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3 Simple Rules Will Help You Unclog Your Arteries Naturally

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Cardiovascular Disease – the buildup of plaque and gradual clogging of the arteries, is statistically the number one killer in the world, with on average 2,200 Americans dying of cardiovascular disease each day! With mortality rates like that, cardiovascular health is one of the most important body systems to maintain and repair. While progressive clogging of the arteries can be caused by diet, genetics and an unhealthy lifestyle, preventing and repairing the damage naturally is not impossible with these 3 sets of rules.

Part 1 of 3: Change Your Diet

1. Cut out foods that clog your arteries, especially foods high in saturated fats and trans fats.

  • Avoid greasy fast food and other forms of junk food.
  • You should also limit or avoid animal fats, like butter and lard.
  • Saturated fat turns into cholesterol when it enters the body. It can solidify and stick to your artery walls, causing them to become inflamed.

2. Eat healthy fats. As a general rule, unsaturated fats are less harmful for your artery health that saturated fats. A few of these unsaturated fats can even take things a step further by clearing out your arteries.

  • Avocados contain 15 grams (5 oz) of unsaturated fat, along with plenty of vitamin C, vitamin K, fiber, folate, B6, and potassium. Eating an avocado every day for one week is believed to drop total cholesterol by as much as 17%.
  • Olive oil contains high levels of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, both of which can help your arteries. Use olive oil instead of butter or other fats when cooking.
  • Nuts are another great source of healthy fat. Almonds are high in monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, and fiber. Walnuts are a great source of omega-3 fatty acid.
  • Fatty fish is also high in omega-3 fatty acid. Good examples include tuna, salmon, mackerel, and herring.

3. Increase your fiber intake. Soluble fiber can bind cholesterol inside the body and drag it away. As a result, your arteries become cleaner and less inflamed.

  • Whole grains, like whole-wheat bread and brown rice, are one of the best sources of dietary fiber.
  • There are a few vegetable sources you can rely on for fiber, as well. Broccoli is a good example, and it also contains vitamin K and calcium.

4. Consume liquids rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants assist the body in protecting itself. Some of the best fluids to drink for your artery health include pomegranate juice, orange juice, and green tea.

  • Pomegranate contains phytochemicals, a special type of antioxidant that can protect the lining of the arteries from damage. This juice can also stimulate the production of nitric oxide in the body, which helps keep your arteries open.
  • Orange juice is high in vitamin C and may help reduce your resting blood pressure. The antioxidants in this drink can also help improve your overall blood vessel function.
  • The antioxidants and catechins in green tea decrease your body’s tendency toward absorbing cholesterol, allowing your body more opportunity to flush out the cholesterol already in your arteries

5. Increase cranberry intake in your diet. Cranberries are powerful internal cleansers. Consuming them can help reduce “bad” LDL cholesterol while raising “good” HDL cholesterol.

  • Regularly eating cranberries can help reduce your overall risk of heart disease by as much as 40%.

6. Drink coffee moderately. A moderate amount of coffee may actually help your artery health, but too much can hurt your heart.

  • Drinking more than two but fewer than four cups each day for more than a decade can decrease your risk of artery and health disease by as much as 20%.
  • Drinking more than four cups each day can cause an increase in blood pressure, though, which can throw off the rhythm of your heart beat.

7. Turn toward foods containing folic acid. Vitamin B is helpful to your overall heart health, in general, but folic acid or folate is a special form of vitamin B that seems to have a direct connection to artery health.

  • One natural food source high in folate is spinach. Spinach also contains a large dose of potassium, and the two nutrients combined can help lower your blood blood pressure. Most dark green leafy vegetables can also boast similar claims concerning folate content.
  • Other good sources of folate include citrus fruits, peppers, and watercress.

8. Use the right spices to season your food. Certain spices can work with your body to help fortify it against threats to your health. Spices specifically beneficial for your arteries include turmeric, cinnamon, and garlic.

  • Turmeric is an anti-inflammatory, so consuming it prevents your artery walls from constricting too severely. It can also help reduce fatty deposits in your arteries by as much as 26%.
  • Taking as much as 1 tsp (5 ml) of cinnamon each day can reduce the overall amount of fat in your bloodstream. This, in turn, helps prevent further plaque buildup while lowering bad cholesterol.
  • Garlic is commonly used to flavor foods, as well, and is believed to lower blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, and remove blood clots. It widens your blood vessels and promotes better circulation.

