Two Good Reasons Why February is Heart Health Month

Hello dear friends,

I hope you are doing well. Currently, we are at the end of February, the month associated with the heart. This link of the shortest month of the year to cardiovascular wellness has manifested for two good reasons. Both are related to health!

The first is the most obvious, it’s Valentine’s Day. Although some may feel this day is really a secular conspiracy to increase the profits of greeting card, flower, and chocolate companies, its not. February 14th does have a vast cultural history. As a result, it has become a day to celebrate our loved ones and to bask in the glow of being cared for by others.

So, although this isn’t the cause of healthcare providers’ obsession with our circulatory system in February, Valentine’s Day is in fact related to our heart health. This is because current research has found that thriving relationships offer a protective buffer against cardiovascular disease.

The second and “legit” medical reason February is heart health month is because it was federally designated that way. “American Heart Month” was proclaimed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on December 30,1963 (via Proclamation 3566).

Unfortunately, even though the intent of this national decree was to place more focus on how to keep our hearts thriving every year, it hasn’t been improving our poor cardiovascular health outcomes. In fact, the CDC states that cardiovascular disease continues to be the leading cause of death in the United States. This translates to heart disease killing one person every 33 seconds!

So, what I hope to do in today’s video is to give you some integrative resources to care for your heart. Specifically, we will focus on how relationships and essential oils influence cardiovascular health. We obviously need a new approach, as our conventional one is not producing the desired results.

As always, all of the references I mention will be listed within and at the end of the accompanying post in the resource section.

So, let’s get started.

 

The Power of Relationships on Our Heart

In the introduction, I touched upon how nourishing connections are powerful mediators of our heart health. Not only has current research found that nurturing relationships are linked to better cardiac functions, we also have evidence that perceived isolation is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Therefore, I think it’s pretty darn cool that we have a global holiday that can fuel our beloved organ’s health. That’s if we focus on the true healing value of love in our lives.

Essentially, the feeling of love is a neurobiological process that occurs through modulating our neurotransmitters and the emotional center of our brain. This leads to a chemical cascade that produces various mind-body-heart-soul wellness benefits.

If you want to read more on this topic, I have listed some of my articles that dive into this connection more deeply:

 

Essential Oils for Heart Health

Just like love impacts our mood through influencing our neurological signals and our emotional brain, essential oils do as well. If we draw this parallel, these precious allies can literally stimulate love.

For this reason, as well as many others, these aromatic molecules are one of my favorite holistic tools to promote cardiovascular health. Furthermore, they can also enhance emotional resiliency, stress relief, and hormonal balance for better intimacy skills and stronger relationships.

Along with their mind-body–soul and stress relief benefits, essential oils can additionally support heart health through their biochemical properties. In fact, their molecules mediate various triggers that can lead to poor circulatory function. This is through acting as anti-inflammatory agents and antioxidants, promoting circulatory flow, mediating neurotransmitters and hormones, boosting immune response, and more.

I reviewed more about essential oils and holistic heart health on the Essential Oil Revolution podcast. Along with an overview of all things related to cardiovascular care, I specially discussed how essential oils:

  • address under-recognized triggers of heart issues
  • modulate various heart disease risk factors
  • balance the mind-body-heart connection

I also discussed some of my favorite single essential oils and oil blends that support heart health. You can grab the link to the episode and additional resources here.

 

Summary: The Heart-Brain-Body Link and Essential Oils

Heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death in America. We need an integrative approach that incorporates the mind-body-heart-soul-relationship links with personalized and holistic approaches to the root causes of cardiovascular disease.

In my opinion there are three main areas of focus that we can do immediately:

  • We must foster social connections to truly heal hearts globally. They are as essential for cardiovascular care as lifestyle, supplements, and drugs.
  • Emphasize mind-body approaches, such as essential oils. These can enhance emotional and physical wellness while promoting healthier relationships.
  • Form wellness communities to help people connect to other like-minded individuals with the common goal of optimizing mind-body-heart health.

 

My Community Membership for Holistic Mind-Body-Heart-Soul Medicine

Before we end, I wanted to highlight the last point of emphasis on wellness communities. This is something I have taken seriously. Although there is no replacement for face-to-face interaction, we can leverage technology in a positive way to create more opportunities to connect. This is why I created my own community membership program.

My community program contains continual and exclusive updated information and research on essential oils and holistic health, a discussion forum where you can interact with members, a full essential oils course curriculum, my essential oils database, and more!

Those who subscribe to my community also receive bonus resources and videos available for a limited time. If this resonates with you, you can learn more about this program and the opportunity to be a community member here.

In closing, I want to thank you all so much for taking the time to learn how to nourish and nurture your mind, body, heart, and soul.

I would love to hear from you about your favorite lifestyle practices, mind-body techniques, and essential oils for heart health. Feel free to post them in the comment section. Also, please share what I can do to support you more. Your feedback helps to guide my focus on topics for my blogs and social media.

Sending you many blessings and much love.

 

Resources

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Disclaimer: This material is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe for any illness. You should check with your doctor regarding implementing any new strategies into your wellness regime. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. (Affiliation link.)

This information is applicable ONLY for therapeutic quality essential oils. This information DOES NOT apply to essential oils that have not been tested for purity and standardized constituents. There is no quality control in the United States, and oils labeled as “100% pure” need only to contain 5% of the actual oil. The rest of the bottle can be filled with fillers and sometimes toxic ingredients that can irritate the skin. The studies are not based solely on a specific brand of an essential oil, unless stated. Please read the full study for more information.

Thanks Pixabay and Canva.