Protect Your Heart With the Best Supplements for Heart Health
Supplements for Heart
As we age, our hearts tend to become weaker. Aging, combined with an unhealthy lifestyle, makes it harder for the heart to function properly, which can lead to heart disease. Interested in the best heart supplements to use to reverse this process, and restore your cardiovascular health? You’re in the right place.
The importance of your heart health cannot be understated. Not only is a healthy heart vital for a long lifespan and for avoiding conditions like heart disease, it’s also important for your fitness and stamina, and ability to perform even day-to-day tasks – even things like walking up a few flights of stairs without feeling tired.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll take a look at heart health and what you need to know about protecting your heart, and give some of our recommendations for the best supplements for heart health.
Understanding heart health – Breaking down the basics
In order for you to truly understand what heart health supplements are and what they do, we must first discuss how the heart works, what heart disease is, and how you can treat it and avoid it. In this section, we’ll take a deep look at the heart, and the difference that the right heart supplements can make for your cardiovascular health.
How (and why) do heart conditions develop?
There are a wide range of heart conditions that can occur, including heart arrhythmia, coronary artery disease, and congenital heart defects. But when most people talk about “heart disease” or “heart conditions”, they’re referring to a specific condition – cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease is the condition that can result in chest pains (angina), stroke, or heart attack. It comprises a variety of different issues that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels. The most common form of cardiovascular disease occurs when the blood vessels are narrowed or completely blocked by plaque buildup.[1]
In turn, this plaque buildup can cut off blood flow, reducing the efficiency of the heart, and potentially leading to issues like a coronary (heart attack), angina (pain in the heart) and even stroke.
There are a number of different things that can cause heart conditions, such as high blood pressure, smoking or using other tobacco products, a sedentary lifestyle and a poor diet, a family history of cardiovascular disease, and many other factors. [2]
However, the majority of heart diseases can be prevented with a healthy, active lifestyle that includes a diet and nutrients designed for heart support. Plaque buildup can be prevented and even reversed by avoiding an unhealthy diet, getting plenty of exercise, and getting the proper vitamins and minerals to support your heart. [3] This is why supplements for heart health are so important.
Conditions related to heart disease
Proper heart support is critical for avoiding heart disease, and minimizing your risk of a heart attack.
But heart disease is often tricky to address – even with the best heart supplements, there are many other factors that can increase your risk of developing heart disease. [4] The 4 conditions that are most commonly related to heart disease are as follows:
High blood pressure – High blood pressure, known as hypertension, is a risk factor for heart disease, as well as a number of other heart-related illnesses. As the pressure of blood in your arteries increases, the walls of the arteries begin to harden and thicken, as a response to this pressure.
Eventually, this narrows the arteries, which may then become clogged with fats, and become constricted or blocked, causing angina or even a heart attack.
High blood pressure can be prevented by taking pharmaceutical medicines and the proper heart healthy supplements. Lifestyle changes are also usually recommended, such as exercise, smoking cessation, weight loss, and a lower consumption of sodium, alcohol, and caffeine.
High cholesterol – Cholesterol is a waxy substance found in the lipids (fats) in your blood. Some cholesterol is normal in your blood, but if it builds up excessively, it can turn into plaque, which can constrict your arteries, and cause cardiovascular disease.
There are many factors that play into a high cholesterol level. However, the most common risk factors are obesity, a poor diet that’s high in red meats and saturated fats, lack of exercise, and smoking.
To prevent cholesterol buildup, a low-salt diet high in vegetables and fruits is recommended, as well as diet and exercise, and smoking cessation.
Diabetes – Diabetes can damage your blood vessels if it’s uncontrolled, which may cause them to harden and become weaker. Adults with diabetes are 2x more likely to die from heart disease, compared to people without diabetes. [5]
However, diabetes can be controlled with a healthy lifestyle, and the risk of heart disease can be reduced dramatically if a diabetic person loses weight, follows the proper diet, uses heart supplements, and manages their blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol properly.