9. Include foods fortified with sterols. Inside the digestive tract, sterols and cholesterol compete to be absorbed, so consuming more sterols can make it more difficult for cholesterol to stick around inside the body.

  • Foods commonly fortified with sterols include orange juice, margarine spreads, and milk.

Part 2 of 3: Change Your Lifestyle

1. Do more aerobic exercise that will get your blood pumping. Enough aerobic exercise can increase the endostatin found in your body. Endostatin is directly involved in the process of arterial growth.

  • A study performed in 2004 concluded that endostatin can increase by 73 percent after spending 10 minutes on a treadmill going 5 miles per hour (8 kilometers per hour). This effect can last for up to two hours.
  • Swimming, basketball, and jogging are all good forms of exercise to try if you want to get your blood pumping quickly.
  • If vigorous exercise is too much for you right now, though, start by walking at a moderate pace for three hours per week. Make sure that each walking session lasts for at least 30 minutes.

2. Stop smoking. Smoking can contribute to the amount of plaque building up in your artery walls. While quitting the habit will not directly cleanse those walls, doing so will make it easier for your arteries to heal.

3. Lower your stress. High levels of stress can cause your blood vessels to constrict and narrow. When this happens, the narrow space left amidst all the plaque in your arteries only becomes even narrower, making it more difficult for your blood to flow.

Part 3 of 3: Opt For Natural Herbal Remedies

1. Consider taking an algae supplement. Blue-green algae, also called spirulina, can be taken in supplement or powdered forms.

  • Taking as much as 4500 mg per day can help relax artery walls. Your blood pressure may also become normalized, and your “bad” LDL cholesterol can drop by as much as 10%.

2. Try ginkgo biloba. Some studies suggest that this herb dilates blood vessels and reduce the stickiness of blood, which helps promote better blood flow through the arteries.

  • This supplement can be especially helpful in treating leg pain associated with clogged arteries.
  • A good dosage to start with is about 120 milligrams per day. This is a low dose, and you might be able to increase it to as much as 600 milligrams per day if your doctor recommends it.

3. Learn about taking hawthorn. When taken regularly, this herb is believed to help strengthen the heart muscle while relaxing blood vessels. As a result, blockages in your arteries are less likely to form or stick around.

  • Start with a low dose around 160 milligrams, taken in two to three daily doses. If necessary, you might be able to increase this amount to as much as 1800 milligrams per day.

4. Find out about red yeast rice. Red yeast rice is an herbal remedy commonly used in Chinese medicine, but it has received only limited testing within the United States and other Western societies.

  • Chinese studies suggest that red yeast rice can lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL cholesterol.
  • Note that this herb resembles some statin drugs and may interfere with the effectiveness of statin drugs, so it is not recommended for anyone currently on such medications.

Note: Always consult your doctor before making any major changes to your diet, exercise, and overall lifestyle. You should also check with your doctor before taking any unverified herbal remedy. For most people, none of the information presented here will pose a health risk, but each person can vary. Moreover, your doctor will be able to work with you to prescribe the best treatment plan for unclogging your arteries.

Source: healthyfoodteam.com

Chocolate Helps Reduce Chance of AFib

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Image result for chocolatl

Chocolate brings smiles to many people. They like to give chocolate to friends, family and their special loved ones. Few people don’t like chocolate. To many people, especially women, chocolate is a major necessary food group all by itself. But what do you really know about chocolate, its origin, what it really is and its many health benefits?

Chocolate comes from the Theobroma cacao plant. The cacao beans are roasted and then ground. By itself, it’s a bitter tasting product, but when mixed with sweeteners like sugar, it becomes an extremely delicious treat.

The name comes from the Mayan Indians who called it ‘chocolatl’, meaning ‘food of the gods’. They introduced it to the Spanish who took the delicacy back to Europe.

The chocolate we know today is the product of the ground up roasted cacao beans and a variety of other ingredients. The more ground chocolate, the darker and richer the chocolate product is. Dark chocolate has more ground chocolate in it than lighter chocolates. Milk chocolate is when milk is added to make the chocolate product creamier.

Dark chocolate can have a more bitter taste without enough sweetener added, but the darker a chocolate a product is, the more health benefits it has. However, please note that while dark chocolate has a number of health benefits, that the amount of sweetener and other products added to the chocolate may not be nearly as healthy.

