{"id":203773,"date":"2025-12-27T05:21:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:21:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/203773\/"},"modified":"2025-12-27T05:21:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-27T05:21:08","slug":"dr-libby-heart-racing-heres-what-your-body-might-be-trying-to-tell-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/203773\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Libby: Heart Racing? Here\u2019s What Your Body Might Be Trying To Tell You"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BEST<\/a><\/p>\n

This summer, Viva Premium is revisiting the best and biggest stories of 2025. This article was originally published in June.<\/p>\n

\n We all know that feeling \u2013 a heart that suddenly beats a little too fast. Maybe it happens when you\u2019re lying in bed at night, trying to fall asleep. Or
\n in the middle of a meeting. Or when you\u2019re simply going about your day. It\u2019s easy to jump straight to fear, to wonder if something is wrong with your heart itself. And while it\u2019s always important to seek medical advice if you\u2019re concerned, sometimes a racing heart is not the sign of something sinister. It\u2019s your body trying to get your attention.\n <\/p>\n

You body is giving you important feedback<\/p>\n

Before we dive into the \u201cwhy\u201d, let\u2019s take a moment to acknowledge something important: your body is incredibly wise. It\u2019s constantly working to keep you alive, adapting moment to moment to whatever you\u2019re facing \u2013 even if it doesn\u2019t always feel that way. Symptoms are your body\u2019s language. They\u2019re feedback. They\u2019re invitations to listen more deeply. So what might a racing heart be trying to tell you? <\/p>\n

One of the lesser-known causes of a racing heart, especially in women, is iron deficiency. Iron is critical for the production of haemoglobin, a protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen throughout your body. When iron levels are low, your body struggles to deliver enough oxygen to your tissues. Your heart, sensing this, compensates by beating faster to try to circulate what oxygen there is more quickly. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve also noticed fatigue, shortness of breath on exertion, brain fog, anxiety, or even hair loss, it\u2019s worth exploring whether iron could be playing a role. You don\u2019t have to have full-blown anaemia for these symptoms to occur; even mild depletion can have a profound impact on how you feel. Many people live with low iron for years without realising it, often blaming their symptoms on ageing, stress, or simply being busy. Yet restoring iron levels can transform not just your energy, but your mood, sleep, focus \u2013 and yes, even those unsettling heart palpitations. <\/p>\n

A racing heart and anxiety<\/p>\n

Of course, a racing heart is also one of the hallmark symptoms of anxiety. But anxiety isn\u2019t just \u201cin your head\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s a whole-body experience, deeply rooted in your biochemistry and your nervous system. When you perceive a threat, whether it\u2019s a looming deadline, a difficult conversation, or even a stream of worried thoughts, your body activates the sympathetic nervous system \u2013 the \u201cfight or flight\u201d response. Your heart rate speeds up. Your breathing becomes shallow. Blood is redirected away from digestion toward your periphery, preparing you to run or fight. This response was designed to keep us alive in the face of immediate danger. The challenge today is that for many people, the threat isn\u2019t a lion chasing them \u2013 it\u2019s the relentless, unyielding pace of modern life. And because the stress isn\u2019t quickly resolved, the body stays switched on, often for far longer than it\u2019s meant to. <\/p>\n

The word \u201cstress\u201d is so common now that we sometimes forget what it really means. Stress isn\u2019t just a bad day at work. It\u2019s anything that asks your body to adapt \u2013 an intense workout, a difficult conversation, poor sleep, a blood sugar rollercoaster, unprocessed emotions, even environmental toxins. All of these factors place demands on your system. While the body is wonderfully resilient, stress accumulates if we don\u2019t allow enough recovery time or we don\u2019t replenish it with adequate nourishment. It\u2019s like making too many withdrawals from your energy bank account without enough deposits. Eventually, the body starts to signal that something needs attention \u2013 through symptoms like fatigue, anxiety, digestive issues, low mood, or, you guessed it, a racing heart. <\/p>\n

Key nutrients to consider<\/p>\n

Over time, chronic nervous system activation, often driven by ongoing stress and unresolved anxiety, can deplete key nutrients \u2013 including magnesium, zinc, B vitamins, vitamin C and, importantly, iron. All of these are crucial for emotional steadiness, energy production and healthy heart rhythm regulation. When the body is under constant pressure, it becomes less equipped to stay calm and a racing heart may surface more readily. <\/p>\n

The most important thing to remember is that symptoms are not a sign that your body is broken. They are signs that your body is doing everything it can to communicate with you, asking for attention, support and nourishment. If you experience heart palpitations, it can be helpful to gently explore: could my iron levels be low? Am I relying too heavily on stress hormones to get through the day? Is my nervous system getting opportunities to rest and reset? Am I nourishing myself with foods that support calm and resilience? <\/p>\n

Addressing low iron, supporting your nervous system and managing stress doesn\u2019t have to be complicated. It can be as simple as including iron-containing whole foods<\/a> \u2013 like grass-fed organic meat, lentils, leafy greens and seaweed \u2013 and pairing them with vitamin C-rich foods to enhance absorption. Practising slow, diaphragmatic breathing for even a few minutes each day can help rewire your nervous system toward calm. <\/p>\n

Small changes make a difference<\/p>\n

Prioritising restorative sleep, gentle movement and being mindful of caffeine and alcohol intake can also make a profound difference. Creating small, meaningful moments of joy and spaciousness in your day \u2013 even a few minutes of sunlight on your face or a quiet walk \u2013 can help refill your energy bank account in ways that matter. <\/p>\n

Above all, be compassionate with yourself. Healing \u2013 whether from low iron, stress or anything else \u2013 takes time. Your body is always working for you, never against you. So if your heart is racing, listen. Get curious. Ask what it might need. Often, the answers are far simpler \u2013 and more powerful \u2013 than we realise. <\/p>\n

\"DrDr Libby Weaver.<\/p>\n

Dr Libby Weaver PhD is a nutritional biochemist, 13 times bestselling author and international keynote speaker. For more on supporting yourself inside and out visit Drlibby.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Advice for your wellbeing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This summer, Viva Premium is revisiting the best and biggest stories of 2025. This article was originally published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":203774,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[836,1763,5195,3390,6326,7800,138,1952,2862,26098,13419,1953,5978,111,139,69,105531,8780,3227,3512,124705,6182,14625,18323,1961,61,28355,159,6923,197,1959],"class_list":["post-203773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-836","tag-article","tag-be","tag-best","tag-biggest","tag-body","tag-business","tag-dr","tag-heart","tag-heres","tag-june","tag-libby","tag-might","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-originally","tag-premium","tag-published","tag-racing","tag-revisiting","tag-stories","tag-summer","tag-tell","tag-this","tag-to","tag-trying","tag-viva","tag-what","tag-you","tag-your"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/203774"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}