12 Top Nutrients For A Healthy Heart

By Tony Isaacs - tbyil.com

The heart is our most important and most active muscle.  In addition to the benefits for the heart of having a healthy active lifestyle and eating a healthy diets, there are several key herbs, minerals vitamins and other nutritional items which can provide great boosts for heart health.

Here are 12 of the best: 

1. Cayenne. Sometimes referred to as the “King of Herbs”, cayenne is one of the most powerful heart-healthy substances. It strengthens, stimulates, and tones the heart, balances circulation and blood pressure, and calms palpitations. Due to its fiery punch, you may want to start small and work your way up to larger amounts of powder or extract added to juice. 

2. Hawthorn. Along with cayenne, hawthorn was one of famed herbalist Dr. Christopher’s favorite herbs for the heart. Hawthorn is rich in flavonoids that protect small capillary vessels from free-radical damage. It normalizes blood pressure, lowers cholesterol and fat deposits in the liver and aorta and helps conditions such as angina, arrhythmia, arteriosclerosis, blood clots, and hypertension. Though it may take months to realize hawthorn’s full benefits, often a dropper of hawthorn berry extract will settle irregular heartbeats in short order. 

3. Magnesium. Magnesium helps prevent heart attacks, regulates high blood pressure and helps ease heart arrhythmia, in addition to having a great many other vital health benefits. Thanks to today’s SAD diet and mineral depleted soils, it is estimated that anywhere from 80 to 95 percent of us are deficient in magnesium.

Natural Pain Killers

Natural pain killers
Many who suffer from problems of restlessness, decreased immunity, depression and anxiety can consume these natural pain killers, which are as effective as medical drugs.

Fish oil: Fish contains two essential omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid and decosahexaenoic acid. These can help block the production of inflammatory chemicals in the body, known as cytokines and leukotrienes. Researchers have established that eating about 3 g of fish fats a day can relieve of joint pain, inflammation, and stiffness associated with rheumatoid arthritis. Fish oil can also help reduce the severity of Crohn's disease and these patients can stop consuming anti-inflammatory medications and steroids.

Olive oil: This is a natural chemical with anti-inflammatory properties like ibuprofen. Oleocanthal is the natural ingredient in this oil. 50 g of extra virgin olive oil is comparable to about 10% of ibuprofen dose recommended for adult pain relief.

Tart cherries: Researchers of Michigan State University opine that eating about 20 tart cherries may relieve pain better than aspirin. These cherries exhibit antioxidant properties comparable to vitamin E. Anthocyanins which is found in cherries inhibited cyclooxygenase-1 and 2 enzymes, which are the targets of anti inflammatory drugs at doses more than ten times lower than aspirin. Arthritis and gout can be controlled by daily consumption of cherries.

Saliva: This is found to generate a natural pain killer six times stronger than morphine. Human saliva is similar to opiorphin and it acts as a natural pain killer far better than the traditional drug morphine which has addictive and psychosomatic side effects.

Spices Stop Blood Clots Better Than Drugs

Spices do a whole lot more than liven up food. Research has found that the active ingredients in several common spices can help keep you alive by preventing platelet aggregation and blood clot formation up to 29 times better than aspirin, offering a much safer alternative to anti-clotting drugs such as Plavix. And they do it without side effects.

Scientists in India have done extensive testing to determine the health benefits of spices traditionally used in Indian cuisine. The latest research to come from the Central Food Technological Research Institute evaluated the effect of the active principle spice compounds eugenol, capsaicin, piperine, quercetin, curcumin, cinnamaldehyde, and allyl sulphide on human platelet aggregation. They demonstrated that each compound evaluated was able to significantly inhibit blood clotting. Furthermore, the compounds performed their anti-platelet aggregation activity against several different factors that promote the clotting of blood.

Eugenol and capsaicin were found to be the most potent inhibitors of induced platelet aggregation. This ability was shown by the other tested compounds too in the declining order of curcumin, cinnamaldehyde, piperine, allyl sulphide, and quercetin. Eugenol was found to be 29-fold more potent than aspirin in inhibiting ararachidonic acid induced human platelet aggregation. Both eugenol and capsaicin inhibited production of clotting factors in a dose-dependent manner.