Heart Health Testing In Only Natural
Ger touched on the Aortic Pulse Wave Velocity Testing aka Arteriograph Test briefly in his March Monthly Update so we are now delighted to let you know that we have set a date for Declan Murphy of Heart Health Matters to carry out the Arteriograph Test in Only Natural on Friday 5th April.
This test is a non-invasive method for a comprehensive diagnosis of the cardiovascular system and is used to assess the level of aorta (main blood vessel) stiffness. Increased stiffness of your aorta increases the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. By analysing the stiffness of your aorta it is possible to assess your risk of heart disease long before symptoms physically appear.
The test will take about half an hour to complete and costs €50, results will be printed and explained and a copy given to take away. Booking is essential and there are guidelines to follow before the test so to make an appointment or for more information contact the shop 053 912 3236.
Free Heart Health Talk with David Burke
David Burke from Celtic Nutrition is hosting a free Heart Health Talk in the Talbot Hotel on Thursday 21st February from 7.30pm.
If you or anyone you know suffers from high cholesterol, high blood pressure or any other cardiovascular disease then this talk is for you. On the night David Burke will be explaining why more and more of us are suffering from these diseases but more importantly what we can do to help prevent them and reverse them.
If you want to learn how to help protect your heart make sure to come along to The Talbot Hotel on Thursday 21st February at 7.30pm.
Colin Smith of KI Health Instore
Colin Smith, co-founder of KI Health Steps, is instore on 23rd and 24th November to showcase his range of natural supplements. Colin has decades of experience in the health industry and through this experience he develped a range of supplements for cardiovascular health – KI Gold and KI Sport.
Colin will be in Only Natural from 11am to 3pm on both Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th November when he will be offering tastings of these products and also going into the science behind them and how they work they work in the body. If you or anyone you know is concerned about their heart health make sure to call instore on either of these days to find out how you can help your heart out!
Colin Smith – KI Health Steps
We’re happy to be working with Colin Smith, Natural Health Practitioner from Ferns, whom many of you will have heard on South East Radio where he does a regular natural health spot. Resulting from many years of his own practice Colin has brought a remarkable range of health supplements aimed at general and, in particular cardiovascular, health to the market and here’s Colin’s own summing up of their benefits. Colin will be in Only Natural to introduce and sample his range on the 23rd and 24th of November so be sure to come in for a chat with him if you have any issues which he might be able to help you with on one of these days.
Putting Your Heart Into It
Ki Health Steps is a Wexford based company located in Ferns owned and managed by husband and wife team Colin & Lorraine Smith.
Colin has over 30 years’ experience working as an alternative therapist in many different sectors, specialising in Arthritis and cardiovascular issues as well as many other complaints. He has always had a passion for health and nutrition and how to help people live a long and healthy lifestyle in a simplistic way but also how to reverse illness. read more →
Vitamin K, an update on its it’s benefits
Magnesium Info. Instore
Aoife from our most popular magnesium supplment, MAG365, is hosting an instore in Only Natural on Saturday 17th February from 11am to 3pm.
Magnesium is used in over 300 different bodily functions and can help with such things as energy production, building of strong bones and teeth, muscle cramping, headaches, migraines, period pain, restless legs, constipation and racing mind to name just a few! It is also one of the minerals that in today’s society a lot of people lack, especially due to stress and consumption of caffeine and alcohol.
If you would like to know exactly what taking a magnesium supplement might do for you make sure to pop in to have a chat with Aoife on Saturday 14th between 11amn and 3pm.
Medicinal Mushrooms, Ancient Healing for the Modern World
The use of medicinal mushrooms for healing and health enhancement goes back millennia in eastern cultures but relatively little is known about their properties and benefits in the west. Until recently that is, as health scientists have taken a serious interest in their uses and beneficial properties. We’ve just taken on a range in the form of dried mushroom powders and, as we’re keen to recommend them where appropriate, have been doing our research. The Company’s called Om Organic Mushroom Nutrition and they’re based in California. Their remit is to organically grow and minimally process (low temperature drying and powdering) the most potent medicinal mushrooms on the planet. They sell them individually and in combinations. Here’s some information I found on the web on just three of them Reishi, Chaga and Cordyceps.
