Show your Heart some Love
Valley Functional Wellness will send out a monthly newsletter meant to be informative and applicable to your every day life to help you Live, Eat, Move, and Feel Better. In this, the inaugural newsletter, you can find a quick Bio on the provider and some information on how to support your heart health. February celebrates American Heart Month and Women's Heart Week (among many other notables such as Black History, Autism Awareness, Congenital Heart Defects and Developmental Disabilities...) the list is long, friends, so I am going to stick within my area of expertise.
Biography
I am a mom, wife, sister, friend, loyal Hokie and a fierce advocate for my patients.
I attended Virginia Tech receiving a degree in Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise, then went on to Massage Therapy school in Northern Virginia, where I obtained my therapeutic massage and bodywork certification.
Carrie Ferrel, FNP-C, BCTMB
I spent the next 7 years operating a successful massage therapy practice in the Northern Virginia area, with two offices, collaborating with a chiropractor and two large outpatient orthopedic physical therapy clinics. There, I gained experience in a wide variety of patient populations such as sports medicine, pre/post-operative joint replacements, spinal cord injuries, patients with cancer, eating disorders, lymphedema and so many more diagnoses. I was inspired and wanted to broaden my knowledge base and increase my reach, so I moved on to further my scope and completed a bachelor’s degree in Nursing at George Mason University. This led to a 9-year adventure as an Emergency Room Nurse with a double life, working as a massage therapist on my off days. I returned to the University of Virginia and obtained a master’s degree in Nursing with a certification as a Primary Care Nurse Practitioner. Since then, I have been working in family practice, providing primary care and urgent care services. In addition to Valley Functional Wellness, I also currently practice primary care on a PRN basis with Premise Health.
The Heart of the Matter
Serial Killer
Since the mid 1900s, cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death in the United States. On average in our country, someone dies from a heart attack every 34 seconds and someone dies from a stroke every 3 minutes and 17 seconds.
As a healthcare provider, it is a puzzle to me that there is a largely preventable disease killing millions of people at an alarming rate, and it's business as usual. More so puzzling is that despite all of the research that touts the benefits of healthy diet and lifestyle, the focus remains more on treatment with pharmaceuticals and less on prevention.
What you put into your body, how often you move your body and how you deal with stress are all key players in preventing and fighting heart disease.
More and more research is bringing to light that the usual dietary suspects: fat and cholesterol, may not be the arch enemies they've been made out to be. If cholesterol, as a result of dietary fat intake was the only problem; wouldn't all of the cholesterol lowering medications that we have on the market be the answer? Shouldn't blood pressure medicine be an easy fix? In recent years, inflammation has gained attention as a major player in not only cardiovascular disease, but also in many other human ailments (think cancer and autoimmune diseases). How do we address inflammation?
Through what you put into your body, how often you move your body, and how you deal with stress. Notice a pattern?
What you put into your body: Plants provide antioxidants and fiber, both which reduce inflammation and improve gut and cellular health. Plant based diets are correlated with lower blood pressure and fewer incidences of cardiovascular disease. Omega-3 fatty acids (found in nuts and fatty fish) and Co-Q 10 are powerful anti-inflammatories. Read that again. I said ANTI-INFLAMMATORIES. I did NOT say that Omega-3, often purchased in the form of Fish Oil Capsules, lowers your cholesterol...because it doesn't. The best it can do in that department is have an effect on your triglycerides. However, the anti-inflammatory effects, and the support for your brain, gut and cellular health makes them an important player.
How you move your body: Exercise can strengthen your heart and decrease plaque build up (thereby decreasing blood pressure) as well as provide endorphins that decrease stress.
How you deal with stress: Stress Management not only helps combat mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, but studies have shown that stress management helps lower blood pressure, prevent inflammation and increase circulation. Decreasing stress helps your body to rest and use it's own restorative and self preserving mechanisms to keep you healthy.
Take it to Heart
Feed your heart: your heart LOVES citrus fruit, green leafy vegetables and all things fiber. AVOID REFINED SUGAR, TRANS FATS AND PROCESSED FOODS. If it's "food" that can be handed to you through a drive through window, or if gas is also sold there, it's a bad idea, DON'T EAT THAT.
