February 2001 Holistic Health pc Newsletter
It has been said that love begins with loving yourself. We might add that you can best love yourself by taking care of your heart which is, both literally and figuratively, the center of your being.
The heart is a complex, muscular organ. It beats over 100,000 times a day to pump 1,835 gallons of blood through 60,000 miles of blood vessels. The contractions of the heart are electrically regulated. Extend this over a lifetime and the numbers are mind boggling. This much hard work requires good nutrition for maintenance.
In the early part of the 20th century, the industrialization of foods, in particular grains and oils, stripped from our diet the nutrients necessary to maintain proper heart function. As food became more and more devitalized and nutritional deficiencies became rampant, heart disease skyrocketed.
The most critical nutrient for optimal heart function is the B vitamin complex. B vitamins have been stripped from grains and animal sources through food processing. Lack of natural B vitamins results in impaired nerve conductivity and a lack of muscle tone throughout the body, most importantly in the hardest working muscle, the heart.
Whole B vitamins are complex nutrients that can be divided into two functionally opposing groups which we call vitamin B and vitamin G.
The B group vitamins improve the conductivity of the electrical impulse over the nerves and electrically conductive tissues in the heart. B vitamin supplementation helps resolve conditions such as extra heart beats, disrhythmia and unstable heart function. The B group improves the tone of the blood vessel walls, helps raise low blood pressure, aids shortness of breath and frequent yawning or fatigue.
The vitamin G group relaxes spastic muscles and acts as a vasodilator, lowering high blood pressure. Vitamin G also helps with relaxing spastic coronary heart arteries.
Unfortunately, most commercially available B vitamins are synthetically produced with little or no nutritional value and include both groups simultaneously, thereby canceling out each other's effect.
Therefore, it is extremely important to eat whole, natural, organic foods that contain B vitamins, and when supplementation is needed, find a source for vitamins that are prepared with the understanding of these principles.
Heart loving foods are lean meat, fatty fish and eggs. Eat nuts often. Some small amount of B vitamins can be found in certain vegetables such as avocado, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, green peas, mushrooms, spinach, sweet potato and tomatoes. Watermelon is the only fruit which contains B vitamins.
Since most B vitamins are sourced from meat, vegetarians need to make a special effort to keep their hearts functioning optimally.
The Bach Flower remedy Holly is often thought of as the remedy for anger - but this isn't necessarily the case.
When we have strength, fearlessness and self confidence, our natural aggression can find an honest, direct outlet. If these qualities are repressed, an inner pressure develops that turns them into rage, hate, suspicion, envy or jealousy. Such feelings are often seen in a first child after the birth of a second baby.
The basic problem in a person needing Holly is an absence of love, real or perceived, and the remedy works to encourage generosity of spirit and openness towards others.
"People who need holly may suffer much within themselves, often when there is no real cause for their unhappiness", wrote Dr. Bach. Holly can help you with suspicions or undefined negative,
aggressive feelings directed at others. Use it if you feel you don't get enough love.
The wonder of Holly is that it teaches one to be loving toward others as well as toward oneself, for one cannot truly love another without loving oneself first
Hawthorn berries have been used since the Middle Ages to support the heart, normalize cardiovascular functions and treat circulatory disorders.
Hawthorn increases blood flow to the heart and brain, protects the heart from irregular beats, enhances the strength of the heart's contractions, and regulates blood pressure.
Compounds in hawthorn can help protect the heart against oxygen deprivation, a condition that often leads to angina, a disease marked by intense chest pain.
Hawthorn is rich in bioflavonoids, which relax and dilate the arteries. These compounds are powerful antioxidants that help increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart. The bioflavonoid substances give strength to the walls of blood vessels and improve blood flow to other areas of the body. Components in hawthorn have also been shown to lower cholesterol, and the amount of plaque in arteries.
Hawthorn flowers, leaves and berries are all used in herbal supplements. Hawthorn preparations are considered safe to use in combination with other cardiac herbs such as yarrow, wood betony, motherwort and linden. Because they work slowly and subtly they can also be used along with allopathic heart medication and may lead to a decreased need for these.
By inhibiting free radical formation, hawthorn's antioxidant activity can be beneficial in maintaining healthy heart vessels and promoting overall heart health.
The Acoustic Cardiograph was developed in 1937 by Dr. Royal Lee. The ACG records the sounds of the heart as the blood moves through the various chambers, valves and vessels. Today, this technique is combined with computerized imaging and is called DCPG.
DCG makes pictures of the heart sounds and images them on the computer screen, thus enabling the doctor to actually "see" the function of the heart. In contrast, the EKG records only the surface electrical impulses as it moves through the heart tissue. The EKG primarily indicates if the heart tissue has suffered any trauma or permanent damage on an electrical basis.
Because the entire volume of blood in a body is pumped through the heart, carrying information from all the organs and systems, "the heart is the most reflective muscle of balanced nutrition or malnutrition�", said Dr. Royal Lee. The function of the heart is affected by many of our systems, i.e. adrenal, liver and gallbladder, circulatory and kidney function. Heart function is also affected by our nutrition, i.e. vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, etc. This information allows correction of nutritional deficiencies before structural changes occur. DCPG is one of the most powerful preventive tools in the goal to achieve optimum health and well being.
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