This week, February 1 – 7, is National Women’s Heart Week. Heart disease is the number one killer of women over the age of 34. We asked Hera Hub Carlsbad member and holistic nutritionist Karen Roth for her advice on maintaining a good heart health diet. 

Heart Healthy Habits for Women

The health of your business greatly depends on how you maintain your own personal health. As an example, 1 in 3 women who die each year will be a victim of heart disease and stroke. The sad part is, 80% of these cases are preventable. Heart disease in women is often silent, with the first sign of any problem being a heart attack, usually a fatal one.

“Coronary heart disease—often simply called heart disease—is the main form of heart disease. It is a disorder of the blood vessels of the heart that can lead to heart attack.” ~ National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute

Cardiovascular disease includes myocardial infarctions (heart attack), congestive heart failure, hypertension, congenital heart defects, artery diseases, rheumatic heart disease and angina pectoris. Proper nutrition can have the greatest impact in preventing these diseases; likewise, poor eating habits can have the most negative impact.

Garlic is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Regular consumption of garlic has been shown to lower blood pressure; decrease triglycerides and LDL cholesterol, while elevating HDL. One to two fresh garlic cloves a day are recommended. Majestic Garlic is one of my favorite products. Their pickled garlic products make it easy to consume whole garlic daily. 

Organic dark chocolate has antioxidant properties, which can actually help to protect the body from cellular degeneration. The polyphenols found in dark chocolate may help to lower blood pressure. The flavonoids prevent the excessive clumping of blood platelets that can cause blood clots and protects the lining of our arteries. Choose high quality chocolate (70% or higher cocoa content) and not the commercial cheap brands.

Most people steer clear of avocados because of their high fat value. But, two-thirds of that fat is monounsaturated and good for the heart. If anyone has followed a Mediterranean diet, you know they emphasize the monounsaturated fats like avocado and olive oil.

Avocados have many heart healthy benefits including:

• Lowering LDL cholesterol (that’s the Least desirable)

• Increasing the health promoting HDL cholesterol

• They are high in potassium which supports blood pressure regulation

• Avocados are a good source of fiber, folate and Vitamin B6, all essential nutrients for a healthy heart

A 2005 study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that by adding avocados to salads, there is an increased absorption of the health promoting phytonutrients from the vegetables.

While knowing your cholesterol numbers are helpful, testing your homocysteine and C-Reactive protein (CRP) is more important.

New studies have demonstrated that elevated CRP is a greater risk factor than high cholesterol in predicting heart attack and stroke. Early manifestations of these risks, such as obesity and insulin resistance, affect cells in a way that increases inflammation. Eating too much saturated fat or highly refined carbohydrates increases CRP. An example of this would be a cream cheese filled donut. Smoking and high blood pressure can also increase CRP.

Homocysteine increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by causing damage to the endothelial lining of the arteries, especially in the heart. Elevated homocysteine is also associated with stroke, cancer, depression and inflammatory bowel disease.

“Normal” reference ranges for most blood markers are very wide. An optimal range for CRP is 0 – .45 and for homocysteine it’s 0 – 7.20.

Dietary causes for elevated homocysteine include excessive consumption of caffeine and animal protein with low intake of fruits and vegetables.

If your homocysteine is elevated and you follow a good diet and exercise, you may, like half the population, have a mutation in the MTHFR pathway. It’s common, and it can be improved by using B12 and natural folate. But you won’t know unless you test. Synthetic folic acid can actually worsen homocysteine.

Elevated CRP can benefit with high doses of curcumin, reducing high glycemic carbohydrates and eliminating trans fats.

Karen Roth San Diego Holistic NutritionistAbout the author:

Karen Roth, MS, CNC holds a Master’s Degree in Holistic Nutrition and is an author and speaker. She specializes in safe and natural hormone balancing, autoimmune disorders and food sensitivities. Follow Karen on Twitter @karenrothmsnc.

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