You may not know this about me. I was diagnosed with hypertension in my 30’s and on statin medications to lower my cholesterol. Never mind that I was a single mother with 3 small children. Stress was my mantra. I remember taking a meditation class at Brown’s Chapel where they wanted us to sit on the floor, when every bone in my body ached. I had chronic back and neck pain then. I told them it hurt to sit that way and was told to just sit and breathe through it. I thought to myself $%* this! I didn’t go back. I didn’t think I had any choice back then, but to power through. I took a mindful eating class, but that didn’t resonate with me either.

I’ve since learned ALOT about hypertension and cardiovascular disease.  I know that cholesterol is not the enemy. I know that stress is the silent killer and as in all chronic disease, there are usually multiple factors and triggers. I know that we are all unique and we need to look at root causes to find “the cure” or at least to stop progression and put the disease into remission.

I know that maintenance matters. Here’s a picture of the birthday card my girlfriend Peggy gave me:

Maintenance Matters!

Those statins gave me severe muscle pain. I tried them on and off over the years always with the same result. It wasn’t until this past decade that I discovered the power of micronutrient testing and functional medicine that I finally pinpointed some of the root causes of my cardiovascular disease.

I know now that if you are on a statin medication you must take CoQ10. You see statins lower this vital nutrient, there are in fact, mitochondrial killers. The mitochondria is the power plant inside each and every cell in your body that generates energy in a process called ATP. CoQ10 is the spark.

It’s not just statins that lower CoQ10. Acid blockers like PPIs and antihistamine allergy drugs, antacids, antibiotics, blood thinners, blood pressure and anti arrhythmia drugs, cancer drugs, diabetes medications and psychiatric drugs, all lower this vital nutrient.

CoQ10 is just one of several powerful antioxidants. Antioxidants are powerful in that they counteract oxidative stress from free radicals. Free radicals occur from daily living like exercising and eating. They also occur from toxins in our bodies, fried foods, alcohol and internal and external stressors.

How do we raise antioxidants? We can take supplements or we can eat and drink antioxidant rich food. If you are on medications and/or live life to the max with added stress, I would suggest you do both, supplement and ingest nutrient dense food. Last month I attended a seminar on micronutrient status as it relates to cardiovascular disease sponsored by Spectracell Laboratories. This is my go to lab for many years now and I test myself annually for both micronutrient testing and cardio metabolic testing.

But what is the simplest solution? Eat 8-10 servings of a variety of vegetables particularly green leafy and cruciferous vegetables, small amount of seasonal fruit and healthy fats and proteins. It’s hard to eat that many vegetables for most, so I’m a big fan of green juices. This is why I am teaming up with Tasty6 and others to offer the Intermittent Fasting KickStart. If you’d like to join us, then please register before October 25th. You can learn more via this short video.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa