You feel a tightness in your chest, your heart begins to beat faster and you feel a cold sweat breaking out. Is it a heart attack? Maybe, or it could be your body warning you that you it’s time to take care of your heart before it attacks! Luckily, there are two simple ways to strengthen your heart and reduce the effort it takes for your heart to pump blood through your body: Exercise regularly, and drink alkaline mineral water.
Exercise has been proven to be just as effective as drugs for preventing heart trouble. Alkaline water has too, studies have shown two important benefits for your heart: Hydration and nutrition. In fact, one of the largest ever studies conducted on the influence of mineral nutrition; Hard water and the Heart, the Story Revisited says: “The more alkaline the water, the greater the protective effect on the arteries.”
How exercise helps your heart
Your heart is a muscle, and like any muscle exercise strengthens it and improves it’s endurance. Researchers from Harvard and Stanford recently conducted a review of 305 clinical trials that examined the effectiveness of heart medicines and exercise for preventing heart disease, heart failure, and stroke. What they found was astonishing: There is “no statistically detectable differences” between physical activity and medications for heart disease.” And you don’t even need to exercise a lot. Simply going for a walk for about 20 minutes a day can provide adequate exercise – that is just as effective as prescription medications – for preventing heart trouble.
Rewards don’t come to those who sit and wait
Patience is often considered a virtue, but not in this case! Excessive sitting is a major risk factor for heart disease and many other degenerative diseases as well. You should plan to exercise for about 2 and a half hours per week. If you work at a desk, plan to stand up frequently, or even better get a stand-up desk.
According to Jordan Metzl, a sports-medicine physician at New York City’s Hospital for Special Surgery and author of The Exercise Cure: “Exercise is the best preventive drug we have, and everybody needs to take that medicine.” Dr. Timothy Church, director of preventive medicine research at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge:
“Exercise strengthens the entire human machine — the heart, the brain, the blood vessels, the bones, the muscles. The most important thing you can do for your long-term health is lead an active life.”
The Best form of Exercise for Heart Health
Any type of amount of exercise is going to be better for your heart than sitting around. But one form of exercise – High Intensity Interval Training – has been shown to be the most efficient exercise when it comes to improving heart health. High intensity interval training means that you go all out in short bursts, separated by a cooldown period.
How to do High Intensity Interval Training:
Plan to spend 4 – 30 minutes per session on interval training. Start with about a 4 minute high intensity interval workout and work your way up:
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Start with a warm up period of gentle exercise and stretching to get warmed up.
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Do 30 – 40 seconds of intense exercise such as sprinting
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Cool off with about 15 – 20 seconds of moderate exercise like jogging or walking
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Repeat the cycle of intense exercise and moderate cool down 3 – 10 times
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Finish your training session with 30 – 40 seconds of exercise at medium intensity
Warm up: Simple stretching and a fast walk or slow jogging can get you warmed up. You can also ride your bike (my favorite!) swim, or other aerobic exercise
Intense training interval: Give it all you’ve got for 30 – 40 seconds: Sprint, push your bicycle to top speed, do a fast lap in the pool, whichever exercise you choose, go all out.
Cool off interval: Slow down and do 15 – 20 seconds of moderate exercise: Jog, walk, slow your bike to cruising speed, tread water, etc.
Repeat: the Intense training/cool off cycle 3 – 10 times. If you are just beginning interval training, shoot for 3 repetitions at first, then work your way up to more.
Finish: Your workout with moderate exercise, no more than 50% of your max, and some cool down stretching.
2:1 ratio of high intensity “bursts” to cool-off exercise
When you interval train, you want to maintain a ratio of 2 to 1 high intensity “bursts” to moderate exercise. This means that if you go all-out for 30 seconds, follow it with 15 seconds of moderate exercise. If you do 40 seconds of intense exercise, follow it with 20 seconds of moderate exercise.
How Alkaline Water helps your heart and your exercise plan
Hydration: Proper hydration is critical to gaining better heart health, and alkaline water has been shown to hydrate better than ordinary water. Hydration is critical when you exercise, because your performance drops off with a little as 2% dehydration – you get 2% dehydrated well before you feel thirsty! So you hit the performance-damaging 2% threshold well before you even feel thirsty.
