Question: Can you share a bit about who you are, your career and how you became so passionate about integrative medicine and heart health?
A: Happy to. I’m a board-certified cardiologist and doctor of internal medicine. I also have certifications in nutrition, bioenergetic psychotherapy and anti-aging medicine. I began my career as an attending physician at Manchester Memorial Hospital, where I later became Chief of Cardiology. Afterwards, I went on to found the New England Heart Center, which focuses on integrative cardiology.
I chose an integrative path because my biggest frustration as a conventional doctor was that I kept seeing the same patients coming back over and over—no one really seemed to get well. That’s why I started using complementary nutritional therapies to support the heart and true wellness. At that time (almost 40 years ago), I began using Coenzyme Q-10 (CoQ10) with my patients and started seeing positive results. CoQ10 is very powerful and I saw firsthand what a difference it made in my patients’ lives.
Question: CoQ10 is one of the ingredients in your supplement line, but there are other ingredients as well. How did you determine what other ingredients to include in your Omega Q Plus line? What makes your Omega Q Plus products so unique?
A: While trying to incorporate the strengths of conventional medicine with the benefits of holistic therapies, I realized that not all supplements were created equal. So, when I started developing supplements back in the early 1990s, I knew that they had to include CoQ10. And I knew I had to pair it with Omega-3s, because they are critical for your heart. Then I started adding my other go-to ingredients for heart health.
I started formulating supplements because I couldn’t find anything on the market that did what I wanted; nothing combined my “essential” nutrients for supporting heart health in the dosages and forms based on my 40 years of clinical experience and research. I wanted to create products that would support all of the important heart health markers—healthy cholesterol, blood pressure, blood flow, cellular energy, blood sugar, a healthy inflammatory response and healthy aging.
What makes my omega fatty acid products so special is that they include the ingredients I’ve found to be critical for supporting cardiovascular health, all in one place. Plus, these advanced heart health supplements don’t just address one or two top heart health concerns, but multiple factors.
This is so important because I often find that people are struggling with more than one heart health concern. These formulas are comprehensive in that they are designed to support markers of heart health—healthy blood pressure, blood flow, C-reactive protein (a key heart health marker), cholesterol or triglycerides or a combination of these concerns, and the list goes on. Addressing these things can lead to a better heart checkup.
Plus, these products supply brain, eye, healthy cell aging and cellular energy support, too! To get all of this in one formula is truly remarkable. That’s why I’m so excited to share them with you.
Related Reading: CONFRONT CHOLESTEROL AND FOCUS ON HEART HEALTH
Question: You talk a lot of CoQ10. Can you share more about how it can support heart health?
A: I could talk about CoQ10 all day long – it’s my #1 nutrient for heart health. I could not have practiced effective cardiology without CoQ10. It’s THAT important. A CoQ10 supplement is what I call the “wonder nutrient” that resides in the mitochondria, which are the tiny “energy factories” that reside inside each of your cells. CoQ10 is critical for your cells to generate ATP, which is used to make the energy that powers all your body’s processes. This is particularly important for your heart muscle—a muscle that requires huge amounts of oxygen and energy to function.
CoQ10 is also a potent antioxidant and a free radical scavenger, which can help protect the cells throughout your body. This is important because as your cellular energy levels increase, free radical production increases, and it is important to address the free radicals that are a byproduct of increased energy production.
Plus, if you are taking a statin drug, CoQ10 may be recommended because statin drugs may deplete your CoQ10 levels. Supplementing with CoQ10 can help to replenish those levels. In fact, if you are on a statin drug and over the age of 50, I recommend supplementing with at least 100 mg of the ubiquinone form of CoQ10, . But keep in mind, CoQ10 is not a replacement for a statin drug and you should always consult your doctor before taking any supplements or discontinuing any medications when taking CoQ10.
Question: Omega Q Plus is a combination of multiple ingredients known to play a role in heart health. Now let’s discuss one of the main ingredients – Omega-3s. Why are these fatty acids important to include in your diet?
A: Omega-3 essential fatty acids are my second go-to nutrient for hearth health and overall health. They support so much. I’ve said over and over again, if I was stranded on a desert island, I would want a few cases of CoQ10 and Omega-3s to be washed ashore. But it’s not enough to just get Omega-3s—you need the right type and the right balance of fatty acids.
There are two types of Omega-3s that play major roles in good health: docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Your body needs DHA and EPA Omega-3s for heart and vision support. Yet, as essential as Omega-3s are for your health, your body can’t manufacture them in sufficient quantities so you need to get them through foods or supplements that are high in DHA and EPA. Depending on your diet, it may be harder to get DHA from diet alone than it is to get EPA, which is why supplementation is so key. Both DHA and EPA support so many aspects of cardiovascular health: healthy blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides and C-reactive protein (a key marker of heart health). While both EPA and DHA are important for you, as a cardiologist I feel DHA is critical for heart and overall health.