The following list of the health benefits of dark chocolate is a compilation from a number of sources:

  • Helps lower cholesterol
  • Helps prevent memory loss
  • Helps reduce risk of strokes
  • Helps reduce risk of heart disease
  • MAY benefit fetal growth and development
  • Helps reduce risk of diabetes
  • Helps blood circulation
  • Rich in needed minerals
  • Healthy antioxidant
  • Helps reduce sun damage to skin
  • Improves mood
  • Good for brain function
  • Helps lower blood pressure
  • Helps reduce appetite
  • Helps quiet coughs
  • Helps improve vision

There is a lot that can be said about each and every one of these health benefits, but for the purpose of this article, I want to focus on one new benefit discovered that helps with heart health.

Are you familiar with the term AFib? You hear it quite a bit on some popular television shows. It stands for atrial fibrillation, which is a quivering or irregular heartbeat. AFib, if not treated, can lead to blood clots, stroke, heart failure and other heart complication. In the US, there are nearly 3 million people who have been diagnosed with AFib.

A study done in Denmark shows that a small amount of dark chocolate eaten weekly can help reduce the risk of developing AFib.

“The study, published in the journal Heart, used data collected for a long-term study of about 55,500 people in Denmark. The participants were between 50 and 64 years old when the study began, and provided information about their diets when they entered the study between 1993 and 1997. Researchers then linked the diet data to Denmark’s national health registries to see who was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation (AFib).” …

“Based on their data, about 3,346 cases of AFib occurred in study participants over an average of 13.5 years. Those who ate one serving, which is about 1 ounce of chocolate per week, were 17 percent less likely to be diagnosed with atrial fibrillation by the end of the study than those who reported eating chocolate less than once a month.”

“Those who ate 2 to 6 ounces per week were less likely to be diagnosed with AFib, while those who ate more than an ounce of chocolate per day were 16 percent less likely to have the condition. For women, the biggest risk reduction was linked to eating one serving of chocolate per week. For men, the biggest risk reduction was associated with eating two to six servings per week.”

By reducing the chances of AFib, that helps explain why so many sources say chocolate is good for heart health. Less AFib, means less chance of blot clots, stroke, heart disease and heart failure.

Lead author of the study, Elizabeth Mostofsky stated:

“I think our message here is that moderate chocolate intake as part of a healthy diet is an option.”

Note, she said it’s an option, not a requirement. Remember that the chocolate you eat is high in calories and sweeteners. While the chocolate itself may help reduce the risk of diabetes, the sweeteners added to it may increase the risk of diabetes. Moderation is the key.

WARNING: New Coffee Can Pack Dangerous Effects on Heart

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Millions of people around the world rely on their morning fix of caffeine to get them started. Their morning cup of coffee has become their everyday addiction and without that jolt first thing in the morning, they just can’t seem to get their day going. One friend told me a while back that trying to work without her morning cup of coffee, and sometimes second and third cups, is like trying to drive a car with no gas in the tank.

Some people like their coffee flavored and hidden with milk, cream or a myriad of flavored creamers. Others have become addicted to their lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos and all of the other fancy ways of fixing a cup of liquid caffeine. Then there are the purists, like me when I used to drink coffee, that like their coffee black and plain – no sugar and no milk, cream or creamer.

Regardless of how you like your morning cup of coffee, the vast majority of people drink it because of the caffeine and how it gets their body going. I used to drink it plain black strong coffee because I liked the taste. I have a genetic immunity to most pain killers and stimulants and so far, caffeine has no effect on me. Unfortunately, I had to stop drinking coffee not because of the caffeine but because of the oil in coffee that effects my irritable bowel syndrome.

Many people have been turning to stronger types of coffee and other caffeine loaded drinks for their morning fix of the addictive stimulant. This is probably the reason a new coffee, Black Insomnia has become the rage among many coffee addicts.

Black Insomnia is a being billed at the world’s strongest coffee and its popularity is skyrocketing. Sean Kristafor retired from his job in the corporate world and got together with a noted coffee bean roaster and created Black Insomnia less than a year ago. He is selling his caffeine overload locally to cafes in Cape Town, South Africa. His super-strong coffee caught on quickly and by October 2016, Kristafor was selling tons of his new brew to customers in 22 different countries. As of March, Black Insomnia was made available on Amazon in the US and sells for around $19 per pound. The company says they are now selling 5-6 tons of coffee every month and sales are still growing.

When chemically tested, Black Insomnia was found to be over twice as strong as Starbuck’s dark roast at 58.5mg of caffeine per fluid ounce compared to only 21.25mg for Starbuck’s powerful brew. Coca Cola contains about 2.8mg of caffeine per fluid ounce. Green tea has 3.1mg, McDonald’s coffee has 9.1mg, Red Bull has 9.46mg of caffeine per fluid ounce. Nepresso OriginalLine coffee capsules contain 44.4mg per fluid ounce and Death Wish coffee has 54.2mg of caffeine per fluid ounce.

