Nutrition Quarterly Winter 2023

Honey can help guard your Heart and keep cholesterol from gunking up your arteries, too! This natural, golden sweetener is rich in heart-protecting antioxidants. With honey, the darker the better. Buckwheat has antioxidant content the highest of the honeys tested, with about 3x as many antioxidants as acacia honey, which is much lighter in color. February is National Heart Awareness month, so it’s a great time to make sure that you don’t actually break your heart. It may not be evident today or next month, but our bodies can only repair and rebuild new healthy cells for so long before degenerative diseases take over. In the United States, coronary heart disease is a leading cause of death for both men and women. This disease is characterized by a buildup of cholesterol- filled plaque in the coronary arteries—the arteries that feed the heart. Total blockage of a coronary artery produces a heart attack. There are steps that you can take that minimize the risks of a heart attack. SUPPLEMENTS We should all be striving to get all of the protective nutrients through a balanced and varied diet. Natural whole-foods are the single best source for the stuff that your body (especially your heart) needs to survive and thrive. The unfortunate reality is that many of us are so involved in our In test-tube studies, honey slowed the oxidation of LDL (bad) cholesterol in human blood. Oxidized LDL’s are your heart’s worst enemy because they’re the foundation of dangerous plaque deposits in blood vessel walls which can lead to heart attack and busy lives that smart nutrition and varied ingredients sometimes elude us. This is where supplementation can help. A few important components that are frequently missed in the American diet are sufficient fiber intake, proper fat intake and a sufficient supply of quality protein. There are tons of supplements on the market to help remedy these deficiencies, but it is important to be certain that those supplements themselves are of top quality and derived (with minimal processing) from whole-food sources. Talk to your doctor or someone in-the-know at your local health foods store. Do a little research online, but once again, make sure that you are relying on trustworthy sources. A good tip is to add supplements to your post-workout Recovery Shake. If you’re blending one up at home (or getting one at the gym), combining supplements with healthy, natural foods creates a synergy and allows for better absorption of the nutrients. Continued on next page. HEALTHY FOODS FOR A HEALTHY HEART Nutrition Quarterly · Series 4 – Volume 1 8