Which supplements are best for heart health?

Iron is vital for the body to make red blood cells, which your heart then pumps around the body. The protein haemoglobin is necessary for your red blood cells to be able to carry oxygen, and your body uses iron to create haemoglobin.

It should be possible to get all the iron that you need from your diet, including if you’re vegan or vegetarian. You’ll find iron in foods including dark-green leafy vegetables, beans and lentils, dried fruit and fortified cereals, as well as in red meat.

Some people choose to take an iron supplement. You’ll find iron included in many multivitamin and mineral supplements, or you could opt for an iron supplement. Nature’s Truth Gentle Iron is suitable for those who experience digestive issues when taking traditional iron supplements, for example.

How hemp seed oil can boost heart health

Lowering your cholesterol level reduces your risk of heart disease – and hemp seed oil may be helpful.

That’s because hemp seed oil is rich in linoleic acid, which is a polyunsaturated omega-6 fatty acid. Studies have shown that eating a diet high in linoleic acid can reduce the body’s levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or ‘bad’ cholesterol.

If you’re not sure how to add hemp seed oil to your diet, you could consider a supplement, such as Nature’s Truth Hemp Seed Oil. Each soft gel contains 700mg of cold-pressed hemp seed oil.

Why beetroot is good for your heart

Beetroot is a rich dietary source of nitrates, which can help to improve blood flow and lower blood pressure.

The American College of Cardiology has been among those paying close attention to beetroot’s possible relevance to heart health, with studies showing that beetroot juice even appeared to lower blood pressure and boost endurance in patients with heart failure.

The good news is that beetroot is plentifully available and easy to add to your diet – try it raw in a simple salad with goat’s cheese and asparagus, for example.

But depending on how often you feel like cooking with beetroot, you might also want to consider a beetroot supplement, such as Nature’s Truth Beetroot Capsules.

Role of vitamin K in heart health

Vitamin K is a group of vitamins that contributes to normal blood clotting (as well as being beneficial for bone health). In the UK, the NHS recommends that adults consume 1 microgram a day of vitamin K for each kilogram of their body weight. There’s increasing evidence vitamin K is important for heart health – recent research suggests that people eating a diet rich in vitamin K have up to a third lower risk of cardiovascular disease due to atherosclerosis (where the arteries thicken and narrow).

In adults, vitamin K deficiency is relatively rare and it should be possible to get enough vitamin K from a healthy, balanced diet. Vitamin K1 is mainly found in green leafy vegetables as well as olive oil and soybean oil, and vitamin K2 is found in small amounts in foods including chicken, butter, egg yolks and cheese.

To ensure they are getting enough, some people also choose to take a vitamin K supplement, such as Nature’s Truth Vitamin K2.

Lifestyle habits that contribute to a healthy heart

A significant UK study published in 2022 found that those eating a diet rich in vegetables, and especially raw veg, had a 15% lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. However, eating a healthy, balanced diet that is rich in vegetables won’t protect you from heart disease on its own: the study’s researchers pointed out that other lifestyle factors could also explain the results, including whether people smoked, their alcohol intake, the jobs they did and their general diet.

There is robust evidence that regular exercise is good for heart health, including reducing your risk of coronary heart disease. In the UK, it’s recommended by the Chief Medical Officer that adults should try to be active every day and aim to do at least 150 minutes of moderately intense physical activity over a week.

Over time, being physically active helps lower your blood pressure, improves blood flow and lowers heart rate. It also helps reduce your LDL cholesterol levels, the ‘bad’ cholesterol that can build up in your arteries, potentially causing blockages, and raises your HDL cholesterol, the ‘good’ cholesterol that actually removes fat from arteries.

By making the right lifestyle choices and further supporting your health with supplements proven to help, you can ensure you’re doing your best to protect and support the heart.

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[Disclaimer] Talk to your GP before starting a new supplement regime.