Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Understanding the Complexity of Asthma Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND As I mentioned in my prior blog today I will be talking about a well-known respiratory condition. That condition is Asthma. Let’s take the time to go over just how common it is, shall we? …
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 …
Reds Hx… for our heart!
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
I wanted to talk about Reds Hx next because it’s really the perfect partner to Greens Hx. Since Reds Hx is so full of heart healthy nutrients I am going to jump right into things with our very first nutrient. The very first heart healthy nutrient is in fact the first nutrient listed! And that is carrot. Studies have found a number of benefits regarding carrot supplements on heart health. These include improving blood pressure and even decreasing aortic root lesions. Carrots have also been found to help with atherosclerosis. Studies also indicate that carrots may help with lipid or in other words our cholesterol profiles. (1) According to WebMD the potassium in carrots may help to regulate our blood pressure. (2) As you can see carrots are good for much more than just being a snack for bunnies.
Moving on down the list the next item we will be talking about is cranberry. Now as I always say cranberry isn’t just for our urinary tract! Studies have found that cranberry has benefits for our blood vessels and can keep them healthy. (3) Other studies have found that cranberry can help to reduce blood clot risk, improve circulation and even lower the risks for heart disease. (4) Lastly studies have found that cranberry extract can help moderate cholesterol levels. (5)
The next item is sour cherry and it may sound familiar. This is because sour cherry is simply another name for tart cherry which is a component in our beets formula that I wrote about. Studies have found a number of benefits to using cherry for our heart. These benefits include a decrease in both LDL and total cholesterol. Additionally cherry has been found to help lower both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. (6)
The next item, blueberry was also a nutrient found in Greens Hx. As I mentioned previously blueberry has been found to help total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides. Blueberries have also been found to help with lowering our blood pressure. (7)
Pomegranate is another powerful nutrient for heart health. In fact studies have found that pomegranate is much stronger than other antioxidants when it comes to protecting cholesterol from oxidation. As a result pomegranate is one of the best antioxidants for slowing atherosclerosis. Studies have also found that pomegranate is amazing at helping lower blood pressure. (8)
Flax seed is another nutrient that is found in both Reds and Greens. As I talked about in my prior blog on Greens flax is good for our blood pressure and even cholesterol levels. (9) Grape seed has also been mentioned numerous times for heart health. And it deserves to be! Studies have found that Grape seed has numerous benefits for our heart including helping our blood pressure. (10) Other studies have found that grape seed is helpful for lowering both total cholesterol as well as LDL. (11)
Japanese Knotweed is a natural source of Resveratrol. Resveratrol is one of my favorite nutrients when it comes to helping with heart health. I couldn’t possibly review all of the benefits that Resveratrol has for heart health in this humble blog. However I can review the most well studied. Studies have found that Resveratrol can help alleviate many of the symptoms of heart failure. Resveratrol has been found in studies to help with blood pressure. Additionally, resveratrol has been found to help with lowering the risk of atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease and even help to lower our cholesterol! (12)
Rather than address each antioxidant in Reds Hx separately I’ll be doing an overall review on how they help our heart heath. What are examples of antioxidants? For example 2 well known antioxidants are lutein, and lycopene which comes from sources such as tomatoes, watermelon and even plum! Other examples of antioxidants in Reds include ingredients such as raspberry, green tea, orange, blackberry and even quercetin. In fact Reds Hx is chock full of antioxidants! Studies have found that antioxidants can help slow the development of atherosclerosis as well as help to lower cholesterol. Overall studies have found that antioxidants can help to lower the overall risk of developing cardiovascular disease. (13)
Recent studies on probiotics have found that they may help lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by helping with certain risk factors such as obesity and even diabetes. Probiotics may also help to regulate cholesterol. Kefir, a powerful source of probiotic has been found to help lower blood pressure. (14)
Overall Reds Hx is an amazing formula. Before we leave heart health I will be doing a summary of all the things that you can do to help maximize your heart health.
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FEBRUARY~LOVE AND HEARTS…THE RECIPES By: Allie Might, FMC, INHC, ATT February is an interesting month. Not only is it Valentine’s Day which is always full of love but it’s also heart health awareness month….quite fitting if you ask me. Let’s spend this month together …
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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