At Revolution Training in Stamford, CT, we emphasize exercise to help get you into shape, but also include nutritional information. If you don’t have the proper building blocks of material, no matter how often you workout or how hard, you won’t get fitter. Many of our clients come for training to help improve serious conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease. For these conditions, diet is extremely important. While eating healthy is good for both condition, there are specific diets can help improve your condition. Foods for your heart are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, CoQ10, magnesium and potassium. Shedding extra weight can also help a heart condition.
Get vitamin D for overall good health, including heart health.
For too long, people cherished a deep tan and spent days in the sun, slathering on baby oil to make the effect more intense. Only later did they find it opened the doorway to potential skin cancer and early aging of the skin. Now we’re on the other spectrum, where sunscreen is in every product and people don’t get enough sun. The body changes the rays of the sun into vitamin D. There are studies that show a vast majority of Americans have a vitamin D shortage. While it’s harder to get vitamin D from food, you can eat egg yolks, cheese, beef liver and vitamin D fortified products to boost your intake.
Eat more omega-3 fatty acids and fewer omega-6 fatty acids.
You do need both, omega-3 and omega-6, but there’s a perfect balance that you should strive to achieve. The ideal ratio is four units of omega-6 to one unit of omega-3. Today the average diet is 25 parts of omega-6 to one part omega-3. Omega-3 is good for anxiety and can help lift depression. It is good for eyesight, reduces the risk of heart disease, is anti-inflammatory, reduces the risk of diabetes, reduces the symptoms of ADHD, may help prevent cancer, improves bone health and can be helpful to prevent mental decline that occurs with age. Sources of Omega 3 are fatty fish such as fatty fish like herring, salmon and tuna, shrimp or flaxseeds and other seeds and nuts, particularly macadamia nuts.
Magnesium can help keep blood pressure lower.
If you lack magnesium, it could be the cause of your high blood pressure. Not only does a lack of magnesium cause an increase in blood pressure, it could also cause muscle cramps. Since the heart is a muscle, getting adequate magnesium is extremely important. Lack of magnesium is also related to mental disorders, irregular heartbeat, asthma and osteoporosis. What contains magnesium? Soybeans, raw spinach, avocados and dark chocolate are a few. If you soak your feet in Epsom’s salt, magnesium sulfate, it can ease muscle and joint pain.
- Dietary fiber helps lower blood cholesterol levels, which helps prevent heart disease. It also helps you lose weight, which can also help promote heart health. Fresh fruit and vegetables provide fiber, as does whole grains.
- Look to green veggies like broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts and lentils for extra folic acid, vitamin B-9. It reduces homocysteine, which is an indicator that you lack nutrients and a precursor for heart attack and stroke. Having adequate folic acid can reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease by 20%.
- If you lack CoQ10, you might have high blood pressure. Low levels of CoQ10 are also linked to heart failure. Eating red meat, sea food, nuts and seeds, soy chicken and organ meats can increase CoQ10 levels.
- Make your plate a rainbow. The more colorful your plate, the more likely you’ll have all the nutrients and phytonutrients your heart requires. Each color contains different amounts of specific heart healthy nutrition.
For more information, contact us today at Revolution Training