Part of keeping your heart healthy means eating a nutritional diet, but getting all the proper nutrients from dietary sources can be a challenge. Nutritional heart healthy supplements can fill the gap.
Supplements can have a powerful effect on your body, and they can interfere with medications, so make sure your health care provider is aware of everything you take. Also, be aware that dietary supplements are largely unregulated, compared with the oversight the government provides for foods and medications.
Fish Oil
The Mayo Clinic "Book of Alternative Medicine" says good evidence shows that omega-3 fatty acids (from fish or from supplements) can reduce high triglyceride levels, which are a risk factor for coronary artery disease. Even the American Heart Association, which favors vitamins and minerals from food, makes an exception for omega-3 fatty acids; the group recommends 2 to 4 g daily for people with elevated triglycerides.
Many people take supplements rather than eat fish, partly because some fish contain high levels of mercury, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins and other environmental contaminants. However, a lawsuit filed in March 2010 by environmental advocates charges that some supplements contain unsafe levels of PCBs. (See "References.")
Antioxidants
Zinc, selenium, copper and vitamins A, C and E, are antioxidants that remove "free radicals," chemical byproducts that are generated during normal biochemical reactions in the body. Left to accumulate, free radicals can damage cells and tissues and are believed to cause heart disease, cancer and premature aging.
An important note: Taking antioxidant supplements does not relieve you of the need to also reduce blood pressure, lower cholesterol and stop smoking cigarettes as a way to improve heart health.
Carnitine
Carnitine helps the mitochondria in your heart cells produce energy. Your body makes carnitine when you supply it with two essential amino acids, lysine and methionine, which are found in red meat. But supplements are also available.
Research has been encouraging, according to the National Institutes of Health's Office of Dietary Supplements (see "References"). Short-term studies have shown that carnitine can protect the heart from heart attacks when given orally or by injection to people with depleted levels of carnitine. Supplementation apparently counteracts toxic effects of fatty acids and improves the metabolism of carbohydrates.
Coenzyme q10
Though its benefit is questionable, supplements can increase the levels of coenzyme q10 in people whose levels are low due to heart disease or other conditions. The fat-soluble vitamin-like substance is thought to improve energy flow to the mitochondria and ensure the basic functioning of cells.
Fiber
If getting adequate fiber in your diet is a challenge, fiber supplements could be the answer. High-fiber diets have been proven to reduce the risk of heart attack and other cardiovascular diseases, report dietitian Lisa Hark and Dr. Darwin Deen in their book, "Nutrition for Life." They explain that 10 g of soluble fiber per day can reduce cholesterol by 5 percent.
Minerals
Many minerals are included in multivitamins, so be sure to read labels before adding separate supplements. Some you should be aware of for heart health include magnesium, potassium, iron and calcium.
Magnesium can help reduce your risk of high blood pressure. And calcium and potassium each play a role in regulating blood pressure.
Iron deficiency can have a huge impact on the heart, if too few red blood cells are available to adequately deliver oxygen.
Getting enough calcium to help prevent osteoporosis is thought to help prevent heart attacks and strokes, but research is conflicting. Doctors at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston wrote in the "Annals of Internal Medicine" in March 2010 that a review of previous research showed no meaningful benefit from taking vitamin D, calcium or a combination of the two.
The Mayo Clinic "Book of Alternative Medicine" says calcium supplements (if you can't get enough through your diet) are generally safe and that your body has safeguards to maintain adequate amounts in your blood stream. It also points out that your need for calcium increases as you age.
Other Vitamins
Vitamins A, C and E play their roles as powerful antioxidants, neutralizing free radicals, but they are not the only vitamins good for your heart.
Folate and vitamins B6 and B12 help reduce your body's levels of homocysteine, a byproduct of metabolization that is harmful to the lining of the arteries.
Another B vitamin, thiamine (B1), helps your heart beat strong and regularly, and niacin (B3) has been shown to help reduce cholesterol levels.
Vitamin K is essential for the production of four of the 13 proteins necessary for blood clotting.
Herbal Supplements
Ginger is a mild stimulant that promotes circulation, and ginseng has been show to lower blood pressure, according to the "Reader's Digest Family Guide to Natural Medicine, How to Stay Healthy the Natural Way." It says ginseng prevents heart disease by inhibiting blood coagulation.
Among other herbs people take for heart health are hawthorn (to help maintain heart rhythm and blood flow) and astragalus (for regular heart rhythm and reduced damage to heart cells), but even the "natural products" website, MotherNature.com, stresses the importance of checking with your health care provider before taking these or other herbs.
References
- American Heart Association: Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
- MyClevelandClinic.org: Antioxidants, Vitamin E, Beta Carotene and Cardiovascular Disease
- Syracuse.com: Lawsuit: Harmful PCBs in Fish Oil Supplements People Take for Omega-3 Benefits
- University of Maryland Medical Center: L-carnitine
- National Institutes of Health: Office of Dietary Supplements: Carnitine
