Nutrition. Vitamins. You.
Do you suffer from an autoimmune disease such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis? These issues can get worse during the heat of summer. The good news is that there are nutrients and habits that can help.
Overindulging in alcohol can negatively impact your immune system, leaving you at risk for developing colds, viruses or worse. Learn about how alcohol can suppress immune responses from Amanda Williams, MPH.
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.†
Key Topics:
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.
In this episode, Amanda Williams, MPH discusses the true meaning of alcohol consumption, different types of alcohol and the real cardiovascular impacts of alcohol consumption.
When you are young, there is a balance between bone building and bone removal cells. But we lose this balance with age. Resveratrol, according to many clinical studies, helps restore this balance. Here’s what you need to know.
Invite Health Podcast, Episode hosted by Jerry Hickey. Ph
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Most women entering and throughout their menopausal years will experience hot flashes. They are not a disease but they can definitely impact your quality of life. Some women may not experience them so much, they will be mild or maybe even short-lived. But for many others, hot flashes can start years before your last menstrual period and go on for years after. You can experience flushing of the face and upper body, severe sweating which could be followed by chills, clammy feeling. A hot flash can last anywhere from 30 seconds to up to five minutes. About 85% of women experience them.
Hormone replacement therapy is used as a treatment for hot flashes. But remember, hot flashes are just a quality of life issue and not a disease. So many women would rather not take these medications in order to avoid the increased risk of cancer or blood clot development that are related to the hormone replacement therapy.
What is a hot flash?
Estrogen and other sex hormones are fluctuating rapidly up and down. A part of your brain senses this – your hypothalamus – and tries to balance them out. But it gets confused and responds inaccurately, thinking your body is overheating because the fluctuation in these hormones effect your blood vessels. The brain causes your blood vessels near your skin to dilate, or widen, to let off the excess heat. This occurs mostly in the skin near your head, face, neck and chest. When your blood vessels return to normal, you can cool down again.
Interested in learning more about Resveratrol? Click here >>
How a hot flash impacts your body?
Hot flashes can impact your sleep, which can lead to daytime fatigue, depression and anxiety. It can also make your blood pressure rise when you’re having a hot flash and your heart can actually race.
Lifestyle Modifications
The good news is that lifestyle changes can help. For instance, you’ll want to stay away from caffeine. Caffeine has been shown to increase the effect of the hot flashes. Avoid smoking, as this effects your blood vessels, the number of hot flashes you have and how severe they are. Alcohol always raises your temperature a bit initially and then it makes you cool down. This will further complicate the hot flashes.
Being obese is also something you will want to manage. It is time to get rid of excess fat, as fat is metabolically active and is not just storing calories for later use; fat is giving off chemicals that make you inflamed and they do complicate your hot flashes. Wearing lo0se clothing can help to regulate your temperature, especially during a flash.
Resveratrol is found typically in the skin of red grapes in tiny amounts. In studies, researchers use Japanese Knotweed, a type of grass. As far as Grape Seed extract, the best comes from the pip of white grapes. Both Grape Seed and Resveratrol are extremely safe and have been shown to support brain health, circulation and heart health.
How Grape Seed Extract Supports Healthy Circulation. Listen Now >>
In a three month long study on older women by the Mayo Clinic looking at the safety of Grape Seed extract, researchers found the that extract did not impact the participants hormone levels and worked by improving blood vessel health.†
The Department of Women’s Health, Tokyo Medical and Dental University gave Grape Seed extract – 100mg or 200mg – to women who had hot flashes everyday for 60 days. Some women also received placebo. Grape seed extract, very successfully, reduced the number of hot flashes, insomnia, anxiety, improved depression and was good for blood pressure.†
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.
