How To Look After Your Heart
Good health is probably at the forefront of everyone’s minds right now. It’s easy to be discouraged especially if daily life is suffering major disruption right now! Why not, instead, look at it as an opportunity to make some lifestyle changes. Here are a few tremendous heart-friendly lifestyle changes you can make that will keep your ticker, in tip-top shape.
Say Bye-Bye To Bad Fats
Fats are essential to have in your diet, but not all fats are good for you. Try and reduce the number of saturated fats that you eat. This means avoiding highly processed foods and foods high in butter, or beef and pork fat. The good news is that cheese is good fat, so you don’t have to give up your cheese on toast.. but lets not over do it.
Eat Less Salt
Studies have shown that people who have high salt diets suffer from more heart disease. This doesn’t mean that salt is the enemy. A little salt in your diet is actually essential. However, lots of processed foods and ready meals have too much salt in them. Check the packaging carefully; it is recommended not to have more than 6g of salt per day.
Get Your Five Or More A Day
Remember that five a day is actually the minimum you should aim for. Medical professionals want you to eat at least seven portions. But they thought telling people that would scare them off from even trying! Why not take that as a challenge and prove them wrong?
Get Your Omegas In
Omega 3 has many health benefits, and many people don’t get enough of this brain-boosting oil. So either get more fish, flaxseeds, walnuts and soybeans in your diet or find a supplement like Udo’s Choice Ultimate Oil Blend, which is a vegan-friendly Omega 3,6 and 9 supplement.
Stop Smoking
You already know this. If you're a smoker, it’s time to stop. If you are vaping with nicotine products, then you need to start cutting down on these too. The nicotine makes your heart work harder than it needs to, and that is just plain bad for you. We get that stopping is hard, but every cigarette you don’t smoke is a positive step.
Avoid Too Much Alcohol
There have been mixed messages about alcohol and heart health. But, like most things, it comes down to moderation. Drink in moderation and your heart will thank you for it. If you drink enough to be suffering in the morning, then you’ll be damaging your heart as well.
Stay active
Exercise is the most clean-cut way to improve your heart health. To get the best results, you need to do some activity that gets your heart working every day. You don’t need to take up marathon running; you just need to be aware of being active. At the moment, it can be easy to sink into bad habits and get a little lazy. But being indoors is no excuse. Vacuuming is active, as is dusting and taking the laundry up and down the stairs.
There are so many free online fitness videos out there too, so whether you like Boxfit, Pilates, HIIT or something else, you’ll be sure to find a workout you can follow along at home to.
Beat Stress
Stress is not your friend. For some people stress easy to identify, for others it kind of sneaks under the radar. So, make sure you take time out in your life to relax and have fun. It might be a cliche, but laughter really is the best medicine. Closely followed by mediation and mindfulness.
Watch Your Weight
If you are overweight, then your heart has to work harder. Carrying extra fat around can also mean that you may be at risk for high cholesterol and a range of other health concerns. This doesn’t mean you have to be skinny as a rake, but you should keep an eye on your waistline. As a rule of thumb, your waistline should be less than half your height. This is a better measure than BMI and easier to work out as well.
Supplement If Needed
A balanced lifestyle and diet is really the best way to keep your heart healthy. However, if you are concerned about getting all the nutrients you need, especially when a trip to the supermarket isn’t as predictable as it used to be. Then a heart-friendly supplement can be an excellent addition to your routine. One Nutrition Q10 Max contains both Q10 and thiamine which support healthy heart function and is safe to take with statins.
Even if you only manage one or two of these, you’ll be making positive changes in your life. It doesn’t take all that long to begin reaping the benefits, and with a healthy heart, you’ll have longer to enjoy your improved health.