The Best Herbs to Help Your Heart

Heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States according to the Center of Disease Control. They report that there is a coronary event every twenty-five seconds in this nation, and someone dies of heart disease-related conditions every minute. Twice as many women die from heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular diseases than those who die from all forms of cancer combined, including breast and ovarian cancer.

The cardiovascular system is under constant attack from imbalanced meals, and weakened by sedentary lifestyles. Changing your diet and activity levels are the best preventative and healing measures you can take. As you find your favorite forms of exercise and ways to incorporate physical activity into your everyday life, take a look at the following list of herbs that you can include in your diet. These will help strengthen your arteries and muscles, clear out cholesterol, and have a number of other effects that will reduce your chances of adding to the statistics.

Garlic

Don’t turn and run from this infamously pungent herb. Garlic is one of the top herbs for heart health. It has been used medicinally for thousands of years, and hundreds of studies have been done on its amazing benefits.

Garlic’s characteristic smell is the result of allicin and diallyl disulphide, organosulphuric compounds that trigger the relaxation of blood vessels, allowing them to grow wider. This can result in moderately lowered blood pressure and better blood flow. It is also known for its potential to prevent and, in some cases, reverse atherosclerosis, the hardening of the arteries. Garlic prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, the process that turns it into the ‘bad’ cholesterol that collects in the arteries and causes atherosclerosis. It also assists HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol, in the prevention and clearing out of LDL buildup.

When using fresh garlic in cooking, it’s recommended that it be cut or crushed and then left to sit 5 to 10 minutes so the chemical compounds can have enough time to react with each other and produce the health benefits described above without the interference of heat. You can also eat it raw, if the taste suits you. Either way, all that is needed is half to one full clove a day to assist your heart. You can also find garlic in capsule form, a derivation that has been neither proven nor disproven to be as effective as raw garlic.

Hawthorn

The leaves, berries, and flowers of this shrub are considered the go-to herb, along with garlic, when it comes to helping the cardiovascular system. Hawthorn has antioxidants found in its pigments which help prevent the oxidation and damage of LDL cholesterol and the onset of atherosclerosis. It also stimulates the liver to break down cholesterol into bile acids before it can get into the blood stream. If taken regularly for months, it can dilate blood vessels throughout the body just as garlic can, producing the same potential to lower blood pressure and better flow throughout the body.

Another highly appealing attribute of hawthorn is that it has an antiarrhythmic effect. It decreases the workload on the heart and its arteries and balances out intracellular calcium levels in the heart itself, resulting in the decrease or elimination of irregular heartbeat conditions.

Currently there are many countries, including Brazil, China, France, and Germany, that consider hawthorn an official drug for its medical benefits. In the United States, you can buy extracts or tinctures of hawthorn over the counter. While the shrub has been declared safe for general use by many studies, be sure to follow the dosage indicated on the packaging.

Cayenne

Using this spice might make you feel like your heart is racing, but that’s just a sign of the good works it’s doing. Just as working your muscles by lifting weights improves their health, this and other red peppers gives your cardiovascular system a workout by increasing the power of your pulse without increasing the number of beats per minute. This short burst helps regulate blood flow throughout the body, improves cardiac output, and lowers blood pressure.

Cayenne contains a substance called capsaicin, which helps to lower LDL cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and assists in the decomposition of fibrin, an important element in the makeup of blood clots.

There is no firm dosage for cayenne. However, cultures who use it liberally in their every day cooking have been shown to have a lower heart attack, stroke, and pulmonary embolism rate, according to World’s Healthiest Foods.org.

Other herbs

Motherwort, like hawthorn, has been shown to help eliminate irregular heartbeat conditions. It can also reduce hypertension and be a good homeopathic treatment for stress and anxiety attacks.

Ginko biloba helps the brain in more than one way. This memory herb also improves circulation by dilating veins, arteries, and capillaries, reducing the chances for stroke or heart attack. It also helps reduce blood clot formation and provides valuable antioxidants that help keep LDLs low and vascular walls safe.

Rosemary is a fantastic addition to a meal, especially if you’re a red meat eater. Studies have shown that it assists in increasing circulation throughout the body and decreases cholesterol levels and blood pressure.

Valerian makes a calming tea that eases hypertension and prevents anxiety, stress, tension, insomnia, and other peripheral complications that aggravate heart disease.

Always Practice Caution

Do not underestimate the power of these herbs. Just as they can be incredibly helpful to your health, if they are taken in conjunction with any medication like blood thinners, the two can interact and cause serious health risks. Talk to your doctor about which would be wise to include in your diet and in what amounts. Also go in for regular checkups. As your condition improves, your doctor may begin to ease you off of the medication, allowing you to use these herbs as your sole treatment and first line of defense.

Sources:

http://www.cdc.gov/features/heartmonth/
http://www.alive.com/623a2a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=122

http://www.lakewinds.com/store/Herbs-for-Heart-Health-W4702C18760.aspx
http://www.christopherhobbs.com/website/library/articles/article_files/heart_herbs_01.html
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid;=60#descr