Heart Health: Why Your Heart Deserves Attention and How Harding Holistics Can Help.

Your heart works tirelessly every day, pumping life-sustaining blood and nutrients throughout your body. It’s a powerhouse organ that rarely gets the attention it deserves—until something goes wrong. At Harding Holistics, we believe in taking a proactive, holistic approach to heart health, combining state-of-the-art technology and high-quality supplements to help your heart thrive.

Why Heart Health Matters

The health of your heart directly impacts your overall well-being. The rate, rhythm, and tone of your heart—key indicators of its performance—can reveal a lot about your current health and even predict future concerns. Addressing these factors early can prevent complications and optimize your body’s natural functions.

The Heart Sound Recorder: A Window into Your Heart

One of the most innovative tools we use at Harding Holistics is the Heart Sound Recorder (HSR). This non-invasive test measures the rate, rhythm, and tone of your heart, providing valuable insight into its function.

• Rate: How fast your heart beats can indicate stress, nutrient deficiencies, or other health concerns.

• Rhythm: Irregular heart rhythms may point to imbalances that need to be addressed.

• Tone: The strength and quality of your heartbeats reflect the overall health and vitality of your heart muscle.

Dr. John, who has probably looked at more HSR graphs than most people have had cups of coffee, brings a wealth of experience to the table. With thousands of graphs analyzed, consultations with other doctors, and a knack for translating squiggly lines into actionable advice, he’s helped support people with everything from palpitations to anxiety, arrhythmias, bundle branch blocks, and blood pressure concerns.

The Healing Power of Nutrition: Supplements for Heart Support

At Harding Holistics, we emphasize the role of nutrition in supporting a healthy heart. Here are some of our go-to supplements:

• Cataplex B by Standard Process: This powerhouse supplement provides essential B vitamins to support energy production, nerve health, and proper cardiovascular function. B vitamins help maintain healthy circulation and reduce the effects of stress on the heart.  The B vitamins that are found in beef liver convert mechanical energy into electrical energy which help with nerve conductivity.    

• Cardio Plus by Standard Process: A blend of essential nutrients and antioxidants, Cardio Plus supports heart muscle function, strengthens blood vessels, and promotes optimal cardiovascular health. It’s an excellent choice for anyone looking to nourish their heart at a cellular level.

• Cardiotrophin PMG by Standard Process: This specialized supplement contains unique proteins and peptides designed to support the heart’s cellular integrity and overall function. It’s an excellent option for maintaining a strong and healthy heart.

• MediHerb’s Hawthorn: Known as nature’s heart tonic, hawthorn has been used for centuries to strengthen the heart, improve circulation, and support healthy blood pressure. This herbal remedy is a gentle yet powerful way to enhance cardiovascular resilience.

How Harding Holistics Can Help

Our holistic approach combines advanced diagnostic tools, nutritional support, and chiropractic care to support and optimize your heart health. We use the Heart Sound Recorder to identify any irregularities and develop a tailored plan that may include dietary changes, high-quality supplements, and therapies to improve your heart’s function.

At Harding Holistics, we’re here to empower you with the tools and knowledge you need to take control of your heart health. By addressing imbalances early and holistically, we can help you live a healthier, more vibrant life.

Take Action for Your Heart Today

Don’t wait for warning signs to show up. Your heart works hard for you every second of every day, and it deserves the best care. Schedule a visit with Harding Holistics to experience the benefits of the Heart Sound Recorder and our comprehensive heart health support. Together, we can ensure your heart stays strong, steady, and resilient for years to come.

- Dr. John

It’s getting cold

We are entering a season of increased treats, more time spent inside, less sunlight, decreased physical activity, increased stress, and more sickness. The good news is we can do a lot to help fortify our body and improve our health. Time to start thinking of “food as medicine.”

One of the strangest things with the typical American diet is that we are overfed yet undernourished. We have an abundance of calories, yet that food has relatively little nutritional value. This time of year treats are in abundance - both food and beverage. Food can be a tremendous healer or a slow poison. Eat real food: meat, fruits, vegetables, cheese, yogurt, butter, olive oil, nuts. The base of what you eat should be real food. Challenge yourself and switch to a whole food diet, or a Mediterranean diet, or a Paleo diet. One of my favorite things is sitting together as a family and sharing a meal. It is common for my family to cook and eat together. Our meals are high protein. We make soups, bone broths, beef chilis, everything with lots of protein. We work hard to limit our sugar intake and treats. We enjoy going trick or treating. Visiting friends, walking around for 90 minutes, and sorting through the spoils of the evening. We pass out apples and rubber duckies instead of candy. I make sure our Halloween candy disappears. This is because I have the most difficult time with sweets. If sweets are around, I will eat them. It is much easier for me to get rid of them once than be tempted every time I walk by the “treat cabinet” at home.

