Dr. Steele: Heart health with your Apple Watch. So my name is Dr. Erica Steele. I’m a holistic doctor in family practice. I hold six degrees in my field, and they’re all in the natural healthcare space, ranging from psychology to natural healthcare sciences and natural medicine. I’m a board-certified naturopathic doctor, and I choose to be drug-free.
Doctor, an Apple Watch can help track and improve your heart health. The watch includes several features that allow you to monitor your heart rate, including its heart rate app. It also displays your heart rate and summarizes it over the past day.
Week as well as month. Additionally, the watch includes features called Heart Rate Sensor, which allows you to take an E C D, an electrocardiogram reading that can detect your abnormal heart rhythms. The watch also includes several other features that can help you to improve your heart health.
So, for example, the activity app can be used to track your physical fitness daily. The. Steps you take, the distance you cover, and even the number of calories you burn. The workout app can track your specific types of exercises, such as running or cycling, and you can set goals for your exercise routine.
There is also a feature called the Breathe App, which helps you manage stress by really working on reminding you to be conscious. To focus on your breathing, the app has provided guided breathing exercises that can help you relax and unwind. Finally, while it’s important to note, an Apple Watch can be valuable for monitoring and improving your heart health.
It should not replace the care of a healthcare professional. If you have any concerns about your heart health, it’s always best to consult your doctor. Holistic doctors. Often excluded in that conversation, we do education because we really want to look at all things related to their heart, such as their stress levels, water intake, your food, as well as ruling out all the big stuff that your allopathic cardiologist is gonna do.
Dr. Steele: Ever wonder how to keep your heart healthy as you age? Tune in to find out. My name is Dr. Erica Steele. I’m a holistic doctor in family practice. I hold six degrees in my field, and they’re all in the natural healthcare space. I’ve been in natural healthcare for over 20 years and chose a. To be a Drugless doctor.
So let’s get into it. Heart health is essential, especially as we age, because the risk of heart disease typically increases. So here are some tips for maintaining heart health as you age, number one. Regular exercise, that’s movement. Movement of your body through physical activity can help not only reduce blood pressure but also improve circulation and reduce your overall risk of heart disease.
You want to aim for at least 30 minutes of moderately intensive exercise, such as a brisk walk on most days of the week. So if you have an Apple watch, you can track it. And then also, you can. Spike light jog. There are so many different physical activities that you can do. Just find something that you enjoy and stick with it.
Second, maintaining a healthy diet. Eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats can help lower the risk of heart disease and improve overall cardiovascular risk. You want to avoid processed foods, added sugars, as well as saturated fats as those.
Definitely contribute to heart disease as well as a list of conditions such as diabetes and obesity, and metabolic syndrome. Third, manage your blood pressure as well as your cholesterol. High blood pressure and high cholesterol are some of the significant risk factors for heart disease. The American Medical Association’s blood pressure definitely is one of those.
Your healthcare provider can help you manage these conditions through lifestyle changes, or if they’re high and you’re at significant risk for heart attack or stroke, they can also prescribe medication. I do not prescribe medication in my practice, nor am I an alternative doctor, so I don’t replace medication.
We want to work on lifestyle changes for a naturally occurring substance before they become an issue. For example, once the blood pressure is really high, it puts the person at risk. And so just taking herbs or things like that often is not the best approach when working to help.
I tend to tell my patients that dehydration is the number one cause of hypertension. So make sure you drink a minimum of half your body weight, ounces, and water. Fourth, don’t smoke. So smoking is a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It allows for decreased oxygen in the body, which has reduced oxygen in the cells, not to mention all the different heavy metals and chemicals.
So if you smoke, quitting is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health. So if you need support and don’t want to use a pharmacological, Please feel free to reach out. We do have a smoking sensation, A D I Y course. It is a 30-day course, and we also give you homeopathic tools to reduce cravings and detoxify your body.
Fifth, you wanna control your blood sugar levels, so if you have diabetes, it’s important to manage blood sugar levels through diet, exercise, and if you need medication, which will help reduce the risk of heart disease. I’m not saying that you always need medication. Only sometimes necessary to have to stabilize, but that’s a conversation between you, your healthcare providers, and your healthcare team.
I work in concert with or integrative. I only replace a few things. However, I can reduce, if not eliminate, medication usage depending on the patient and patient compliance. Every case is different, so I always like to look. What’s going on first, and I take an efficient approach to it.
Number six, you wanna manage your stress. So stress, ugh, is like gasoline on any fire; it can increase the risk of heart disease. So you want to practice stress management techniques such as deep breathing or meditation. Or mindset training can help reduce stress and improve overall, improve your overall health and well-being.
