Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
The events of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused more people to experience issues with depression and anxiety. Learn about how omega-3 fatty acids can help with these issues from Amanda Williams, MPH.
Many people suffer from diabetic neuropathy, which is nerve pain or loss due to high blood sugar levels. The good news is that there are nutrients that can help protect the nerves from this issue.
cardiovascular health
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Amanda Williams, MPH
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I frequently talk about being proactive as opposed to being reactive. Today, I want to talk about being proactive when it comes to your cardiovascular health.†
Cardiovascular disease can be easily influenced by insulin resistance, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, inflammation and more. If we have a tendency to have thicker or thinner blood, for example, this can have an impact on our cardiovascular health. We could also look at why one person might develop a blood clot while someone else might not or why one person’s cut bleeds for longer than another’s.†
There are different factors that can impact all of these things, such as daily exercise and following a healthy diet, but we can also look at genetic predispositions to cardiac problems. This is important because we know that cardiovascular disease is the leading contributor to both morbidity and mortality, with over 17 million deaths occurring annually due to cardiovascular disease.†
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As we get older, the risks to our cardiovascular health begin to go up, but we can now look at specific, inherited genetic components that might make a difference in terms of how we exercise, what we eat and what supplements we’re taking.†
At InViteⓇ Health, we offer a Cardiac Health Test, which looks at eight different genes that can indicate if you have a genetic variant that can increase your cardiovascular event such as a heart attack or stroke. Now that we can pinpoint specific genes that may be problematic, we have the opportunity to be proactive and make changes that will benefit our health ahead of time. We can’t change our genes, but we can change up what we’re doing to address any gene variants.†
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These genes can help us to indicate if we need to work on our body’s ability to metabolize fats, manage cholesterol levels and more. They can also help us understand what supplements we may need to incorporate into our routine. Beetroot extract, for instance, can assist with the natural production of nitric oxide. Arginine can help to enhance nitric oxide production. Adequate amounts of magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids and resveratrol are important as well. This is what it means to be proactive about your health.†
In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH explains the importance of understanding your body’s genetics when it comes to cardiovascular health. She details the capabilities of our Cardiac Health Test and discusses how this can help us be proactive about our health.†
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This is Part 3 of Living A Healthy Life with Diabetes, where Amanda discusses specific omega-3 fatty acids and herbal extracts and how they provide additional support to enhance insulin sensitivity and regulate blood glucose levels.
[sgmb id=”1″] While it is true that your body needs different vitamins and nutrients as you age, it is also true that your body needs essential vitamins and nutrients no matter if you are 25 or 65. As you get older and find gray hairs …
For years, heath experts have been touting the benefits of fats from fish, and rightfully so. Fish and other seafood are considered the best source of fats from the Omega-3 family, which includes the fatty acids EPA and DHA. Most people do not get nearly enough Omega-3 fats in their diet, and as a result, miss a significant opportunity to protect their heart, brain and manage inflammation throughout the body. Most people also eat a disproportionate amount of Omega-6 fats, which are already plentiful in our diets. Poor quality diets loaded with processed foods tend to be excessive in Omega-6 fats, like corn, canola and soybean oil, margarine, mayonnaise and shortening.
While it was once thought that these vegetable oils were good for the heart, there is strong evidence that too much of these processed industrial vegetable fats can lead to or worsen heart disease. The British Medical Journal recently published a meta-analysis using research from the Sydney Diet Heart Study, a single blinded, parallel group, randomized controlled trial conducted in 1966-1973. The study involved 458 men aged 30-59 who had a recent coronary event like angina (chest pain) or a heart attack, who were divided into two groups – one group was instructed to reduce saturated fat intake to less than 10% of caloric intake, while increasing intake of linoleic acid from safflower oil (a fat rich in Omega-6 and devoid of Omega-3) to 15% of energy intake. These recommendations are in accordance with dietary recommendations from the American Heart Association. The control group received no dietary advice and both groups were followed for 39 months. The Omega-6 group had a 17% higher risk of dying from heart disease during the over three years the research was conducted, compared with 11% in the control group1. The Omega-6 group also had a higher risk of death from all causes. The researchers stated with great emphasis that there was significant need to rethink the dietary advice to substitute saturated fat for vegetable oils. Omega-6 fats build the molecules that our immune system uses to turn on inflammatory responses and tend to contribute to chronic diseases. They are especially damaging for the cardiovascular system, as inflammation is the root of heart disease.
What is unparalleled for cardiovascular wellness is excellent intake of Omega-3 fats, while reducing Omega-6 fats. Healthy ratios of Omega-6 to Omega-3 are at least 3:1. However, many Americans consume a diet with an Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratio closer to 20:1 or even 50:1. One of the best ways to protect your heart (and your brain, eyes, joints, GI tract and the rest of your body) is to take an Omega 3 fatty acid supplement. Until recently, most supplements that provided direct sources of EPA and DHA (the beneficial Omega-3 fats) came from fish oils, commonly sourced from sardine, anchovy and mackerel. While these sources are excellent, there is a new source of EPA and DHA that is superb. It is the Alpha Omega-3 called krill oil. Krill are tiny shrimp-like crustaceans (sea animals) and despite their small size, are likely the most abundant species of animals on the planet.2 Like fish oil, krill oil contains EPA and DHA.