My recommended Omega-3 is CalaMarine® oil because of the balance of DHA to EPA. CalaMarine oil comes from calamari (deep-sea squid) and is richer in DHA than ordinary fish oil. It is also a superior source of DHA and EPA. Plus, since CalaMarine oil is not from fish, you won’t get those nasty fishy burps or fishy aftertaste.
From a dietary standpoint, fatty fishes can be good sources of DHA Omega-3s, including wild-caught salmon, herring, small Atlantic halibut and mackerel. Foods like enriched eggs, flaxseed, nuts and seeds also supply DHA Omega-3 benefits for brain health, but it’s tough to get all you need from food sources alone, so that’s why I recommend taking a good Omega-3 supplement as well.
Question: One of the newest ingredients that you’ve added to your formulas is Crominex® 3+? In fact, you call it a “secret weapon.” What is it and how does it work?
A: Crominex 3+ chromium is (hands down!) one of the most important nutrient discoveries for your heart since CoQ10…and I don’t say this lightly. I’ve been following the emerging research extremely closely. But before I get to that, I want to explain what it is.
Crominex 3+ is a special form of chromium, an essential mineral your body needs—but can be a tough one to get enough of. It’s often difficult to get enough of it in your diet, and can be poorly absorbed…especially if you have digestive issues.
One of the biggest problems with chromium supplements is that your body changes it from the T-form your body needs, to the H-form which is unusable by your body.
But a group of researchers found a way to combine chromium with Amla (Indian gooseberry), plus, they combined it with purified shilajit. This is a nutritional “home run”—and the proof is in the research.
Multiple clinical studies have also been completed on this novel form of chromium making it the perfect form to include with the heart health ingredients featured in my scientifically formulated products. Also it is involved in the metabolism of glucose and is involved in normal glucose utilization—a critical and often overlooked factor in cardiovascular health.
Question: All of your products contain the same core heart heath ingredients (CoQ10, Omega-3s, Crominex®3+ chromium, B vitamins and L-carnitine), but two of your products also include resveratrol. Why did you decide to include resveratrol in these formulas?
A: I’m sure you’ve heard of resveratrol—the “red wine” antioxidant that’s renowned for its support in cell aging. But what really impresses me are the cardiovascular benefits resveratrol brings to the table. Resveratrol helps protect against free radicals—those molecules that destroy healthy cells, damage tissue and promote cell aging. So, to me, as a cardiologist and anti-aging specialist, whenever I can find a nutrient that protects against free radicals and supports heart health, I’m all in. That’s why I love resveratrol.
Question: Your Omega Q Plus MAX also includes turmeric. What is turmeric and why did you decide to formulate one of your products with it?
A: Turmeric is an ancient bright-yellow spice used in Ayurvedic medicine, an Indian form of healing. To most people in India, the tasty, bright-yellow spice, turmeric, is affectionately known as “the kitchen queen” because it is such a staple spice in cooking. It’s the main spice in any curry dish and has long been one of my favorite spices in a heart-healthy diet plan. Why? Because turmeric supplements contains a powerful antioxidant called curcumin. As a cardiologist, I believe having a healthy inflammatory response is one of THE most important things in maintaining heart and overall health. And thanks to growing research, we now know that turmeric is great for supporting this.
Question: There’s more to heart health than supplements alone, though. Can you share some other important lifestyle habits that can support a healthy heart?
A: If I could, I would sit with you for an hour and tell you exactly how to keep your heart healthy. I’d explain that it’s not as complicated as you may think and that it’s a lot easier to keep your heart healthy than to repair it after damage has been done.
Here are a few important lifestyle tips for keeping your heart healthy. First, follow a heart-healthy diet. I’m a big believer in what I call the Pan-Asian Modified Mediterranean (PAMM) diet. It’s a combination of the diet followed by the people on the Greek island of Crete (also known as the Mediterranean diet) and a diet common among people living on the Asian side of the Pacific Rim—and I believe it truly is the “secret sauce” for better heart health.
The PAMM diet includes fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, precious olive oil and nuts. Meat is used sparingly, often just enough for flavoring. Healthy fats like olive and avocado are also part of the diet. What makes both of these diets good for heart health is that they are rich in folic acid and Omega-3 fats, which are good for a healthy blood cholesterol and blood pressure, as well as heart health.
Another important thing you can do for your heart and overall health is exercise. No other healthy heart tip has such an immediate and long-lasting impact on your heart health and general well-being as regular exercise. Even simple exercises can help strengthen your heart and circulatory system, build stamina and improve your state of mind. When people ask me for the best exercise to maintain a healthy heart, my answer is always the same: “The kind you’ll keep doing day in and day out.”
A third key lifestyle tip is to get adequate sleep! While it may require a few healthy heart lifestyle changes, I encourage you to get 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night.
And lastly, I strongly recommend grounding, or earthing, that simply requires you to walk outside barefoot. It sounds simple, but I strongly believe the benefits can be incredible when it comes to how to keep your heart healthy. I ground every day and I recommend everyone does as well!
