Functional nutrition offers a personalized approach to eating that uses your body’s own data to create the best diet for you and your heart health.
For decades, cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in America and around the world. Recommendations to prevent heart disease are seemingly simple – eat right, exercise, and stress less. So why are our hearts still hurting?
While there’s no single answer as to why heart disease is so prevalent in our society, a possible reason is this: eating “right” doesn’t look the same for everyone.
Everything from genetics to environment to gut health can impact how well our hearts function – and how well we use our food as fuel for our cardiovascular systems. Many of us struggle with a variety of underlying hidden deficiencies that can easily be addressed when we take a holistic approach to nourishment. That’s where functional nutrition comes in.
Keep reading to find out how functional lab testing and learning what nutrients you’re deficient in can help with your heart health.
What is Functional Nutrition?
Nutrition therapy is the use of food and supplements to restore or improve health (including heart health). So what is functional nutrition?
Functional nutrition is a holistic way to use food as medicine. Where traditional nutritionists focus on average daily recommendations and targets for nutrients, calories, and vitamins, a functional nutritionist takes a more individualized approach.
Functional nutrition looks at the whole picture of your health – not just your symptoms or diagnosis. Both lab work and lifestyle matter. This approach to a healthy diet takes your body’s unique nutrient needs, digestive function, genetics, environment, and lifestyle preferences into account to create the most strategic diet to meet your health goals.
When it comes to heart health, functional nutrition offers a food-first way to improve or prevent cardiovascular issues. This includes risk increasing conditions such as high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, dyslipidemia, and metabolic syndromes like diabetes.
A Look at Lab Work: How Functional Nutritionists Measure Heart Health
Lab work is an essential aspect of functional nutrition. Using your body’s real-time data helps us determine exactly how well your heart is functioning, and what nutrients you need to keep your heart in tip-top shape.
Cardiovascular Health Biomarkers
If you are suffering from a heart condition or are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, it’s important to pay attention to these lab work biomarkers:
Complete blood count (CBC)
High levels of white blood cells in your CBC could indicate an infection or autoimmune condition.
C-reactive protein (CRP)
An increased amount of CRP in your lab work can indicate excess inflammation that may damage your heart and arteries.
Lipid profile
Your lipid profile measures LDL (bad) cholesterol and HDL (good) cholesterol levels, as well as your triglycerides.
Fasting blood sugar (FBS)
Fasting blood sugar tests measure the amount of glucose in your bloodstream after an overnight fast. Levels above 100 mg/dL indicate prediabetes or diabetes if over 126 mg/dL.
Insulin
An insulin test measures the amount of insulin in your blood to determine your risk of diabetes and heart complications.
Cardiovascular Health Nutrient Deficiencies
Along with biomarkers, your functional nutrition lab work can also show any nutrient deficiencies. Your heart needs a range of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients to function well. Without these key nutrients, you could be at risk of developing a heart condition:
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is necessary for repairing heart cells. Studies show that deficiencies in vitamin A can contribute to hypertension, atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia, arrhythmias, and heart failure.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is vital for heart health. Deficiencies are linked to high blood pressure, heart attacks, and stroke.
Magnesium
Magnesium is an essential mineral for all nerve and muscle health – including the heart. It is responsible for coordinating the activity of the heart muscle and the nerves to ensure a consistent, reliable heartbeat. Without enough magnesium, you may be at risk for arrhythmias, coronary artery disease, and myocardial infarctions.
Selenium
Selenium has antioxidant effects that reduce atherosclerosis (plaque build-up) and oxidative stress. Low selenium levels have been associated with heart disease.
Omega-3 fatty acids
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for protecting the heart against oxidative damage and plaque in the arteries. Diets low in omega-3 fatty acids and high in inflammatory fats are at high risk of heart disease.
6 Ways Functional Nutrition Improves Your Heart Health
Functional nutrition not only helps you eat the right foods to reduce your risk of heart disease but optimizes your heart function so you can get the most out of life. Here are a few ways that functional nutrition can help you heal your heart:
1) Strategically reverses your nutrient deficiencies.
Nutrient and vitamin deficiencies are common underlying causes of heart disease. But without knowing which nutrients your body needs, and how to absorb those nutrients properly, it can be hard to know which healthy foods you should eat more of.
Your functional nutrition lab work identifies exactly which nutrients you are low in, as well as other supporting nutrients you may need. A personalized functional nutrition plan then helps you eat whole food sources to best absorb and assimilate these nutrients. High-quality supplements can also be used to boost your levels and make faster progress toward heart health.
2) Protects your heart against oxidative damage.
A functional nutrition plan will fill your plate with vibrant foods that contain a secret weapon against disease: antioxidants.
Antioxidants are compounds that neutralize the free radicals that cause damage to our cells (and eventually disease). Oxidative stress is particularly harmful to the cardiovascular system, where it can damage the arteries, encourage atherosclerosis, and impede overall cardiac function.
Because functional nutrition uses mainly whole, plant-based foods, you’ll naturally start eating more antioxidant-rich foods when following your nutritionist’s recommendations.
