Your heart is an incredibly efficient muscular organ that works tirelessly without pausing for rest. On average, it beats 72 times a minute – that is 100,000 times a day. With each heartbeat, your heart pumps blood throughout your body to deliver oxygen and nutrients it needs to sustain life.
Yet, a well-functioning heart is often taken for granted until problems occur. Ageing, prolonged stress, sleep deprivation and nutritional deficiencies can all take a toll on your heart its circulating system. There are many things you can do to ward off heart ailment or prevent it from occurring again if you already living with heart disease.
Miraculous magnesium for heart health
There is a mineral that plays a big part in keeping your heart healthy but too often gets overlooked: magnesium. Many people are not eating enough magnesium-rich foods and the health consequences of magnesium deficiency are significant. Inadequate magnesium intake can place you at risk for heart attacks, strokes, heart failure, hypertension, atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat).
Taking magnesium supplements may be a good idea to optimise your magnesium levels. Your body relies on ample magnesium supplies to relax the heart muscle for an optimal heart rhythm; help the blood vessels to dilate which in turn lower the blood pressure; and prevent the build-up of plaque that can lead to clogged arteries.
Magnesium supplements come in a variety of forms that offer different, or targeted, health benefits. Magnesium orotate, a complex of magnesium bound orotic acid, is extensively documented to have profound effects on reducing the risk of heart disease. In addition to its superior bioavailability, it provides orotic acid necessary to increase the availability of DNA and RNA precursors needed for repair of damaged heart tissues. It is particularly beneficial for recovery from heart attacks or heart surgery. It may also help enhance capacity in both heart patients, as well as athletes.
Other heart-healthy nutrients
L-carnitine and coenzyme Q10 give your heart an optimal energy supply to enhance its pumping ability. L-carnitine transports fatty acids into mitochondria where they are burned for energy, while coQ10 ignites the energy production within the mitochondria.
Policosanol, rice extract, niacinamide and orange bioflavonoids are excellent cholesterol busters that have been used to naturally bring down cholesterol levels. It is imperative to keep your cholesterol in check because too much cholesterol can lead to narrowing of arteries, resulting in heart disease, heart attack and stroke.
Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), B9 (folic acid) and B12 (cobalamin) are used in combination to lower homocysteine levels in the blood, which may potentially prevent recurrent stroke or heart attack.
Coupled with regular exercise, heart-healthy nutrition can improve their cardiovascular fitness and keep your ticker beating strong for many years to come.
