Firstly, here are some early warning signs for heart and blood flow issues: High or low blood pressure, heart beat irregularities, high cholesterol / overweight, short of breath, chest pain, dizziness, light headed headache / poor memory, cold hands and feet, weak or swollen veins, stress / emotion changes.               

If you experience any of these symptoms get a medical check first.

Most medical heart issues today are well managed by your GP, however I have heard many patients say they still feel “unwell” - aches and pains, feeling flat, fatigue, stress and low mood are very common,or being overweight or pre-diabetic despite eating what they think is a “healthy eating plan”.

Think of your heart as your body’s great blood pump, pumping blood cells to every area of your body.

Now imagine there are areas of your body that are congested (bloated, constipated), tight and sore (muscle pain, back pain, sedentary habits), holding excess weight (pressure on blood vessels), fatty liver (your blood filter is blocked) or under stress (hormones out of balance).

All of this will make the heart work harder as it tries to pump fresh blood to all our organs, but focussing on JUST the heart will have only addressed one organ of our body. To feel our best, we may need to decongest, move or repair other areas of the body too.

For overall wellbeing, health and wellbeing experts are telling us to eat mostly fresh, plant based foods, cut way down on meats and animal fats, reduce alcohol, remain hydrated, move correctly and unwind our stress daily. You may be doing some of this, but not enough to feel the daily zest return.

Often becoming much healthier is put on the back burner because we are “still alive” and “deep down we know we need to change our ways, but we’re a little bit complacent”. You may be cheating yourself of feeling fantastic.

A good wellbeing check can give you an insight into your overall body condition.

A passionate Allied health practitioner can guide and motivate you to make additional healthy changes to help the feeling of daily zest return. Allied health practitioners work alongside your GP’s advice and they are well trained in prevention too.

By Naturopath Michelle Cose. 

yourstepstowellness.com