The heart is a muscle and like any other muscle, it needs the training to get stronger.
So how to strengthen it naturally when it is weakened?
How to muscle it, reshape it so that it finds an optimal function?
In fact, there are about ten ways to help the heart by applying some very simple methods.
You just need to be more vigilant to ensure normal cardiac activity without the risk of very complicated drifts.
Remember, the heart is a muscle and as such, it needs to be nourished, armed, and protected to be functional.
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How to take care of your heart
One of the most common causes of heart dysfunction is arrhythmia or rhythm disturbances.
But if you’ve had a heart attack or even have a family member with heart problems, you’re also at risk.
There are different ways to strengthen a weakened heart to avoid any complications.
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Weight control
Weight gain very often predicts future heart problems.
50% of fatal or overcome heart attacks are directly related to a person’s BMI.
BMI or body mass index indicates overweight and especially fat that tends to accumulate in the waist and thighs.
30% of individuals are in the obese category, presenting a very high BMI and 70% are overweight with a significant BMI.
This condition is directly related to diabetes and heart disease.
Weight loss is therefore crucial to strengthen the heart.
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Deep breathing for healthy heart
This method is little known and yet very effective in strengthening the heart.
Breathing well helps restore optimal oxygen levels, eliminates pressure on the heart but above all significantly reduce the weight of stress on cardiac function.
As simple as it sounds, adopting breathing techniques strengthens the heart muscle.
You can refer to our coherence breathing article and adopt controlled breathing sessions once or twice a day.
5 seconds to inhale, 5 seconds to exhale for 2-5 minutes a day is not a great effort but brings exceptional benefits.
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Interval training exercises
Burst training is a series of vigorous movements followed by a period of rest.
These are high-intensity exercises (HIIT) with short recovery phases for a maximum duration of 10 to 15 minutes.
The aim of these sessions is to increase the heart rate intensely over a short period.
You will think that this type of exercise is dangerous for the heart but rest assured, numerous studies have shown that they do not expose it to any risk.
You just need to watch and monitor with a smartwatch to determine when you are reaching your maximum capacity.
You should also make sure to stay in the red zone for a very short time and then give yourself enough of a break for the heart rate to return to normal.
These oscillations of rhythm strengthen the heart because you ask your body to optimize the supply of oxygen to accelerate blood circulation.
This reduces the risk of a heart attack.
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Feeding Frenzy
All your little guilty pleasures at parties, whether it’s crisps, peanuts, ice cream in front of the TV, increase your appetite.
These late snacks and multiple snacks throughout the day are very heavy on the heart.
They constantly increase insulin production, which not only increases weight but generalized inflammation.
The solution to this problem is to snack while fasting!
So do the opposite, go long periods without eating anything to allow the body to use the energy normally stored to digest your food.
You heal the heart this way.
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Stop inflammation
Inflammation is the origin of heart problems.
When we can no longer control it, it causes coronary attacks in particular.
Inflammation can be blocked by taking simple supplements:
– turmeric (see below)
– powdered ginger in your favorite dishes or through a supplement
– Omega 3 and in particular fish oil which is the most effective
These three supplements are essential for fighting and reducing the inflammation that is so detrimental to the heart and the whole body.
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Lack of sleep
Sleep calms the heart.
Many of us watch TV late at night.
We spend hours or minutes reading on our phones, exposed to blue light.
We forget to lower the ambient room temperature or caulk light sources.
We do not rest enough and when we are awake, the heart is awake.
When your brain activity is still brisk and you escape rest, the heart continues to work overtime.
Yet it needs a long rest period to be at its best every day.
Sleep, therefore, strengthens the heart.
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Bad Habits
We keep coming back to this, but tobacco and alcohol do considerable damage to the heart.
Thirty years we know their damage and we still continue to consume them.
Too bad.
Heart strengthening foods
It is possible to boost your heart function by combining certain foods known to improve blood circulation, which help reduce blood pressure, build endurance and stave off cognitive decline.
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Foods that improve blood circulation
– Eat vegetables rich in nitrates such as beets, celery, lettuce, radishes, spinach.
– Take advantage of cocoa polyphenols and eat 40 grams of dark chocolate – 75% cocoa content.
