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Before you randomly start popping supplements the first thing you should be doing if you care about maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system is getting regul
by kypro 3y ago
Before you randomly start popping supplements the first thing you should be doing if you care about maintaining a healthy cardiovascular system is getting regular blood tests, ideally at least one a year.
Not managing high triglycerides or high LDL cholesterol will put you at a much higher risk than not taking any specific supplement. Some people are genetically prone to heart disease in which case monitoring your cholesterol and taking pharmaceuticals to manage it (if needed) can significantly reduce your risk.
The other thing you should do before you start popping supplements is get your diet right. Reducing sugar, eating less processed foods, consuming healthy fats (especially EPA), and intermittent fasting – these will all help dramatically more than taking any supplement.
Then there is exercise. Doing a 20-30 mins of high intensity exercise a few days a week will help reduce your resting heart rate, improve your metabolism and help maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.
The only supplement I think there is currently good evidence to take for heart health is high dose EPA, but it's pretty expensive... I use Pharmepa Restore personally which I take due to a family history of heart disease. High quality fish oil supplements with DHA and EPA probably have a minor benefit, while cheap fish oil supplements are probably mostly useless for several reasons. If you're going to take fish oil for heart health take one that's pharma-grade and high in EPA.
- bitL 3y agoUnfortunately, plasma levels of many elements don't tell you if you aren't deficient already. For many tissue deficiencies you need to do e.g. radioactive scans which nobody will do for you. You can be vitamin deficient, potassium deficient etc. and plasma deficiency will show up only when you are really at the edge of something chronic or death. See e.g.: https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)30227-1/fulltext https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/article/S0025-6196(18)...
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- lr4444lr 3y agoGonna add in here for those of y'all US-based: get tested for apoB levels regularly, and once in your life (the sooner the better) for lp(a). They are not part of the typical panel ordered by most primary care/internists. If these are high and your doctor doesn't know what to do about it, talk to a cardiologist.