3 Tips to Naturally Lower Stress to Reduce Heart Disease Risk
Stress is part of life. There’s no way you can avoid stress entirely. However, if you constantly live with high stress levels it can lead to physical problems. These physical problems may include high blood pressure, angina (i.e. chest pains), arrhythmia (i.e. irregular heart rate) and heart disease.
How Does Stress Increase Heart Disease Risk?
Stress can increase heart disease risk in different ways. First, stress affects you emotionally. This could lead you to make unhealthy food and lifestyle choices, such as overeating, not exercising, and smoking. Stress also causes elevated levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol, which may have a negative impact long term. Research is also finding that stress impacts the way blood clots.
What Can You Do to Reduce Stress?
Dr. Donald Brown has provided four options to naturally reduce stress levels below. Dr. Brown is one of the leading authorities in the USA on the safety and efficacy of dietary supplements, evidence-based herbal medicine, and probiotics. He is a naturopathic physician and received his degree from Bastyr University in 1988. Dr. Brown currently serves as the director of Natural Product Research Consultants (NPRC) in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1990, NPRC has provided consulting for companies in the natural products and pharmaceutical industries, as well as education for healthcare professionals, the natural products industry, and consumers.
Dr. Brown is currently serving on the Advisory Board of the American Botanical Council (ABC) and the Editorial Board of The Integrative Medicine Alert. He has also previously served as an advisor to the Office of Dietary Supplements at the National Institutes of Health.
Here are three tips from Dr. Brown:
1. Make sleep a priority.
Make sure you’re getting quality sleep. You cannot bank sleep. Running on just a few hours during the work week, and trying to catch up on weekends, may jeopardize your immune system. Many of us need seven to eight hours of quality, uninterrupted sleep each and every night. To improve your sleep quality, keep the room cool and dark. Also, remove distractions such as electronics.
Daily stress and tension can lead to both trouble getting to sleep and poor sleep quality (frequent wakings and lack of deep sleep). This leads to feeling groggy and less sharp during the day and can affect work quality. Studies are also suggesting that lack of sleep can negatively effect our immune system health as well. I’m a big fan of using natural supplements instead of drugs to help improve sleep. A new lavender oil supplement, known as CalmAid, has been clinically proven to improve both the ability to get to sleep and to improve the quality of sleep. Taken only once daily, it not only helps take the edge of daytime stress and tension, but also helps support better sleep. Best of all, it’s safe and non-habit forming.
2. Eat a whole food diet balanced with regular aerobic exercise.
While CalmAid is great for daily stress and improving sleep, it’s important to remember that lifestyle has a lot to do with how we cope with stress. A healthy diet and regular exercise are essential pieces to helping our minds and bodies deal more effectively with stress. A whole foods diet with plenty of whole grains, vegetables, and fruits and low in processed foods and sugar, help not only our cardiovascular health but also mood and our bodies response to stress. Aerobic exercise is a form of meditation for many people and helps provide mental focus, not to mention a healthier looking you.
3. Take necessary supplements.
Three dietary supplement foundations that I recommend include a daily multivitamin, fish oil, and probiotics. Multivitamins provide an insurance policy that we are getting essential nutrients daily, particularly when we are busy and might forget a meal here or there. The B vitamins are critical to supporting daily energy and also improving mood. A high quality fish oil, high in the omega-3 essential fatty acids EPA and DHA, has also been found to promote a healthy mood as well as heart health. Many people don’t think about poor digestion being related to stress and anxiety. Well, studies have found that sluggish digestion is a culprit in mood changes and even poor sleep. In addition to the diet recommendations above, a good probiotic supplement helps improve digestive health that leads improved mood as well as healthier immune system.
There are many options for reducing stress. Find one that works best for you. By managing your stress levels you can reduce your risk for heart disease.
If you already live with high blood pressure, you can access the free e-course “7 Natural Ways to Lower Blood Pressure” at http://lowerbloodpressurewithlisa.com.
All the best,
Lisa Nelson RD
http://lisanelsonrd.com
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Omega Q Plus contains:
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