If you tempt to eat unhealthy foods when you feel stressed, anxious, or depressed, it’s important to think about your heart health even when you’re feeling down. If you are concerned about your heart health or have been diagnosed with high cholesterol or heart disease, the food you eat can be just as critical for your heart as controlling your weight and exercising. In fact, a heart-healthy diet reduces your risk of heart disease or stroke by 80%. By eating the foods that are healthiest for your heart, you may be able to lower risk like cholesterol, high blood pressure, and other heart related problems and take greater control over the quality and length of your life.
Below are 8 tips to keep you heart healthy forever:
Get on the Move
Staying active can reduce your risk of developing heart disease. It can also be a great mood booster and stress buster.
Do 30 to 40 minutes of moderate intensity walk or cycling or aerobics.
Feed in more fibre
Eat plenty of fibre to help lower your risk of heart disease. Consume at least 30 gm of fibre in a day. Eat fibre from a variety of sources, such as whole wheat products like bread, bran, oats and wholegrain cereals, potatoes with their skins on, and plenty of fruit and vegetables.
Go low on saturated fat
Eating too many foods that are high in saturated fat can raise cholesterol levels in your blood. This increases your risk of heart disease. Choose leaner cuts of meat and lower-fat dairy products like 1% fat milk over full-fat (or whole) milk.
Excessive consumption of Butter, Ghee, and Chesse can also raise cholesterol levels in blood.
Manage your weight
Being overweight can increase your risk of heart disease. Stick to a healthy, balanced diet low in fat and sugar, with plenty of fruit and vegetables, combined with regular physical activity.
Consume more fish
Eat fish at least twice a week, including a portion of oily fish. Fish such as mackerel, sardines, fresh tuna and salmon are a source of omega-3 fats, which can help protect against heart disease.
Less alcohol
Don’t forget alcohol contains calories. Regularly drinking shows a noticeable impact on your waistline. Try to keeping the alcohol consumption in limits to reduce the risk of serious problems with your health, including risks to your heart health.
Follow the food label
While shopping, it’s a good idea to look at the label on food to see how many calories and how much fat, salt and sugar the product contains. Understanding what is in food and how it fits in with your diet will help you make healthier choices.
Lack of Sleep
Sleep may seem like an afterthought in our busy lives, but sleep problems can eventually have a profound effect on your heart and your health. “Lack of sleep can alter your metabolism, making you prone to weight gain, diabetes, and heart disease. 6 to 8 hours of good quality sound sleep is good to relax the heart.
Today is World Heart Day.
Lets all of us pledge to take care of our Heart.
H alf an hour walk everyday.
E at food free of cholesterol & saturated fat.
A void red meat.
R educe salt and sugar intake.
T ake good quality sleep.
Good article!
Thanks Harshita.