Tips for American Heart Month

February is the AHA's American Heart Month. When we think of the heart, the color that comes to mind is red. One side bright red, which sends out oxygen-rich blood that's come from the lungs and being pumped to reach and nourish our tissues and organs. The other side of the heart is dark red, which is where the blood is entering the lungs and heart and waiting to be replenished with oxygen. The brighter the shade of red, the higher the oxygen levels!

Forgive my bias for a moment, but when I think of red, aside from my heart, I think of an amazing drink that is full of naturally red ingredients. As it turns out, these ingredients assist your body in delivering more of that bright red oxygen-rich blood to your tissues and organs in a way that allows your heart and blood vessels to not work as hard. As we've discussed before, this is because the ingredients are nature's version of blood pressure medications that relax your blood vessels, widen your blood vessels, allow more oxygen into your blood vessels and help prevent scarring of your blood vessels (scarring would make it difficult for our blood vessels to relax).

So, all of this red is the way to go! It doesn’t surprise me that our heart, and what’s found in nature to be good for our heart, are so often the same color!

A tasty tidbit of a different color…

Valentine’s Day falls in February. What is the treat that comes to mind for most of us when we think of Valentine’s Day? Chocolate! Lucky us! Eating dark chocolate (50%-85% cacao) can assist us in lowering our blood pressure because it is rich in flavonoids, a natural compound that helps relax blood vessels. Studies have been done with varying amounts of dark chocolate consumption, some of which were done using 25g/day (an ounce is 28.35g), suggesting it may have a BP-lowering impact. We all know how important it is to maintain normal blood pressure if we want to keep our hearts healthy!

February. American Heart Month. Sounds like a good time for 120/Life and dark chocolate!

Here’s to your health!