Heart Health
For A Healthy Heart - Clean Up Your Act
In the medicine of the Far East, the energy of summer nourishes the Heart
Many clients who come to Bill and I for health counselling suffer with high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, high cholesterol and atherosclerosis. They ask us how they can help themselves to renewed health. This literally does make our heart sing because at the end of the day, we are our own doctor and vascular health should be our number one priority three times a day.
When all stretched out, you have 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body. I am sure you already know but perhaps need a gentle reminder that your diet will affect the health of every inch of every vessel from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. Understanding vascular health is of paramount importance. Many diseases are caused by compromising the flow of blood to various tissues. Close the arteries to the brain and you have a stroke; to the eye, macular degeneration; to the inner ear, hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing), and vertigo (dizziness); to the heart, myocardial infarction; to the kidneys, renal failure; to the leg, gangrene; and to the penis, impotence.
When we bathe the arteries with the unhealthy blood and oils, which results from an unhealthy diet the vessel walls will stiffen within minutes. As I teach all and sundry my mantra about how food makes our blood, I wanted to share with you how simple it is to equate the health of our blood to the roots of a tree. A tree absorbs nutrients through external roots. The roots of the body are deep inside in the region of the small intestine where nutrients are absorbed. It is here that they enter the bloodstream and are distributed to the body’s cells.
So, if food makes our blood, then blood makes our cells, cells make our tissues, tissues make our organs and here we be, it’s really that simple. I sing my mantra to my students when I am teaching them how to cook. In my latest book Go Vegan you will find over 80 heart healthy recipes along with medicinal teas and lots of common sense.
Plant Based Vegan Is The Future
Over a period of time eating a diet based on animal foods and oils, streaks of fat accumulate in walls. As the disease rages on, the walls sometimes thicken enough to compromise the flow of blood and high blood pressure is the result. High blood pressure is a concern because it not only can be directly harmful on organs such as our heart and kidneys but also is often a sign of an underlying process affecting the arteries (atherosclerosis) and is associated with a higher risk of getting a heart attack or a stroke. Hypertension is often called “the silent killer” because, most typically, there are no symptoms noticed, but sometimes, very high blood pressure can cause dizziness or headaches.
As we go through the most pivotal area in nutritional history, studies show that plant-based diets are far superior to animal-based diets. The vanguard of modern nutrition now agrees with this. I teach a user-friendly common-sense approach to understanding food. We need to take charge of what we eat and adopt a wholefood plant-based vegan diet to reverse the non-communicable diseases we now see in today’s world. Heart disease is the no. 1 killer world-wide.
To ignore the bulk of literature you must ignore all the major studies that show an increase in disease and death from low carbohydrate diets (i.e. lacking in wholegrains, beans, vegetables, sea vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds etc.,)
More people might be open to changing their diet and lifestyle if they knew how little modern medicine offers for combating chronic disease. Lifestyle medicine is more important than many believe.
High Blood Pressure & Heart Disease
Heart disease is not only preventable, but it is reversible. From a Macrobiotic perspective, high blood pressure also known as hypertension, is generally caused by consumption of a combination of meat and sugar, eggs and poultry, dairy foods and use of oils and other extreme foods from both the extreme yang and extreme yin categories. Excessive salt and too much hard-baked flour products are also frequently involved. The arteries become constricted and narrowed, while the heart becomes swollen, enlarged, and expanded. With proper eating and lifestyle, normal blood pressure can usually be re-established in 3 to 4 months.
It’s also important to note here that what we eat does not magically stop at the neck but what we eat affects our brain. It is clear that hardening of the arteries inside our brain and cognitive decline travel hand in hand. It’s like a double whammy! We clog our heart and brain arteries simultaneously.
Though often benign, systolic hypertension can progress to coronary heart disease or congestive heart failure. To prevent or relieve this condition, avoid meat, dairy, poultry, eggs and other animals. Avoid hard baked flour products, and refined salt. Sugar, spices, stimulants, alcohol and other strong expansive foods commonly contribute to high blood pressure and should also be limited. A standard macrobiotic vegan diet can be observed. The most protective behaviour against heart disease is fibre consumption.
However, the bigger issue with heart disease is not just the LDL cholesterol level but the environment in the body which could make the cholesterol stickier. The plaque that builds up is a sticky substance made up of fat, cholesterol, calcium, and other substances found in the blood. Over time, the plaque hardens and narrows your arteries. This limits the flow of oxygen-rich blood to your body. It can lead to coronary artery disease and other heart diseases. Therefore, leading to furring of arteries (atherosclerosis), which can then cause heart attacks, strokes etc.
A vital factor in the development of furring is the health of the lining of your blood vessels, called the endothelium, which protects the blood vessels.
Saturated fats, animal protein, fast/processed products, vegan junk food, and other lifestyle factors like stress, can all damage the endothelium, leading to high blood pressure, oxidation (or damage) to LDL cholesterol, thus making LDL more sticky and likely to fur up the blood vessels.
You Can't Change Your Life - Without Changing Your Life
A low fat, whole food plant based vegan diet can help reduce the inflammation and damage going on (e.g. antioxidants in plant foods which help to sweep the damaging substances), protecting and allowing the endothelium to function, providing protection from furring, high blood pressure etc, thus helping to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Beans Help Heal Your Heart - Many cultures around the world rely on beans as a primary component of their diet, without even knowing they’re a heart-healing super food. Beans help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and blood pressure and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis, as well as improve circulation. For those who have had heart surgery it is even more important to remove the animal foods and oils that caused the disease.
