Heart healthy Superfoods

February is a month dedicated to heart health and here at Kijani we are here to inform you of superfoods which can be used to compliment heart health.

Our heart matters as its one of the most important organs in the human body.  Current statistics from Heart UK show that Coronary heart disease remains the number 1 killer in the UK with 160,000 people dying from heart and circulatory diseases every year.

Globally, Heart UK estimates that 17.3 million people die from Cardiovascular diseases which account for 30% of deaths worldwide. These are scary statistics but the good news is that we are able to play a role in helping our heart health.

Keeping your heart healthy, whatever your age, is the most important thing you can do to help prevent and manage heart disease.

Nutiva Hemp Oil  delicious organic cold pressed and unrefined hemp oil which contains omega 3 and 6 at the correct ratio of 3:1 which helps keep inflammation in check which is essential in heart health.  Hemp oil is rich in protein, omega fatty acids as it contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and linoleic acid (LA) which are poly unsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). It is known by the EU commission that ALA contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels

Chia seeds can also be added to your diet as they are high in healthy fats containing more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon gram for gram. Chia seeds are also high in fibre, protein and may be able to improve metabolic health. Two studies have shown that chia seeds alongside oats have lowered cholesterol and triglycerides in participants which lowered inflammation (Manjarrez et al., 2014). Similarly, an animal study showed that chia seeds lowered triglycerides and reduced inflammation, insulin resistance and belly fat (Chicco et al., 2009).

Remember nourish your body with nutrients!

References

British Heart Foundation (BHF). Available at: https://www.bhf.org.uk/heart-health Accessed on 30th December 2016 at 10.50am

EU Register on Nutrition and Health Claims (2015)

Manjarrez NA, Guevara M, Tovar A et al (2014). Effect of a dietary portfolio (nopal, soy, oat, chia seed and inulin) on lipoprotein subclasses and LDL cholesterol in Mexican subjects with hypercholesterolemia. The FASEB Journal. 28 (1): 1035-38

Chicco AG, D’Alessandro ME, Hein GJ, Oliva ME and Lombardo YB (2009). Dietary chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) rich in alpha-linolenic acid improves adiposity and normalises hypertriacylglycerolaemia and insulin resistance in dyslipaemic rats. Br J Nutr. 101(1), 41-50