Maintaining a heart-healthy diet means preventing heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart attack, and heart failure. Many people know that dietary changes play a large role in keeping a healthy heart.
However, the specific changes needed can be a bit vague. In addition to eating healthy, it is important to think about your physical activity, smoking habits, overall weight, and alcohol consumption.
The American heart association has proved many times that cardiovascular disease can be linked to having bad lifestyle habits. Stop increasing your risk by implementing these five lifestyle changes now.
Avoid Smoking
With the exception of prescribed inhalers, nothing should be going into your lungs other than the air you need to breathe. The smoke from cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookahs, and even eCigarettes can lead to cardiovascular disease and events like heart attacks and strokes.
If you are looking to keep your heart working the best it can, then look into completely stop smoking that you are doing. In addition, avoiding secondhand smoke. It can be as deadly as traditional smoking.
Stay Active
To further reduce your risk factors for heart disease, you should maintain an active lifestyle. While any amount of activity is better than none, you should work to get at least thirty high-intensity minutes a day. For example, running, lifting weights, or something similar. In addition, try to walk at least ten minutes of every hour to get an extra heart-healthy boost.
Aim for a Healthy Weight
Those that are obese have a higher risk for heart disease than those at a healthier size. By losing 5% to 10% of your starting weight, you will make a large difference in your blood sugar and blood flow. In addition, losing that weight will reduce the strain that your heart is carrying on a daily basis.
Eat Right
Reducing the consumption of alcohol, adding fruits and vegetables, whole grains, unsaturated fat, and good protein to your diet will ensure that your heart is getting what it needs. In addition, reducing saturated fats can help further help your cholesterol levels and blood flow in your coronary arteries.
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