Herbalife Nutrition Beta Heart Heart Nutrition with Beta Glucans

Suffer from high cholesterol? Here are 3 steps you can take to manage it…

Firstly, what is cholesterol?

Cholesterol is a natural fatty substance made in the body by the liver. It plays a vital role in the formation of cells, production of vitamin D, production of hormones, production of bile and digestion, BUT high levels can lead to an increased risk or a heart attack, stroke, developing atherosclerosis and other heart diseases… There are two types of cholesterol or lipoproteins:

  • low density lipoproteins (LDL) or bad cholesterol and
  • high density lipoproteins (HDL) or good cholesterol.

High levels of blood cholesterol from either diet or genetics will speed up the plaque’s growth faster. If the plaque bursts suddenly, it cuts off the oxygen supply to a part of the heart: which is when a heart attack can occur. The higher the level of LDL, the greater the risk of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD). The lower the level of HDL, also the higher the risk of CHD.

There are no noticeable symptoms of high blood cholesterol or dislipidaemia and it is usually diagnosed based on medical & family history and blood test results. Whilst we can not control risk factors such as family history, getting a heart friendly diet & getting regular exercise is something we all can control.

These are the lifestyle factors that affect our cholesterol levels. So, whatever our age, if our lifestyle involves smoking, drinking alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diet, excess body weight and body fat or existing health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, then we are at risk of having high cholesterol. High cholesterol is not only an issue for older or overweight people.

Statistics show, according to the World Health Organisation, that 133.3 million people in the five biggest European countries (Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK) have high blood cholesterol.

A 10% reduction of blood cholesterol levels will result in 50% reduction in heart disease in men of 40 years old in the next 5 years and a 20% risk reduction in those who are 70 years old.

Here are practical ways we can all manage our blood cholesterol…

Step 1: Boost Your Exercise:

Regular exercise is an important part of our heart health and keeping our blood cholesterol at normal levels and, in general, a healthy heart. Exercise helps with weight management as well as keeping your heart healthy by strengthening your heart muscle and keeping blood vessels in a good condition.

It also helps to increase your good HDL cholesterol and stimulates the movement of fatty deposits in the liver. According to the 2013 NHS guidelines, 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week is needed to help lower your cholesterol, which amounts to 30 minutes five times per week:

  • Find a buddy and turn your much necessary fitness into a fun hobby you look forward to;
  • keep it simple and realistic: twenty-minute walk every day and one hour of some other exercise per week will help you reach your 150 minute goal, it does not need to be more complicated than that;
  • whenever you can, take stairs instead of elevator, park your car furthest from the supermarket entrance, etc… get active whenever you can as every little thing makes a difference.

Step 2: Choose heart-friendly diet:

  • Read food labels and choose foods with low cholesterol and low saturated fats:
    • do not buy ready-to-eat snacks like crisps (high in saturated fats, salt and sugar) and choose snacks that contain healthy fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated) like nuts, seed, sy beans and olives;
    • avoid processed meats like sausages, frankfurters (choose instead lean cuts of meat),
    • increase consumption of oily fish such as salmon, mackerel that contain healthy fats and Omega 3s;
    • limit intake of red meats and choose low-fat milk and cheese to reduce saturated fat intake,
    • avoid refined “white” carbs found in cakes, ice creams, pastries, white breads, white pasta
  • Take care how you cook your food: avoid roasting and frying and, instead, poach, grill or steam and choose healthy oils during cooking such as olive oil;
  • do not skip meals to lose weight: keep with eating 5 smaller meals every 3-4 hours to control hunger instead;
  • shop after you eat to avoid buying unhealthy foods at an impulse;
  • Increase consumption of fibre as diet rich in fibre can help reduce the risk of heart disease. Fibre helps to control your blood sugar and cholesterol, make you fuller for longer and prevent constipation or hard bowel movements.:
    • choose whole grain varieties of pasta, rice and bread;
    • increase consumption of fruits and vegetables

Step 3: boost your diet with beta-glucans with Beta Heart®

Beta-glucans (found in oats, oat bran, barley, barley bran) have been clinically proven to contribute to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels. Oat beta-glucan has been shown to lower/reduce blood cholesterol.