– Consume garlic as often as possible
* Nitrates in food
Eating nitrate-rich vegetables is an effective way to improve nitric oxide in the body.
It should be known that nitrates break down into nitrites which are transformed into nitric oxide, a molecule that acts as a natural vasodilator and increases blood circulation.
High nitric oxide levels are known to aid blood circulation while lowering blood pressure.
These nitrate-rich vegetables also improve endothelial cells in blood vessel walls.
Finally, they reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease as well as atherosclerosis, cancer, and sudden death.
Keep in mind that:
– Cooking vegetables reduces the proportion of nitrates by 50% but researchers claim that the remaining amount is sufficient to ensure heart health
– Most nitrate-rich vegetables are also high in oxalates and may cause kidney stones.
However, cooking them reduces oxalates more than nitrates.
– You can opt for vegetables that are low in oxalates such as carrots, radish, sweet potato, and cabbage.
– Leafy green vegetables contain vitamin K1 which fights blood clots.
But it can also reduce the effectiveness of blood thinners and anticoagulants.
– If you eat a lot of cruciferous vegetables, be sure to increase your iodine intake.
You will find it in seafood, shrimp, milk, yogurt, or cheese.
– Meat nitrates are not equivalent to vegetable nitrates.
– Bacteria in saliva activate nitrates.
Avoid using antibacterial mouthwash too often.
* Cocoa and heart health
When nitric oxide is produced, its half-life is seconds due to its hyper-reactive nature.
This nature explains why it can only move when oxidized.
Dark chocolate contains a high content of flavonoids such as epicatechin which help maintain high nitric oxide levels.
Many mechanisms are believed to generate the beneficial effects of cocoa such as activating nitric oxide production, improving bioavailability, and very interesting anti-inflammatory properties.
* Is garlic heart healthy
Garlic contains hydrogen sulfide which helps stabilize blood pressure.
Eating garlic, therefore, increases the diffusion of hydrogen sulfide in the body, which relaxes blood vessels and lowers blood pressure.
If your cholesterol level is too high, using garlic for at least two months can lower LDL cholesterol and slightly raise HDL.
If you don’t like the taste or smell of garlic or want to avoid the strong breath it gives, you can use an odorless garlic supplement (#ad).
The recommended dosage is 600-1200mg per day.
Nitrate-rich vegetables, cocoa, and garlic work synergistically to improve cardiovascular function.
Nitrate increases nitric oxide levels in the blood, which improves circulation.
Cocoa helps maintain nitric oxide levels.
Garlic paves the way for proper nitric oxide production.
The combination of the three leads to a heart that pumps harder without putting any pressure on the body.
How to improve heart health
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Is vitamin D good for heart?
Vitamin D3 is essential for the heart.
It regulates insulin levels, it provides cardiovascular prevention, immunity, brain function, nervous system.
There are two forms of this vitamin:
– ergocalciferol or vitamin D2 which is produced by some plants when exposed to UV sunlight but is not very effective
– cholecalciferol or vitamin D3 which is biologically active and is produced by human or animal exposure to sunlight
Prefer vitamin D3 as cholecalciferol (#ad) if you wish to supplement.
Consider taking 5000UI per day.
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Vitamin K2
Vitamin K2 is excellent for bone growth, it activates osteoblasts (which form bone) and inhibits osteoclasts (which attack bone).
It also activates osteocalcin (which is part of the composition of bone) and Matrix-Gla protein (essential protein for bones).
Many studies show that it plays an important role in the prevention of diabetes and cardiovascular disease due to its anticoagulant effect.
For better bioavailability, go for a vitamin K2-MK7 supplement (#ad)
The recommended dosage is 100mcg per day.
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Niacin
Niacin is a major supplement for cardiovascular health.
In fact, niacin is the umbrella term for all forms of vitamin B3.
It is particularly recommended to increase HDL cholesterol levels.
On the other hand, this vitamin is not recommended at all if you have no heart risk.
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Bergamot benefits
Bergamot is a citrus fruit grown in Italy and France.
Studies have shown the impact of bergamot on blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
It acts in the same way as statins and also has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Bergamot can also improve HDL and LDL cholesterol levels.