Obesity – The heart must work harder to supply blood in overweight individuals, which can result in the thickening of arteries and the walls of the heart. And because obesity is often associated with high cholesterol, blood pressure, and diabetes, it can further exacerbate each condition.
The connection between chronic inflammation and heart disease
Chronic inflammation has been linked with heart disease, through “metabolic syndrome”. Metabolic syndrome refers to a cluster of conditions, such as high cholesterol, high risk of diabetes, and high blood pressure, that are related to obesity.
A study [6] showed that inflammation increased the risk of developing metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. That means that reducing chronic inflammation could help prevent heart disease.
For this reason, some of the best heart supplements include anti-inflammatory substances, such as turmeric, fish oil, ginger, spirulina, and curcumin. These supplements may help fight both inflammation and heart disease. [7]
Lifestyle habits and tips to prevent heart disease
There are several essential things you can do if you want to have a healthy heart and consequently, live a longer and healthier life:
Eat healthy
Whenever you want to improve something in your lifestyle, start with your diet. Opinions may vary on what is good or bad, but you can always find things that meet your dietary requirements and satisfy your needs and goals.
On a general note, avoid foods that are high in saturated fats, added sugar and sodium. Nutritionists recommend consuming lots of fruits and vegetables, foods rich in potassium and fiber and low in cholesterol to keep your heart healthy and avoid any risks of CAD.
Exercise regularly
In tandem with a healthy diet, exercising on a regular basis is extremely beneficial for your heart. Specialists recommend working out at least 30 minutes every day. That’s because active individuals are 60% less exposed to cardiovascular diseases than sedentary people.
You can opt for lighter activities such as brisk walking or jogging or more intense ones, whatever works for you. Your heart will reap the benefits either way.
Sleep properly
A good night’s sleep is essential for your brain and body to recharge and function properly. Individuals with sleeping issues are more at risk of becoming obese, developing high blood pressure, high blood sugar and diabetes.
Therefore, make sure you get at least 6-8 hours of sleep every night to avoid such serious conditions and maintain an optimum health.
Reduce your sodium intake
Sodium can have a significant impact on blood pressure which in turn is a serious risk factor for cardiovascular disease. That is why, keeping the sodium intake within proper limits is very important.
The recommended amount of sodium for a healthy diet is 2,300 mg a day for healthy adults, which the approximate equivalent of a tablespoon of salt.
What are the nutritional needs for a healthy heart?
A healthy heart needs to be able to function smoothly and to beat properly, and there are a number of heart health supplements that can be used to give the heart what it needs to function properly.
Magnesium is a popular heart health supplement. It has been proven that magnesium is critical for proper heart function, [8] and it’s thought that magnesium supplements can help promote a more stable and healthy heart rhythm. Magnesium is often combined with taurine, which is thought to help regulate levels of other nutrients and minerals in the heart, like potassium and sodium.
Fish oil is another common supplement that has been proven [9] to promote better heart health. The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil have been shown to help reduce high blood pressure, and triglyceride levels, which may help prevent cardiovascular disease.
Coenzyme Q10 is a natural antioxidant which has been shown to increase HDL-C and APoA1 levels, lowering the risks of cardiovascular disease. It also seems to reduce the levels of inflammatory biomarkers which are well known risk factors of CVD. In association with other nutrients, Coenzyma C10 is reportedly efficient in the recovery process of people that suffered from heart valve or bypass surgeries.
Folic acid is widely known for preventing birth defects but emerging studies have also shown its benefits in terms of heart disease. According to researchers, if consumed daily, folic acid could reduce the risk of heart disease by approximately 20%. That’s because, either in the form of supplements or from food, folic acid contributes to lowering the homocysteine levels which, in high amounts, are a risk factor for CVD.
Arginine is an amino acid which has been receiving quite some attention due to its potential heart benefits. This comes from the fact that it changes into nitric oxide (NO), a neurotransmitter which helps blood vessels relax and improves artery function.
