Monthly Archives: February 2023

Dr. Steele: What is a heart health lifestyle? 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 let’s talk about what a heart healthy lifestyle looks like. So first off, it’s a combination of habits that can help to reduce the risk of heart disease.

And so habits really start with a thought. So you have to think, have an intention, make a decision. , right? Then you have an emotion around that decision, usually, hopefully a motivation, and then you have action. So your thoughts create your emotions, and then your emotions create your actions and your actions create your behaviors and your behaviors create your lifestyles because of your habits.

So let’s talk about some healthy habits for your heart. Number one, eating a healthy diet. So eating a diet that’s rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein, and healthy fats can also help to lower the risk of heart disease and improve your overall cardiovascular health. Try to avoid processed foods like added sugars and saturated fats.

I typically say, if you don’t, can’t pronounce it, don’t eat it. If it’s God made, eat it. If it’s manmade, stay away from it. Pretty self-explanatory. Number two, exercising regular. So regular exercise and movement can help to lower blood pressure, improve circulation, and reduce the risk of heart disease. You wanna aim for at least 30 minutes of moderately intensive exercise, such as brief walking or bike riding on most days of the week.

So pick a, an activity that you enjoy, that you love, and then take it from there. Number three, maintaining a healthy weight. So being overweight or. Actually increases heart disease, mostly because it puts more pressure on the heart. That doesn’t mean that what’s healthy for one person may not be healthy for another person or vice versa.

So we wanna make sure that we look not just at the weight number, but also body composition. Cuz there’s a lot of people out there that are. Really built very strong and they have a lot of lean meat, excuse me, lean muscle. And so because of that, this scale may be really high, but they’re really strong. So we really wanna be concerned about your visceral fat that’s fat around your organs and your midsection, because that is really what.

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We’re concerned about, especially when it comes to metabolic syndrome or diabetes or heart disease. Maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise can greatly reduce the risk of heart disease. Number four, managing stress. So stress, again, gasoline on any fire. Can increase the risk of heart disease.

So practicing stress management techniques such as breath work, which is deep breathing, yoga or meditation, can help to reduce stress and improve your overall health as well as wellbeing. Number five, not smoking. Smoking some major risk factor for heart disease and stroke because you’re literally depriving your cells of oxygen.

So quitting smoking is one of the most important things you can do to improve your health if you need help with that. We do have a smoking sensation program that’s completely natural and drugless. We use homeopaths, we use clinical hypnotherapy, and there’s a step-by-step process that we follow over a month long and we detox the body and reduce cravings all at the same time.

It’s a hundred percent natural. Number six, limiting alcohol intake. If you drink, that’s fine, but drink in moderation. So moderation is defined as one drink per day for women, or up to two drinks per day. For men, that can help reduce the risk of heart disease if you’re not drinking excessively.

Excessive alcohol consumption can increase the risk of heart disease. But also liver disease, diabetes, and any number of health conditions. Number seven, managing chronic conditions. So if you have a chronic condition such as hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, it’s really important to work with your healthcare provider to manage these conditions.

Through lifestyle changes, medications, or both? So again, I’m a holistic doctor. We don’t deal in medications, but we do work integrative. So a lot of times if patients are being proactive with their health, we’re working with them step by step so that we’re preventing these conditions rather than just waiting one time a year to go into the medical doctor and then, oh my gosh, there’s all these things.

We can actually measure things before they become a problem. So we can teach you how to be proactive instead of reactive with your health. The last thing is getting enough sleep. So lack of sleep can increase the risk of heart disease. So you wanna aim for about seven to eight hours of deep restful sleep.

So that maintain, that means maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, which can be challenging if you have. The late shift, or you have an erratic schedule, it really will throw off your circadian rhythm, and so it’s very difficult to be able to get good sleep. A lot of times if you have stress and you’re ruminating, which means you’re overthinking, you may need to address that first, the stress response so that you’re able to get good sleep naturally.

If you’ve had any history of trauma in your past or you have any anxiety, it can be really tricky to get enough sleep, so definitely consult your provider. It’s important to note that everyone is different. I love what I do because it’s so unique and I’m able to look at all the data. We take over 350 data points on each individual patient, and so we really give to the individual what the individual needs rather than just generalized approaches.

The best approach may vary depending on your personal health history, so it’s important to always consult with a healthcare professional for personalized guidance. Tune in to find out more.

Dr. Steele: I often get asked about Heart Health, NU Nutrition, or Simply Nutrition. 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 chosen to be drugless. Doctor, and so is heart health, really just nutrition.

Let’s talk about it. Nutrition plays a significant role in maintaining heart health, so eating healthy, a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats, can help lower the risk of heart disease and improve. Overall cardiovascular health. Other specific nutrients in food groups are also essential for heart health to include either in your diet or through a supplement.

