You can integrate the two with some tips from integrative physician and medical commentator, Dr. Jacob Teitelbaum.
For instance, help your heart through your stomach. Here are some delicious ways you can treat your heart this month:
- Share some dark chocolate with your sweetheart. Studies show that less than an ounce a day can lower systolic blood pressure by three to four points. High blood pressure or hypertension is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease (CVD).
- Steal a kiss with garlic breath. Eating one to three cloves of fresh garlic a day is a good way to control high cholesterol, another major risk factor in CVD. Crushing and adding a few garlic cloves into olive oil makes a yummy treat than can drop your cholesterol by 10 to 12 points.
- Go nutty. Snack on a handful of tree nuts daily. Studies show that eating walnuts, which are rich in heart-protecting monounsaturated fats, can help lower blood cholesterol. The same is true of other tree nuts, such as almonds and macadamia nuts.
- Make a date with eggs. Contrary to popular belief, studies show that eating even as many as six eggs a day has no effect on blood cholesterol levels. In fact, one study shows that regular egg consumption lowers total cholesterol and increases “good” HDL cholesterol in a majority of healthy adults.
- Go on a fishing trip. The American Heart Association has endorsed the use of omega-3 fatty acids for secondary prevention of heart disease: prevention of angina, heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular events in people with diagnosed CVD. A high quality fish oil supplement, as well as fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines, are all great sources of omega-3s.
Jacob Teitelbaum, MD, Director of the Practitioners Alliance Network, is one of the most frequently quoted integrative medical authorities in the world. He is the author of the best-selling From Fatigued to Fantastic!, Pain Free, 1,2,3!, the Beat Sugar Addiction Now! series, Real Cause Real Cure, The Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Solution, and the popular free smartphone app Cures A-Z. He is the lead author of four studies on effective treatment for fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, and a study on effective treatment of autism using NAET. Dr. Teitelbaum appears often as a guest on news and talk shows nationwide including Good Morning America, The Dr. Oz Show, Oprah & Friends, CNN, and FoxNewsHealth. Learn more at Vitality101.com