For a healthy heart, fight inflammation first
February is American Heart Month, a time to raise public awareness of the many contributing factors to cardiovascular disease—the condition that is now recognized as our nation’s leading killer. With this in mind I’d like to devote some time to a particularly insidious factor in the development of heart disease, along with a number of other serious chronic diseases that face us today.
As you may have already guessed, I’m talking about inflammation. While factors like cholesterol, blood pressure, and weight may continue to steal the spotlight when it comes to matters of the heart, the health community is becoming more and more aware of the deadly role that inflammation plays in the development of cardiovascular disease. It’s clear that our Western habits are at least partially to blame for this condition’s growing prominence.
Our body system, which is a reflection of our lifestyle and culture in the West, tends to “heat up.” The excess heat is a result of running too fast and for too long without a break, a rest, or a time to slow down and regroup. Unfortunately, this is the way most of us run our lives: eating on the run, not sleeping enough, eating unhealthy foods etc. The result of this type of lifestyle is chronic, systemic inflammation.
For example, what happens to your car if it runs too much and too fast without enough lubrication? It heats up. And if it heats up enough, it will eventually crack and break down. This is an apt metaphor for the effect that inflammation can have on your body. We know that inflammation—and the oxidative stress it causes—is the hallmark of literally every chronic disease including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, autoimmune diseases, infections, etc. Regulating inflammation will therefore have immense benefits, not just to your heart, but to your overall health as well.
A secondary complication of inflammation is the disruption of movement and flow in your body. As things heat up, they tend to get stickier and not move in a harmonious way. In Western medicine, this stickiness may be observed as hyperviscosity (thickness of the blood). The functions of the cardiovascular system to bring oxygen and nutrients to all cells and remove waste products is disrupted by inflammation and congestion. This may promote diseases such as circulatory blockages and cancer.
When inflammation and hyperviscosity come together, they also affect the balanced functioning of your immune system. A healthy immune system requires proper inflammatory response. If we have no inflammatory response at all, our immune system can’t respond properly. However, if the inflammatory response is inappropriate we can develop allergies, autoimmune diseases (the body’s immune system through an inflammatory response attacking itself), and other degenerative changes. Therefore, strong immunity requires balance, with inflammation responses presenting only at necessary times and with necessary force.
What can you do to support this intricate relationship between healthy circulation, inflammation, and immune response—and to restore not only your heart’s health, but the health of your entire body?
Slowing down and making lifestyle adjustments is one way. Drink plenty of fresh, clean water, and take time to eat mindfully. Regular exercise and sleep are also crucial. (See this issue’s “In the News” article to find out just how important sleep is.) And reducing daily stress by integrating meditation and other relaxation techniques into your daily life can have a profound impact on inflammatory conditions as well.
Supplements also play an important role in the fight against inflammation—and comprehensive, antioxidant-rich nutrient support is one of the best ways to achieve this. In my practice, for example, I use a Tibetan herbal formula that combines numerous botanicals for antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, circulatory, and immune support. Not only does this formula have a long history of use in ancient healing traditions, but numerous clinical trials continue to support its benefit against a variety of inflammatory disorders—from peripheral artery disease and angina pectoris to conditions such as multiple sclerosis, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and recurrent respiratory infections.
To learn more about this unique formula and its role in the fight against heart disease and inflammation, you can download my free report on its origins and applications here. And in keeping with the spirit of American Heart Month, I hope you’ll share its contents with any friends, family, co-workers, or neighbors who may be looking for effective natural ways to improve their cardiovascular health today.
