Caring for your heart and other love organs - The Naturopathic Way

In this episode, Marie and Sophie tackle the subject of heart health, cardiovascular disease and go through some herbal helpers for libido. Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death in the west and it is never too early or too late to start taking care of your heart and blood vessels.
In this episode you will learn:
- the main components of the cardiovascular system
- what are the risk factors for cardiovascular disease
- nutritional recommendations (DASH diet)
- foods that are proven to help prevent cardiovascular disease
- the significance of homocysteine

Here is a link to an article reviewing the evidence about dietary fats versus dietary sugars in the development of cardiovascular disease:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcad.2015.11.006

Supplements that have been found to help in the prevention and/or management of CVD are: 
- vitamin C 
- vitamin K2
- rutin 
- tocopherols and tocotrienols 
- Coenzyme Q10 (also known as ubiquinol or ubiquinone) 
- vitamin B6, B9, and B12
- omega 3s 

Medicinal herbs mentioned for the management of cardiovascular conditions: 
- Hawthorn (Crataegus levigata) 
- Olive leaf (Olea europea) 
- Horsechestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum) 
- Cayenne pepper (Capsicum minimum) 
- Cacao (Theobroma cacao)
- Hibiscus flowers (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
- Rose flowers (Rosa damascena) 

We also mentioned some lifestyle changes that can really help managing cardiovascular disease. 

To finish the episode we mention a few herbs that have dual action: improving markers of cardiovascular health and improve function of sexual organs: 

- Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
- Horny Goat Weed (Epimedium sagittatum) 
- Ginseng root (Panax ginseng) 
- Ashwagandha root (Withania somnifera) 
- Shatavari root (Asparagus racemosa)
- Oats milky tops (Avena sativa) 
- He sou wu (Polygonum multiflorum)
- Maca root (Lepidium meyenii) 
- Pine pollen (Pinus sylvestris) 

Hopefully you found this information useful. Do not hesitate to contact us with any question or comment or subjects you would like us to cover. 

Email us: sharingplantwisdom@gmail.com
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Stay well. 
Sophie & Marie 
xx