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Health & Wellness

2006-09-01 16:04:00

Promoting good cardio health

QUESTION: How can I promote good cardiovascular health?

ANSWER:Good cardiovascular health begins at birth, if all is going well.  Sometimes defects exist, but with that said, we should do the best to improve on that situation.  The same factors that are bad for our heart and blood vessels at the age of 49, the peak age for heart attack in males, is also present at 3 years old.  The components are always the same to good Cardiovascular Health (CV).  Those components are: 1) An optimally working Nervous system, 2) Nutritional considerations, 3) Exercise, and 4) Spiritual life.  And the importance is in the order just listed.  Not that spiritually is anything less, in general, to be the most important, we are discussing CV health, and spiritually speaking “it rains on the just and the unjust”.  Spirituality does improve one’s cardiovascular health.  Prayer, love, compassion, faith, trust in a higher power, are firmly proven to improve CV health, as well as many other diseases from cancer survival to alcohol addiction.  Having now discussed spirituality and CV health, we now will discuss the first component of cardiovascular health, an optimally functioning nervous system.The Nervous System controls all regulation in the body whether directly, or indirectly.  The nervous system regulates ones hormones, and even cellular, and organ function.  One such organ function is the heart, and one system function is the cardiovascular system.  We’ve all heard that a sudden scare or excitement may have triggered a heart attack in someone.  This is an obvious example of how a reaction of the nervous system may affect the heart.  How about blood pressure?  It is affected too.  Well, a more serious nerve problem exists when day to day, the signals or regulation of your nervous system over your CV system exists.  This happens most commonly when nerve pressure exists in the spine.  This nerve pressure gets there when there is misalignment in the spine.  Misalignment causes two things: 1) nerve problems; 2) arthritis.  Without the nervous system optimally regulating the body, one really can’t maximally benefit from nutrition, exercise, or the day to day benefits of spirituality.Nutrition is composed of what we eat and drink, and what we take in the way of nutritional supplements.  Things that may lower or raise our nutritional needs include: drug medications, stress, work, rest, and play.  Nutritional needs are unique for each individual, varying with factors such as age, race, lifestyle, and health condition.  CV Health can be promoted through nutritional means.  For instance, diagnostic testing may reveal certain CV health concerns, and would suggest health promoting nutritional considerations based on the diagnostics.  For instance, studies have shown Omega III EPA oil to be effective in reducing high cholesterol, in Soluble Fiber in insulin regulating abilities, in Magnesium in regulating heart beat and in certain bioflavinoids in promoting blood flow by reducing cell aggregation.  The bottom line is that nutrition can promote CV health tremendously.  A qualified doctor, in other words, one who understands nutritional therapy should be consulted.Once the Nervous System and Nutritional Considerations are in place, only then, can one be able to maximally benefit from exercise in a safe fashion.  That being said, are you taking care of your CV health backwards, utilizing exercise first and the others last.  If so you may be joining the many ranks of those with heart attack.  Exercise is an important regular means of promoting CV health, but ONLY in context of the other factors of: Nervous System, Nutrition, and Spirituality.  You may need to wake up to the realization that you love life and will now do what is required to really LIVE.