Other heart healthy supplements include garlic, which, apart from scaring off vampires, has been shown to reduce cholesterol levels [10]and help treat high blood pressure.
Turmeric and curcumin are also often used, as noted in the previous section, due to their anti-inflammatory properties.
What are the best supplements for heart health?
Now that you understand the basics of heart health, and what vitamins and nutrients can support a healthy heart, let’s discuss the best supplements for heart health on the market, and help you choose the one that’s right for you.
This product provides a sturdy amount of L-arginine to support blood vessels and blood flow, helping your body produce the Nitric Oxide that is required for the proper function of arteries. In addition, it is packed with folic acid and vitamins B, C, and K, to name a few, to cover the vitamin and mineral needs and work synergistically for an overall heart health.
- Vitamin C and E reduce oxidative stress
- Easy to prepare, good taste
- Higher amounts of vitamin D3 for calcium absorption
- Some customers complained about the overly sweet taste
Developed by Nobel winner and world-famous chemist Dr.Linus Pauling, this product is marketed as a vegetarian formula that provides just the right amount of vitamin C and amino acids for a healthy cardiovascular system. In addition, the rose hipe extract may reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, especially for obese people.
- Efficient in lowering blood pressure due to lysine content
- Ingredients also help with collagen production
- Natural and organic ingredients
- Pills are quite large and difficult to swallow
This supplement incorporates CoQ10, as well as other heart-healthy nutrients like grape seed extract, which contains high levels of nitric oxide, vitamin K2, and pantesin pantethine, which may help reduce blood pressure.
This is ideal if you want a CoQ10 supplement, but are also looking for a complex of other helpful compounds which may boost your heart health, and lower your risk of heart disease – particularly if you have high blood pressure.
- Vegan-friendly formulation with nitric oxide supporting vein health
- CoQ10 and vitamin K2 may help prevent heart disease
- 24-hour time release technology for a regular dosage
- Large pill size may be difficult for some to swallow
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This supplement from HeartOne takes a different approach to heart health. It includes no CoQ10, but rather a number of anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant ingredients like Folic Acid, Vitamin B6 and B12, and Salvia miltiorrhiza extract, intended to reduce inflammation and help promote heart health.
If you suffer from chronic inflammation and are worried about the effects this may have on your heart, this supplement from HeartOne is a great choice. It also promotes better HDL and LDL cholesterol levels.
- 45% organic herbs, which is higher than competing products
- Non-GMO and gluten free
- Manufactured in the USA
- Users note a bad aftertaste
- Not appropriate for those who cannot ingest high levels of vitamin B
This supplement incorporates a natural formula which promotes heart support and a healthy heart rhythm. It incorporates a powerful magnesium complex, for proper heart function, and taurine, which stabilizes the levels of other nutrients within the body, such as potassium, calcium and sodium.
It is also efficient in regulating the adrenaline levels and thus reducing feelings of stress and anxiety.
- Easy to swallow capsules
- No gluten, artificial flavors, preservatives
- High amount of magnesium to treat deficiency
- Some customers complained about not having faster results
Our choice
The reviewed products all have their pros and cons, making it all the more difficult to choose from. However, after much deliberation, we’ve reached the conclusion that Genius Heart & Cardiovascular Health Supplement is our choice in terms of the best supplement for heart health.
It contains CoQ10 with superior bioavailability and a number of other beneficial compounds, and it’s vegan, so you don’t have to worry about accidentally ingesting any kind of animal product. The supplement can benefit both men and women of all ages, with benefits not only in terms of heart function, but also improving cardiovascular endurance and boosting mental clarity and cognitive performance.
In addition, it includes the scientifically certified pantethine, a supplement efficient in lowering triglycerides, total cholesterol, and “bad” (LDL) cholesterol, as well as raise “good” (HDL) cholesterol.
Hopefully, this guide has been educational, and helped you understand the benefits of taking the right heart supplements. Take a look at our product recommendations now, and choose the one that you think is the best for you! Your heart will thank you for it – and you’ll live a healthier, happier life.
