How to keep heart healthy
Heart diseases account for almost one-third of deaths worldwide. A lack of exercise, an unhealthy diet, and a sedentary lifestyle can increase the risk of heart disease.
Slight changes in your diet and lifestyle can help in keeping your heart healthy. Once you have an idea of what you should eat and which foods you should avoid, you’ll be on your way to a healthy diet for your heart.
Heart friendly foods
Listed here are the foods you should include in your diet to prevent heart disease and keep your heart healthy.
1. Green leafy vegetables:
Leafy green vegetables such as spinach are rich in various vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals. Studies have shown that the consumption of leafy greens lowers the risk of developing heart disease. Leafy green vegetables are especially enriched with vitamin K, which is essential for proper blood clotting and helps to protect arteries. Nitrates are present in abundant quantities in leafy green vegetables, which help lower blood pressure and reduce arterial stiffness.
2. Fatty fish:
Fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, and sardines are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which help lower blood cholesterol, blood sugar, and systolic blood pressure. If you do not eat seafood, fish oil can work too. The omega-3 fatty acids present in fish oil help reduce blood triglyceride levels and improve arterial function.
3. Avocados:
Avocados are an excellent source of unsaturated fatty acids that help lower LDL cholesterol levels and lower the risk of developing heart disease.
4. Whole grains:
Whole grains such as wheat, oats, barley, brown rice, and rye have high fiber content and help lower “bad” cholesterol (LDL cholesterol).
5. Tomatoes:
Tomatoes are enriched with a pigment that has powerful antioxidant properties, called lycopene. Antioxidants help remove and neutralize free radicals and prevent oxidative damage. This, in turn, lowers the risk of stroke and heart disease.
6. Olive oil:
Doctors recommend cooking your food in olive oil instead of regular vegetable oil since olive oil is fertilized with powerful antioxidant properties and monounsaturated fatty acids. Intake of olive oil is associated with 48% decreased chances of dying from heart disease.
Heart friendly lifestyle
Be physically active:
Studies have shown that 150 minutes of exercise per week is considered beneficial for your heart health. It helps lower cholesterol levels, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure. If you are inactive and wish to start exercising, start slow. Gradually increase your workout time.
Quit smoking:
If you smoke, consider quitting it to prevent heart disease. If someone in your household smokes, encourage them to quit smoking as passive smoke (smoke from another person’s cigarette) can be more dangerous to your overall health. It is definitely tough to give up on smoking, but it is certainly more difficult to recover from a stroke or a heart attack.
Reduce stress:
Studies have revealed a strong relationship between coronary artery disease and stress. People under stress may start smoking, start consuming alcohol or overeating, which is ultimately a danger to heart health. So, it is advised to remain stress-free as much as possible.
FAQs
Q1. What foods should a heart patient avoid?
Heart patients should avoid the use of trans fats, hydrogenated fats, and partially hydrogenated fats found in fried food, chips, cookies, donuts, etc. These foods can disturb the lipid profile resulting in worse outcomes.
Q2. Can chocolate prove beneficial for heart health?
Yes, dark chocolate has proven benefits for heart health. It contains antioxidant properties and reduces the risk of developing coronary artery disease and calcified plaques in arteries.
Q3. Is the Mediterranean diet good for heart health?
Yes, the Mediterranean diet is very healthy for the heart. It has almost no cons. Please read our detailed article on the Mediterranean diet.
