While most types of life-threatening heart problems are preventable, taking care of your heart should be something everybody is focused on. Most of us know this, but a lot of people lack the information and education on how to look after their heart properly. If you don’t make it your goal to learn how, you may end up with serious heart problems. And we only need to look back to the lexiscan lawsuit, to see that leaving the fate of your heart in a doctor’s hands, may be fatal.
Luckily, looking after your heart isn’t a difficult task. There are lots of simple things you can do to reduce your chances of heart problems later in life. If you put some effort to follow this simple advice, you will drastically increase your heart’s health.
Monitor your salt
If your diet is high in sodium and salt, you are almost guaranteeing that your blood pressure will rise. The higher your blood pressure, the higher the chance that you will develop a disease or have a stroke. On average, an adult should not have more than 6 grams of salt a day. The thing to watch out for with salt is processed foods that have a lot more salt in them then you would expect. Read the labels and keep an eye on the sodium levels.
Reduce sugar intake
Reducing sugar will prevent you from putting on weight and lowers inflammation in the body. Obesity is a leading cause of heart problems.
5 a Day
There is a reason we put so much emphasis on getting your 5 fruit and vegetables a day. The minerals found in most fruit and veg are extremely beneficial to your health. Take potassium, for example, potassium is found in most fruit and vegetables. Potassium has been proven to lower your blood pressure when you get the right amount of it from your diet. As well as the mineral content, fruit satisfies your sweets cravings if you are trying to avoid sugar.
Good Fats
Omega-3 fats, which are found in spinach, soy and flaxseed are essential in balancing out your cholesterol and blood pressure levels.
Stop Smoking
If you are a smoker, your chances of having a heart attack are nearly double that of a non-smoker. Smoking damages your arteries, reduces the amount of oxygen in your blood and massively raises blood pressure – a bad combination.
There you have it, by following the simple advice above, you are giving your heart a much better chance at staying healthy way into your later years. Heart problems are drastically on the rise, thanks to processed foods and a rise in obesity. Make sure you protect yourself from the risks of obesity and heart disease by exercising regularly and eating the right foods. Stay healthy!