The beneficial effect is obtained with a daily intake of 3 grams of oat beta-glucan.

When our bodies digest oat bran, beta-glucans molecules are released. They create a gel that binds cholesterol. This is less easily absorbed into the body. The process uses up some circulating cholesterol, meaning less cholesterol in the bloodstream.

Lower your cholesterol

Lower Your Cholesterol with Herbalife Nutrition’s Beta Heart®

Beta Heart® is a nutritious vanilla-flavoured powder that contains the key ingredient OatWell™ oat beta-glucan. Oat beta glucan has been shown to lower or maintain blood cholesterol.

Herbalife has partnered with OatWell™ on Beta heart®, which helps to lower or maintain blood cholesterol in one step. OatWell™  products contain a 4-5 times higher concentration of beta-glucans than standard oat brand, and a natural combination of oat beta-glucan, insoluble fibre and protein.

What does 3 grams of beta glucans look like?

  • 2 bowls of oat based breakfast cereals (281 calories, based on semi skimmed milk),
  • 6 small slices of wholegrain bread (300 calories, based on 50% oat flour, 50gr per slice),
  • 9 oatcakes (400 calories based on 15g oatcake) OR
  • 2 scoops of Herbalife’s Beta Heart (only 51 calories).

Beta Heart® is also approved by cholesterol charity HEART UK, who provide expert support, guidance and education on cholesterol. HEART UK operates a product approval scheme to help signpost the public to heart-healthy foods that can play a positive role in helping  manage their cholesterol.

Key benefits of Beta Heart® :

  • 3 g of oat beta-glucans help to lower cholesterol (2 scoops)
  • 1.5 g oat beta-glucans help to maintain cholesterol (1 scoop)
  • Sugar free
  • With no artificial sweeteners
  • High in fibre (3 g per scoop)
  • Source of protein
  • 25 kcal per scoop

So, how ‘heart-friendly’ is your lifestyle?

A visit to your GP is the only way to know for sure whether your blood levels of cholesterol are ‘high’. Also, simply taking a look at your lifestyle can be an indicator:

• Do you have an unhealthy diet?

• Are you inactive?

• Do you smoke?

• Do you have a high-sugar  or high fat diet? 

If you are concerned, please do get in touch. We have nutrition programmes that can help manage your weight and cholesterol. The heart plays a key role in the human body – it is IMPORTANT to look after it.

how healthy is your diet

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february a healthy heart month

Heart Health – right at the heart of our health…

Officially, February is a Healthy Heart Month and having lost both mum and dad to heart disease, this is a topic very close to my own heart. Heart disease happens to be our leading cause of death and virtually everyone nowadays will know someone who either has suffered, or still is suffering from some form of heart disease.

Heart disease primarily comes from the build up of fatty deposits in our artery walls, which eventually block the blood flow, leading to a heart attack or a stroke.

Treatment of heart disease nowadays is merely through the prescription drugs. However, heart disease is a lifestyle disease and, as such, preventable and even reversible with the change in lifestyle, which could mean, for many, longer, quality life without prescription drugs, enjoying long, quality life with loved ones…

Whilst age, gender (men are more likely to develop Coronary Heart Disease), family history of heart disease and ethnicity are unmodifiable factors in developing a heart disease – risks factors that are known to influence development of CHD are smoking, diet, lack of physical activity and psychological stress and disease risk is particularly elevated in cases of stroke, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, renal disease.

Science shows that exercise and what we eat and drink play the biggest part in heart health prevention as it helps us maintain healthy weight.

