Empowering Women's Hearts: The Breakthrough Benefits of Zooca® Calanus® Oil

Heart Health: A Foundation for Well-Being

Heart health is a critical aspect of overall well-being, impacting every dimension of life from physical activity and emotional balance to longevity and quality of life. At its core, maintaining a healthy heart involves a combination of lifestyle choices, regular check-ups, and managing risk factors such as high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and stress. The heart, a powerful muscular organ, pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to tissues while removing waste products. Given its vital role, ensuring its proper function through a balanced diet, regular exercise, and avoiding harmful habits like smoking is paramount for preventing heart disease, the leading cause of death globally.

Gender Differences in Heart Health

When focusing specifically on women, heart health takes on additional layers of complexity and importance. Men and women have different biology, and recent studies reveal that heart diseases also play out different between genders1. Despite more women dying of heart disease than men, cardiovascular research around the female body remains limited.

Challenges Unique to Women's Heart Health

First, women live longer than men, and they may often go for a long time with undetected high blood pressure. This can lead to what is called a rigid heart, i.e., a heart with less elasticity and poorer ability to pump blood in and out of the heart. Oestrogen contributes to keep the heart flexible. This advantage decreases with menopause, and both heart and blood vessels pump less efficiently due to stiffening.

Second, the sugar and lipid metabolism are directly modulated by oestrogen and testosterone hormones. Consequently, the menopausal transition, where the impact of oestrogen is lost, is highly associated with an increased central body fat distribution, i.e. the increase of visceral fat mass, often in combination with a reduction in lean body mass (skeletal muscle)2

The Role of Lifestyle in Women's Heart Health

An unhealthy increase in visceral fat mass is concerning because it promotes a pro-inflammatory, hyperlipidaemic and insulin resistant environment. Such an environment contributes and increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This disorder is more often followed by heart complication and mortality for women, than for men.

There are several measures to be made in order to secure a healthy body and a high quality of life despite the lack of support from one’s own hormones. In addition to physical activity, nutrition is a factor that plays an important role for a woman’s metabolic health.

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Advancements in Research: Zooca® Calanus® Oil Study

Considering the importance of women's health, researchers have recently conducted a pure female, placebo controlled, clinical study examining the metabolic impact of Zooca® Calanus® oil in combination with an active life. The study gave valuable insights into the potential benefits of this unique marine oil on women's metabolism, particularly when combined with physical activity.  

Impact of Zooca® Calanus® Oil Supplementation

Zooca® Calanus® oil supplementation resulted in notable differences. The supplemented group experienced improvements in body composition, with a significant reduction in visceral fat area, enhanced maximum heart function marked by nearly 8% increase in both maximum stroke volume and maximum cardiac output, and a 2.7% increase in maximum heart rate. Furthermore, there was a 12.5% increase in whole-body insulin sensitivity (measured as glucose disposal rate) and a substantial improvement in functional strength. Given that skeletal muscle is a primary regulator of blood sugar, the observed stabilization in glucose levels implies a direct enhancement of muscular efficiency and health3-6.

The study found that cardiodynamic function in postmenopausal women improved considerably, impacting both the heart's contractility and the elasticity of blood vessels. As a result, the heart muscle can work harder, become more flexible, and encounter less resistance in the bloodstream.

The combination of exercise training and Zooca® Calanus® oil supplementation offers a promising non-pharmacological approach to women's heart health, particularly since there are limited approaches specifically tailored for women. It provides an accessible, holistic, and personalized strategy that can be used alone or in conjunction with existing strategies to improve cardiovascular outcomes in women.

Concluding thoughts on Heart Health and Women's Well-being

Women with strong cardiovascular systems can enjoy a range of activities, from high-intensity sports to leisurely walks, without undue fatigue or risk of heart-related complications. This physical empowerment may also enhance mental well-being, reducing stress and anxiety, emphasizing the importance of a heart-healthy lifestyle.

The most profound benefit of a healthy heart is the gift of longevity paired with quality of life. Women with healthy hearts are not just living longer; they're living better. They're witnessing milestones, contributing to their communities, pursuing passions, and enjoying the fruits of their labour well into later life.

A healthy heart means a life lived fully, with the freedom and vitality to pursue one's dreams at every stage of life.

 References

  1. Woodward, M. Cardiovascular Disease and the Female Disadvantage. Int J Environ Res Public Health 16 (2019). https://doi.org:10.3390/ijerph16071165
  2. Fenton, A., Smart, C., Goldschmidt, L., Price, V. & Scott, J. Fat mass, weight and body shape changes at menopause – causes and consequences: a narrative review. Climacteric 26, 381-387 (2023). https://doi.org:10.1080/13697137.2023.2178892
  3. Stepan, M. et al. Exercise Training Combined with Calanus Oil Supplementation Improves the Central Cardiodynamic Function in Older Women. Nutrients 14 (2021). https://doi.org:10.3390/nu14010149
  4. Dadova, K. et al. Effect of Calanus Oil Supplementation and 16 Week Exercise Program on Selected Fitness Parameters in Older Women. Nutrients 12 (2020). https://doi.org:10.3390/nu12020481
  5. Cizkova, T. et al. Exercise Training Reduces Inflammation of Adipose Tissue in the Elderly: Cross-Sectional and Randomized Interventional Trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 105 (2020). https://doi.org:10.1210/clinem/dgaa630
  6. Brezinova, M. et al. Exercise training induces insulin-sensitizing PAHSAs in adipose tissue of elderly women. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 1865, 158576 (2020). https://doi.org:10.1016/j.bbalip.2019.158576
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