Archive for category Heart Health
How to Improve Heart Health
Posted by admin in Heart Health on June 14, 2011
Cardiovascular health is an important subject both for an individual’s health and the United States’ collective fitness as a whole. Heart disease affects many Americans and is the leading cause of death in the United States today, killing one person every 34 seconds. Factors for heart disease are divided into controllable and uncontrollable causes. Uncontrollable factors include age, gender, and genetic predisposition to cardiovascular problems based on family history. Controllable causes include physical activity, obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
By knowing about controllable factors, people can actively reduce their chances of developing this serious illness of the cardiac muscle. The first and most basic step that doctors and health professionals recommend is to increase exercise levels and maintain a healthy weight. Exercise improves heart and lung function, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, and boosts energy. Obesity forces the heart to work harder, creating unnecessary stress. It is recommended that adults get at least 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise on most, if not all, days of the week. Additionally, the exercise does not need to be all at once but can instead be broken up into intervals, if that is more convenient.
Additionally, eating a healthy diet is another important way to keep your body healthy. A diet low in fat, cholesterol and salt, and high in fruits, vegetables, grains, and fiber is recommended. Once healthy eating becomes a routine, the occasional slice of pizza with sausage or large bowl of ice cream is not problematic. Lowering blood pressure and cholesterol can be achieved through a combination of exercise and a healthy diet. Specific diet recommendations to lower blood pressure include eating less red meat, sweets, sugary drinks, and salt. To lower blood cholesterol levels, eating less fried foods, eggs, butter, and processed cheeses is advised. Read the rest of this entry »
Healthy Living Tips For Good Heart Health
Posted by admin in Heart Health on June 14, 2011
Heart disease is one of the leading killers of Americans today. The fact that most of us live very hectic lifestyles with many demands on our time and attention sometimes results in us loosing site of the things that we can do in our lives to help assure that we are taking the best care of our hearts as we can. We are going to examine some healthy living tips that may appear to be common sense but can easily be overlooked.
EAT A HEALTHY AND NUTRITIOUS DIET
Eat 4 to 5 servings of fresh fruits and vegetables each day. These foods are not only low in calories but they also contain vitamins, minerals and fiber that are essential to a healthy heart. If you feel that your diet leaves you lacking in some essential nutrients consider supplementation as an alternative.
In order to control high blood pressure and cholesterol eat whole grains. These are low in fat and high in fiber and vitamins that will help you do this. The risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity has been shown to be reduced by eating as little as three servings per day. Start your morning off by eating oatmeal (not instant) with whole grain toast. In the afternoon instead of snacking on a bag of chips substitute granola or even air popped popcorn.
Drink 6 to 8 glasses of water each day. This will do two important things to help your heart health. First it helps you keep your weight down. The body will sometimes confuse dehydration with hunger and you will tend to eat more than you should. It is also good for your skin. The second way it helps is that doing this will help prevent your blood from thickening. As your blood gets thicker it puts a strain on your heart because it has to work harder to pump blood to areas of the body where it is needed. By drinking an adequate supply of water your heart has to work less. Read the rest of this entry »