Eat beans for a powerful heart. In a 20-year-long study published in 2001 in the Archives of Internal Medicine, people who consumed beans at least 4 times a week were 22% less likely to develop heart disease. Study participants were found to have lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and lower blood pressure than people who didn’t eat beans regularly. Why are beans so effective? Because they are packed with vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants and fibre that protect your heart.
Beans soothe and soften arteries. Beans increase levels of heart-protective nitric oxide (NO) in the body because they are high in an amino acid called arginine, a precursor to NO. Produced in the lining of the blood vessel, NO increases blood flow, keeps the arteries supple and prevents fatty deposits from sticking. In turn, this helps to lower blood pressure and reduce arterial clots, both of which contribute to cardiovascular disease and heart attack.
Other bean choices include: Black beans, White beans, Red beans, Navy beans, Green beans, Lima beans, Azduki beans, Lentils. It’s that simple. Follow all the heart healthy recipes in my book Go Vegan, on my blogs and on my website. Beans along with daily consumption of wholegrain such as short grain brown rice, millet, quinoa, and a plethora of vegetables will keep your heart in tip top condition.
As all large populations of trim, healthy people throughout verifiable human history for at least a million years have obtained the bulk of their calories from plants, ‘carbohydrates’, then we should still eat this way. They have zero heart disease.
My favourite bean recipe
White Bean Soup with Almond Pistou
A tasty white bean sweet soup seasoned with garlic and thyme that tastes even better the next day. All bean soups have forever been great for us, and this one has the powerful protein and good quality fat of almonds as the base. Make a double batch and have plenty of leftovers for the weekly dinner rush! There are many other delicious bean soup recipes in Go Vegan
1 small bunch spring onions, finely diced
3 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
Sea salt
2 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
3 cups cooked cannellini beans
3 cups unsweetened almond or soy milk
2 heaped tbsp vegetable bouillon powder
1 cup hot filtered water
½ tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp sweet white miso
Pistou
Although many people think that pistou is simply the French equivalent of Ligurian pesto from Italy, it’s not as simple as that. The biggest difference is that there are no pine nuts in French pistou. The basic recipe is Genovese basil and garlic. Use this pistou as a spread; on top of baked potatoes, pizza or vegetables; or added to pasta.
½ cup blanched almonds
2 cloves fresh garlic, sliced
1 cup loosely packed basil leaves
2 tsp sweet white miso
1 tsp brown rice syrup
2 tbsp filtered water
Dissolve the vegetable bouillon in the hot water, and set aside. Warm a splash or two of filtered water in a heavy-based pan. Place the spring onions and garlic and a pinch of salt in the pan and sauté until the vegetables are translucent. Stir in the celery and carrot and sauté for 5 minutes. Spread the vegetables over the bottom of the pan and top with the beans. Add the almond or soy milk, vegetable stock and dried thyme. Cover and bring to a boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in the sweet white miso. Makes 4–6 servings.
While the soup cooks, make the pistou. Place all the ingredients into a food processor and purée until smooth. Add more water to reach the desired consistency. To serve, ladle the soup into individual bowls and top with a hearty dollop of pistou.
My favourite medicinal tea
Apple Kuzu Drink
Macrobiotic home remedies based on kuzu drinks are widely used, as they help in a number of common ailments. These are made from the starch of kuzu, a gigantic root that is bigger than an average man, typically growing to about 100 kg per root. It is widely used in both traditional Japanese and Chinese medicine. Kuzu remedies are generally used to relieve digestive problems, including poor digestion, flatulence, abdominal ache, intestinal irritation, sickness and diarrhea and IBS. In China, researchers found kuzu to reduce high blood pressure, lower cholesterol, prevent the formation of blood clots and generally protect against heart disease.
1 cup apple juice
1 tsp. kuzu
Heat the apple juice in a small pan over medium heat until bubbles from at the side. Dissolve the kuzu in a little cold water and add to the apple juice stirring constantly to avoid lumps forming. Simmer until the kuzu thickens and the colour changes from chalky white to translucent. Drink Warm.
My favourite Yoga Pose for Heart Health
Rolling out my yoga mat every morning is my favourite part of the day. Along with eating a wholefood plant based vegan diet, I know it is one of the best things I can do for my heart. The latest research finds yoga enhances cardiovascular health in a number of ways, from calming the nervous system and reducing disease-causing inflammation to taming hypertension and boosting beneficial HDL cholesterol. It also improves circulation and lung function.
When we focus on our breath while doing these gentle poses it helps our heart even more. Breathe deep to make your exhalation twice as long as your inhalation as this can be helpful to help manage hypertension. When we breathe this way, it calms our nervous system and lowers our heart and respiratory rate. This can assist in reducing blood pressure. The rule of thumb so to speak is to inhale through your nose to a count of two and exhale through your nose to a count of four. Focusing on your breath also helps you relax into each pose and deepen its benefits.
As I work at my desk most days, I have my alarm ring every hour… I step onto my yoga mat that is a permanent fixture next to my desk and take 5 minutes in Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)
Begin on your hands and knees, with your hands shoulder-width apart slightly in front of your shoulders, and your knees directly below your hips. Spread your palms, with your index fingers parallel. Exhale tuck your toes and straighten your legs as you lift your hips to create a modified inverted "V." Straighten your legs (but don't lock your knees) and press your heels toward the floor. Tilt your pelvis to create length in your lower back. Keep the knees slightly bent if your hamstrings are tight.
When we take care of our body, it rewards us with good health. Hydrate, exercise, eat plants, get some sun and stay safe.
In good health
