Dietary Advice for Maintaining Cardiovascular health

Vegepa pure omega-3 EPA capsules boost cardio fitness

Cardiorespiratory fitness is the efficiency of the heart, lungs, and vascular system in delivering oxygen to the working muscle tissues so that prolonged physical work can be maintained. In sport it is essential to maintain cardiorespiratory fitness in order to sustain muscular endurance - without which we wouldn’t be able to undergo strenuous activity for very long at all. As well as incorporating cardiorespiratory training into your conditioning programme, athletes benefit from introducing purified fish oils into their diet. The omega-3 EPA, in particular, provides a multitude of health-enhancing properties but especially relevant to the athlete are those which help to support and strengthen the cardiovascular system. Scientific studies indicate that the cardio supporting properties of EPA include:

• Maintaining the elasticity of blood vessels and improving blood flow
• Lowering blood triglycerides (fatty deposits in the blood) making blood more fluid and less prone to clotting
• Reducing LDL cholesterol in the blood, thereby decreasing the formation of atherosclerotic plaque in the arteries
• A positive effect on blood pressure

Try to incorporate a variety of heart-healthy foods into your diet, following these tips:

• Eat plenty of antioxidant-rich fruit and vegetables, preferably organic. Modern intensive farming methods place too much importance on high yields, often resulting in produce which is nutrient-deficient. Reports suggest that fruit and vegetables farmed 50 years ago (before the mass use of chemicals and pesticides) contained more nutrients than those mass-produced today. Organic oranges, for example, although often half the size of ordinary oranges, can contain up to 30% more vitamin C. Especially antioxidant-rich fruit include pomegranates and raspberries, which contain rare ellagitannins, helping to detoxify the chemicals we breathe from pollution.
• Increase your intake of omega-rich nuts, including walnuts and almonds. Almonds are renowned for their content of monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamin E and polyphenols, culminating in blood pressure-lowering and cholesterol-regulating benefits.
• Swap vegetable oil for olive oil. Known for its cardio-protective properties, extra-virgin olive oil contains polyphenols - botanical substances which guard against oxidative damage caused by free radicals.
• Avoid deep-fried foods and most ready-made cakes and pastries as these often include hydrogenated fats (or ‘trans fats’). These are chemically altered fats designed to increase the shelf life of products but they have detrimental effects on health - so much so that several countries have banned their use.

The benefits of EPA are partly due to its conversion in the body into a series of hormone-like substances called eicosanoids; these eicosanoids are involved in many physiological processes including regulating inflammation, fluid balance and blood-clotting.

For more information on workout regimes to boost all aspects of your cardiorespiratory fitness visit our Cardiorespiratoy Endurance page.