Reishi
Recipe of the Month – Molasses Oat Bran Cookies
Oats are officially a superfood, they keep you fueled and energized, they keep you feeling full if you want to avoid cravings, they keep your digestion ‘right’ and they even contain compounds to keep you calm.
But what about the oatbran, this is the often quite finely milled outer husk of the oat grain? It’s special properties come from the fact that it’s a type of fiber called ‘soluble fibre’ with unique heart healthy, cholesterol busting properties.
You can simply throw a few tablespoons of oatbran into your granola or yoghurt or indeed you can make porridge from it on its own but with a little imagination it can become the basis for any number of baked delights. We asked Ruth, our in store super baker, for some ideas for oatbran and here’s what she came up with.
These cookies are crunchy and yet chewy in the middle! They are full of flavour from the spices and molasses, balanced out by the sugar. As this is Heart Health month at Only Natural, we decided to combine Oat Bran, a high-fibre food that can lower your cholesterol. We’ve also added molasses, which is rich in Iron.
We’ve used organic unrefined cane sugar as it has been minimally processed and hasn’t been exposed to the damaging pesticides present in conventionally grown sugarcane. Unrefined cane sugar also contains 17 amino acids, 11 minerals and 6 vitamins, including antioxidants that may help reverse oxidative damage.
These cookies are perfect with a cuppa!
Ingredients
165g Wholewheat Flour (use plain gluten-free flour for coeliac friendly version!)
135g Porridge Oats
100g Oat Bran
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ginger
200g organic Unrefined Cane Sugar (e.g. Billingtons)
220ml Rapeseed Oil
1 large Egg
85g Molasses
Flaked Almonds to decorate
Method
In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, oats, oat bran, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, oil, egg and molasses.
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and make sure it’s mixed through before putting in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line three baking trays with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and space them evenly on each cookie sheet. Press down with palm of hand to make half inch thick rounds. Sprinkle tops lightly with flaked almonds. Bake for 7-10 minutes.
Healthy Heart Naturally – more than COQ10 and Fish Oils Supplements?
As Ireland continues on the road to becoming Europe’s most obese nation avoidable deaths and diminished quality of life due to heart disease are still part of our health climate. Better heart health is achievable through lifestyle choices and, where applicable, preventative and remedial supplementation. Coronary heart disease involves damage and narrowing of arteries and veins resulting in the heart having a more difficult job to fulfill its function of pumping blood around the body resulting in an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Firstly reduce your exposure to the risk factors that predispose to heart disease. These include being overweight, smoking, excessive stress, insufficient exercise, raised cholesterol and diabetes.
A heart healthy diet includes lots of whole grains and vegetables, healthy fats from fish and vegetable sources, soluble fibre to both regulate the digestion and reduce cholesterol (oats and oat products like oat bran and oatcakes come to mind here) and heart healthy herbs such as garlic and turmeric.
Hawthorn is a very effective and quick acting remedy for high blood pressure.
If elevated cholesterol is a problem due to lifestyle or hereditary causes Red Yeast Rice (taken with COQ10 which is sometimes included in the supplement), Plant Sterol tablets (Irish made brand Zerochol comes to mind) and Soya Lecithin can all be beneficial.
Nichola on the Radio
Join Nichola this month on The Morning Mix with Alan Corcoran on Friday 24th June at 11.15am. This month Nichola will be talking about Heart Health and what you can do to make sure yours is ticking over smoothly!
Most people know that fish oils and COQ10 are great for a healthy heart but there is so much more you can do so make sure to tune into South East Radio this coming Friday at 11.15am and lets see if we can make your heart sing!
