Menu

7 Ways to Naturally Improve your Heart Health

In honor of National Heart Health month, and Valentines Day, here are 7 ways to naturally protect your heart, reduce overall inflammation and live a longer, healthier life!

1) Eat more fruits and veggies

Instead of eating processed carbohydrates, add some healthy fruits and vegetables into your diet (did someone say antioxidants?)

2) Embrace healthy fats

This may seem counter intuitive, but you need to eat fat to lower cholesterol, body inflammation and help your heart! Healthy fats nourish, lubricate, and coat the little cuts to repair blood vessels and decrease internal inflammation. Aim for a healthy fat source at each meal! Steer clear of “fat-free” products!

Healthy fat ideas: nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut oil, butter, olive oil

3) Ditch body inflammation

Keep your gut healthy, get checked for food allergies, prevent chronic infections, and reduce toxins in home products as much as possible. Your gut holds 60-70% of your immune system..so keeping this healthy is a good idea! Read this post for more info

Reduce inflammation with this great supplement and order here (registration code:HF636)

4) Eat balanced meals (protein, fats and carbohydrates)

Aim for a healthy protein, carb and fat at each meal. This will not only balance your brain to prevent cravings, but will also help your metabolism (and heart) to keep pumping!

5) Take a chill pill

Remove stress from your life as much as you can. Did you know stress increases your blood pressure, causes damage to your arteries, causes irregular heart rhthms and weakens your immune system? YIKES! Be kind to your heart by taking a few min each day to practice stress management.

Some things that may work for you: yoga, journaling, deep breathing, prayer, meditation, walking, walking to a friend, stepping outside for a few minutes…

6) Supplement your heart

– Probiotics (at least 15 billion live organisms)

– L-Glutamine

-Fish Oil

-Vitamin D

-Magnesium

-Multivitamin

-CoQ10: a heart protective antioxidant that produces energy for every cell in our body. The heart contains the highest amount of CoQ10, and statin drugs deplete your body of this important antioxidant. If you’re taking  a statin–at minimum supplement with CoQ10@

All of these will help heal any existing inflammation. All of these supplements heal inflammation by healing your gut first.

Order Pharmaceutical grade supplements here

7) Get your heart pumpin’!

This doesn’t mean running a marathon or participating in an Ironman training program. However, doing something each day to stay active is great for your heart, metabolism, mood, and even stress level. Research shows it may even be better for your heart to do shorter, more efficient workouts such as interval training, HIIT training, Crossfit, or bootcamp.

Kombucha- How to Brew

If you havent read my post on why you should drink kombucha…start here! Do you love Kombucha, but yet do not want to spend $4 a bottle at the store? Read below for Kombucha- How to Brew right in the comfort of your own home! I have been brewing my own Kombucha at home for a few months now, and not only is it more cost effective…its actually easy! Kombucha is a fermented tea that has actually been around for centuries. Kombucha is high in B-vitamins, antioxidants, probiotics, and glucaric acid. Kombucha also helps with:

  • liver detoxification
  • improved pancreas function (say no to diabetes!)
  • increased energy (who doesn’t need more energy?)
  • better digestion (everyone needs this too!)
  • alleviation of anxiety and depression (Wahoo!)
  • kills yeast overgrowth
  • helps nutrient absorption and transportation

I thought Kombucha had sugar added to it, should I avoid it?

No! Although Kombucha is brewed from sweetened tea, most of the sugar ferments out, so it has minimal effect on blood sugar. It can be made with caffeinated or decaf tea, and even with green tea or herbal teas (I usually use black tea). The Kombucha is brewed with a SCOBY (Symbiotic Colony of Yeast and Bacteria) that “eats” the sugars in the sweetened tea and creates an acidic, vitamin and probiotic rich beverage (Sounds great, right?!).

Where Do I Get a SCOBY?

  • From someone you know who already has one brewing; each time you make a batch you get a fresh new SCOBY (Fort Worth friends you are in luck!)
  • Online source. Be careful and make sure it is a reputable source! I like these

10 Reasons To Yoga Upside Down

Turn your frown upside down with a yoga inversion!

I will start by saying that I LOVE yoga. If I could practice at my studio every day I would. Sometimes I do it at home, if I cannot make it but I wanted to share with you 10 of the health benefits of yoga inversions (or going upside down).

What do you mean upside down anyways?

Any pose that places the hips above the heart and the heart above the head is considered an inversion. So technically downward dog could count!

Here are 10 Reasons you yoga upside down and add yoga to your daily workout routine:

