Heart Health: Which Fats Are Good for the Heart?

By Melanie Woods

Hardly a day goes by without the nutrient 'fat' making a headline or two. How come? Eating too much fat is now widely recognised and linked to heart-health. How do we know which fats are healthier and which ones to eat less of? Is all fat bad for us?

Eating too much fat can lead to obesity. Eating too little fat can under-nourish us. What is the right balance of fat? Firstly, fats are actually a nutrient that are included in one of the main food groups and are part of a balanced diet. But there are many different types of fats available and it can sometimes be confusing to know which ones to buy and which fats to eat less of.

Solid Fats, Liquid Fats

Have you noticed how chilled butter and most cheeses are solid, that you need a knife to cut them? Well what you are cutting through is basically a solid wall of fat. The same is true for ice-cream, you need a scoop to extract it from the tub as it too contains a high percentage of solid fat.

Solid fat is solid at room temperature and is also known as saturated fat. It includes: cream, cheese, full-fat milk, the skin of chicken, bacon rind, the white streaky bits in ham and meats and butter.

Cakes, biscuits and chocolate sweets are usually high in saturated fat content also. So any foods that are made with hard cheeses, full-fat milk and cream may also be high in saturated fat content.

Saturated fats are useful in small amounts and provide warmth and protection for some of our vital organs like the adrenal glands. But let's say that a person eats large doses of saturated fats and carbohydrates over long periods of time, with little or no exercising and spends most of their day sitting down, well then this person may start to increase their weight as unused fats and carbs will be stored.

Saturated fats have developed a bad name for themselves, as when they are eaten in large quantities they have become linked to contributing towards thickening arterial walls.

Heart-Healthy Fats

Some fats have become known as the so-called 'good fats.' These are known as the unsaturated fats or ones which are liquid at room temperature. This includes olive oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, walnut oil, peanut oil and soya oil to name a few. Any oil that is basically a liquid at room temperature is considered to be one of the healthier oils. These are usually known as the vegetable oils and they are rich in so called fatty acids.

Unsaturated fats are linked to being heart-healthy. It is widely recognised that eating less saturated fatty acids helps to support cholesterol reduction and thus helps to support a healthy heart. Vegetable oils tend to be high in Omega 3 and Omega 6, both of which are considered to be heart-healthy fatty acids.

Read the Labels in Supermarkets!

If you want to find out the fat content of the food you buy contains, start by looking at the labels in supermarkets. Nearly all labels now have the fat content of the foods listed. So it is easy to see how much fat the food contains and now also most labels will say 'Low' or 'Reduced Fat.' So if you think you need to cut down on the amount of fat you eat, then check with the labels as this really can make a difference to how much you digest.

Essential fatty acids are vital for healthy metabolism but cannot be produced in the body, so it is essential that they are supplied through the diet. Essential fatty acids include Omega-3 which supports a healthy heart and blood vessels. Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are both essential fatty acids.

Yoga Teacher Training: Heart Health

By Faye Martins


Of all the ailments we cover in yoga instructor training, cardiovascular disease and cancer are two that most of us know a little about. In many families, one of those two ailments has claimed the lives of family members. You can't ignore the importance of preventative maintenance, when it comes down to your family medical history.

Yoga is an ancient healing art based on seven major chakras that correspond with various parts of the human body. The fourth chakra, also known as the heart chakra, includes the heart, upper back and upper chest. The middle chakra, it represents love and compassion, acting as the "center" or point of integration for our physical and emotional experiences.

Even medical science now recognizes a condition called stress cardiomyopathy, or "broken heart syndrome," that stems from sudden, extreme emotional trauma. Other ailments resulting from a blocked heart chakra include feelings of loneliness or the inability to forgive and empathize with other people. Physical manifestations include breathing-related disorders, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Back bending asanas literally "open the heart," both physically and emotionally. While practitioners teach that self-acceptance and compassion are universal healers, they also recommend asanas to keep the heart healthy. For maximum benefit, any Yoga training session should include pranayama and meditation in addition to physical exercise.

Asanas for a Healthy Heart

• Lying stretches that arch the back over a support, such as a folded blanket

• Arm and shoulder stretches, such as Child's Pose or Upward Facing Dog

• Backbends that lower the heart and encourage deep breathing, such as Cobra Pose

• Forward bends, such as Big-Toe Bend

• Poses that release pent-up emotions, such as Warrior, Camel or Pigeon Pose

• Seated twists that stretch the spine and rid the body of toxins and tension

In 2004, Yale University School of Medicine released data showing that Yoga lowers pulse rate, blood pressure, and risk of heart disease. Other experts agree. According to authorities at the Institute for Behavioral Medicine at Ohio State University, these benefits may result largely from the meditative component of Yoga.

More recently, however, "Harvard Health Publications" cited evidence that the actual routine of getting in and out of asanas gently exercises the body's muscles. Anything, they say, that benefits the muscles will also improve the function of the heart and blood vessels and helps to control insulin too. Besides, yogic breathing is deeper and slower than normal breathing rates. As a result, it temporarily lowers blood pressure and halts the release of stress hormones. While more research is needed, the use of asanas for heart health looks promising.

Side notes for Yoga Teachers

If you didn't cover this in your yoga teacher training, be prepared for students who have heart conditions to come to your classes. Many of the precautions are similar to high blood pressure and stroke. Therefore, make sure your yoga student's have their physicians approval to begin taking classes. As a Yoga teacher, you have the right to insist on a doctor's note. Make sure you add a warning to your waiver form.

Some of our students ignore medical advice, but if you decided to become a yoga instructor you want to gently point students with pre-exising medical conditions in the right direction. As Paul has often mentioned: "We safely guide our students with yoga instruction, but if they don't want to listen, show them the door." That may sound harsh, but who is to blame, if a person with a pre-existing medical condition is hurt in our class? Do you feel like the law is unclear? You might think people should be responsible for their own health, but the law is never clear. Needless to say, heart patients should be in Restorative classes and stay out of the hot Yoga classes.