However, most people don’t drink a single fluid ounce of coffee, so to give you an idea of how powerful of a kick this brew can give you, a 12oz cup of Black Insomnia could contain up to 702mg of caffeine.

Dangerous? Both the Food Information Council and the FDA recommend that 400mg of caffeine should be the TOTAL DAILY consumption for anyone. That means that a 12oz cup of Black Insomnia provides 175.5% of the recommended daily dose of caffeine.

What are effects of this much caffeine? According to Mary Sweeney, a researcher of caffeine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine commented:

“For the same amount of coffee, you will get double the amount of caffeine.”

“This makes it easier to consume more caffeine than you intend to and effects can range from mild to severe, for example, jitteriness, nervousness, restlessness and trouble sleeping. The most serious effect would be cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).”

Overdoing the caffeine can not only cause cardiac arrhythmia but it can also increase the heart rate to dangerous levels and people with heart conditions and high blood pressure can find the effects of a 12-ounce cup of Black Insomnia not keeping them awake but putting them in a permanent sleep called death.

Before you spend nearly $20 for a pound of Black Insomnia coffee, asked yourself if your health withstand this massive overdose of caffeine without having any harmful side-effects. You may realize that the risk is not worth it.

Top 5 Herbs That Lower Blood Pressure

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We yearn to live our lives with excitement and passion. Our range of daily activities keep us mobile and self-revitalizing. We like running around, performing well at work, shouting at the top of our lungs and feeling the adrenaline course through our veins.

However, the bad habits we create for ourselves while living it up will catch up with us in due time. High blood pressure develops from a combination of factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, eating fatty foods and lack of appropriate physical activities.

Family history and aging also causes our bodies to perform in sub-optimal conditions as compared to the years of our vigorous youth.

If left unattended, high blood pressure can damage blood vessels and gravitate to life-threatening conditions such as heart problems, stroke and cardiac arrest. You shouldn’t wait for it to happen to you when you least expect it.

Start taking proactive measures immediately to manage your blood pressure. It could be the best decision you could make for your longevity.

The common reliance on prescription drugs has produced no permanent cures for high blood pressure. You may want to consider nature’s solutions to keep your body in a state of wellness and equilibrium.

The following five herbs will help you experience worry-free excitement through lower blood pressure once again when taken constantly:

1. Passion Flower

Passionflower is effective in lowering blood pressure since it reduces stress and anxiety, which are factors that can directly cause an elevation in blood pressure. It is used as a natural sleeping aid for those having bouts of sleeplessness.

2. Lavender

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By massaging the body with lavender oil, you can dramatically reduce blood pressure by 50 percent. Lavender works as a vasodilator by relaxing and expanding the blood vessels, thereby causing the blood pressure to lower.

Lavender oil can be applied throughout the body or by bathing using either lavender flowers or the oil itself. You can also boil lavender leaves and flowers for use internally as a tea, which has the added benefits of treating insomnia or an upset stomach.

3. Holy Basil

Stress plays a destructive role in overall cardiovascular health and the adaptogenic properties of holy basil can help alleviate stress-related damage. It prevents stress-induced biochemical changes, improves energy levels and endurance, supports healthy immune functions and promotes healthy gastric tissue which is often subjected to damage during times of stress.

It also has many beneficial actions on the heart as a blood thinner and promotes good circulation. When taken daily, it can lower high blood pressure by helping optimize cholesterol levels.

4. Valerian

Valerian contains a natural tranquilizer as it relaxes muscles and lowers blood pressure. Consuming valerian daily consumption of valerian will aid in a state of overall relaxation and elimination of stress.

This process will, in turn, decrease blood pressure in people experiencing hypertension.

5. Oregano

Oregano contains carvacrol which is very effective in lowering blood pressure. It reduces you heart rate, mean arterial pressure, and both your diastolic and systolic blood pressures as well.

Oregano is also a viable alternative to salt in your meals, as the sodium in salt is a leading cause of high blood pressure. A high-sodium diet can lead to high blood pressure as each teaspoon of salt has more than 2,300 mg of sodium.

Oregano is a sodium-free food, so it does not contribute to a higher blood pressure. A low-sodium diet for individuals with high blood pressure has a limit of 1,500 mg per day.

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