Some include an omega-3 essential fatty acid, which contains fatty acids found in fish such as salmon, macro, and sardines. These. Omega three s can help lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Another nutrient to be looked out for is fiber, often found in your fruits, vegetables, and even whole grains.

Eating a diet high in fiber can help lower your cholesterol levels because it helps those short-chain fatty acids. It also can reduce the risk of c. As well as reducing the risk of heart disease. Potassium is also found in many fruits and vegetables, such as bananas, sweet potatoes, and spinach.

Potassium can also help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Antioxidant-rich foods, such as berries, dark chocolate, and even leafy greens, can also help reduce inflammation and lower the risk of heart disease. Avoiding saturated fats and trans fats, as well as monitoring your fat levels for the day, can also, Be extremely helpful in reducing your risk of heart disease.

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Saturated fats and trans fats can be found in foods like butter, red meat, and processed food. And so we want to ensure that we minimize, if not eliminate, those out of the diet… Completely. It’s always good to consult a healthcare professional for a personalized device. We do a lot of testing to determine what a patient needs, especially when it comes to supplementations.

We don’t wanna supplement a bad diet. However, it’s also important to note that while maintaining a healthy diet is just one piece of the puzzle, there are many other lifestyle factors to consider, such as physical activity and stress management, which are also super critical to maintaining your heart health.

Dr. Steele: Can heart health be improved? We’ll find out. My name is Dr. Erica steele. I’m a holistic doctor in family practice. I hold six degrees in my field, all in the natural healthcare space, and I have chosen to be a drugless doctor. So to answer our question, can heart health be improved simply? Yes.

Suppose you take full responsibility for your health and well-being and choose to improve your lifestyle. In that case, heart health can be improved through lifestyle changes such as regular exercise, maintaining a healthy diet, not smoking, and managing stress and your emotional well-being. It’s also essential to maintain a healthy weight, which includes not only healthy blood sugar but also healthy blood pressure, uh, making sure you control your blood sugar levels.

Especially if you have diabetes and drink enough water, I cannot even stress enough how water is so important. The first cause of hypertension is dehydration, so drinking a minimum of half of your body weight and ounces of water is crucial to heart health. Additionally, some people may benefit from taking medications to lower their blood pressure or stabilize their blood sugar.

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However, you wanna consult with your healthcare provider to determine the best plan. Being a Drugless doctor doesn’t necessarily mean we kick out all pharmaceutical routes. In fact, I work alongside allopathic medical doctors all of the time, especially if my blood sugar is high often.

Stabilizer to ensure that the person is healthy. They’re not going to necessarily have a stroke or a heart attack. Something in that regard could be life-threatening. So what we wanna do is, Use that pharmacological agent as a stabilizer while we’re also making those lifestyle changes. I often say that health does not happen instantaneously, and disease doesn’t happen just out of nowhere, either in every moment.

You’re either building health or building disease. So tune in, and I will teach you more about building health rather than disease.

Dr. Steele: Specifically for heart health; some even have dedicated hospitals for heart health. I know we have one here in Virginia. Those facilities can provide information about available services and treatments, as well as contact information for a cardiologist or other specialist.

Second, you can search for your area’s heart health or cardiology clinics. And many cardiology clinics specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions. Often, some cardiologists can be functional medicine cardiologists, meaning they have available training and will incorporate more holistic modalities such as supplementation.

Laboratory and some lifestyle coaching to help you have more of an integrated approach to your heart health. Naturally, you can always contact your primary care physician for recommendations. Your primary care physician can refer you to different specialists in the area. Who either have had experience treating with or who have experience in treating your specific condition.

You can also look for local support groups and organizations. Many organizations provide support and resources for individuals with heart conditions, families, and caregivers. You can also use online directories, such as Google Maps and Yelp Health Grades, to search for cardiologists for health clinics within your area.

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Last. Asking around and asking different people who they go see can also be helpful to say that an allopathic doctor is your only approach is not always accurate. Your allopathic provider is trained to look for and diagnose a disease process. It’s essential to undergo a battery of tests to ensure your heart is strong.

A lot of times, they’ll have at work, Clinics, they’ll have little trucks that come out, and they’ll do a battery of tests just to give you what an assessment is, don’t forget that holistic doctors, while we’re not trained to diagnose or manage diseases, we’re prepared to actually be more proactive with people and teach people step-by-step.

Practically what they can do to maintain a healthy heart rather than waiting until it becomes a problem and then running in and doing something. So it’s essential to be proactive instead of reactive with your health. It’s also important to remember that you should always consult with a healthcare professional for the personalized device.

While the internet has excellent information and can lead you down all kinds of rabbit holes, getting your data, getting your labs, and having your case reviewed by a qualified professional will always be the best.