A healthy diet and lifestyle is the best recipe to keep a good heart and prevent cardiovascular disease. Small changes in your lifestyle can add up and make you live longer and healthier. Here are seven ways you can strengthen your heart to remain healthy.
Don’t sit for too long
The American Heart Association recommends 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week. If you don’t have time during the day to exercise you can get up and walk around for at least 10 minutes three times during your work day.
Advertisement
To order your copy, send a WhatsApp message to +1 317 665 2180
Brush your teeth every day
Inflammation plays a key role in plaque forming in your heart arteries. Good dental hygiene is a good way to have a healthy heart.
Quit smoking
Cigarette smoking is a major risk factor not only for heart disease, but also for stroke, pulmonary disease, and cancer. The best way to avoid these diseases is to quit smoking and avoid second hand smoking.
Eat healthy snacks
Eat a healthy snack in the afternoon such as a handful of almonds or walnuts. Certain fruits like apples, grapes, strawberries and citrus fruits are rich in pectin, a type of soluble fiber that fills you up and also lowers your cholesterol.
Get enough sleep
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get between seven to nine hours of sleep. Not getting enough sleep can make you feel tired during the day and make you more likely to crave non-healthy foods leading to weight gain.
Reduce stress
Stress can cause high blood pressure, and is linked to cardiovascular disease. Find healthy ways to reduce your stress. Exercise, yoga, meditation and social interaction with friends are good ways to reduce stress and your risk of heart disease.
Eat balanced diet
A healthy diet consists of eating a variety of foods from all the food groups which will also do your heart well. You should limit your intake of saturated and trans-fats, red meats, sweets and sugar-sweetened beverages and refined carbohydrates.
The American Heart Association recommends counting calories and knowing how many calories you consume in a day. If you want to lose weight you need to use up more calories than you take in.