Can you imagine all the effort that the heart does to perform its function to the fullest and deliver oxygen and nutrients to every cell in your body? Definitely knowing this info will help you imagine; the heart beats 100,000 times a day and pumps 1.5 gallons of blood every minute through blood vessels up to 60,000 miles long! This vital function makes heart disease the biggest threat to your health. As a result, we must focus more on heart health before diseases strike.

9 Tips for heart health

It’s not as difficult as you may believe! A healthy lifestyle and diet are main contributors in preventing cardiovascular disease. Keep in mind that you can preserve your health and the health of your heart by doing some easy practices such as:

1.     Be physically active

Physical activity helps strengthen the heart muscles, improve blood circulation, and reduce the risk of heart disease. It also helps maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol and blood pressure.

Here are some tips:

• Start exercising for at least five minutes three times a day.
• Then, gradually increase the time and activity level until you reach 30 minutes easily.
• Choose many activities that you enjoy.
• Try to exercise every day.

2.     Maintain a healthy weight

Watch the calories you take and make sure you are consuming the calories you eat. You may:

• Start by calculating the calories you should eat to maintain your weight.
• Read the nutritional information labels
• Do physical activity to burn more calories.

Regular physical activity can help you maintain your weight, achieve fitness, and maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.

3.     Eat a healthy diet

Make sure the food contains:

• Variety of fruits and vegetables
• Foods made from whole grains
• Legumes, nuts, fish, seafood, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products because they are healthy sources of protein. If you eat meat and poultry, make sure it’s fat-free and unprocessed.

Also, attempt to restrict or reduce your consumption of:

• Processed foods
• Added sugars
• Saturated fat
• Alcohol and preferably quit

4.     Quit using tobacco

Quit smoking or consuming any products that contain tobacco or nicotine, such as e-cigarettes, and avoid secondhand smoke. Book an appointment for free medical consultation to help you quit smoking.

5.     Get enough sleep

Lack of sleep raises your risk of developing high blood pressure, obesity, and diabetes, which all increase your risk of heart disease. Keep in mind that most adults require 7 to 9 hours of sleep every night.

6.     Control blood pressure

High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, so check your blood pressure regularly at least once a year even if you don’t have high blood pressure.

7.     Maintain cholesterol levels at a healthy level

High levels of cholesterol and triglycerides can clog arteries and increase the risk of coronary artery disease and heart attacks.

8.     Control blood sugar level

Having diabetes doubles your risk of heart disease, because over time, high blood sugar can damage blood vessels and the nerves that control the heart and blood vessels.

Therefore, it is important to regularly measure your blood sugar level and keep it at a healthy level.

9.     Relax and reduce stress

Stress and stress are linked to heart disease. For example, they can cause:

• Hypertension
• A heart attack.

Also, some common ways to cope with stress include overeating, excessive drinking and smoking! So, try to manage stress by exercising, listening to music, focusing on something calm, and meditating.