Best Ways to Keep Your Heart Healthy

Healthy heart health is essential to overall health. Engaging in the right lifestyle at any age will help improve heart health. There is no age limit or young to start caring for your heart. The younger you make healthy decisions, the longer you'll be able to enjoy the benefits. However, swapping healthy habits for bad ones to improve your health can positively impact your health, even if you've had an attack on the heart.

Making healthier choices in your diet and working out are the two best methods to improve your heart health. There are many other things you can do to reduce your risk of heart disease. Some of the factors that can put you at risk of heart disease are:

• Smoking
• High blood pressure
• Obesity/being overweight
• High level of cholesterol
• No activity (no exercising)
• Heart disease in the family (especially an older sibling or parent)

The positive side is that it's possible to reduce your risk of developing heart disease by making adjustments to the ways you live your life. Even if there is a history of family members with heart disease. The possibility of preventing it is at your fingertips.

What Is The Importance of Heart Health?

The heart is the center of beating for your whole body. It circulates blood through the body and supplies cells with the nutrients and oxygen required to live. The heart's pumping function is vital to our daily lives. However, the food we eat, our activity levels, and our lifestyles can affect the health of the important organ. ⁽¹⁾

Heart disease caused by coronary artery is the top cause of death in the UK. It is caused when the vessels that supply blood to the heart's muscles are narrowed due to the accumulation of fats around the artery wall and cause atherosclerosis. Because of the diminished circulation of blood, the heart muscles do not receive enough oxygen to function effectively. This can cause chest angina, pain, and even an attack on the heart.

If you're unsure where to begin, include one healthy element in your daily routine. Once you feel you're getting more in control, add another. Soon, you'll feel confident instead of being overwhelmed. Here is what you can do:

Reduce Salt Intake

If your diet is is high in salt, you're likely to increase your blood pressure will be elevated too, which means you're at an increased chance of being afflicted by stroke or heart disease. The suggested daily salt limit is six grams for adults and three grams for kids (2.5g in salt equals equal to 1g sodium). Reduce the amount of salt you consume by trying not to use salt even at your table and reduce the amount you add to your cooking. Keep in mind the food labels to see how much salt you're consuming in processed food items (foods that contain over 1.5g sodium or 0.6g sodium for 100 g are considered high; therefore, avoid them whenever you can).

Eat Less Sugar

A high intake of sugar in your diet can cause weight gain, which could raise blood pressure and cause heart disease and diabetes. If you're a person with an addiction to sweets and cannot quit sugar, eat fresh fruits with yogurt instead of sweetened cakes and puddings.

Limit Saturated Fats

Consuming too much-saturated fats such as margarine, butter, ghee fats, fatty meats, and dairy fats, and processed foods like cakes, pastries, and pies are believed to raise cholesterol levels. Therefore, switch to semi-skimmed milk and dairy products with low fat instead of full-fat options, opt for smaller cuts of meat and use a grill or steamer instead of cooking.

Maintain a Healthy Dental Hygiene

Dental health is a reliable indicator of overall health, including your heart health, since people with periodontal (gum) diseases often share those same heart-related risk factors. The research continues on this subject. However, many studies have demonstrated that oral bacteria responsible for the progression of gum disease may be transported into bloodstreams and trigger an increase in C-reactive proteins, an indicator of inflammation in blood vessels.

These changes could increase your risk of suffering from heart stroke and heart disease. Tips: Brush and floss your teeth regularly to keep away gum disease. More than just cavities, you could be dealing with when you're fighting gum disease.

Eat Lots of Fruit and Vegetables

Increase the potassium content of the diet you consume by eating at a minimum of five portions of fruits and vegetables every day (potassium can aid in lowering high blood pressure). The nutrients contained in fruit and vegetables - such as nutrients, minerals, and fiber can also help maintain your heart health. Certain vegetables and fruits high in soluble fiber may help lower cholesterol levels, such as orange fruits, sweet potato mango, and the majority of pulses and beans.

Make Sure You Get Enough Sleep

Sleep is an important aspect of ensuring your heart is healthy. If you're not getting enough sleep, it could put you at risk of developing cardiovascular disease regardless of age or other lifestyles.

The researchers believe that not enough sleep results in disruptions to chronic health conditions and biological processes, such as high blood pressure, inflammation and make sleep your top priority. Aim for seven to eight hours of rest every night. It is important to be treated if you suffer from sleep apnea since the condition is associated with arrhythmias and heart disease.

Do Not Sit Too Long at a Time

Recent studies have shown that staying in a seated position for long durations of time is harmful to your health, regardless of the amount of exercise you take. This is not good news for people who work in sedentary positions throughout the day. If you look at the findings of a variety of observational studies that included more than 800,000 individuals, researchers discovered that there was a rise of 147% in the number of cardiovascular events and 90% more deaths caused by those who were mostly sitting these incidents.

Additionally, the prolonged sitting time (especially during travel) increases the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot). The experts say it's essential to move around during your day. You should park further away from work and take a few short walks throughout the day or utilize a standing desk to move around and up. Remember to exercise every day.

Conclusion

Adopting the right lifestyle and habits at any age will help improve heart health. You're never to be too young to start caring for your heart.

The health of your heart is essential to overall well-being. It is responsible for pumping nutrient-rich blood through your system. It provides oxygen and removes toxins and waste. Being the heart for your heart, it's crucially involved in almost everything that makes your body live, including everything from the transport of oxygen to the immune system's performance.

References

(1) https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1669507/

DISCLAIMER

All the content on this blog, including medical opinion and any other health-related information, are solely to provide information only. Any information/statements on this blog are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, and should NOT be a substitute for health and medical advice that can be provided by your own physician/medical doctor.  We at Nano Singapore Shop, encourage you to consult a doctor before making any health or diet changes, especially any changes related to a specific diagnosis or condition.