Say NO to Heart Disease: Nitric Oxide (NO) and Heart Health

So, you exercise, maintain a healthy diet, keep your weight down, manage stress, but there is one more component you should add to your healthy heart regimen… and that is increasing your levels of Nitric Oxide.

Nitric Oxide (NO) is a signalling molecule produced organically in our bodies by the intake of right kinds of foods and supplements and it helps to control blood flow to every part of our body.

It supports overall vascular health by helping blood vessels to dilate, which supports healthy blood pressure levels and healthy circulation.

NO was discovered by Dr Louis Ignarro, PhD, world renowned heart health expert, who I had a pleasure of meeting and being trained by on many occasions and who was awarded a prestigious Nobel Price for the discovery of Nitric Oxide and what it could mean to the humanity in reduction of heart disease.

Dr Louis Ignarro believes that Nitric Oxide, this single molecule that is produced by the body itself, may be the single factor that contributes to all major illnesses and, at the same time, the key to living a longer, healthier life…

In itself, Nitric Oxide is a gas that acts throughout the body as a messenger and influences the functioning of virtually every organ in the body, including the lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach, genitals and, of course, heart by inactivating so-called “oxygen radicals” (free radicals) in the body that can contribute to cell damage.

  • The cardiovascular system uses Nitric Oxide to control blood flow to every part of the body. Not only can Nitric Oxide relax and dilate (enlarge) the blood vessels, thus ensuring that blood can efficiently nourish the heart and tissues of the entire body, Nitric Oxide can also support healthy blood pressure levels.
  • The immune system uses Nitric Oxide to combat toxins, providing a strong internal deffence system.
  • The brain relies on Nitric Oxide to store and retrieve long-term memories and to transmit information within the nervous system.

A deficiency, therefore, of Nitric Oxide, can have a dramatic impact on our health. A total lifestyle approach to supporting Nitric Oxide levels including a healthy diet, exercise and nutritional supplementation, provides a wide range of benefits throughout the body at the cellular level which can improve circulatory, immune and nervous system function.

Here are just few things you can do to boost your Nitric Oxide production and support your Heart Health:

MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT:

If you are at least 15% heavier than you should be, than your excess fat is stressing your heart and blood vessels. Your endothelial Nitric Oxide production is diminished, and your susceptibility to a host of diseases is increased. Losing weight is not about vanity, but your health. Managing your weight is important, so is choosing a weight loss plan that will not damage further your health as many fad diets do, but will contribute towards your heart health.

DECREASE YOUR INTAKE OF SATURATED FATS AND ELIMINATE TRANS FAT INTAKE:

Whilst fat needs to form 30% of your daily calorie intake, it is important it comes from the right sources, so avoid Trans fats you will find in many off the shelf items like biscuits, cakes, ice creams, etc, but also avoid most of your fats coming from saturated fats from especially animal produce such as sausages and other processes meats… more about Healthy Fats

ADD QUALITY OMEGA 3 FISH OILS TO YOUR DIET:

Omega 3 fatty acids from fish oils help reduce total blood fats, reduce bad cholesterol and raise HDL good cholesterol. Also, fish oils benefit the heart by keeping arteries being clogged up, contributing to heart attack and stroke. The recommendation is to include oily fish in your diet at least twice per week, especially fish like sardines, mackerel, salmon and fresh tuna. Research shows that the production of Nitric Oxide increased within minutes after exposure to omega 3 fatty acids.

INCREASE YOUR DIETARY FIBRE CONSUMPTION & ANTIOXIDANT INTAKE:

Many associate fibre with healthy digestion, but actually, our heart benefits too. Studies have suggested that soluble fibre can perform a tasks of lowering blood pressure and LDL cholesterol levels and increasing HDL cholesterol – by binding with cholesterol particles in your digestive system and moving them out of the body before they’re absorbed – thereby protecting the endothelial cells where Nitric Oxide is manufactured.

Scientists now believe that it is not just eating fat that causes the build up on the inner surface of the arteries, but eating those fats that have been oxidised, which makes it more sticky therefore adhering to the inner artery walls more easily.