As the weather cools sports and activities move indoors. In Ohio sunlight becomes scare and we begin to pile on layers of clothing. Sunlight is not reaching our skin. We need to supplement with vitamin D. My family supplements with Cataplex D and Cod Liver Oil. Cod Liver Oil contains the omega-3 fatty acid DHA, is a natural source of vitamin D, as well as the antioxidant vitamin A.

As physical activity decreases, so does our health. Because of colder weather and decreased daylight we find ourselves spending more time indoors. There is less outside work to be done. It is not as enjoyable to walk or exercise alone in the dark. Find something to keep you moving. Meet up with a workout group, go to a gym, start a daily stretching routine, try yoga, or put on extra clothes and go outside for a walk. Limit technology, have conversations, connect with others. Instead of sitting around and watching devices, play games, tell stories, read, or do a family workout (planks, pushups, air squats, stretching). Come over to our house and enjoy our wood burning stove!

The season of consumerism can be very stressful. We spend a lot of time trying to spoil our kids, our loved ones, our friends. Instead try investing in experiences or time with your loved ones. Trust me, everyone will appreciate a connection more than a gift. It is a great time of year to start a meditation practice. Breath work is calming.

I hope this provides you with a new idea or a spark to motivate. Please share your successes. I want you to be strong and healthy. If you start to get sick or want to fortify your body we have lots of great immune support in the office.

Happy November!

Protein

There is a lot of information out there about the correct amount of protein to consume, how much protein you should take at one time, and what happens to the extra. Each one of us is different so things will vary. However, too many people do not consume enough protein. Increasing your protein consumption provides sustained energy for longer periods of time, it decreases your hunger and cravings, protein builds muscle, it improves sleep, boosts metabolism, protein supports brain cognition, it allows you to build an intermittent fasting window (maybe going to 1 meal a day), protein helps your body repair itself, and the list goes on.

My recommendation is 1 gram of protein per pound of ideal body weight. Take me for example. My ideal weight is 180 pounds - so I work toward eating 180 grams of protein per day, usually I get more, sometimes less. Here is the protein I ate yesterday: 1 Pure Paleo beef broth protein shake = 40 grams of protein. 12 oz serving of Fage 5% plain greek yogurt = 36 grams of protein. 1 can of Wild Planet Albacore wild tuna = 31 grams of protein. 1 pound of 80:20 ground beef (burgers) = 78 grams of protein. Cheddar cheese for my burgers, 3 ounces of cheddar cheese = 22 grams of protein. This is a total of 207 grams of protein. I also ate some fruit, pickles, ketchup, roasted potatoes, and Haagen Dazs mint chocolate chip ice cream.

4 days per week I do CrossFit style workouts, high intensity training with weight lifting. The other 3 days my workouts are less intense (walking, stretching). I fast for 20-24 hours on the days I don’t lift weights, I go from dinner to dinner without eating. On my fasting days I eat one big meal - typically lots of meat plus fruit, cheese, and yogurt. I consume 180+ grams of protein in a single sitting. Some believe that is too much protein at one time. Is it? No. Because, the protein I am eating is from whole foods. Whole food proteins (beef, venison, eggs, cheese, etc.) contain macronutrients which slow down absorption. Whole food proteins are slowly absorbed over hours. For example, a cooked egg has a protein absorption rate of 3 grams per hour. So, 4 cooked eggs containing approximately 24 grams of protein will be absorbed over 8 hours. Slower absorption reduces the oxidation of amino acids produced, resulting in improved whole body protein availability and balance.

The flip side of slow absorbing proteins are fast acting proteins, such as whey protein. Whey protein has an absorption rate of 10 grams per hour. The quick breakdown of whey protein allows rapid availability of amino acids which can spike muscle protein synthesis. Yet, you will have increased oxidation of the amino acids produced and less efficient whole body protein synthesis. A study from Areta et al. showed the distribution of 20 grams of whey protein every 3 hours “has the potential to maximize outcomes of resistance training for attaining peak muscle mass.” This is where the maximum protein absorption of 20-25 grams comes from. If you are body building this is where you want to be. For the rest of us whole food protein is where we want to be.