Drinking a glass of water, at the right time can even prevent heart attacks and strokes. Make sure you drink a glass of water an hour before bed, and get well-hydrated before performing any interval training. A glass of water an hour before bed has been shown to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
Extreme dehydration can be deadly
A recent study on firefighters revealed that the #1 killer of firefighters when fighting fire is heart attack from extreme dehydration. That kills more firefighters than getting burned by the fire, or crushed by falling debris! The study demonstrated that alkaline water was effective at fighting the extreme dehydration firefighters experience when fighting fire. You are at risk for extreme dehydration anytime you exercise in a hot environment.
Nutrition: Did you know? Your body absorbs minerals like calcium and magnesium 30% faster and easier from water than it does from food. Your heart needs to get adequate levels of both minerals every day to remain healthy. Most Americans and Europeans (75% estimated by the CDC) are magnesium deficient. In fact, if you have a heart attack, one of the first things a doctor in the Emergency Room will do to save your life is give you a shot of magnesium! Many times, it is that life saving infusion of magnesium that restores the heart to normal function and prevents further damage to the body.
Alkaline water from a water ionizer is the best source of waterborne calcium and magnesium. Water ionizers concentrate the calcium and magnesium in your tap water, so you get more of both with every glass of water you drink. Plus, the calcium and magnesium in tap water come as mineral carbonates, which can be hard for people with digestive health issues to absorb. Water ionizers convert the mineral carbonates in tap water into mineral hydrates, which are very easy for your body to absorb.
Remember: “The more alkaline the water, the greater the protective effect on the arteries”
Talk to your doctor before you start interval training
Interval training puts a lot of strain on your system, so you need to be sure you’re ready for it. Ask your doctor to recommend exercises for you – and follow their recommendations!
Exercise and alkaline water together are an ideal combination for better heart health without the need for drugs. But keep in mind: If you are already on heart medication, don’t stop taking it unless your doctor tells you to.
Ask your doctor to evaluate your physical fitness before you start interval training and/or alkaline water. You can use the results of your doctor’s evaluation to establish a baseline for your heart health level. You need to know this information, because as you work out, you will compare your results to it to see if you are making progress.
Want to know if alkaline water can help you improve your health? Call us today at 877-959-7977
References
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among subjects with low urinary magnesium and calcium levels.” BMC Public Health. BMC Public Health, 30 Nov 2004. Web. 1 Jul 2013. <http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/4/56>.
Abraham, Guy, and Jorge Flebas. “The effect of daily consumption of 2 liters of
electrolyzed water for 2 months on body composition and several physiological parameters in four obese subjects: a preliminary report.” Highbeam Research. Original Internist, 01 Sep 2011. Web. 2 Jul 2013.
[Tashiro, et al: “Digestion and Absorption” issued by the Japan Digestion and Absorption
Academics Society Vol. 23 No. 2, pp. 52-56 (2000)]
Heil, P and Seifert, J. Influence of bottled water on rehydration following a dehydrating bout of
cycling exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition Springerlink July 2009. http://www.springerlink.com/content/kn41764j65165u3x/fulltext.pdf
Misner, B. Food Alone May Not Provide Sufficient Micronutrients for Preventing Deficiency
J International Society of Sports Nutrition. 2006; 3(1:( 51–55. Published online 2006 June 5 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2129155/
Ong, Choon. “Minerals from drinking-water: Bioavailability for various world populations and
health implications.” WHO | Water Sanitation Health. World Health Organization, 17 Aug 2004. Web. 4 Jul 2013. <http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutbioavailability/en/>.
World Health Organization, . “Nutrients in Drinking Water .” WHO | Nutrients in drinking
water. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 5 Jul 2013. <http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientsbegin.pdf>.
Gumashta, J, R Gumashta, and et al. “Hard water and heart: the story revisited.” IOSR
Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences. IOSR Journal of Pharmacy and Biological Sciences, n.d. Web. 5 Jul 2013. <http://iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/vol1-issue1/B0110720.pdf>.
Holsworth, R, , and et al. “Effect of Hydration on Whole Blood Viscosity in Firefighters.”ebscohost.
Alternative Therapies, n.d. Web. 27 Dec 2013. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=d19a888b-bdf2-4a84-8138-fca11b03df01@sessionmgr4005&vid=2&hid=4112>
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