Strive to keep blood vessels healthy
Did you know that your blood vessels know what you eat, if you exercise, your bad habits and react positively or negatively depending on how good or bad you’ve been?
It’s no wonder, since there are so many blood vessels. When laid end to end, these blood vessels measure about 60,000 miles, or about 2.5 times the circumference of the Earth. It is the blood vessels’ innermost lining layer that plays a pivotal role in health.
Endothelial cells form the inner lining of blood vessels and function as protectors and regulators of blood-vessel health. These cells also release chemicals that affect surrounding cell functions in positive or negative ways.
Normal endothelial function is associated with healthy blood vessels that are flexible, reactive, anti-inflammatory, can prevent blood clots, narrowing or blockages, and regulate water, body salts and immune function. Good vascular function will boost your sex life too.
In contrast, reduced endothelial function — or “endothelial dysfunction” — has the opposite effectand is associated with diabetes, elevated blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, erectile dysfunction, sleep apnea, certain cancers and peripheral arterial disease.
How can you improve your endothelial function and decrease your
risk of these conditions? Exercise, diet, and avoiding triggers of endothelial dysfunction are key. Some physician’s offices measure and track patients’ endothelial vascular function with a simple noninvasive ultrasound.
A moderate session of exercise can improve endothelial function for up to 17 hours, making it is highly unlikely you will have a heart attack or stroke during that window. Good endothelial-boosting exercises include high-intensity interval training, such as progressive resistance or interval sprint training; moderate-intensity exercise, including jogging, swimming, cycling, elliptical, stair climbing, or a cardio workout; or low-intensity exercise like walking for 60 minutes or 10,000 steps.
Dietary choices include increased intake of antioxidants (vitamin C, flavonoids, polyphenols), potassium, omega-3 fatty acids, and/or following the Mediterranean diet.
Vitamin C can be found in berries, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, tomatoes and even peppers. High amounts of flavonoids are present in apples, berries, peaches, green leafy vegetables, nuts, quinoa, tea, red wine and dark chocolate. Polyphenols are abundant in berries, plums, cherries, pomegranate juice, whole grains, legumes, tea, filtered coffee, red wine and dark chocolate.
Increasing your natural potassium intake not only helps endothelial function but also has been shown to lower blood pressure. Foods rich in potassium include avocados, dried apricots, raisins, prunes, bananas, kiwi, beans, dark leafy greens, potatoes, squash, tomatoes, salmon, cod and plain skim yogurt. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in flaxseed oil, chia seeds, walnuts, olive oil, soy, natto beans and oily fish, such as salmon and tuna.
Are you overwhelmed by this long list of foods? Don’t be. A great way to integrate them into your diet is to make a smoothie: throw in a bunch of fruits, vegetables, nuts and yogurt. In addition, the Mediterranean diet contains many of the above items.
Finally, avoiding triggers of endothelial dysfunction is important:
1. Manage your blood pressure by reducing salt intake and taking medication if needed.
2. Control cholesterol by diet and statins if necessary.
3. Reduce refined-sugar intake.
4. Stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke.
5. Lose weight if overweight.
6. Reduce stress by relaxation and/or yoga.
7. Get enough quality sleep.
8. If inactive, get active and use an activity tracker/app to monitor and manage activity.
9. Avoid trans/saturated fats and eat healthier.
Now that you know some tips on improving your vascular endothelial function, it’s time to take action.
Today, whether it’s walking 10,000 steps, drinking a blueberry-banana-walnut-yogurt smoothie, eating a healthful salad, snacking on 40 grams of 70 percent cocoa dark chocolate or enjoying a glass of cabernetmerlot, I know for sure that your endothelial cells will function better.
If you do one thing every day to boost your endothelial function, you will live a longer and healthier life. I’m going for a jog now, how about you?