February is Heart Month! I just couldn’t let another week slip me by without sharing some heart health tips, and what better way to learn about this amazing muscle (yes…I said muscle) then to have my amazing friend and Naturopathic Doctor, Mary MacDonald share her tips….

The heart is a powerful muscle responsible for pumping blood to the entire body. In a healthy adult, the body contains 5 liters of blood circulated over and over through the body. The entire cycle takes about 60 seconds, during which time the blood carries oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in the body.

Get Moving: Physical inactivity is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and most adults are not physically active enough to gain any health benefits. All healthy adults ages 18-65 should be getting at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity five days of the week.

An Ounce of Prevention: Know your blood pressure. Your heart moves blood through your body. If it is hard for your heart to move this blood, your heart works harder, and your blood pressure will rise.

Work on your Habits: Since the human heart’s job is to pump nutrient-rich blood throughout your body, if you smoke, take drugs, or drink alcohol excessively, you are giving your heart extra work.

Warning Signs: Many heart attacks cause completely different sensations!

• Pressure, fullness, squeezing, or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back again.
• Pain spreads to the shoulders, neck, or arms. The arm may be tingling or numb.
• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, dizziness, weakness, fainting, sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath.
• Nausea, vomiting
• Cold sweats, shortness of breath and lightheadedness
• Feeling of indigestion & abdominal pain

Heart Healthy Foods

• Healthy Fats: omega 3 and omega 9 fatty acids: healthy fish, olive oil and avocados
• Walnuts: a recent study has found that eating 8 walnuts per day decreased the onset of inflammation & oxidation in the arteries and helped preserve elasticity & flexibility of the arteries.
• Celery: recent research shows that 4 stalks of celery daily lowers blood pressure and helps high cholesterol by relaxing smooth muscles in the blood vessels themselves.
• Garlic: improves blood circulation
• Richly pigmented fruits: blueberries, blackberries, and pomegranate are high in bioflavonoids
• Limit alcohol consumption to less than two drinks per day and even less for women
• Limit sodium intake to ≤ 6 g salt each day

Thanks Mary for such valuable information!

If your interested in booking an appointment with Mary, please contact her at:
Mary MacDonald l ND, BSc, BComm
Holly Pharmacy
611 Holly Avenue l At Derry Road
T: 905.878.9001

Health and Abundance,
Samantha 🙂