HEAL YOUR HEARTS

Heal your Hearts

HEART DISEASE CAN BE PREVENTED

OR

REVERSED AT ANY STAGE


Our hearts, both the biological pump and the ethereal/emotional heart, are essential for our overall well-being. They are intricately connected, and one cannot be truly healthy without the other. While the physical heart tirelessly circulates blood through our bodies, the emotional heart resonates with love, compassion, and bravery or anguishes in loneliness and despair. Of these, it is the ethereal heart that is the most powerful to our wellbeing. Nowhere is this shown more powerfully than in blue zones.


Blue zones are places where people tend to have more years in their life and more life in their years. They have many traits in common; these include a plant-forward diet, not necessarily vegan or vegetarian but plant-forward. Even more interesting is the social structure. We are the most highly developed social animal on earth. The blue zones have a well-organized, robust, and redundant social structure. So powerful it can overcome the effects of smoking, alcohol, and even diet. In fact, while ½ of Americans have heart disease, only 3 to 10% of Blue Zone residents have heart disease. And they report more happiness, joy, meaning, and purpose than other places.


"Love and intimacy are at the root of what makes us sick and what makes us well...I am not aware of any other factor in medicine-not diet, not smoking, not exercise-that has a greater impact." ~ Dean Ornish (The first Physican to reverse heart disease)


Let us help you craft your personal Blue Zone. We will utilize a custom Diet, Lifestyle, Stress Management, Social support, and Nutritional Interventions to optimize your Blue Zone.


While addressing the biochemical aspects of heart health is crucial, we must also consider the psycho-social contributors to heart health. Chronic stress, unhealthy coping behaviors, and inadequate social support are more powerful determinants of health than the biochemical ones.


The bridge is Metabolic Syndrome or MetS.


To heal our hearts holistically, we must attend to both the physical and emotional aspects. Adopting a healthy diet, engaging in regular exercise, managing stress, seeking social support, and promoting psychological well-being is integral to combating MetS and promoting heart health. Recognizing the profound connection between our physical and emotional hearts, we can embark on a journey to heal and nurture both.


In our quest to understand heart health, we must bridge the gap between the biomechanical and ethereal aspects of the heart. It is no longer sufficient to view the heart purely as a biochemical machine and plumbing system. Such an approach has failed us, half of Americans suffer from heart disease, and many heart attacks occur in individuals with normal cholesterol levels. We must recognize the profound impact of metabolic syndrome (MetS) on heart health and the even more powerful aspects of psycho-social health that contribute to MetS.


MetS is a disease rooted in diet and lifestyle. It begins with dysfunction in blood sugar utilization, leading to insulin resistance and intense carbohydrate cravings. This vicious cycle is where the problem takes hold. MetS is not a mere collection of symptoms; it is a force that compels us to its will. Surprisingly, more powerful than our cholesterol numbers associated with the biochemical heart is the emotional heart. Your diet and exercise may be optimized, but social isolation and loneliness are more powerful. We live in the most socially isolated country in the world. Studies show that more people in the US report loneliness than any place else on earth.


MetS comprises various interconnected components, including insulin resistance, glycocalyx dysfunction, intimal dysfunction, and plaque buildup. Insulin resistance occurs when cells become less responsive to insulin, leading to elevated blood sugar levels. Over time, this can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, diabetes, and peripheral artery disease.



Another aspect of heart health is toxic load. Studies show that newborns have more than 200 industrial chemicals in their cord blood. Adults have more than 70 chemicals at concerning levels. And toxin can display synergistic effects, meaning they are more than additive in their toxic effects.


Other studies show that total toxic load is more closely associated with heart disease than cholesterol and more closely associated with obesity and diabetes. In fact, it has been suggested that rather than counting calories, we should count chemicals.


Recent evidence suggests that disruptions of the microbiome that teaming ecology of microorganisms in the gut can have a major impact on heart health. A healthy microbiome makes Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFA) that have been shown to be heart protective. It also protects against inflammation and toxins.


Both toxins and disruption of the microbiome can impair mitochondria, also affecting the health of the heart. Mitochondria are the powerhouses within each cell that convert our food to energy.


As the old song goes, “The knee bone is connected to the shin bone”. We are one whole being. Not just interconnected parts. As you look at the cardiovascular system, at some point it begins to look like the hormone system. As we look further, the hormone system begins to look like the immune system. It all begins to blur together as one cohesive whole.


Let us embark on this journey together, taking steps to heal our hearts. Through a harmonious integration of the physical and emotional aspects of our being, we can strive for a healthier, vibrant, and fulfilled life. Remember, you have two hearts - the physical and the ethereal - and it is by nurturing both that you can truly heal your hearts.


Let’s build your personal Blue Zone.

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