10 Reasons to Yoga Upside Down:

  1. Fresh Glow: While you are upside down, nutrients and oxygen are flushed to the face–creating that healthy glow. You’ll look like you just walked out of spa day…but for a much cheaper price!
  2. Brain Booster: a headstand increases the blood flow to the brain and improves cognitive functioning. It also stimulates the glands in charge of sleep cycles, digestion, reproductive hormones and more!
  3. Confidence: I mean, who doesn’t feel good when they are upside down?
  4. Body Strengthening: You will put your shoulders, upper back, core and legs to work while in an inversion. To hold your handstand your abs, legs, and obliques will be contacted the entire time!
  5. Good-bye Grays! Did you know that increased blood flow to your brain can prevent gray hairs (mom, are you reading this?)
  6. Adrenal Support: Adrenal glands are flushed when you are upside down. Not only will you have a better outlook on life, but your headstand/handstand could improve symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress! You’ll also flush a healthy dose of hormones into your body which= more energy!
  7. Get your digestion going: Being upside down stimulates digestive juices and keeps everything moving as it should. Inversions also stimulate the endocrine gland which regulates metabolism and turns food into available energy!
  8. Reduce Edema: Stimulating lymph and blood flow can help reduce swelling in your legs, ankles and feet. If you walk all day, you may consider an inversion when you get home to help reduce the swelling in your legs!
  9. Mindfulness: Practicing yoga inversions will help you to learn to be in the moment, listen to your body, block out “outside noise” and focus on one thing at a time.
  10. New Party Trick: Be the “coolest kid on the block” when you bust out this talent at your next social event! Promise, it works..

Sleep: What it has to do with YOUR health!

With the passing of daylight savings last weekend I thought it would be appropriate to post about sleep and what it has to do with your health!

Sleep… What Does it have to do with my health? A lot actually! Sleep controls your hormones, your stress response, your body inflammation, mood, hunger, fullness, cravings, and so much more! In this article you will learn some interesting sleep and health facts you might not have been aware of!

Do you struggle falling asleep at night?

Do you wake up tired every morning?

Do you wake up in the middle of the night have trouble falling back asleep?

Do you get a surge of energy around the time you should be winding down for bed?

Anyone around here know what I am talking about?

(**sees every hand raised**)

So many people struggle with these problems so trust me, you are not alone! When you are sleep deprived, weight gain, sugar cravings, confusion, and slow metabolism (to name a few) may occur.

Does sleep affect your weight?

YES! And there are TONS of studies that demonstrate the connection between sleep and weight.

This is some of the research I have found:
– People who sleep less than 6 hours per night have a notably higher BMI than those who get more sleep (despite the fact that the overweight participants were more physically active and burned more calories…yikes!)
– Just 2 nights of sleep depravity can cause an increase in appetite (so yes, that means you cannot “catch up” on the weekends)
– People who log less than 8 hours of sleep a night are hungrier, in general

But Why?

– Sleeping less produces less leptin hormone (the hormone that makes you feel full)
– Less sleep= higher production of cortisol (stress hormone which increases appetite) No one wants a high cortisol…trust me!
– Loss of sleep interferes with carbohydrate metabolism which could lead to blood sugar swings and insulin resistance
– Less sleep= less natural growth hormone production; natural growth hormone directly controls the distribution of fat and muscle throughout the body (so that means less sleep = more fat, less muscle)

But I Can’t Fall Asleep…

– Relax and learn to rest your mind: spend the last 1-2 hours before bed in a restful, peaceful way

– Check out this article for a list of iPhone apps you can use for mindfulness and meditation or maybe invest in a Relaxation Sound Machine

– Eat well, sleep well: eating a diet rich in nourishing foods will help you sleep better; starving yourself will trigger the production of adrenaline and cortisol (two hormones that keep you awake)

Healthy Fats- such as Coconut Oil, organic and pasture raised meats, eggs, avocado and butter will provide your body with the necessary building blocks to manufacture sleep hormones.
Antioxidants- Essential for hormone production as well as removal of toxins that can impede sleep. Focus on vegetables, high nutrient fruits, and herbal or green teas (green tea early in the day only). The more colorful, the better!
High Protein Dinner:  Your evening meal should include proteins, vegetables and healthy fats. Eating enough protein at this meal will help prepare the body to enter the sleep cycle. In the evening focus on higher protein
– Turn off the lights: the body needs darkness to create melatonin a neurotransmitter that helps you fall asleep. Try to shut off electronics 2 hours before bedtime. Sound unrealistic?

– If you are working late, consider these glasses which will decrease the harsh effects of bright blue lights on your eyes; Bright lights late at night disrupt your body’s circadian rhythm.

– Supplement: Epsom Salt baths or Magnesium flakes, Natural Calm and Lavender, Cedarwood, Orange and Peace and Calming essential oils can aid in helping you fall asleep.

So if you dozing off and not paying attention to the post I can sum it up for you:

Lack of sleep= higher body stress= higher cortisol= weight gain, premature aging, hair loss, hormone imbalances, lowered immune function.

Some things to consider…..

How much caffeine are you drinking? How late in the day are you consuming it?
Is your bedroom dark enough? I know mine isn’t!! Even small amounts of light can affect your circadian rhythm. Consider getting some blackout curtains
Do you have too much screen time too close to bedtime? Blue light provides your body the ability to stay up all night binge watching netflix without getting tired! Blue light reduces your melatonin production– consider investing in some goggles to prevent your melatonin production from getting whacked out!
This bullet PAINS me to write because I hate being cold…Is your bedroom too hot?If your house is too warm it may be harder for you to sleep. Try keeping your house between 65-68 to help promote good sleep!
Did you know that alcohol can actually hinder sleep? It may be whats causing you to wake up mid sleep.
Whats on your mind when you are trying to fall asleep? A lot? (dont worry, me too)
Perhaps take some time in the evening to map out the next day so you arent thinking about it as you are trying to fall asleep…you can pick it back up in the morning when you are rested