol. Additionally according to the Mayo Clinic other studies have found that flax seed can help lower blood pressure. (9) Studies have found that ALA, a component of flax seed is associated with a decreased risk of recurrent heart attacks. Atherosclerosis was found to be significantly reduced by using flax seed. As I stated previously studies have found that high cholesterol is also passively affected by flax seed. (10) Flax seed has also been found to help reduce the incidence of arrhythmias. Lastly flaxseed is considered to be an alternative plant source of omega 3s. (11)
Our next item is one of my favorites! BEETS! In fact beets is such an amazing supplement for heart health that I wrote an entire blog on just Beets Hx! Now because I did a very complete blog on using beets for heart health I will just do a quick summary here. A number of studies have found that beets, a natural nitric oxide booster are helpful for reducing both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Beetroot has also been found to help with what is known as reperfusion injury. There has also been found to be decreased arterial stiffness after using beetroot. Beetroot has also been found to help relax smooth muscles just like the ones in the blood vessels. Remember the more relaxed the muscles the larger the opening in the vessel and thus the lower the pressure! (12) The Cleveland Clinic has found numerous benefits for beets. In fact the Cleveland Clinic has found that beets can help increase heart performance after exercise. They have also found that beets help with our blood pressure. (13) But as I said I have a whole exciting blog on just beets. So for more details on beets check out my blog!
Turmeric, or curcumin is one item that might surprise you. Curcumin has been found to help with vascular dysfunction. Curcumin has also been found to improve vasodilation (or how big the opening in the blood vessels is). Curcumin can also help with arterial stiffness which as we know in the long run can help with blood pressure. Lastly studies have found that turmeric can help as a treatment for age related cardiovascular disease. (14)
There are quite a few more items in Greens Hx that can help our heart. So this blog will be split into 2 parts. This way every component can have an in-depth description of how it helps the heart. In our next blog Greens Hx part 2 we will review the following ingredients in Greens Hx: Citrus bioflavonoids, Blueberry, Parsley, Alfalfa, Bilberry, Rosemary and Stevia!
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Nattokinase! Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND What the heck is Nattokinase? Where does it come from? What exactly does it do? Is it just for heart health or does it do anything else for us? These are just some of the questions that people have about …
What is Angina? Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Angina or heart/chest pain is one of the first signs that many experience when they have heart disease. However there are other conditions that mimic angina. One of these is anxiety. Angina and anxiety share many symptoms …
Purples Hx and the Heart!
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
I wanted to take the time to talk about one of the most under rated products at Invite health. What product is this you ask? Why its Purples Hx! Purples Hx is an amazing combination of antioxidants and amino acids that are very good for our heart. Inside of Purples Hx there is the fruit blend, vegetable blend, Acai powder, Goji berry, Mangosteen and even a heart health blend! Let’s go through these categories one at a time.
Let’s start with the fruit blend. Purples Hx is full of fruits that contain anthocyanin. These are antioxidants that we typically see in purple fruits and vegetables. (1) Anthocyanins have been found to have a number of benefits. In this blog I’m going to focus on the cardiovascular benefits. Studies have found them to help lower the risk of blood clots. Other studies have found that they can help to open up the blood vessels thus helping with concerns such as blood pressure and circulation. Additionally studies have found that they can help improve cholesterol. Lastly overall in general studies have found that anthocyanins help with our heart health. (2) Bilberry one of the fruits in Purples Hx has been studied and found to help heart health. (3) Blueberry, another fruit in Purples Hx has also been found to help heart health. (4) Overall there are 10 different fruits that are in Purples Hx that are very good for our heart. While I won’t go into details regarding all of the individual fruits I will say that they are powerhouses when it comes to containing anthocyanins.
Let’s move on to the vegetable blend. If you look at the label you will see one of my favorites, beet root powder! No formula for our heart health or for circulation in general could ever be complete without beets. Beets have been found to be amazing in their ability to support heart health. (5)For more information on this amazing supplement please check out my product spotlight on Beets Hx. Interestingly not all thing that are purple contain anthocyanins. While beets are purple this is due to Betalain not anthocyanins. (6) Now I’m sure you noticed the carrots next to the beets. I bet your first thought was but carrots are orange! Well yes they are! However carrots also come in yellow, red, white and purple! (7) Now as I stated previously about the purple fruits the anthocyanins that are in purple vegetables are very good for our heart. (2) I would also like to add on to that that carrots of all colors have been found to be good for our heart health. (7)
The next item in Purples Hx is the Acai powder. Everyone has most likely heard about acai. But why is it so popular these days? Studies have found acai to be helpful for cholesterol, high blood pressure and to even help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. Acai also has minerals such as magnesium which is important for heart health. (8)
Goji berry is another berry in the Purples Hx. Now I know goji berries are great for you. But I’m going to tell you guys a secret. I don’t actually think they taste all that great. I mean honestly at first glance they look like raisins which as we all know are amazing. But do they taste like yummy raisins?? Nope! And that is why I am so happy to see them included in the Purples Hx. You get all the benefits without having to eat them. If you like goji berries feel free to enjoy them. Just know you can get all the benefits without having to eat them. Studies have fond goji berries to be good for our heart health. For example they have been found to help with lowering cholesterol and in lowering our risk of cardiovascular disease in the elderly. (9)
Mangosteen has been found in studies to help lower C-reactive protein levels by 47%! (10) High C- reactive protein is associated with an increased risk of atherosclerosis which itself is a risk factor for many different heart disorders. (11)
Lastly, we have the heart blend which consists of L Carnitine, Betaine and Taurine. Studies have found that the use of L carnitine after a heart attack can reduce the risk of heart failure and arrhythmias. Additionally, L Carnitine appears to lower the risk of cardiac death. (12) Betaine has been found to help lower homocysteine, which is a very strong predictor of heart disease. (13) Taurine is an amazing nutrient for our heart. I could write a whole blog just on taurine alone! However, as this blog is already rather lengthy, I will simply say that taurine has been found to help with lowering our blood pressure. (14).
Overall Purples Hx is an amazing supplement for our heart health! Our next topic will be Angina or what is colloquially known as “chest pain”
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