3) Balances your cholesterol levels.
Cholesterol gets a bad rap. But your body actually needs some cholesterol to build healthy cells. The trouble is, too much cholesterol (especially LDL cholesterol) leads to fatty deposits in your blood vessels. This is what blocks blood flow through your arteries and leads to heart disease.
Thankfully, a functional nutrition approach naturally balances your cholesterol. Functional nutrition diets tend to be high in plant-based foods, which contain healthy phytosterols and stanols (instead of artery-blocking animal cholesterol). These plant sterols block the absorption of excess cholesterol in the intestine to lower your “bad” LDL levels without reducing your “good” HDL levels.
4) Promotes healthy blood sugar levels.
If you’re eating a Standard American Diet (SAD), it’s likely you are fueling your body with refined sugars and refined carbs. While you do need carbohydrates to function, these sources will send you into a sugar crash with empty calories and no nutritional benefits for balance. Even worse, refined carbs tend to be inflammatory and can negatively impact nearly every system in your body (including your cardiovascular system).
Functional nutrition swaps disease-promoting refined sugar and carbs for complex carbohydrates that fuel your body and protect your heart. Plant and whole grain-based sources of energy contain vitamins, minerals, and fiber that slow the release of glucose into your bloodstream. This prevents a spike in insulin and helps keep insulin levels balanced.
And if you are already diabetic or pre-diabetic, your individualized diet will help you manage your blood sugar. It will also help put you on the path to reversing your diabetes symptoms and protecting your heart.
5) Helps you avoid trigger foods.
Certain foods are known to significantly harm your gut and heart health. These include refined sugar, soda, trans fats, highly-processed foods, charred meats, and fast food. Thankfully, working with a functional nutritionist means you’ll have a simple and easy-to-follow meal plan full of healthier choices that are delicious, too – and you won’t even miss these convenience foods.
6) Supports a heart-healthy lifestyle.
When you meet with an AlignLife functional nutritionist, you get more than a list of healthy foods to eat. Along with your personalized diet recommendations and supplements, we also guide you in creating a well-rounded lifestyle that further supports your heart. You’ll receive exercise recommendations, stress management tips, sleep tips, and more. Together with diet, these habits help you reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease and improve your overall well-being.
5 Super Heart Healthy Functional Nutrition Foods
Fruits like blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and pomegranates are high in powerful antioxidants that help reduce heart damage and disease. Eating these regularly can help maintain healthy blood vessels, moderate blood pressure, manage cholesterol, and support heart tissue.
> Berries and Dark Fruits
Fruits like blueberries, blackberries, cherries, and pomegranates are high in powerful antioxidants that help reduce heart damage and disease. Eating these regularly can help maintain healthy blood vessels, moderate blood pressure, manage cholesterol, and support heart tissue.
> Apples
An apple a day could keep the cardiologist away. Studies show that the antioxidant compounds in apples (quercetin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, and others) prevent LDL cholesterol from laying down plaques in your arteries. They also reduce inflammation and support whole-body health.
> Whole Grains and Beans
Whole grains contain their natural outer husk, which is rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. These all support heart health by regulating blood pressure and blood sugar. Branch out from varieties like wheat (which can be inflammatory to some) and try different types of whole grains. Quinoa, millet, spelt, rye, and oats are all great choices that add variety to your diet.
Beans are another great way to bring fiber into your diet to balance blood sugar and lower cholesterol.
> Tomatoes
It’s easy to remember tomatoes as a heart-healthy food – just look at their shape! They are red and tender, with distinct chambers just like the heart. On a chemical level, tomatoes contain potassium and lycopene, both of which support heart function and reduce “bad” cholesterol.
> Salmon, Avocados, and Seeds
Omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most powerful things you can add to your diet to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Salmon (along with herring, mackerel, and sardines) is an excellent source of healthy fats – especially omega-3 fatty acids which are proven to protect against heart disease. Other good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are avocados, olive oil, flax seeds, and chia seeds.
Eating enough of these healthy fats through food each day isn’t always possible, but a daily dose of Aceva Omega 3 Plus makes it simple to reach your necessary levels. This supplement is recommended by our functional nutritionists because it offers high-quality, highly-absorbable omega-3 fatty acids in an easy-to-swallow, burp-free pill.
Love Your Heart: How to Get Started with Functional Nutrition
A long and healthy life could start with what’s on your plate. If you’re confused about what your body needs to thrive, or simply want to protect yourself against heart disease, functional nutrition can help.
No two functional nutrition plans are the same. In this holistic approach, we go beyond typical nutrition recommendations by tailoring your recommendations and meal plans to your body’s exact needs. This ensures that every meal you eat is providing healing nutrition so you can feel your best as soon as possible.
Ready to get your own individualized functional nutrition testing and healthy heart plan? Getting started is easy. Simply schedule a consultation with our AlignLife functional nutrition team for lab testing. After identifying your unique needs, they’ll help you create a diet, supplement, and lifestyle plan designed to support your heart every day.
