Top 5 Tips for a Healthy Heart |
2 Comments |
Heart disease is one of the most common diseases in the world. My maternal grandfather died of heart disease at a very young age. He is far from being alone. Every year, heart disease claims millions of lives of both men and women. However, by improving your lifestyle, you can avoid unhealthy habits and can prevent heart disease. Here is what you can do today:
1. Stop Smoking
If you smoke or chew tobacco, one of the best ways to improve the health of your heart is to quit. There is no healthy amount of smoking and no way to be a “healthier smoker” even with smokeless tobacco or light cigarettes. Dubbing cigarettes “light” is just the cigarette company’s way of targeting conscious but un-informed smokers and making them believe they are being healthier, but they are not. Especially if you have heart disease in your family, quitting it the best thing you can do for yourself.
2. Exercise
Exercise is one of the best ways to improve the heart. Especially cardiovascular exercise will improve the condition of your heart. Regular physical activity including jogging, running, swimming, tennis, basketball or other activities that raise your heart rate, all can reduce your risk of a heart attack or other heart diseases by nearly 25%. This is a very significant reduction in risk.
3. Eat “your heart-out”
But in a good way. A heart healthy diet is very important for cardiovascular health. In fact, just eating a good diet can lead to lower blood pressure and can help lower your risk for heart disease. The best foods to eat for your heart are antioxidant foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low fat dairy products, and legumes. Eating foods that are nutrient rich means foods that aren’t necessarily high in calories, but have excellent sources of nutrients. It is also important to avoid certain foods. Especially ones that are high in trans or saturated fats. These clog the arteries.
4. Stay Slim
Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for heart health. Obesity seriously increases your risk of heart disease. Following the steps above will help you maintain a healthy body weight. Consult a physician about weight loss if need be. It’s working for Weight Ladder.
5. Get checkups
Even though I’m afraid of doctors, I recognize that regular checkups are important for making sure you are staying on track with your health. The most important things to have checked regularly are blood pressure and cholesterol. These are two indicative signs of your heart health. Schedule appointments with your doctor every six to twelve months to help ensure that you are of good health.
If you follow all the above you will be putting yourself in position to live a longer life.
Featured Information
This post deals with:health, heart, heart disease
... and focuses on:Longevity
StumbleUpon
Reddit
Digg
Del.icio.us
PropellerNext: Exercise for kids
June 11th, 2008 at 3:43 am
Thank you for giving 5 tips for healthy heart. Firstly quit smoking is the helpful for the strong health.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:20 am
In reference to your advice on avoiding saturated fats please recall that the research on which the lipid hypothesis for pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, aka heart disease, is based upon on shows a connection between some foods containing saturated fats and heart disease. Specifically there is a connection between red meat consumption and heart disease.
One need look no further than the mixed effect of fresh palm oil on heart health to recognize that heart health is not quite as simple as “avoid saturated fat.” The medium chain fatty acids found in fresh palm oil and coconut have profoundly different effects on our bodies as opposed to the long chain fatty acids found in animal based foods.
I think a better strategy than trying to avoid saturated fat is avoiding animal based and processed foods.