Love your heart

In case you didn’t know it, February is heart month. Do you know how to achieve optimal cardiovascular health? Let’s look at the theory advanced by Dr. Mathias Rath, director of the Institute for Research and Development on Cellular Nutrition.
First, he tries to get us to understand that the majority of cardiovascular diseases (and several other diseases, such as diabetes and cancer) are caused in part by a lack of vitamins, minerals and trace elements that are missing from our modern diet.

Vitamin C
According to Dr. Rath, vitamin C is the glue in the walls of our blood vessels. Animals don’t suffer from cardiac diseases because their liver makes enough vitamin C to protect their vessels. The human body, however, does not produce vitamin C and since we consume too little of it, deposits form in our arteries, which results in heart attacks and cerebral vascular attacks (strokes). The major sources of vitamin C are red peppers, strawberries, oranges, broccoli…in other words, most fruits and vegetables.  

Other substances
A good strong heartbeat depends on a diet rich in a number of other minor nutrients such as (and this list is not exhaustive):

• Omega-3: fatty fish, vegetable oils (linseed, canola, nut, soy), grains and nuts;
• B vitamins: the sources for these vitamins are numerous and varied. A vitamin B deficiency is fairly rare if one eats meat;
• Magnesium: soy and lima beans, bittersweet cooking chocolate, black or white beans, nuts and grains;
• Coenzyme Q10: meat, fish, and canola and soy oils, plus grains and nuts;
• L-carnitine: red meat, dairy products, tempeh (a product from fermented soy).

Dr. Rath obviously recommends not smoking, because smoking considerably accelerates the oxidation of blood vessels walls. He suggests doing moderate physical exercise daily. He also mentions that stress depletes our reserves of vitamin C and other nutrients.

And finally, it’s useful to know that atheromatous plaques start forming in the arteries around the age of 20; we should take an interest in protecting ourselves from a young age. So let’s eat well, move lots and get enough rest, and our hearts will keep beating for a long time.

Till next time…!