Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
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Melissa Bistricer, RDN dives into the benefits of our Circulation Health Program and other beneficial activities for your circulatory system.
arrhythmias
InViteⓇ Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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Did you know that roughly 1 out of every 20 Americans has some form of an arrhythmia or abnormal heart rhythm? That is a big issue. Most people have probably heard of the most common type of arrhythmia, which is atrial fibrillations. Today, I want to focus on what arrhythmias actually are, the common signs, symptoms and risk factors associated with them and different nutrients that can be beneficial when it comes to supporting the healthy rhythm of the heart.†
Arrhythmias can affect pretty much anyone. This includes people who are otherwise healthy and don’t have any other kind of heart disease. This can be very, very alarming for someone to experience. Some people describe it as the sensation of feeling their own heartbeat or maybe they feel faint, dizzy or lightheaded. Some people can actually experience chest pain or shortness of breath. There are a lot of different ways in which arrhythmias can present themselves.†
When we look at the statistics on atrial fibrillations, we see that this is very prevalent throughout the entire world. It’s estimated that nearly 35 million throughout the world have this issue. In America, studies have shown that it is more prevalent in people over the age of 65.†
We have to understand that people who are more at risk for developing arrhythmias can include people who have high blood pressure, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, high stress levels, diabetes and thyroid dysfunction, as well as people who are overweight. These are all folks who fit into the category of having a greater risk of the development of an arrhythmia, which can be incredibly problematic.†
We should be trying to figure out why the heart itself is misfiring and work towards correcting that. There are certain medications that can be helpful, but there are also dietary and lifestyle changes that can be beneficial. We have to think about following a heart-healthy diet like the Mediterranean Diet and getting enough exercise. We have to work towards maintaining healthy body weight and finding ways to keep our stress levels low.†
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The influx of certain electrolytes plays a key role in the heart’s electrical conduction system. Nutrients such as magnesium and potassium are very important when it comes to the way that the heart itself is going to signal those firing pathways. If we are deficient in magnesium, this is going to impede the proper functioning of the heart. Many people who have abnormal heart rhythms also have abnormal magnesium levels. Essential fatty acids are also needed for maintaining the proper rhythm of the heart.†
Nutrients such as coenzyme Q10, hawthorn extract and NAC have also been studied for their benefits for overall heart health, as well as their ability to help fend off arrhythmias.†
In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses heart arrhythmias. She explains many of the common symptoms associated with this issue, as well as the common treatments, and also provides recommendations for nutrients that can help support proper heart rhythm.†
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Thank you for tuning in to the InViteⓇ Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at InViteⓇ Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the InViteⓇ Health Podcast.
The amino acid carnosine offers powerful support for various systems within the body, including the brain and muscles. Learn about the importance of this unique dipeptide from Amanda Williams, MPH.
In part 1 Jerry Hickey, Ph. discussed the symptoms of heart failure and factors that can increase your risk. Now let’s review the nutritional side of heart health.
air pollution
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH.
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The late professor Barry Commoner had a quote that always stuck with me: “Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented.” That really resonated with me the first time I heard that. When we look at air pollution in this country and throughout the world, we can see the true harmful long-lasting effects. Take this pandemic, for example, and looking at air pollution as being a pre-determining factor in terms of severity outcomes. They did a study early on in the pandemic where they recognized that people in the regions of Italy that had the poorest air quality did much worse in terms of their exposure to COVID-19. Atmospheric pollution is driving poor health outcomes.†
We need to understand that if we do nothing for the enormous amount of air pollution that we are exposed to every single day and we are not taking precautionary measures ourselves in terms of trying to get the right nutrients in every day and trying to live as healthy a lifestyle as we possibly can, then we’re in a lot of trouble. This is especially problematic in places like New York City, where we know air pollution is certainly linked to so many different chronic diseases. The exponential amount of people who have succumbed every year directly to air pollution is really very alarming. There’s usually around 3000 deaths per year that they can contribute directly to air pollution. That’s a major problem.†
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Air pollution and heart health
Every year, there is an annual publication on air pollution and the health of New Yorkers where the researchers go through and they talk about the different particulate matters and their health impacts. The researchers track the number of hospital admissions due to respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease and exacerbation of asthma.†
I think the one area that really catches a lot of people’s eyes is when they realize the impact of air pollution on the heart. Researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health did some interesting epigenomic work, where they were able to look at the true impact of air pollution on the cardiovascular system. One area that was really quite intriguing from all of that research was B vitamins and finding that people in New York City who had more cardiovascular disease brought on secondarily due to air pollution had low B vitamin status in the body. The researchers found that just supplementing with these crucial B vitamins could be critical in reducing the impact of air pollution.†
A study that came out in 2017 in the Scientific Reports Nature Research Journal talking about B vitamin supplementation and how that can mitigate the effects of fine particles on cardiac dysfunction and inflammation. The researchers talked about these ambient fine particles in air pollution, which we can’t see or smell but are breathing in every day. These particles can trigger acute cardiovascular events and they can create significant endothelial dysfunction and inflammation. The researchers wanted to see if giving folks B vitamins would do anything. They were testing their B vitamin levels, including folic acid, B6 and B12, and correlating that with coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure and overall cardiovascular disease. This decision was based on recent studies that suggested that B vitamins could minimize the health effects of environmental stressors through their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. They saw that B vitamin supplementation could be successfully used to curb oxidative stress, inflammation and metabolic changes that have been brought on from environmental stressors, including air pollution. In just giving people B vitamins, they saw this significant shift in cardiovascular functionality.†
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The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 92% of the world’s population currently lives in places where air quality levels exceed the limits for what is considered to be okay. This means that 92% of people in this world, every single day, are breathing in air that contains higher than acceptable levels of these contaminants and air pollutants that get deposited into the respiratory tract, can affect overall systemic inflammation, can drive up oxidative stress and can affect the heart. Understanding that taking a blend of just folic acid, B6 and B12 could make a significant difference is incredibly important.†
Tune into the full podcast episode for more details about how air pollution can impact your body.
Air pollution is not something that we should mess around with. We have to be wise, so at minimum, taking Methyl-B, which is the activated B vitamins from InVite Health, once per day. We also have to support our liver’s ability to detoxify, which can be done with the Daily Detox powder or the Detox Hx tablet. We have to make sure that we have adequate nutrients on board to ease inflammation and target oxidative stress.
Thank you for tuning in to the Invite Health Podcast. You can find all of our episodes for free wherever you listen to podcasts or by visiting www.invitehealth.com/podcast. Make sure you subscribe and leave us a review! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at Invite Health today. We’ll see you next time on another episode of the Invite Health Podcast.
