There's always an interest in heart health but it peaks during American Heart Month and around Valentine's Day. It’s early in the new year, when many of us likely made a few health-related resolutions for the new year, and heart disease is still the number one threat to our health. Of course the usual advice rings true, lifestyle is key when making or upgrading a health goal. Here are the American Heart Association’s key points to include in our heart healthy lifestyle plan.
Lifestyle Habits for Heart Health
1. Manage
Blood Pressure
2. Control
Cholesterol
3. Reduce
Blood Sugar
4. Get
active
5. Eat
Better
6. Lose
Weight
7. Stop
Smoking
The Most Important Vitamins for Heart Health
Getting certain nutrients through our diet or supplements can support our heart-health goals. Our top five consists of: omega-3s, vitamin D3, vitamin K2, and coenzyme Q10. Most of us are not getting an adequate intake of any of these nutrients through diet alone, which is why supplementation can be a great options.
The omega-3s EPA and DHA help maintain a healthy, stable heart; promote healthy blood vessels and circulation; support arterial wall elasticity; and help maintain healthy triglyceride levels already within the normal range. The target omega-3 dose is 2,000 mg of combined EPA and DHA. Along with omega-3s, vitamins D3 and K2 and CoQ10 also support cardiovascular health.
Vitamin D3 is important for supporting heart health, and vitamin K2 as MK-7 plays an important role in directing calcium through our bloodstream and into our bones. Vitamin K2 is also important for healthy blood clotting. CoQ10 plays an important role in cellular energy production, scavenges free radicals in cell membranes and blood vessels, and helps maintain a healthy heart and vascular system.
With all of our health goals and growing list of supplements we take daily, we may wish to streamline our supplement regimens. For my family, I reach for our omega-3 blends, so I can open up fewer bottles but still get the benefits of the most important nutrients.
Omega-3s with vitamin D3s and K2 are available in soft gel (Elite Omega-3 plus D & K) and liquid form (Omega-3 plus D & K). I add the liquid to salad dressing, tuna salad, or a breakfast smoothie daily. There is also a product that provides a combination of omega-3s and CoQ10: Fish Oil Q, if we're getting our vitamins D3 and K2 separately. And if we're just looking to get vitamins D3 and K2, these are offered in soft gel and drop form. A kids' drop is also available. All of these supplements are most effective when taken with a meal.
