Your heart is your body’s powerhouse, so it’s essential to care for your heart health as much as possible, but how exactly? Luckily for you, if you have no idea where to start, that’s what we will be talking about today. This article will give tips on how to take care of your heart correctly, like what to eat, exercise, etc. Let’s start.
Eat the Right Things
Consuming vitamins and minerals is essential to take care of your heart health. But what foods do you need to consume, exactly? Here are some of them:
- Fatty fish
- Oats and Barley
- Nuts and Seeds
- Beets
- Avocados
- Dark Leafy Greens
- Olive Oil
- Low-fat Dairy
- Legumes
Apart from these foods, you could also take supplements that can give you the same vitamins and minerals found in these foods. If you’re tight on money, you can even look for a savings app to help you find discounts and promotions. With the right foods and supplements, your heart health will be improved.
That said, on the contrary, one of the most harmful ingredients you can find in all processed foods is sodium. It’s a silent killer, and the average American consumes a lot of them in their everyday diet, most of which you can get from processed foods. So what should you do? Well, you need to reduce your consumption of processed foods.
By doing this, you’ll get rid of excess sodium, which is very bad for your heart health. If salt is a common ingredient in your meals, you might want to change your diet. Or you can find an alternative seasoning to salts, like lemon, vinegar, or herbs. It might not be as tasty, but hey, you’re healthier with your food.
Get Enough Sleep
Not getting enough sleep seems to be the trend in the modern world because of our packed schedules due to work or school. However, this trend might be the thing that will kill you. Not getting enough sleep puts you at risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart diseases, regardless of age, weight, and habits.
Even a perfectly healthy individual that does CrossFit has no vices and has a very healthy diet is still at risk of heart disease if they don’t get enough sleep. This also goes the other way, by the way. Getting too much sleep can also negatively affect your heart health. With that said, how much sleep should you have exactly? The sweet spot is between 7 to 9 hours.
Avoid Obesity
Obesity is defined by having a body mass index of 25 and up. Central obesity or adiposity is defined by having a high waist circumference of more than 80 cm for females and 90 cm for males.
With a high waist circumference, you risk developing cardiovascular diseases. You can reduce at least 500 kilocalories in your daily diet. This will help you lose about 1 kg a week if you do it every day.
Increase Regular Physical Activity
Physical activity contributes to improved blood pressure, lower levels of bad cholesterol, and weight control. If you don’t have time to fully dedicate yourself to regular exercise, getting at least more physical activity will do you good in the long run. For an inactive person, you can start by doing small amounts of physical activity like walking to the office more, using the stairs daily, doing household chores, etc.
After that, you can gradually increase the amount of regular physical activity, like doing more household chores, walking to the office back and forth, and using the stairs exclusively. As long as you feel that your heart rate is increasing, then you’re doing good. Just keep it up.
Avoid Tobacco
It’s commonly known that tobacco and the secondhand smoke that it produces can be very harmful to your heart if you’re constantly exposed to it. If you’re using tobacco products yourself, you might want to avoid using them from now on.
Not only does it improve your heart health, but it also has a lot of immediate health benefits that you can have. After a year of quitting, you will have a reduced risk of heart disease, equivalent to only half of what a smoker has. Fifteen years later, you’ll have the same risk as a non-smoker.
Manage Stress
Stress is also one of the most common silent killers out there. If not managed properly, you can stand up and fall one day due to a heart attack or stroke. That said, there are many ways to manage stress, like getting more rest, getting enough sleep, and doing things you find fun in your free time. One of the things you can do is find a relaxing hobby, like yoga, painting, music, etc.
Final Words
Heart health is one of the most critical aspects of your health that you should take care of. Heart diseases are prevalent nowadays, but it doesn’t have to affect you. By regular exercise, proper diet and rest, and stress management, your heart health will be perfect for years to come.
