BY CLAIR WHITTY
When I think of looking after your heart, I think of both your emotional and your physical heart health.
To look after your physical heart health, a healthy diet will help. One that’s rich in oily fish so that you have enough of the essential omega 3 fatty acids to help with blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Green leafy vegetables are rich in magnesium which is a really important mineral for the heart muscle. Brightly coloured fruit and vegetables are a great source of vitamin C which is helpful to prevent against hardening of the arteries. Herbal tea can help too, I like Hawthorn tea as it is one traditionally used to help normalise blood pressure. Or white tea is good to keep the arteries nice and supple. Beetroot, you can’t go wrong with to help improve blood flow. Garlic is one of the best foods you can eat to support heart health – it’s not only good to keep the vampires away!
If you are thinking about a supplement, then a popular remedy over the years is Jan De Vries Hawthorn Garlic Complex, with B1 which contributes to normal heart function. It’s a simple combination that helps to protect your heart. You could combine this with a fish oil, Eskimo Omega 3 Oil for example. Omega 3 can help to reduce the LDL the bad cholesterol. This combination could work together to help you keep your blood pressure and cholesterol in check.
I believe that your emotional health can impact on your physical heart. We have all experienced stress, anxiety, separation, and bereavement at some point. We can identify with the physical pain of these emotions. It feels like your heart is going to break. There is little to be done in some of these situations. Self-compassion, self-care, and time are often the only healers of this type of pain. The Bach Flower Star of Bethlehem is the flower remedy to help soothe a broken heart and worth taking in times of emotional heartache.
Relaxation, meditation, and sleep will do wonders for your heart too. Exercise is important, but make sure to do what you can do, not what you think you should be doing.
Keep on eye on your heart health, you would be lost without it. Look after it and it will look after you.
