Hey y'all,

I hope everyone has had a terrific month so far. We just celebrated our 34th anniversary and got to spend some quiet time overlooking the Colorado River in Cottonwood Shores. I loved seeing the cute little deer walking around on the property as well as white birds flying over the water. It allowed me to slow down and be in the moment. For those of you who have worked with me you know I'm always recommending mindfulness moments. It is a great way to de-stress and be present.

For example, I closed my eyes and listened to what sounds I could hear. There was the sound of the wind, since it was a very windy day, and I heard a rooster nearby. You can also do a mindfulness moment by noticing what you see in your view such as what things are moving. I saw the birds flying, the water rippling with the wind, a squirrel running up and down the trees and the trees swaying. These all helped me to be present in the moment.

This is a great way to get centered when you feel overwhelmed. Give it a try!

The Silent Strain: How Chronic Stress Impacts Your Heart Health

Have you ever thought about how chronic stress affects your heart? It certainly can. Let's talk about some of those ways it impacts it, plus what you can do to lower your stress.

The body is designed to deal with acute, episodic stress. It does this through cortisol and other hormones. Cortisol is the fight-or-flight hormone. When there is an acute danger, cortisol sends messages to different parts of our body to prepare for survival. We see an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, increased blood flow all to prepare us to be able to withstand this threatening event. But what if our stress is not acute and episodic, but rather it is chronic and doesn't seem to go away. This can lead to hypertension, increased heart rate variability, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction.

Cortisol also affects the body by raising blood sugar. It can do so independent of what we eat. This can lead to insulin resistance and blood sugar dysregulation. It can also increase cholesterol and triglyceride levels which can contribute to our risk for heart disease. In addition, stress contributes to chronic low-grade inflammation, a key driver of atherosclerosis. Eating foods that contain antioxidants and omega-3 fats can help lower inflammation and help our body deal with oxidative stress. Adaptogens such as ashwagandha can help to lower stress in the body.

When we are chronically stressed it can affect our food choices and our sleep. Often when people are stressed they may overeat or choose foods that do not support their health. Add on top of this poor sleep, which further adds to the stress level to the body affects our lifestyle habits such as not cooking healthy meals and not exercising. Even over-exercising can be problematic, as it is a stress to the body which can impact the heart.

So how do we break out of this cycle? By doing things to help lower our heart rate and blood pressure such as mindfulness, meditation and yoga. You can also try box breathing (counting to 4 on the inhale, hold for 4 counts and exhale for 4 counts) and spend time in nature. Focus on getting good sleep (at least 7-8 hours), getting in some physical activity, and of course, focus on eating a heart-healthy diet, such as the Mediterranean diet with plenty of fruits, vegetables, lean protein sources, and healthy fats such as nuts, seeds and olive oil. Want to have help with this? We can help! Just reach out to schedule a discovery call for us to discuss your challenges and how we can support you.

___Michele

Michele McAlister, MS,RDN,CSOWM,LD,CDCES

I'm a registered dietitian nutritionist, diabetes educator and mind body coach with over 30 years in helping people transform their health by identifying root causes of their health issues and helping them implement strategies to improve their health and wellbeing.

 Paul's Pointers

Size (and Type) Does Matter!

By Paul McAlister, MT (ASCP), FBCA

Do standard lipid panel results give you a complete picture of what’s actually happening inside your coronary arteries? How much insight do total cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, triglycerides, and a few calculated ratios really provide about your cardiovascular health? Do you feel confident and “protected” just by knowing these numbers?

Think of it this way—trying to assess your heart health based solely on a basic lipid panel is like attempting to describe a specific flower in your garden while flying over it in a commercial jet. It’s a broad overview at best, and in reality, it’s little more than a guess.

Fortunately, guessing is no longer necessary. Advances in testing allow us to measure the specific types, sizes, and concentrations of lipoprotein particles. This is critical because any particle smaller than 70 nanometers can penetrate your arterial walls and either initiate or contribute to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Two key factors in coronary artery health are particle concentration exposure and the duration of that exposure. Your arteries can only resist these intruders for so long before they break through and cause damage.

Just as smoking risk is measured in pack-years, your cardiovascular risk can be assessed in particle-years—the cumulative exposure of your arteries to harmful lipoprotein particles over time. The NMR LipoProfile provides this essential data, giving you a much clearer understanding of your true heart disease risk.

Want to know more about the lab tests that you should be looking at for your overall heart health? In our free upcoming webinar, Cracking the Code on Cholesterol: The Missing Lab Tests That Could Save Your LIfe, we will be addressing what you need to know, along with learning about the underlying root causes for lipid imbalances.

Enjoy this heart-healthy salmon recipe. It is a great source of omega-3 and of course antioxidants from the spinach or watercress.