Supplements for a Healthy Heart

Are you confused by the abundance of information and the number of options available for supplements and vitamins? If you are interested in supporting the health of your heart and blood vessels, here are a few simple things you can do to keep your health in check.

Cholesterol and Beyond
You have probably heard a lot about cholesterol and the importance of keeping it low. You may not have heard so much about other ways to keep your heart healthy, such as: keeping your homocysteine and inflammation low, decreasing free radicals and keeping your platelets in your blood from becoming too sticky. Try the following:

Get a Good Assessment
Get your basic and advanced cardiac blood tests done including lipid profile with HDL and direct LDL, cardio CRP, homocysteine, lipoprotein(a). If your LDL is high and or your HDL is low, your doctor may want to consider a VAP panel (lipid sub fractionation panel). Consider other assessments recommended by your doctor to examine the status of your arteries and heart including Coronary Calcium CT Scan, Echocardiogram and a stress test.

Eat a Heart Healthy Diet and Exercise Regularly
Avoid foods with partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats). Consume low amounts of saturated fats and red meat. Eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Minimize eating simple sugars and eat more complex carbohydrates to help maintain sensitivity to your own insulin. Engage in some form of aerobic exercise for 30 minutes, five to six days per week. Try to consume red grapes, pomegranate juice or fruit and enjoy red wine in moderation.

Start with a Good Multivitamin Mineral (MVM) Supplement
Many multivitamin supplements are inadequate and do not contain enough B vitamins or magnesium. They should contain adequate amounts of folic acid (800 IU per day), vitamin B6 (10 to 25 mg per day) and vitamin B12 (100 to 500 micrograms per day). These B vitamins can help maintain your homocysteine levels below 8 and if they are not enough, you can add 500 mg of trimethyl glycine per day.

Magnesium is very important for your heart. Most people do not get enough magnesium from their diet, so it is important to supplement daily with a multivitamin that contains 400 to 600 mg of magnesium.

Get Antioxidants from Food and from Your Multivitamin
Antioxidants absorb free radicals and they are vital for artery health. A good MVM will contain adequate amounts of vitamins A, E and selenium. For more powerful antioxidant protection, you can also take 50 to 100 mg of alpha lipoic acid daily. Eating colorful and organic fruits and vegetables can also help you obtain food–based antioxidants.

Take a High–Quality Fish Oil
Fish oil contains omega–3, EPA and DHA, which studies have proven lower inflammation and decrease platelet stickiness. A good quality fish oil supplement is tested for mercury and PCBs and contains very low or no measurable levels of these toxins. For heart health, a basic amount of 1 gram of fish oil per day is reasonable, but amounts can be increased for special needs. These special needs can include high triglycerides, a history of coronary artery problems and high CRP, indicating inflammation. In these cases, you could increase your fish oil supplement intake to 2 or more grams per day depending on the recommendation of your health care provider.

Consider Resveratrol
Resveratrol is found in red grapes and red wine. It appears to be active in the trans form, primarily in red wine and especially in red wine grown in cold climates. It is an antioxidant and has other healthy properties for coronary artery health. It appears to decrease inflammation as well as bind free radicals. It may also make platelets less sticky. If you already drink wine, consider drinking primarily red wine wines from colder climates such as Bordeaux or Pinot Noir. Resveratrol is available in supplement form.