Lastly, regular checkups. So regular checkups with your healthcare provider or professional are critical to detect and prevent heart disease and monitor any medication you may be taking for existing conditions. So your allopathic doctor’s role, I like to call them firefighters of medicine.
That’s what their role is. They’re trained to look for and identify fires and put them out before. They happen. Doctors like me, we are more like medical detectives. We find out why after the fact, the fires have started. But also, we’re constantly monitoring and making sure practically before things happen.
We teach people to be very proactive instead of reactive. So working with people on their mindset, emotions, stress, eating habits, and lifestyle changes. All of that plays in before, so when you go to your regular annual checkup, your medical doctor says everything looks good because you’ve been very proactive throughout the year.
It’s important to note that everyone is different, and the best approach for you may vary depending on your personal health history. I also look at genetics. As a part of it, trauma has a huge role in many health conditions. So it’s always good to have a healthcare team, not just one provider and one different perspective, but people from all different perspectives.
I love working in teams. I love crosswords with different providers and an integrative style. Because we all don’t have the correct answers, and we’re all imperfect. We are human beings, especially doctors. We do make mistakes, and we overlook things. So we must look at all different perspectives, not just the standard diagnose and management model.
If you want to learn more about ways to help be proactive with your health, tune in and subscribe to learn more.
Dr. Steele: So, Heart Health Awareness Month. Here we are; Heart Health Awareness Month is in February. My name is Dr. Erica Steele. I’m a holistic doctor in family practice. I hold six degrees in my field, and they’re all in the natural healthcare space. So welcome to my channel. It’s time to raise awareness about heart disease.
Mainly because it’s February, and everybody’s talking about it. So heart disease, unfortunately, is the leading cause of death worldwide. So, my purpose here is to educate people about the risk factors for heart disease and to educate people about how to have a healthy lifestyle and create healthy choices and habits, and behaviors that can help to prevent this particular condition.
I’m always teaching about being proactive instead of reactive. So during Heart Health Month, we really wanna speak to various pain points you’re experiencing. It’s important to know that eating a healthy diet, regular exercise, not smoking, managing stress, maintaining your health, and controlling blood pressure, are just some examples of how you can care for your heart.
During Heart Health Awareness Month, several organizations and healthcare providers hold health fairs, walks, runs, and educational seminars. So this is really the. To get out into your community. In this area, we have a big heart health gala, and we really want to build awareness so that people understand the importance of keeping a healthy heart and a healthy heart lifestyle.
Many organizations also provide information and resources online to help people learn more about heart health, including information on reducing the risk of heart disease. Through healthy lifestyle choices, it’s imperative to note that caring for your heart is not a once-a-year experience.
Even though February is our observant month, we want to make sure that you are creating an ongoing effort to ensure heart health every month, every week, and every day. Again, to recap, eating a healthy, balanced diet, regular exercise in movement, not smoking, managing your stress, managing your weight, and controlling blood sugar.
Woo, I’m tired already. So, it’s essential to know you wanna take it one thing at a time, step by step. You focus on the stage you’re on or the next step. So go ahead and jot. You need to make a whole list of things proactively with your health, and start at the first one; they say it takes 21 days to build a healthy habit.
I recommend to my patients to start with water first. Really it’s a mindset, so it’s making a decision. And then following that is about water. And then we look at protein, and then the list goes on. If you need any. Help in educating yourself about heart health. Please reach out to our practice at holistic family practice va.com.
We’re more than happy. Happy to help you to live a healthy and natural lifestyle.
Dr. Erica Steele – Ever wonder what some heart-healthy meals look like? My name is Dr. Erica Steele. I’m a holistic doctor in family practice. I hold six degrees in my field, and they’re all in the natural healthcare space, and I’ve chosen to be a drugless doctor. So here are some examples of heart-healthy meals. You have grilled salmon with a side of quinoa and roasted vegetables.
Salmon is an excellent resource for omega-3 essential fatty acids, which can help lower blood pressure and reduce heart disease risk. Quinoa is a high-fiber, high-protein grain. It can also help to lower cholesterol levels; roasted vegetables provide antioxidants and other beneficial nutrients for the heart.
Second Turkey chili, Turkey chili with a side of mixed green salad. Turkey is a lean protein source. It’s lower in saturated fat than other meats. And chili is a great way to incorporate a variety of vegetables, such as bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes, which are all rich in antioxidants and other heart-healthy nutrients.
They have a lot of third and a lot of protein portions of pasta out today. So I think Banza is a great brand that has protein pasta. It’s pasta made out of chickpeas. They also have lentil and black bean pasta, and you can mix that with marinara sauce and grilled chicken. So portions of pasta are a great source of fiber, which can help lower cholesterol levels.
