Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Congestive Heart Failure Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND Our next topic is something that may seem uncommon but is actually more common than you would think. This is congestive heart failure. When people refer to having a “weak heart” they are referring to congestive heart …
Collagen for the Heart? Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND In my last blog I mentioned that I would be reviewing a few supplements for the heart that you normally don’t associate with heart health. The first such supplement is collagen! Collagen is an important building …
Written by Melissa Bistricer, RDN Circulation
For further questions or concerns email me at [email protected]
Did you know that everyday our hearts are pumping about 1,800 gallons of blood through our blood vessels? Over a lifetime, our circulatory system carries about a million barrels of blood throughout the body.
What is Circulation?
Circulation is a process by which the heart pumps a person’s blood throughout the body. Having proper circulation is key to maintaining optimal health. Circulation in the body ensures that blood and oxygen continuously flow throughout the body. Circulation helps to heal wounds faster, allows organs to function properly, keeps the brain sharp, keeps the heart healthy, and gives your complexion a natural flush.
Risk Factors of Circulation
Risk factors of circulation can result in peripheral vascular disease in which circulation of blood to the body is reduced due to the narrowing or blocked blood vessels. Specific risk factors that are associated with poor circulation are diabetes, obesity, smoking, specifically prescribed medications like statins, or a sedentary lifestyle. If you feel like you’re experiencing poor circulation, pay attention to signs of pain, cramping, swelling, restlessness, and fatigue.
Ways to Improve Circulation
The best two ways to improve circulation throughout the body is to have a balanced diet and incorporate exercise. Staying hydrated, and avoiding smoking are also beneficial ways to help improve circulation.
Circulation Nutrition Therapy
Diet and exercise are big components of helping circulation. Diet-wise, we want to incorporate more sources of omega-3 fatty acids with foods such as fatty fish (salmon, sardines), walnuts, or flaxseeds. Specific foods that research has found to help increase blood circulation and blood flow are garlic, capsaicin, turmeric, ginger, nuts, citrus, and berries. Trans fats, saturated fats, excess salt, and added sugars are all sources of foods that should be avoided to improve circulation and blood flow in the body.
Exercising regularly, aerobic exercise specifically, can help to improve circulation. Aerobic exercises are those that make a person out of breath such as jogging, swimming, dancing, boxing, or brisk walking.
Vitamins, Minerals, & Herbs
In conjunction with diet, we can always benefit from a natural nutritional supplement to help us improve circulation. In our circulation health program, we have two supplements that are recommended: Grape seed extract and Veins Hx. Looking into research studies, they have both been shown to have positive outcomes in supporting healthy circulation.
Grape Seed Extract (GSE) has natural nutritional components such as flavonoids, linoleic acid, and polyphenols. Polyphenols have a specific component called proanthocyanins which have been associated with various health issues to enhance the bio-process of the body. Grape Seed Extract has been studied to provide benefits against numerous diseases such as inflammation, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, peptic ulcers, cancer, and microbial infections.1
In a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled study Grape Seed Extract has a positive correlation with blood pressure to avoid diseases involving the heart and blood vessels.2 The Grape Seed Extract helped blood pressure as well as relieving stress and enhanced mood disorders.2
Veins Hx at InVite Health has a blend of herbs in order to support the blood flow and circulation through the aging process. The blend of Veins Hx has vitamin C, Citrus Bioflavonoids, Horse Chestnut, Gotu Kola Herb, and Bilberry Fruit.
A double-blind, randomized controlled trial was completed on patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI). According to John Hopkins, CVI occurs mostly in the veins of your legs that do not allow the blood to flow back to the heart. This can cause the valves not to work, causing the blood to flow backward causing blood to pool in the legs. A natural supplement that can be beneficial to helping with blood flow and circulation can be Horse Chestnut. The Horse Chestnut is superior to the placebo and is effective as a reference medication in alleviating the objective signs and subjective symptoms of CVI. Thus, Horse Chestnut is a presented treatment and worth considering for CVI.
