Love your heart

YHL takes a look at some natural ways to support your cardiovascular health for the long-term

While most of us know that eating well and staying active are important, experts now believe that factors such as stress levels, sleep quality and even social connection can also have a powerful impact on our cardiovascular health. Small, realistic changes can make a meaningful difference. From embracing a Mediterranean-style diet to spending more time outdoors, here are some natural ways to support your heart.

Eat the Mediterranean way
“Overall, the Mediterranean diet has the strongest evidence for supporting heart health,” says Emma Thornton, a nutritionist with A.Vogel (www.avogel.co.uk). “This is likely because it incorporates different beneficial dietary elements including a wide variety of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains, plenty of fibre, plus anti-inflammatory omega-3 and olive oil. Also, it is low in salt, refined seed oils and unhelpful trans fats, due to the unprocessed nature of this style of eating.”

Dr Elliott Roy-Highley, Medical Director at Unbound (www.unbound.living) adds: “Reach for as many different foods that grow as possible: fruit, veg, nuts, seeds, legumes, grains and herbs. And aim for more than 30 different plant foods each week.”

The nutrients your heart needs
Certain nutrients play important roles in supporting heart health. Emma says: “Vitamin B1 (thiamine) helps the body convert carbohydrates into usable energy, which is especially important for the heart because cardiac muscle has very high energy demands. It also supports normal nerve signalling and heart muscle contraction. It is found in a variety of foods including whole grains, meat, legumes and nuts.

Magnesium is critical for maintaining a steady heartbeat, relaxing blood vessels and regulating blood pressure. It acts as a cofactor in hundreds of cellular reactions, including those involved in muscle contraction and electrical conduction in the heart. Magnesium can be sourced from leafy greens, nuts and seeds, legumes, such as black beans or edamame and whole grains such as quinoa or rice.

Potassium helps regulate heart rhythm, muscle contraction, and fluid balance while counteracting some of sodium’s blood-pressure-raising effects. Potassium-rich foods include potatoes, bananas, beans, lentils, leafy greens and dried fruits like apricots and raisins.” Dr Roy-Highley adds: “Your overall dietary pattern matters more than any single nutrient, but a few do stand out for heart health. Fibre, especially from whole grains, beans, vegetables, and fruit, helps lower LDL cholesterol and supports better blood sugar control. Omega-3 fats from fatty fish, flax, chia, and walnuts can help lower triglycerides and reduce inflammation. Unsaturated fats from olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocados, and fish tend to support healthier cholesterol levels than saturated fats. Nitrate-rich vegetables such as leafy greens may help relax blood vessels and support blood pressure control. Fermented foods like fermented yoghurt, soy, and cabbage can lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease.”

Herbal support for the heart
“Hawthorn has traditionally been used in European herbal medicine as a classic ‘heart tonic’ due to its high concentration of powerful antioxidants and flavonoids,” says Emma. “It has been used to support circulation, gently strengthen the heart and maintain healthy blood pressure.

Traditionally valued across many cultures, garlic was commonly eaten regularly as both food and medicine, for gentle, long-term heart and circulation support. Boasting a high allicin content, a powerful antioxidant, it has been traditionally used to help gently stimulate blood flow, support vascular health and maintain overall cardiovascular vitality.

Passiflora is well recognised as a calming nervine herb. It has been traditionally taken to ease stress, nervous tension and to help calm stress-related palpitations.”

Stress and loneliness matter too
While diet and exercise are extremely important for heart health, stress management, good sleep habits and social connection are just as vital.

Dr Roy-Highley explains: “Mental stress results in a whole-body physical response that involves activation of the nervous system responsible for raising heart rate and blood pressure (the ‘fight or flight’ system), and the release of signalling molecules that increase inflammation and damage blood vessels. These changes heighten the risk of a heart attack or stroke in the future.” He continues: “One source of chronic stress that we tend to overlook is loneliness. Feeling lonely isn’t just a sad emotion – humans are biologically wired for connection. A 2024 meta-analysis published in Scientific Reports involving over 100,000 participants found that high loneliness or social isolation was associated with a 16% increase in the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Chronic loneliness is thought to act as a persistent physiological stressor that keeps the body in a state of low-grade inflammation and elevated blood pressure, which over many years can be as damaging to the heart’s vessels as more traditional risk factors.”

Don’t underestimate sleep
Sleep is another crucial factor for good heart health. “Sleeping well is essential for protecting your healthspan and reducing your risk of a heart attack and stroke,” says Dr Roy-Highley. “The advice to sleep between 7 and 9 hours each night is familiar, but most people are less aware of the importance of being consistent day-to-day with the time they go to sleep and wake up. A 2024 study of more than 60,000 UK biobank participants found that consistently regular sleep-wake timing was actually more important than total duration – lowering the risk of dying from a cardiometabolic condition by 22–57% and dying from all causes by 20–48%.”

Heart healthy habits
According to Dr Elliott Roy-Highley, supporting your heart health doesn’t always have to mean strict regimes and endless restriction. Research suggests that enjoyable lifestyle habits can also play a role.

• A study of over 15,000 US adults found that having sex weekly decreases your risk of dying by 49% – 21% for cardiovascular deaths and 69% for cancer deaths.

• A 2023 study of over 11,000 adults in Sweden found that people taking part in cultural activities have around a 34% lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

• Spending time in greenspace and bluespace (canals, lakes, seas etc) is associated with several health benefits, including higher life satisfaction, lower cardiovascular disease, and lower death from all causes.

• Finnish researchers discovered that spending more than 19 minutes, 4–7 times per week in a sauna, lowered the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease by 50%. A sauna mimics moderate-intensity exercise by increasing heart rate and improving blood vessel flexibility.

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