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Three tips for a healthy heart
Take care of your heart and your heart will take care of you. Here are three of the best ways to keep your heart healthy.
Think about food
To make your diet more heart-friendly, avoid saturated fats, choose lower fat dairy products, and buy leaner cuts of meat. Fibre can help reduce your risk of heart disease, so make sure your diet contains plenty of fruit, vegetables and wholegrains.
Oily fish like pilchards, salmon and sardines contain Omega-3, which contributes to the normal function of the heart. Try to have a portion of oily fish twice a week.
A diet which contains too much salt could lead to high blood pressure, so avoid adding salt to your food when cooking or at the table. Many processed foods already contain high levels of salt, so try seasoning dishes with herbs and spices instead.
Why not try Lifeplan’s Super Herbs garlic supplement which contains 5000mg of allicin and is enhanced with thiamin, which contributes to the normal function of the heart.
Get active
Regular exercise can reduce your blood pressure and cholesterol, as well as lowering your risk of heart disease. It can also help you maintain a healthy weight, and has lots of benefits for your mental health too.
It is recommended that you aim for 30 minutes of exercise, five times a week. If you want to become more active, start gradually with a daily brisk walk, or a low-impact workout like swimming. To benefit your heart, you should move fast enough to increase your heart rate and breathe faster, whilst still being able to hold a conversation.
To ensure you stick with your healthy new routine, try exercising with a friend to make your work out more sociable. Exercise classes can also give you extra motivation, and are available for different fitness levels and abilities.
Know the risks of alcohol and smoking
Heavy drinking can increase your risk of high blood pressure, and smoking is one of the main causes of coronary heart disease. So these lifestyle choices can have a big effect on the health of your heart.
Giving up smoking could halve your risk of a heart attack. For support with quitting, speak to your GP or pharmacist. And where alcohol is concerned, don’t drink more than 14 units of alcohol each week, and give yourself a few alcohol-free days to take better care of your heart.
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