Taking care of your heart
As is the case with most of our major organs, when we put our most precious one, the heart, under excessive stress due to abuse, we will put it up to its old tricks. The heart is a tireless motor, the most compact muscle in the body, which tirelessly pumps our 4.5 litres of blood back and forth to most of our cells by way of the arteries, veins and capillaries.
Many of our most important systems directly influence our cardiovascular apparatus. The respiratory system looks after cleansing our blood and to regulate the heart beats. The digestive system, particularly after assimilation but also during digestion, is intimately interrelated with the cardiovascular network. The food, which is consumed, has a direct effect on the irrigation of the heart, but especially on the quality of the blood as well as the health of the veins and arteries. Last but not least, the biggest subtle coordinator, the nervous system, also has a decisive effect on heart function, as much from a mechanical as well as from a psychosomatic point of view.
It is obviously not easy to repair damage, caused to our tissue and organs over a period of years, in just a few days, but with pertinent information, with discipline and willpower, we can always reverse the process and heal ourselves slowly but surely. To help the heart via the lungs, we must make sure to breathe fresh air, avoid pollutants, excessive cold or strenuous effort in the heat.
The blood being the end product of the diluted nutrients which we have consumed, it is really the quality of our food intake which determines the quality of our blood; good blood, good heart! It is the starchy foods, the bad fats, products that are too sweet and too salty, that harm the heart and the arteries the most. Fruit and vegetables, cereals and legumes rich in fibre, as well as the good omega and polyunsaturated fats are the best allies of our "ticker" and all that is connected to it.
To protect the heart via the nervous system, we must live a paced life, sleep well and at regular hours, do moderate exercising on a daily basis and develop positive relationships with fellow humans near and far. It has been proven that, a couple that has a mutually enriching relationship and engages in regular and satisfying sexual activity, will without any doubt improve health and longevity. To be well balanced most of the time due to the harmony between the body, heart and the spirit, is an ideal vision of a successful life and a heart that will stand up to the test!
Anny Schneider
Herbalist and Naturopath