Marinara is a good source of lycopene and antacid. Beneficial for your heart. Grilled chicken is a lean source of protein that is lower in saturated fats than your other meats, precisely like your red meat. Number four, black bean and sweet potato burrito with avocado salsa. So black beans are high in fiber, which can help to lower cholesterol levels.
Sweet potatoes are a good source of potassium, which can also help to lower blood pressure, and avocados are a good source of healthy fats that can help to improve your heart health. Grilled chicken or fish with a side of brown rice and steamed vegetables is pretty much a good staple meal.
Grilled chicken or fish, or lean protein sources, are lower in saturated fat than other meats. In addition, brown rice is a whole grain high in fiber, which can help lower cholesterol levels by improving your short-chain fatty acids, which contribute to your prebiotics and probiotics.
Steam vegetables provide antioxidants and other nutrients that are beneficial for the heart. It’s important to note that a healthy diet should be diverse and balanced with a good variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. We tend to use more of the macro philosophy within our practice.
We don’t subscribe to any specific. Diet because diets tend to not work. Patients tend to get confused or think monotheistic eating is unhealthy. So we look at how many grams of proteins, how many grams of fats, and how many grams of carbohydrates the person needs? So it’s always good to consult your healthcare professional to get that personalized.
Dr. Steele: Ever wonder what some heart health lab tests are? My name is Dr. Erica Steele. I’m a holistic doctor in family practice. I hold six degrees in my field and they’re all in the natural healthcare space. I am a drug list doctor. I have tons of credentials. If you have any questions about that, feel free to tune in.
So now let’s. Talk about heart health lab testing. So there’s several laboratory tests that can be used to assess your heart health. So let’s get into ’em. So the first thing is a lipid panel. So a lipid panel is a blood test usually run in your annual visit that’s gonna measure the levels of cholesterols as well as triglycerides in your blood.
High levels of cholesterol and triglycerides are risk factors for heart disease, especially that triglyceride number, especially that L D L. We look at all of those numbers because it helps us, and it shouldn’t be high or low although higher risk naturally is more risk factor towards heart disease.
But low risk also gives us indication that you’re not digesting well, which can also impact heart disease. So we really wanna be mindful that we’re not high, we’re not low, we’re balanced. Second blood glucose testing. So high blood sugar levels can be a sign of pre-diabetes, which is a risk of heart disease as well as metabolic syndrome.
A blood glucose test measures the amount of glucose in the blood, so we want anywhere between 80 and 85 and a glucose test to be optimal. Lot of times doctors will miss it cuz they’ll tell if the number is higher than that, they’ll say, oh, it’s fine. But we really want a nice conservative. Number three, a blood pressure test.
So high blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease. A blood pressure test measures the force of blood against the walls of the arteries. We standard do the one 20 over 80. However, if you age, if you’re like in the sixties, one 40 over 90. is considered acceptable. As long as you don’t have any other risk factors.
It’s also important to know that you don’t want a chronic low blood pressure. A lot of times people will come up with a low blood pressure, and that’s actually a sign of a chronic stress response. And as we talked about before, stress is a factor in heart disease number four H S C R P, so it’s a high sensit.
C reactive protein test that actually is going to test the protein that’s produced by the liver in response to inflammation in the body. High levels of this in the blood have been associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Number five, homocysteine. So homocystine is an amino acid that is produced by the body.
High levels of homocystine in the blood have been associated with the increased risk of heart disease. It can also be an indication. B6 and magnesium deficiencies. So we definitely wanna look at that. Number six, the E C G or electrocardiogram, that is a test that measures the electrical activity of the heart.
It can detect abnormal heart rhythms and other conditions that may increase the risk of heart disease. We have a little stethoscope in our practice that will PI pick it. Pretty quickly. We wanna make sure that there’s no irregular heartbeats. A lot of times people don’t realize they have murmurs or AFib, and so when we detect those, we’re able to send them to the cardiologist for a full workup and just make sure that their heart is healthy.
Number seven, an echocardiogram. That’s an ultrasound task that your cardiologist is gonna do that uses sound waves to create images of the heart. It. Issues with valve problems, abnormal heart structure, and of course your heart muscle problems. It’s important to detect these things early and especially if there’s a family history, you wanna make sure that you are staying on top of that.
It’s important to note that not all these tests may be necessary for everyone, and that some of these tests may be performed as a part of a regular checkup, or based on your specific medical history and symptoms. It’s always best to consult with a healthcare professional to determine which tests are appropriate for you.
I always say don’t. Test. But I also am very conservative with testing because you don’t always need to test every single thing. That’s where the clinical practice and the clinical experience of the clinician can really help. So tune in for more about heart health as well as other tests that you can run.