Move your body: Exercise does NOT have to be strenuous. Moderate exercise on a daily basis, such as a 20-30 minute brisk walk, (strive for average 10,000 steps per day), will help keep your blood pressure in check, and your stress levels low, and bonus: you will likely burn more fat and decrease your cholesterol and blood sugar.
Manage your stress: mindfulness exercises, laughing, participating in a hobby that you love, massage, yoga, and meditation, are just a few practices that can help keep your stress levels manageable and in turn, keep your blood pressure in check. Circle back to exercise, these two go hand in hand.Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
Consult the Farmacy
Food is your First Medicine
Fatty Fish: Salmon, albacore tuna, trout, sardines and swordfish are fatty fish that offer Omega-3 Fatty Acids.
Citrus Fruits: (WITH CAUTION IF YOU ARE TAKING MEDICATIONS THAT REACT WITH CITRUS FRUITS) These boast powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and can have immediate effects on blood pressure.
Green Leafy Vegetables: Eat them. Daily. Lots of them. Aside from being an excellent source of fiber, they are full of antioxidants and support nitric oxide production in the lining of your arteries. This helps prevent your arteries from becoming stiff. Beets Rich in natural nitrates (not to be confused with nitrites). These are converted into Nitric Oxide. They are an excellent anti-oxidant with powerful anti-inflammatory effects.
Cruciferous Vegetables: Examples: Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower. Raw is best, BUT you can still reap the benefits of their antioxidants when you cook them IF you let them rest. Chop ahead of time and let them rest before introducing heat. Strive for 30-40 minutes of rest time.
Nuts and Seeds: These are rich in omega 3s (among other goodies such as selenium and magnesium). Brazil Nuts have been shown in some studies to lower LDL cholesterol.
Beans and Legumes: Make these a STAPLE. Spoiler alert...Wait until we talk about colon health next month. If you aren't familiar, friendly with, or sure about beans and legumes, start warming up to the idea of eating them regularly and living a long, healthy life as a result... more to come on that in March.
Spices and Herbs: Garlic, Turmeric, Cinnamon, and Ginger are just a few in this family that have been found to be a source of antioxidants, be effective in supporting healthy cholesterol and provide anti-inflammatory effects.
Click on the picture to go to recipe
Resources
Babarykin, D. , Smirnova, G. , Pundinsh, I. , Vasiljeva, S. , Krumina, G. and Agejchenko, V. (2019) Red Beet (Beta vulgaris) Impact on Human Health. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 7, 61-79. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2019.73007.
Carvalho RF, Huguenin GV, Luiz RR, Moreira AS, Oliveira GM, Rosa G. Intake of partially defatted Brazil nut flour reduces serum cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic patients--a randomized controlled trial. Nutr J. 2015 Jun 16;14:59. doi: 10.1186/s12937-015-0036-x. PMID: 26077768; PMCID: PMC4488974.
Lee, BJ., Tseng, YF., Yen, CH. et al. Effects of coenzyme Q10 supplementation (300 mg/day) on antioxidation and anti-inflammation in coronary artery disease patients during statins therapy: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Nutr J 12, 142 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1186/1475-2891-12-142
Michael Greger and Gene Stone, How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease (London, England: Macmillan, 2016). Greger M, Stone G. 2016.
Saini RK, Ranjit A, Sharma K, Prasad P, Shang X, Gowda KGM, Keum YS. Bioactive Compounds of Citrus Fruits: A Review of Composition and Health Benefits of Carotenoids, Flavonoids, Limonoids, and Terpenes. Antioxidants (Basel). 2022 Jan 26;11(2):239. doi: 10.3390/antiox11020239. PMID: 35204122; PMCID: PMC8868476.
Singh D, Jain V, Saraf S, Saraf S. Coenzyme q 10 : a review. Anc Sci Life. 2002 Oct;22(2):49-55. PMID: 22557086; PMCID: PMC3331000. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
Szymanska R, Pospisil P, Kruk J. Plant-Derived Antioxidants in Disease Prevention. Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2016;2016:1920208. doi: 10.1155/2016/1920208. Epub 2016 Dec 21. Erratum in: Oxid Med Cell Longev. 2017;2017:5092754. PMID: 28096942; PMCID: PMC5209612.