The majority of us, those looking to improve ones health, increase performance, achieve high levels of functioning, should work toward consuming 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Put your focus on protein. The rule in my house is protein 1st, just ask my kids. Which brings up another point: dealing with children can be a challenge! We just have to be a little more creative. Burgers for breakfast. Good quality whole food protein shakes, Protein smoothies. Full fat milk and cheese. Beef sticks. Tuna fish. Sardines. Bacon and eggs. Start thinking of cereal as a dessert food. I am not against carbs. They taste delicious and are easy to consume. However, it is too easy to become a carboholic. Increase your protein and watch your energy, mental clarity, and strength take off.

Steak and eggs for everyone!

Two journal articles for further knowledge.

1.) Areta JL, Burke LM, Ross ML, Camera DM, West DW, Broad EM, Jeacocke NA, Moore DR, Stellingwerff T, Phillips SM, Hawley JA, Coffey VG. Timing and distribution of protein ingestion during prolonged recovery from resistance exercise alters myofibrillar protein synthesis. J Physiol. 2013 May 1;591(9):2319-31. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.2012.244897. Epub 2013 Mar 4. PMID: 23459753; PMCID: PMC3650697.

2.) Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA. How much protein can the body use in a single meal for muscle-building? Implications for daily protein distribution. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2018 Feb 27;15:10. doi: 10.1186/s12970-018-0215-1. PMID: 29497353; PMCID: PMC5828430.

Positive Affirmations

Whether you think you can, or think your can’t, your are correct. It really is mental. Here are some of my favorite affirmations which help move me to a positive mindset.

• I am filled with love and kindness.

• Abundance is all around me, flowing to me and through me.

• I am strong and confident.

• I make great things happen.

• I am full of joy and love.

• I am in control.

• I am intentional in my thoughts and actions.

• Great things happen to me.

• I am grateful and blessed.

• I am proud of who I am.

• I am peaceful and full of ease.

Please add to this list, customize the list for you. I recite these while driving to work and in the evening before bed. Positive affirmations fill me with gratitude, improve my mindset, and set a positive tone for the next day. May they help you in ways you did not realize.

Have a great day,

Dr. John

Chiropractor. Owner of Harding Holistics. Neuro-muscluoskeletal specialist.

Four easy things you can do to change your LIFE, in 30 days.

1. Get adjusted. Your nervous system is in charge of everything you do. Getting adjusted directly impacts your nervous system. Your spine is your body’s circuit breaker box, if a breaker is thrown, power to an area is compromised. The journal article Neurophysiological effects of spinal manipulation, by Pickar, JG in the Sep-Oct 2002 journal Spine shows this to be true. “One mechanism underlying the effects of spinal manipulation may, therefore, be the manipulation's ability to alter central sensory processing by removing subthreshold mechanical or chemical stimuli from paraspinal tissues. Spinal manipulation is also thought to affect reflex neural outputs to both muscle and visceral organs. Substantial evidence demonstrates that spinal manipulation evokes paraspinal muscle reflexes and alters motoneuron excitability.”

2. Eat real food. Eat items with minimal ingredients. For example an apple is an apple - blueberries, beef, chicken, fish, rice, sweet potato, beet root, cheese, yogurt, honey, etc. Eliminate seed oils, processed foods, food dyes, additives, colorings, corn syrup, and any food you think you may be sensitive to. Ask yourself, do I have to run to the bathroom soon after I eat? Do I have brain fog after I eat? Click here for my “How to determine your food sensitivity at home.”

3. Sleep. Set a consistent sleep time and wake up time. Get 8 hours per night. Sleep is recovery. Think you need less, baloney! Check out Matthew Walker PhD’s book, Why We Sleep: unlocking the power of sleep and dreams. For those of you that know me, most days I go to bed at 8:30 pm and wake up between 4:30 and 5:30.

4. Move. Move it or lose it. Exercise, especially strength training, improves hormone production, lowers blood pressure, improves cardiovascular health, slows neurological degeneration (think dementia, Parkinson’s), improves strength, reduces ones risk of injury from a fall, and is a great way to spend time with friends.

Stop thinking of health as something you do for others. Think of it as payment to yourself.

“I owe it to myself to get adjusted.”

“I owe it to myself to eat only real food.”

“I owe it to myself to get 8 hours of sleep.”

“I owe it to myself to go for a walk.”

Turn off the television, get off social media, and you will find more than enough time to to put these into practice. I know, because I have done it.

Love,

Dr. John

Chiropractor. Owner of Harding Holistics. Neuro-muscluoskeletal specialist.