Gotu Kola Herb is derived from Centella Asocatoca L. is nutritionally important to plants and valued in traditional medicine in South East Asia.4 Mount Sinai has shown that Gotu Kola has been shown to help venous insufficiency and varicose veins. The blood vessels lose their elasticity and start to cause pooling in the legs; causing fluid to leak out to the blood vessels. Several small studies have shown that individuals with venous insufficiency have taken Gotu Kola and have seen improvements compared to the placebo group.6
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SWOLLEN LEGS – INVITE HEALTH PODCAST, EPISODE 560 >> LISTEN NOW!
Circulation Health Program
Grape Seed Extract supports circulatory health and blood pressure already within normal range, skin, and vision health
Veins Hx supports healthy veins and circulatory health
Sources
Heart arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation are extremely prevalent worldwide. It is important to understand the symptoms and risk factors of this issue, as well as nutrients that can help maintain proper rhythm in the heart.
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.
heart failure
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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In part 1 of this podcast, I discussed the symptoms of heart failure and factors that can increase your risk of heart failure. Today, I want to cover supplements. Let’s roll up our sleeves and really go into nutrition for heart failure.
Heart Failure Is Scary But It Can Be Helped, Part 1 – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 319. Listen Now >>
A report from the Federal University of Pernambuco down in Brazil has to do with Vitamin D. It’s published in the journal ESC Heart Failure. We know that Vitamin D is important for strength and muscle function. Well, your heart is a super high-function muscle, so if Vitamin D is needed for your other muscles, obviously it’s needed for your heart muscle. According to this study, the risk of heart failure was more than 12 times higher in older people who lack Vitamin D. But here’s the thing: their base level for lacking Vitamin D was higher than the accepted level. Typically, Vitamin D deficiency is 20 ng/ml or below. In this study, it was 30 ng/ml or below. Lacking Vitamin D is bad for all muscles and your heart is a muscle that is pumping once over 100,000 times a day. It requires Vitamin D.†
It doesn’t hurt to take a Vitamin D supplement. You’re never going to get enough Vitamin D from your food. It’s not happening. Even when they fortify dairy, you get about 100 units of Vitamin D. Young people with healthy skin can make plenty of Vitamin D in about 15 or 20 minutes. If they get 15 to 20 minutes of sun every day, they’ll make sufficient Vitamin D. However, if you have darker skin, it becomes harder. If you’re wearing sunscreen or wearing a lot of clothing, it is also harder. Also, if you have older skin, it’s not that successful in creating Vitamin D anymore. It becomes less efficient.†
Learn more about how the body creates Vitamin D by tuning into the full podcast episode.
According to a meta-analysis, fish oils may help reduce the risk of developing heart failure by 15%. This is from the journal Clinical Nutrition and it was done by Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. They looked at seven prospective studies with data on 176,000+ people, of which 5,500 developed heart failure. People with the highest level of EPA and DHA in their blood had a 14% lower risk of heart failure compared to people with the lowest levels. It’s important to distinguish that they looked at the amount of EPA and DHA in their blood instead of asking how much fish patients eat. This is more powerful evidence because it shows the exact levels of fish oils that can be beneficial.†
Consider Taking These Nutrients As You Age, Part 1 – InVite Health Podcast, Episode 315. Listen Now >>
When you eat fish or take fish oils, there are other oils that can be in there, but the two they look at are EPA and DHA. These oils are very important for your muscles and your heart is a muscle. There are a number of studies that show that older people with sufficient levels of fish oils in their blood tend to lose less muscle with age. They tend to lose less strength and can hold onto their muscles. Your heart is a very important muscle. Fish oils are known to lower inflammation in the heart, but they also seem to help lower the risk of heart failure. They’re very good for the heart.†
For additional details on nutrients that can help with heart failure, listen to the full podcast episode.
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