Arteries are a critical blood vessel in circulation. These are the large blood vessels that send oxygenated blood from the heart and lungs out to the rest of the body. Due to unhealthy diet, age and lack of exercise, plaque can accumulate on the walls of the arteries and ultimately lead to heart attacks and strokes. Most often, doctors use medical treatments to reduce plaque when it is severe. The good news is you can take steps to cut down on plaque naturally before you get to that point.
| Nutrition and Food | Description |
|---|---|
| Vitamins |
|
| Fiber |
Fiber helps prevent overeating by making you feel full and helps to block fats and cholesterol. High fiber foods include corn, avocado, beans, whole grains, soybeans, lentils, pears, oatmeal, artichoke, peas, apples and nuts. |
| Omega-3 Fatty Acids |
Omega-3 fatty acids are an important key in the health of your arteries. They lower blood pressure and cholesterol. You need to get omega-3 fatty acids from your diet because your body does not produce them. Eat plenty of salmon, flaxseed products, walnuts and omega-3 fortified products. You can also consume omega-3 fatty acids in the form supplement. |
| Digestive Enzymes |
Digestive enzymes can help to remove fats and plaque from the body by breaking them down. They are best eaten in foods containing them, but can also be supplemented. Foods containing digestive enzymes are probiotics, water, apricots, bananas, papaya, garlic, asparagus and whole grains. Serrapeptase is a very powerful digestive enzyme in digesting any tissue that is not alive, like plaque. It can also reduce scar tissue and blood clots. It also has anti-inflammatory properties. This enzyme does not naturally occur in foods, but can be processed into a supplement through plant fermentation. |
| Plant Sterols and Stanols |
These chemicals in foods help to lower cholesterol and keep arteries in good health. Foods containing sterols and stanols are pumpkin seeds, brown rice, tomato, broccoli and cauliflower. |
| CoEnzyme Q10 |
This enzyme can help to strengthen the walls of the arteries and cleans out plaque. Some is made in the body and foods containing CoQ10 are lean meats, canola oil, and broccoli, cauliflower and CoQ10 supplements. |
| Herbs |
Hawthorn can widen blood vessels to reduce plaque blockages. Horsetail can strengthen the walls of the arteries. Other helpful herbs involve garlic, ginger, guggul and ashwagandha. |
| More Foods |
Green tea can help to prevent blood clots. Using apple cider vinegar can lower cholesterol and the procyanidins in grapefruits and apples can clean the blood and improve circulation. |
Doing regular cardiovascular exercises that are moderately paced like jogging, brisk walking, treadmill, riding a bike, dancing and aerobics can help to melt away arterial plaque build-up. Doing this on a regular basis can improve circulation, lower “bad” cholesterol and raise “good cholesterol.” Try to exercise for 30 to 60 minutes weekly and increase the amount each week to help burn calories and fat.
Today’s busy lifestyles typically cause large amounts of stress that can raise hormones to an unhealthy level in the body. Factors like smoking, drinking too much and overeating also contribute to poor arterial health. All of these things together can cause weight gain and blockages in the arteries.
Taking steps to naturally reduce stress and make healthy lifestyle changes is best and includes; quitting smoking, keeping alcohol use to a minimum, participate in yoga and meditation to reduce stress and just taking time to relax. Try to avoid medications to reduce stress if at all possible, they can have side-effects or be habit forming.