A healthy heart is a happy heart. Protecting your heart and maintaining its health is as simple as making a few big and small lifestyle changes. For many, the thought of maintaining good heart health does not occur to them. The reality is that a healthy heart can prolong your lifespan and positively contribute to the quality of your life.
Because September is Heart Awareness month, we’ve put together some great tips on keeping your heart healthy, happy and protected. Following a balanced diet is one of the contributors to a healthy heart. Eating healthy not only makes your heart healthy but also contributes to your overall well being.
Confronting heart disease head-on will help to educate and drive awareness on the importance of a healthy heart. And on that note, here are some tips on everything from lifestyle changes to exercise routines that will help protect your heart and improve the quality of your life.
Lifestyle changes for a healthy functioning heart
- The first and most important lifestyle change to make is to quit smoking. Smoking clogs up the arteries, while the chemicals in cigarettes are dangerous and can cause damage to your blood vessels.
- Exercise is a great way to protect your heart and keep it functioning efficiently. Instead of binge-watching, a few episodes of a series, a walk around your neighbourhood will do more good for your heart than the storyline of your favourite TV show.
Dietary changes to maintain good heart health
- Replace unhealthy trans fat with polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats for lowered cholesterol. These fats also provide your body with much-needed omega 3 and 6 fatty acids that can help to prevent damage to your blood vessels and protect you from heart disease and strokes. Most healthy fat spreads, such as the Flora range, is a great source of unsaturated fats and is good for the health of your heart.
- Being aware of what goes into your body starts with being aware of the ingredients that you consume. Because so many of us enjoy a tub of good margarine spread, it is important to know what those margarine ingredients are and how they affect our health.
Foods that contribute to good heart health
- Nuts such as peanuts, walnuts, and cashew nuts are great for your heart. The next time you’re looking for a heart-healthy snack, grab a handful and go nuts. No pun intended, of course.
- Eat Fibre-rich foods like broccoli, carrots and sweetcorn, pears, melon and oranges.
- Avocados are the new superfood and are an excellent source of monounsaturated fats known to lower cholesterol and combat heart disease.
Another great food that contributes to the health of your body and heart by boosting your immune system is the Granadilla, sour on the taste buds but oh so sweet on the body.
And there you have it. Seven ways to protect your heart and keep it happy and healthy. Not only this September but every heartbeat to the next.