You can use bergamot in the kitchen for your dishes and desserts.
You can also drink it as herbal tea or flavored tea.
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Berberine
Berberine is a plant of Chinese origin widely used to fight bacterial diarrhea.
But some studies have shown that berberine is as effective as Metformin (antidiabetic drug), that it is very active against type 2 diabetes, hyperlipidemia (too high levels of lipids in the blood), and hypertension.
All without any side effects.
Note that berberine (#ad) has a half-life of 4.8 hours, which is why it should be taken twice daily for cardiac prevention.
Other supplements are also very beneficial for cardiovascular health.
So you can add:
– Magnesium
It has been proven that magnesium deficiency or even a simple lack leads to cardiovascular diseases.
Its main role is to ensure neuro-muscular transmission, which contributes to a normal heart rhythm.
In addition, a deficiency also promotes oxidative stress, which produces an alteration of endothelial cells and premature aging of blood vessels.
It is therefore highly recommended to supplement with magnesium to protect the heart.
Go for a form of magnesium bisglycinate (#ad) which is the formula best tolerated by the body.
The indicated daily dosage is 6mg per kilo per day.
– Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10 or ubiquinol, its most bioavailable formula, plays an essential role in the transmission of signals in the heart muscle as well as in the production of energy.
Super oxidant, it protects the body from damage caused by free radicals, it also improves physical performance and contributes to recovery after exercise faster.
Coenzyme Q10 is very indicated in heart failure and regulates blood pressure.
If you suffer from heart disease, a dosage of 200 to 300mg per day in 2 to 3 doses is recommended.
If you have no declared pathology, supplementation of 50 to 100mg per day is sufficient.
Be careful to avoid all dry forms, a good Ubiquinol supplement (#ad) must be in the form of capsules containing oil.
– Cinnamon
Cinnamon contains potassium which helps control heart rate and blood pressure, copper and manganese which have antioxidant action.
It also has the potential to improve blood circulation and moderate cholesterol.
So don’t hesitate to sprinkle your dishes and desserts with this fragrant spice.
On the other hand, be sure to use only Ceylon cinnamon like this (#ad), the powder usually found on the market is Chinese cinnamon which contains coumarin, a blood thinner that may be harmful to some and interfere with anticoagulant therapy.
– Turmeric
Turmeric is both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.
Its effects on inflammation are very beneficial for cardiovascular health.
Its active component, curcumin, protects the heart with its powerful antioxidant action.
You can consume it in powder directly in your favorite dishes or in supplements like this (#ad).
Note, however, that turmeric also tends to thin the blood, which makes it incompatible with anticoagulant treatment.
The impact of these associated supplements can target chronic inflammation, cholesterol levels, and pre-diabetes in the prevention of cardiovascular risks.
How to strengthen heart muscles
Whether you already suffer from heart damage or are simply looking for prevention to avoid any disease, it is possible to strengthen your heart and fortify the muscle for optimal function.
Rules of life are essential to avoid excessive stress, chronic lack of sleep, or a hazardous diet.
Certain foods taken regularly can also improve blood circulation, and regulate blood pressure and cholesterol.
You can consider some high-intensity exercise as well as taking some targeted supplements that will help you curb cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure which are a scourge for heart diseases.
In any case, there is a natural routine to strengthen your heart, control your heart rate and live peacefully.
Strengthen your heart easily with this 30 days Healthy Heart Challenge Printable
Thank you so much Marie. My PCP found that I had a heart murmur so I went to Cardiologist, who, sent me to hospital to have tests, got tests back went back to Cardiologist to find out results (older man who said my heart was normal for my age – 73 – and essentially told me not to worry my pretty little head). I asked questions, he skirted them with, “you can flagellate yourself if you want, into a heart attack by being apprehensive and worrying, there is nothing you can do but what you are doing. I exercise moderately, eat a low fat, very low carb, high protein diet. I feel fantastic. But I don’t believe there is nothing I can do to strengthen my wonderful heart! I have put into practice this morning the breathing exercises – am going to get the supplements.
Thank you for being knowledgeable about our hearts!