Antioxidants neutralise free radicals in the body and reduction in free radicals will also reduce the risk of the free radicals oxidising the fat and making it stick to the artery wall.

We are now coming to believe that fibre works through substances called phytonutrients, which seem to have the antioxidant advantage when it comes to guarding NO. Higher fibre foods, in particular vegetables and fruits, also tend to contain other nutrients like vitamin C and E, powerful antioxidants that stimulate your production of NO.

Daily recommended amount of fibre is minimum 25 grams per day and statistics show that many are struggling with achieving even half of this amount, which is affecting not just heart, but also digestive health of the population.

INCREASE INTAKE OF DIETARY SOY:

Soy has been a staple of the diet in Japan for many years and heart disease is amongst the lowest in Japan, and at least the part of the credit belongs to soy.

Soy is filled with phytonutrients that function as antioxidants and fight everything from cardiovascular disease to cancers of the breast and prostate. In particular, soy substance called isoflavones interfere with the oxidation of blood fats, preventing free radicals from being formed and from causing endothelial damage that interferes with Nitric Oxide production.

There are plenty of ways to incorporate soy into your diet such as through soy yogurt or milk or tofu as a substitute for meat dishes. I personally consume it through my Formula 1 Healthy Breakfast smoothie and it provides, apart from a complete plant protein, also all the vitamins, minerals my body needs as well as the fibre – up to 10 grams of it just per breakfast.

INCREASE CONSUMPTION OF GREEN TEA:

Green tea has been known in China as a powerful healing agent for at least 4000 years. Green tea contains powerful antioxidant, which appears to kill cancer cells without harming healthy ones and it combats oxidative stress and protects your endothelial cells from invading molecules, thereby safeguarding Nitric Oxide production and improving your cardiovascular health.

Green tea also seems to speed up the rate at which the body burns up fat, making its consumption supportive of weight loss. It is very important how tea is manufactured to ensure its potency once it reaches the consumer, so I have my own brand that I trust that will not go through alcohol during manufacturing process as most supermarket teas do.

BOOST YOUR FITNESS:

Last but not the least – increase your Nitric Oxide production by boosting your fitness… Benefits of exercise are tremendous in getting our overall health, in particular cardiovascular. So, get more active!

I hope this article has been of a benefit and wishing you all a Healthy Heart Month of February! Please do check out Dr Lou Ignarro’s superb book “NO More Heart Disease”, my clients borrow it from time to time and find it refreshing and packed with not just research but also advice that can be easily implemented.

CONSIDER OUR HEART HEALTH FRIENDLY NUTRITION

I dedicate this post to my mum…

Heart disease is a silent killer because there are no obvious signs or symptoms, and many people don’t realise they have it.

Yet, unless it was fatal, it is a totally reversible disease and our lifestyle has direct impact on its development in the first place.

Take care of your heart, because it is literally at the heart of your health.

I love you, mum, miss you every day and wish you were still with us. Rest in peace, you are forever in my heart…

If you would like to reach out and see how you can support your heart health through Herbalife Nutrition and making lifestyle changes, please do not hesitate to get in touch…


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    Visceral Fat and how to reduce it

    The Truth about Visceral Fat and how to reduce it!

    Visceral fat is the official name for the fat around our organs. It is not the same as subcutaneous fat found under the skin (body fat). Visceral fat and subcutaneous fat may, or not, appear together, but it is the Visceral fat that is a real trouble maker.

    It causes metabolic syndrome and chronic inflammation that leads to heart disease and diabetes, just to name a couple out of many other conditions it causes. It literally envelopes the vital organs, the kidneys, liver, stomach, and others, making them to work harder. 

    Visceral Fat also contributes to high blood pressure by squeezing the kidneys, working them and wearing them out.  It also drains directly into the liver where it infiltrates, replacing functional tissue with fat (fatty liver).