What Ingredients Do You Need for A Healthy Heart?

Prepared by Nutritionist Chen Yin

Apart from adoption of heart-healthy diet and active lifestyle, proper supplementation such as omega-3 fatty acids, coenzyme Q10, garlic and folic acid may also be useful in reducing complications from heart disease. Read on about how these supplements may help support your heart health.

1. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
   Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) are believed to improve cardiovascular, brain and joints health.^1,2 Consumption of omega-3 fatty acids was reportedly to be an effective lifestyle strategy for heart disease prevention and a dosage of the omega-3 fatty acids will probably increase the protective effect.³

Studies showed that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids resulted in^4,5

· Lowering risk of cardiovascular disease, heart attack and sudden cardiac death

· Improvement in vascular function

· Lowering of blood pressure

· Reduction of inflammation

2. Coenzyme Q10
   Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), also known as ubiquinone, is essential to our cells especially our heart cells to generate energy. Low levels of CoQ10 has been linked to conditions that affect the heart, high blood pressure, nervous system and metabolism.⁶
   The following findings demonstrated the positive impacts of CoQ10 on the function of the heart via extensive clinical trials.^7-9

• Increased utilisation of oxygen by the heart muscle. ‌‌
• Increased generation of cellular energy production by the heart muscle.
• Increased exercise capacity in people with impaired heart function.
• Improved control on blood pressure.

3. Garlic
   Garlic is a heart-healthy herb dedicated to its high content of allicin, a compound that is reportedly to have benefits of lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Garlic also helps to inhibit buildup of platelet, which can result in blood clotting and stroke.¹⁰

4. Folic Acid
   Folic acid is a type of B vitamin required for healthy cell division and proper nerve development. Deficiency of folic acid may contribute to increased risk for heart attack, stroke and blood clots due to elevated homocysteine.¹¹ Supplementation of folic acid has been shown to lower blood pressure by relaxing the walls of arteries.¹²
   
    

References

1. Atherosclerosis. 2017 Nov;266:87-94. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2017.09.028. Epub 2017 Sep 28.
2. James, M., Proudman, S., & Cleland, L. (2010). Fish oil and rheumatoid arthritis: Past, present and future. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society,69(3), 316-323.
3. Bernasconi AA, Wiest MM, Lavie CJ, Milani RV, Laukkanen JA. Effect of Omega-3 Dosage on Cardiovascular Outcomes: An Updated Meta-Analysis and Meta-Regression of Interventional Trials. Mayo Clin Proc. 2021 Feb;96(2):304-313.
4. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2017 Mar;27(3):191-200. doi: 10.1016/j.numecd.2016.07.011. Epub 2016 Jul 26.
5. Bäck M. Omega-3 fatty acids in atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease. Future Science OA. 2017;3(4):FSO236. doi:10.4155/fsoa-2017-0067.
6. Zozina VI, Serghei Covantev, Goroshko OA, Krasnykh LM, and Kukes VG. Coenzyme Q10 in Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases: Current State of the Problem. Curr Cardiol Rev. 2018 Aug; 14(3): 164–174.
7. Martelli A, Testai L, Colletti A, Cicero AFG. Coenzyme Q10: Clinical Applications in Cardiovascular Diseases. Antioxidants (Basel). 2020 Apr 22;9(4):341.
8. Di Lorenzo A, Iannuzzo G, Parlato A, et al. Clinical Evidence for Q10 Coenzyme Supplementation in Heart Failure: From Energetics to Functional Improvement. J Clin Med. 2020 Apr 27;9(5):1266. doi: 10.3390/jcm9051266.
9. Mortensen AL, Rosenfeldt F, Filipiak KJ. Effect of coenzyme Q10 in Europeans with chronic heart failure: A sub-group analysis of the Q-SYMBIO randomized double-blind trial. Cardiol J. 2019;26(2):147-156. doi: 10.5603/CJ.a2019.0022. Epub 2019 Mar 5. PMID: 30835327.
10. Bayan L, Koulivand PH, Gorji A. Garlic: a review of potential therapeutic effects. Avicenna J Phytomed. 2014;4(1):1-14.
11. Paul Ganguly and Sreyoshi Fatima Alam. Role of homocysteine in the development of cardiovascular disease. Nutr J. 2015; 14: 6.
12. McRae MP. High-dose folic acid supplementation effects on endothelial function and blood pressure in hypertensive patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. J Chiropr Med. 2009;8(1):15-24. doi:10.1016/j.jcm.2008.09.001