If you have heart disease, then it is essential that you avoid smoking and alcohol, as well as following a proper diet and exercise routine. Supplements can play a supporting role in heart disease treatment; however you should only take them under the supervision of a health care practitioner.
Coenzyme Q10
Coenzyme Q10, or CoQ10, is a substance produced naturally in your body and Phyllis Balch suggests in her book "Prescription for Nutritional Healing," that users take a CoQ10 supplement. Balch explains that CoQ10 helps to bring essential oxygen to the heart, and it can streamline metabolism, increase energy, support adrenal glands, boost immunity and improve overall mental and physical processes. She adds that it also helps to remove toxins from the bloodstream, breaks down and safely eliminates excess fats and it has been shown to prevent recurrences in individuals who have had a heart attack. Balch recommends taking a 50 to 100mg of CoQ10 three times a day.
Selenium
According to David Rowland in his book "The Nutritional Bypass," the mineral selenium may also be helpful to lower blood pressure. It can also help to neutralize free radicals in the body and thereby protect your heart tissue from free radical induced damage. Free radicals can also harm your immune system and compromise its ability to protect you from the damaging effects of heart disease. Selenium is 200 to 500 times more potent than vitamin E as a free radical scavenging antioxidant, says Rowland. The Canadian School of Natural Nutrition recommends taking 30 to 200mg daily with food and choosing a softgel supplement because they are more easily absorbed in the body.
Omega-3s
An omega-3 essential fatty acid fish oil supplement may also be helpful for heart disease. CSNN says that omega-3s can help to reduce platelet aggregation, increase the healthy HDL cholesterol levels, lower triglyceride levels and decrease inflammation. Balch adds that omega-3s help to prevent hardening of the arteries and recommends taking a fish oil supplement that has vitamin E added to it because the vitamin E will help to protect the fish oil from going rancid.
B-Complex
Many of the B vitamins may also be helpful, but B vitamins work best when taken together. As such, Balch recommends taking a B50 complex supplement which is a supplement that contain 50mg of the major B vitamins, three times daily.
B6 and B12
Balch also recommends taking an extra 50 to 150mg of B6 and 400mcg of B12, since a deficiency of B6 has been linked to heart disease. B6 is extremely important for the production of health-supporting red blood cells says Balch. B6 and B12 also help to both prevent the production, and reduce overall levels of, homocysteine. This is important because homocysteine is a toxic substance that can damage your arterial walls and it has been directly linked to heart disease, says Balch.
References
- "Prescription for Nutritional Healing"; Phyllis Balch; 2003
- "The Nutritional Bypass"; David Rowland, PhD; 2006
- "Pathology and Nutrition"; The Canadian School of Natural Nurition; Lilieana Stadler Mitrea; 2008
